Juvenile (4 g) tilapia of four varieties, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), blue tilapia (O. aureus), Florida red tilapia (O. urolepis hornorum x O. mossambicus), and Mississippi commercial tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) were tested for salinity tolerance. This was accomplished by subjecting them to four salinity regimes during a 97-h period with as long as 63 h acclimation. Salinity regimes represented salinities found along coastal Louisiana. Each variety was challenged individually against every other variety and thus in triplicate. All four varieties are commercially produced in the southeastern United States. The Florida red tilapia and Mississippi commercial tilapia are hybrid-based varieties (distinct species were crossed to produce their lineages). Juvenile O. aureus, O. niloticus, and Florida red tilapia exhibited good survival (> 81%) in salinity regimes up to 20 ppt, with moderate survival of O. aureus (54%) and Florida red tilapia (33%) at 35 ppt salinity. Mississippi commercial tilapia survived salinity regimes up to 10 ppt and exhibited poor survival at 20 ppt (5%). The potential for acclimation and survival of juvenile tilapia in Louisianas coastal aquatic habitats was evaluated based on a comparison of trial results with prevailing seasonal salinities in coastal waters. The study indicated O. aureus, O. niloticus, and Florida red tilapia could survive salinities throughout the year along coastal Louisiana. These results will allow Louisiana and other Gulf of Mexico states to more objectively evaluate risks associated with tilapia production in coastal watersheds by quantifying the salinity tolerances of two commercially important hybrid-based tilapia strains.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-0404103-035324 |
| Date | 04 April 2003 |
| Creators | Nugon, Robert Welsh |
| Contributors | Charles G. Lutz, Robert P. Romaire, Terrence R. Tiersch |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-0404103-035324/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University Libraries in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. |
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