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Notes: European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax of the north-western (NW) and south-eastern (SE) Mediterranean Sea strains were exposed to different temperatures (13, 17 or 21° C) during the larval rearing (11–51 days post hatching, dph) or nursery periods (55–95 dph), in order to examine the effects of temperature on sex differentiation and subsequent growth during the first year of life. Higher growth was observed during exposure to higher temperatures, but fish of the NW strain exposed to 13 or 17° C during larval rearing exhibited compensatory growth once exposure to the lower temperatures finished, and as a result their final size at 300 dph was similar or greater to the group exposed to 21° C. Fish exposed to 17° C during the nursery period also had similar size to fish exposed to 21° C after 300 days of rearing, but the fish exposed to 13° C remained significantly smaller (ANOVA, n = 55–100, P 〈 0·05). There were significant differences in the sex ratio among the fish exposed to different temperatures during the two periods of rearing, with high temperature (21° C) resulting in a significantly higher percentage of males in the population, both in the NW (ANOVA, n = 2, P 〈 0·04) and SE populations (ANOVA, n = 2, P 〈 0·01). The masculinization effect of high temperature was significantly stronger during the larval rearing stage, both in the NW (ANOVA, n = 2, P 〈 0·005) and SE populations (ANOVA, n = 2, P 〈 0·01). None of the temperature manipulations could produce 100% females, suggesting that there is a part of the genetic component in sex differentiation which is not labile to environmental influence.

Notes: The ovarian development of captive-reared, striped bass Morone saxatilis was examined during a 10-week period encompassing the spawning season. Vitellogenic oocytes in March had a mean diameter of 838 ± 18 μm and did not grow significantly thereafter. Except from one non-hormone-treated fish, all females failed to undergo final oocyte maturation (FOM) and their ovaries became atretic with the onset of high spring temperatures. A clearing fixative was found useful in identifying early stages of atresia, evident by the absence of the germinal vesicle (GV). Final oocyte maturation of fish treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) consisted of two phases. Early FOM lasted from 1 to 3 weeks, and was associated with lipid-droplet coalescence, and displacement of the GV and yolk globules to the peripheral cytoplasm. Late FOM lasted 〈24h, and consisted of yolk-globule coalescence and GV breakdown (GVBD). Ovulated eggs had completely coalesced lipid and yolk masses, with cortical alveoli lined against the cell wall. Both phases of FOM were associated with significant increases in oocyte diameter. Striped bass oocytes showed important morphological differences compared to oocytes of other members of the Moronidae family, in terms of percentage lipid content, chorion thickness and degree of hydration after ovulation.

Notes: Spermiating male European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax were treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa), either a GnRHa injection (IN; 25 μg kg−1 body mass) or one of three types of controlled-release GnRHa-delivery systems: fast release implants (EVAc; 1OO μg kg−1), slow release implants (EVSL; lOO μg kg−1) and slow release microspheres (MC; 50 μg kg−1). Luteinizing hormone (LH) release was highly stimulated by all GnRHa treatments, with elevated plasma levels lasting for 2 days in injected fish (IN) and 2, 4 and 6 weeks in controlled-release-treated fish (EVAc, MC and EVSL, respectively), correlating with a 1, 3, 5 and 5 week period of stimulation of milt production, respectively. Plasma levels of the androgens testosterone (T) and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), were not significantly affected by the GnRHa treatments. Plasma T was high at early spermiation and declined sharply near the end of this period. Plasma 11-KT levels declined continuously throughout the experiment. Levels of 17,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20β-P), a proposed maturation-inducing steroid (MIS) in European sea bass, fluctuated around 0.2–1 ng ml−1 and were not greatly affected by the treatments. These results indicated a close correlation between sustained stimulation of LH release, achieved by GnRHa-delivery systems, and long-term enhancement of milt production. They also show an absence of changes in the common sex steroids, associated with elevated LH and enhanced spermiation.

