Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of dietary testosterone on growth and sex ratio in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

  • Published:
Fish Physiology and Biochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Diets to which testosterone (1 or 10 ng/g diet) had been added were fed to juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) for nine months beginning for months after hatching (Experiment 1) and upon completion of yolk absorption (Experiment 2) to determine the effects on growth, gonadal development, and sex ratio. Dietary testosterone at 10 ng/g fed to juvenile salmon at four months after hatching (Exp. 1) induced significant changes in condition factor (0.69±0.01) compared to controls (0.79±0.01) at the end of the test period. In both experiments, salmon treated with 10 ng/g diet induced a significantly higher percentage of male fish compared to controls. Dietary testosterone at 1 ng/g fed to juvenile salmon beginning four months after hatching induced significant increases in weight (18.95±0.99) and length (13.58±0.23) compared to controls (14.55±1.50 and 11.94±0.43, respectively). In Experiment 1 or 2, there was no apparent influence of dietary testosterone on precocious male sexual development. Dietary testosterone at 1 or 10 ng/g fed to juvenile salmon upon completion of yolk absorption (Exp. 2) induced no consistent changes in growth in juvenile Atlantic salmon. These studies indicate that low levels of dietary testosterone may influence physiological responses in juvenile Atlantic salmon dependent upon timing of treatment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References cited

  • Borghetti, J.R., Iwamoto, R.N., Hardy, R.W. and Sower, S. 1989. The effects of naturally occurring androgens in practical diets fed to normal-sired and jack-sired progeny of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Aquaculture 77: 51–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crim, L.W. and Peter, R.E. 1978. The influence of testosterone implantation in the brain and pituitary on gonadotropin levels in Atlantic salmon parr. Ann. Biol. Anim. Biochem. Biophys. 18: 689–694.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson, E.M. and Hunter, G.A. 1982. Sex control in fish with particular reference to salmonids. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 39: 99–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson, E.M., Fagerlund, U.H.M., Higgs, D.A. and McBride, J.R. 1979. Hormonal enhancement of growth.In Fish Physiology, Vol. VIII. pp. 456–598. Edited by W.S. Hoar, D.J. Randall and J.R. Brett. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagerlund, U.H.M. and McBride, J.R. 1975. Growth increments and some flesh and gonad characteristics of juvenile coho salmon receiving diets supplemented with 17α-methyltestosterone. J. Fish Biol. 7: 305–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagerlund, U.H.M., Higgs, D.A., McBride, J.R., Plotnikoff, M.D. and Dosanjh, B.S. 1980. The potential for using the anabolic hormones 17α-methyltestosterone and (or) 3,5,3 1-triiodo-L-thyronine in the freshwater rearing of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and the effects on subsequent seawater performance. Can. J. Zool. 58: 1424–1432.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Higgs, D.A., Fagerlund, U.H.M., Eales, J.G. and McBride, J.R. 1982. Application of thyroid and steroid hormones as anabolic agents in fish culture. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 73: 143–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magri, M.-H., Solari, A., Billard, R. and Reinaud, P. 1985. Influence of testosterone on precocious sexual development in immature rainbow trout. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 57: 411–421.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McBride, J.R. and Fagerlund, U.H.M. 1973. The use of 17α-methyltestosterone for promoting weight increases in juvenile Pacific salmon. J. Fish. Res. B. Can. 24: 67–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schreck, C.B. and Fowler, L.G. 1982. Growth and reproductive development in fall chinook salmon: Effects of sex hormones and their antagonists. Aquaculture 26: 253–263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sower, S.A. and Iwamoto, R.N. 1985. The identification of the sex steroid, testosterone, in various commercial salmon diets. Aquaculture 49: 11–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sower, S.A. and Schreck, C.B. 1982. Steroid and thyroid hormones during sexual maturation of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in seawater and fresh water. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 47: 42–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sower, S.A., Schreck, C.B. and Evenson, M. 1983. Effects of steroids and steroid antagonists on growth, gonadal development, and RNA/DNA ratios in juvenile steelhead trout. Aquaculture 32: 243–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van den Hurk, R. and Slof, G.A. 1981. A morphological and experimental study of gonadal sex differentiation in the rainbow trout, (Salmo gairdneri). Cell Tiss. Res. 218: 487–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of New Hampshire, Spaulding Life Science Building, 03824, Durham, NH, USA

    Kim M. Lewis &  Stacia A. Sower

Authors
  1. Kim M. Lewis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stacia A. Sower
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lewis, K.M., Sower, S.A. Effects of dietary testosterone on growth and sex ratio in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Fish Physiol Biochem 9, 513–517 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02274232

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02274232

Keywords

Search

Navigation