PIKEPERCH (Sander lucioperca) is one of the economic fish species in the Caspian Sea, with no official report on its chromosome preparation and karyotype formula. For the metaphase preparation, 29 fry specimens of the fish weighting 10-25geach were used. Colchicine 0.01% at 0.7ml/100g of fish weight was injected in the muscular tissues. After 180 minutes, kidney and gill tissues were removed and hypotonized in KCL 0.075 M for 40 minutes, fixed with Carnoy mixture for 18-20 hours, homogenized and dropped on the slides, and stained with Giemsa 20% for 30 minutes. The prepared slides were swept by objective X100 light photomicroscope. The results showed that the chromosome number of this species is 2n = 48 and the chromosome arms is NF = 76. The karyotype formula of the species was found to be 2n = 1m + 13sm + 4st + 6a. Comparing the results of the study with those of other researchers showed that the PIKEPERCH chromosome number in the South Caspian Sea is similar to the fish in other parts of the world but the type of chromosomes and karyotype formula is different.

This study was carried out with the aim of induction of PIKEPERCH (Sander lucioperca) using various hormones. For this reason, fish were injected under four hormonal treatments, so that each group of four broods were injected in two doses with pituitary hormone extract (1.5 and 4.5 mg/kg), LHRHa2 (3.5 and 10 mg/kg), hCG (150 and 500 IU/kg), and saline (control). The results showed that all male and wild females responded to pituitary extract and LHRHa2, while in wild female which injected with hCG and farmed females which injected with hCG and pituitary extract, 75 percent responded to hormone therapy and no farmed fish responded to LHRHa2. According to reproductive parameters with the parameters including the number of eggs and working fecundity, no significant difference was observed in different treatments.Considering the obtained results from this study it seems that pituitary extract and hCG have a high performance and was recommend induction of artificial reproduction in PIKEPERCH.

The aim of this study was to analysis the genetic diversity of Anzali wetland PIKEPERCH (Sander lucioperca) based on microsatellite markers. For this purpose, 50 samples of adult PIKEPERCH from Anzali Wetland were collected. For each sample, 2 g dorsal fin tissues was collected and conserved in absolute alcohol for subsequent DNA extraction and amplification. Total genomic DNA was extracted from fin tissue and the quality and concentration of DNA were assessed using agarose gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometer. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was conducted using 15 pairs of microsatellite primers. PCR products were separated on 6% polyacrylamide gels and stained by silver nitrate. DNA bands were analysed using Biocapt and GenAlex software package. Out of 15 pairs of microsatellite, 6 polymorphic loci were produced. The average number of alleles found per locus was 2.5. The range of observed and expected hetrozygosities were 0.30-0.80 and 0.25-0.63 respectively which the lowest amount was found in locus YP110 and the highest was found in locus Pfla L9. The low average number of alleles and genetic diversity is due to the artificial propagation in this species. Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were found in some of alleles that can be referred to non-accidental sampling because of small population size and inbreeding.

This study was carried out during 45 days trial in Siahkal Dr. Yousefpour Marine Fishes Restocking and Genetic Conservation Center. Food habits of juvenile PIKEPERCH were studied up to 1 g body weight in four 4 ha earthen ponds. Sampling of larvae and juveniles was carried out every 15 days interval, and totally, 320 fish were caught from the ponds. The gastrointestinal tract contents of sampled fish were examined. The gut contents of juvenile PIKEPERCH included rotifer, daphnia, cyclops, and chironomid. In larval stage, rotifer and daphnia were main food items. In the second sampling period (day 30), rotifer and daphnia were the main foods items, while cyclops naupli were consumed as marginal foods. At the end of the experiment, daphnia, cyclops and chironomid were among the main foods and rotifer was an occasional food. The results showed that the biomass of live food in ponds increased at the beginning of the rearing period, but at the end it showed a descending trend. Growth indices such as growth rate (GR), specific growth rate (SGR), and condition factor (CF) were measured at each sampling. The results showed that GR increased with increasing weight and length of fish during the rearing period. However, the reduction of SGR and CF at the end of the period was due to the loss of live food in the ponds. According to the present study, live food at different sizes during the experiment period led to acceptable fish growth. Fish are eager to feed larger size (chironomid and daphnia) of live foods after larval stage with reduce consumption of rotifer. Therefore, live food production through fertilization and ponds enrichment is economical approach and can help to manage the ponds for growing and producing higher-quality juvenile PIKEPERCH in a shorter period.

