Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Dibble, Eric

Committee Member

Schramm, Hal

Committee Member

Allen, Peter

Date of Degree

5-12-2012

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Abstract

The alligator gar Atractosteus spatula is a euryhaline fish found in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding drainages. However, the extent of its hypo-osmotic abilities are not well understood. To determine effect of salinity on growth, metabolic rate, and osmoregulation abilities the following question was developed: when does the alligator gar have the osmoregulatory capabilities to survive in hyperosmotic environments? To answer this question, two different age groups (60 and 330 days after hatch [DAH]) of juvenile alligator gar were exposed to 4 different salinities (0, 8, 16, and 24 ppt) for a 30-day period. Specific growth rate, oxygen consumption rate, plasma osmolality, plasma ion concentrations, tissue Na+, K+-ATPase activities, and drinking rate were measured. I determined that the 60 DAH alligator gar had a greater ability to grow and regulate ions than did the 330 DAH alligator gar in increased salinity.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/17952

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