Vascularization of Male Blue Rockfish (Sebastes Mystinus) Urinary Bladders

Overview

Rockfish support one of the largest fisheries in California. Due to overharvesting, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife began closing the fishery from January to February in 2002 to protect females giving live birth. Many species of rockfish, including blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus), display courtship behavior prior to copulation. It has been hypothesized that pheromones may be released in the urine during courtship, thus playing a role in female mate selection. In another scorpaeniform, pheromone release from the urinary bladder is associated with arterial vascularization. We hypothesized that male blue rockfish urinary bladders would be larger and have more vascularization than females. Male blue rockfish (21.23 ± 0.89 cm SL; mean ± SEM; n = 6) had urinary bladders that were 1.87 ± 0.53 cm in length, whereas female (24.33 ± 1.41 cm SL; n = 6) urinary bladders were 0.70 ± 0.15 cm in length (p = 0.074). Male urinary bladder somatic index [(urinary bladder weight/body weight)*100; UBI] was significantly (p = 0.004) greater than female UBI (0.162 ± 0.019%, 0.022 ± 0.005%, respectively). Additionally, blood vessels were counted within the urinary bladder lumen. Males had significantly (p < 0.0001) greater vascularization within the urinary bladder (109.33 ± 4.72 clusters in cross section of the bladder, 25.17 ± 1.66 clusters, respectively). The current study increases our understanding of rockfish reproduction and provides a novel approach in investigating pheromone release in teleost fish.

Competition history

• AJAS 2019 Category not listed

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