Spawning and water temperature are important factors in the reproduction of valuable fishes such as Percids. In the present study, two types of artificial (turf) and natural (willow root) substrates were compared at two different temperatures of 11 and 12. 6 ° C in PIKEPERCH (Sander lucioperca). The fish were introduced into the concrete tanks after hormone injection and one nest was installed for each breeding pair. After spawning, the nests were transferred to smaller ponds with controlled conditions for incubation. The eggs were hatched without dependence on the substrate, and there was no difference between incubation times. The results showed that the interaction between substrate type and the temperature was not significant. There was no significant difference in reproductive performance of fish by substrate type but at higher temperatures, more fish were spawned. At higher temperatures, most of the broodstock spawned during 3 to 4 days, and at lower temperatures spawned during 4 to 7 days. There was no difference in preference of fish over spawning on the specified substrate during the spawning time. The results of this study showed that spawning in a suitable temperature range and on artificial substrate had higher performance and the use of artificial substrate during semi-artificial reproduction of wild PIKEPERCH is important for the restocking programs.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different photoperiods on reproductive performance, egg and larval quality of PIKEPERCH (Sander lucioperca Linnaeus, 1758) as well as increasing the knowledge about controlling the reproductive cycle and improving the production efficiency of this valuable species. PIKEPERCH broodstock with mean weights 1367 ± 55. 3 g were exposed to three different photoperiods including constant light (24L), constant darkness (24D), and 12 h of light, 12 h of darkness (12L: 12D) with three replicates for 40 days, with light intensity 630 lux. The results showed that the PIKEPERCH reproductive performance was affected by photoperiod. The broodstock exposed to 24L photoperiod, spawned earlier than broodstock from the other photoperiods. The highest spawning were observed in the morning in 24L (66. 7 ± 3. 5%) and the lowest spawning belonged to the 24D and 12L: 12D that never spawned at night. Although fertilization rate and number of eggs per gram did not show any significant difference in various treatments, the timing of spawning and the egg quality exhibited remarkable difference (P < 0. 05). The results of this study suggesting the effective application of photoperiod on changing the spawning time, environmental regulation of maturation and induction of out-of-season spawning in PIKEPERCH. .

This study was conducted with the purpose of comparing the changes of sex steroids, hematological parameters and stress indices of PIKEPERCH Sander lucioperca in final stage of reproduction. The blood samples were taken from 25 females and 9 males in order to determine stress indices, sex steroids and hematological parameters pre and post spawning of PIKEPERCH. The testosterone in males and progesterone in females showed significant difference before and after spawning. While, estradiol in male and female brooders showed significant difference before spawning. In terms of stress indices (cortisol, lactate, glucose), only glucose in males showed significant different before and after spawning. Regards the hematological parameters, the number of white blood cells (WBC) in females and the number of red blood cells (RBC) in males showed significant different before and after spawning. The obtained results showed that although many measured indices changed during pre and post spawning, main changes was observed in sex steroids levels. These changes in male and female as well as pre and post spawning are due to different physiological and hormonal during the final maturation and spawning.

This study aimed to determine the population genetic variation of PIKEPERCH, Sander lucioperca, investigated in Anzali Wetland and Lake of Aras dame using microsatellite markers. Totally 60 samples of adult PIKEPERCH were collected from these regions in summer 2012. Five sets of microsatellite primers tested on genomic DNA of PIKEPERCH. All primer sets as polymorphic loci were used to analyze the genetic variation. Analyses revealed that average of alleles (Na) per locus was 5 (range 4 to 7 alleles). All sampled regions contained private alleles. The average observed and expected heterozygosity was 0.650 and 0.731 respectively. The average estimates of inbreeding coefficient (Fis) values of five microsatellites were negative. Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were in all cases (P<0.01). F-statistics (Fst) and gene flow (Nm) estimates in Allele frequencies were 0.092 and 2.4 respectively. Rst and Fst estimates in AMOVA indicated significant genetic differentiation among regions (P£0.01). Genetic distance was 0.616, indicating that the genetic difference among the studied populations is pronounced. The data generated in this study provides the genetic variation and differentiation in populations of PIKEPERCH in the Anzali Wetland and Lake of Aras dame.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of various lengths of starving periods on weight changes of different body parts and on chemical composition of the pike perch fillets. Forty cultured, market size (average bodyweight: 732. 2± 129. 8 g), PIKEPERCH of mixed sex were divided into 5 groups (n=8 in each), where one group were sampled at the starting time as a farm control, two groups were continuously fed for 3 and 6 weeks before slaughter, and the experimental groups were withdrawn from feed for 3 and 6 weeks before slaughter. Slaughter took place without any stress caused by transport or waiting times. Body parameters such as total body weights and the weights of 10 differentiated body parts, namely the gonad, the alimentary canal, the liver, the abdominal fat, the vertebral with unmatched fins, the head with the double fins, the two side fillets and the skins of both side fillets were monitored during the experimental period in each group. All body parts were defined and compared as the percentages of the total body weights. The chemical compositions of the fillets were examined by Weende analysis, thus dry matter, crude protein, crude fat and crude ash were measured. Increasing the length of the starving period reduced the body weight, mainly due to losses in intraperitoneal fat, although decreased fillet weights were found, caused by the depression of the intramuscular fat.