Criteria for the Estimation of the Artificial Reproduction Efficiency of Salmon Fish (on the Example of Females of the Lake Char Salvelinus lepechini Gmelin, 1778)

AbstractOne of the main tasks in the cultivation of salmon fish in aquaculture for the obtainment of high-quality offspring is the early selection of elite individuals, primarily females. It is difficult to identify elite females at the early stages of maturation. To solve the problem, females of the Ladoga lake char broodstock raised in factory conditions were evaluated by the survival rate of embryos at different stages of development and larvae before their active feeding. Significant differences were found during embryogenesis in the survival rate of embryos and larvae, which largely depended on egg quality. This means that the influence of the mother’s organism was crucial. It was found that the rate of embryo development at the stage of epiboly can be a criterion of egg quality. The embryonic-survival at different developmental stages correlated with the survival of larvae, which made it possible to make an early assessment of females and to predict the output of offspring. Females with a high percentage of unfertilized eggs were characterized by a reduced survival of embryos and larvae from the remaining fertilized eggs. In light of the patterns of developmental biology, it can be assumed that the quality of unfertilized eggs is influenced by the female genome, but mechanisms controlled by the joint genome of the paternal and maternal organisms begin to operate during embryonic development. Therefore, the offspring viability in the early stages of embryogenesis is largely preserved during the further development of embryos and larvae.