Notes: The ovarian development, and plasma levels of gonadotropin II (GtH II) and sex-steroid hormones at the end of vitellogenesis were examined in captive white bass Morone chrysops. The changes in plasma hormone levels and oocyte morphology associated with gonadotropinreleasing hormone agonist (GnRHa)-induced final oocyte maturation (FOM) were studied. Although plasma 17β-oestradiol (E2) and oocyte diameter increased, there were no changes in GtH II, testosterone (T), 17,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20β-P) or 17,20β,21-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20β,21-P) in non-hormone-treated females, and no FOM was observed. Treatment with a sustained-release GnRHa delivery system (GnRHa implant) induced two FOM cycles separated by about 24 h, with the release of approximately equal numbers of eggs in each spawn. Plasma GtH II levels were elevated significantly throughout FOM, reaching a maximum of 9·07 ± 1·55 ng ml−1 in ovulated fish. Both plasma E2 and T increased soon after the GnRHa treatment, but E2 declined in fish undergoing germinal vesicle (GV) migration. Plasma T increased further during FOM (7·55 ± 2·87 ng ml−1), but declined precipitously at ovulation. A surge in plasma 17,20β-P and 17,20β,21-P (4·11 ± 0·97 ng ml−1 and 3·10 ± 0·77 ng ml−1, respectively) was observed in females undergoing GV breakdown (GVBD). Based on the involvement of different sex-steroid hormones, FOM was separated into two stages. Early FOM included lipid-droplet coalescence and GV migration, and was associated with elevations in plasma GtH II and T. Late FOM included GVBD and yolk-globule coalescence, and was associated with elevations in plasma GtH II, 17,20β-P and 17,20β,21-P. The results of this study point to the absence of a surge in plasma GtH II as the missing link in the reproductive axis responsible for the failure of captive white bass to undergo FOM at the end of vitellogenesis. Sustained elevation of plasma GtH II via treatment with a GnRHa implant induced two consecutive spawns with an overall egg production two- to eightfold higher than previously obtained from captive broodstocks, and similar to annual egg production Values reported for wild fish.

Notes: Starting from 66 days post hatching (dph), European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax were graded successively to create a fast growing (L-extreme) and a slow growing (S-extreme) population. The L-extreme population grew significantly larger (ANOVA, n = 89–101, P 〈 0·01) attaining twice the wet mass of the S-extreme population at 300 dph (130·9 ± 1·8 v. 66·7 ± 0·9 g, mean ± s.e.). When the two populations were sexed, the L-extreme consisted of 96·5% and the S-extreme of 30·2% females, while the ungraded control had 59·2% females. Sex differentiation began first in females at a total length (LT) of 97 ± 4 mm and wet mass of 9·4 ± 1·2 g (150 dph), and was completed when fish reached 166 ± 6 mm and 53·4 ± 6·4 g (250 dph) in both sexes. Precocious maturation in males was positively correlated to growth. Gonad oestradiol (E2) was significantly higher in the female-dominant population at the onset of ovarian differentiation (ANOVA, n = 10, P 〈 0·05) and in the plasma after the appearance of the first primary oocytes (P 〈 0·01). Gonad testosterone (T) increased in both populations after sex differentiation (ANOVA, n = 10, P 〈 0·05), while plasma levels were significantly higher in the male-dominant population (P 〈 0·001). Both gonad and plasma 11-keto testosterone (11-KT) were significantly higher in the male-dominant population (ANOVA, n = 10, P 〈 0·01) reaching maximal values at spermiation. The results suggest that E2 is closely related with ovarian differentiation and the onset of oogenesis, while T and 11-KT is more related to spermatogenesis and precocious maturation.

Notes: Abstract One method of determining the strains on the surface of a metal part is by the use of a birefringent coating. Because of the thickness of the coating, however, the observed fringe order depends not only on the surface strains but also on two other factors, namely, the curvature that the surface undergoes and the variation of strain acrose the thickness of the coating. These thickness effects have already been studied in a paper dealing with one dimensional variations in strain. In the present paper, the solution is extended to a two-dimensional deformation with radial symmetry. An experiment is described in which the surface strains produced by the impact of a bullet on a flat plate are determined from the birefringence of a surface coating taking into account the effects of strain gradients and curvature. The values of surface strain are compared with measurements made by means of a square grid inscribed on the metal surface. A procedure is suggested for determining an unknown surface strain having radial symmetry from the total birefringence of the surface coating when the change in curvature of the metal surface under load is known or can be determined separately.

Notes: Abstract An analysis is presented of the stresses induced in a thin tape by bending over pulleys, by axial tension and by twisting of the tape when running between two out-of-plane pulleys. Analytical results are compared with some photoelastic tests on tape models made of epoxy resin. The weak retardation produced by the thin tape is multiplied by repeated light passage through the tape and is measured by a bent-beam compensator. The tests are of especial interest because the rate of rotation of the principal stresses is higher than had been encountered before. Surprisingly, the experimental results uncorrected for rotation are in good agreement with the calculated stresses.