Department of Environment and Agriculture Sex reversal and early larval biology of farmed silver perch, Bidyanus bidyanus (Mitchell, 1838) in Western Australia Sulaeman This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University October 2017 DECLARATION To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in compliance with the National Health and Medical Research Council Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes 8th edition (2013). The proposed research study received animal ethics approval from the Curtin University Animal Ethics Committee, Approval Number AEC_2011_70 Signature : Date : 03 October 2017 i STATEMENT OF ACCESS TO THESIS I, the undersigned, the author of this thesis, understand that Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, will make it available for use within the University library and allow access to users in other approved libraries. All users consulting this thesis have to sign the following statement: “In consulting this thesis I agree not to copy or closely paraphrase it in whole or part without the written consent of the author, and to make proper written acknowledgement for any assistance which I have obtained from it”. Beyond this, I do not wish to place any restrictions on this thesis. Sulaeman 03 October 2017 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am highly indebted to Prof. Ravi Fotedar, my supervisor who painstaking guided me through the conduct of this research project. I really appreciate his patience and readiness to help any time I needed him. I also express my sincere thanks to Simon Longbottom and Anne Barnes who helped in diverse ways from behind the scene. I also thank Lidia who taught me histology. She did not hesitate to answer my questions even if the time was inappropriate. I am thankful to my lovely wife Najmiah and my beautiful daughters Ummu Aiman and Haura Ainun and to my sons Muh. Fathan and Muhammad Naufal for their encouragement and support during my stay in Perth. They all allowed me to stay late in the laboratory and permitted me to work during weekends. I am extending my special gratitude to my Father Marhali who passed away during my study period and to my mother and my relatives who whole heartedly prayed for my success. I also thank my friends Irfan Ambas, Ilham, Ky, Ha, Tui and Ardiansyah for making my stay in Perth worthwhile. I really appreciate their friendly care. I also thank the pemprov scholasship group Ferdi, Dedi, Santi, Nurwati, Dino for their prayers and support. I deeply appreciate Pemrov for giving me this opportunity by way of the scholarship to study this course in Australia. Above all, I am thankful to almighty Allah for giving me all the energy, strength, and patience needed to complete the dissertation. I thank the Almighty God who made everything, in its finest detail possible. Dedication This body of work is dedicated to my family Najmiah, Ummu Aiman Sulaeman, Muh. Fathan Sulaeman, Haura Ainun Sulaeman and Muhammad Naufal Sulaeman for their guidance and support. I would also like to dedicate this work in the memory of my Father Marhali who passed away during my study. iii LIST OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ..................................................................................................... i STATEMENT OF ACCESS TO THESIS .............................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... iii LIST OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. viii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. xi LIST OF ABREVIATIONS .................................................................................. xii LIST OF SPECIES ............................................................................................... xiv PREAMBLE ...................................................................................................... xviii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... xx CHAPTER 1: Introduction ...................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background .............................................................................................. 1 1.2. Aim ............................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Objectives ..................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2: Literature review .............................................................................. 6 2.1. Background .................................................................................................. 6 2.2. Silver perch Taxonomy ................................................................................ 6 2.3. Silver perch Biology ..................................................................................... 7 2.3.1. Reproductive performance ..................................................................... 8 2.3.2. Egg quality ............................................................................................. 9 2.3.3. Larval food and feeding ....................................................................... 10 2.3.4. Onset of first feeding and the PNR ...................................................... 11 2.3.5. Hermaphroditism ................................................................................. 13 2.3.6. Sex reversal .......................................................................................... 14 2.4. Monosex Culture ........................................................................................ 15 2.4.1. Feminzation ......................................................................................... 17 2.4.2. Masculinization .................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 3: Reproductive performance of a domesticated broodstock and the relationship between oil globule fragmentation and the egg quality of silver perch ............................................................................................................................... 20 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 20 iv 3.2.1. Broodstock source and preparation...................................................... 22 3.2.2. Egg quality classification ..................................................................... 23 3.2.3. Reproductive performance of the female broodstock (experiment-1) . 24 3.2.4. The relationship between the degrees of oil globule fragmentation and egg quality (experiment-2)............................................................................. 25 3.2.5. Data analysis ........................................................................................ 26 3.3. Results ........................................................................................................ 26 3.3.1. Reproductive performance of the female broodstock (experiment-1) . 26 3.3.2. The relationship between the degrees of oil globule fragmentation and egg quality (experiment-2)............................................................................. 27 3.4. Discussion .................................................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 4: Yolk utilization and growth during the early larval life of the silver perch ...................................................................................................................... 35 4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 35 4.2. Material and Methods ................................................................................. 36 4.2.1. Fish and experimental setup ................................................................ 37 4.2.2. Morphometric measurements .............................................................. 38 4.2.3. Age at first feeding .............................................................................. 39 4.2.4. Mortality .............................................................................................. 39 4.2.5. Data analysis ........................................................................................ 40 4.3. Results ........................................................................................................ 40 4.3.1. Larval size, yolk reserves, and early growth ....................................... 40 4.3.2. Yolk utilization rate ............................................................................. 41 4.3.3. Age at first feeding .............................................................................. 41 4.3.4. Mortality .............................................................................................. 42 4.4. Discussion .................................................................................................