Cell morphology as an indicator of viability of cod eggs - results from anexperimental study

摘要

This study evaluates the use of egg malformations, at early blastula stages, as direct indicators of egg viability in cod, Gadus morhua. Eggs with visible aberrations at early stages (4-32 cells) were incubated individually, using regular eggs as controls. Irregular eggs displayed, on an average, a lower hatching rate than the controls, 35% and 80%, respectively, but with substantial variation among batches. In several examples, severe malformations at blastula stages (4-32 cells) resulted in normal hatching. There were no differences in mortality rate during the yolk-sec period between larvae hatching from irregular eggs and controls, respectively, implying similar opportunities for further survival.