Two groups of adult Mutton snapper fish Lutjanus analis captured in the wild, each one of three females and four males, were kept during eight months under controlled temperature and photoperiod conditions in the lab in order to stimulate their sexual maturation which was in a state of latency because of the effects of confinement. The first group was maintained under an artificial cycle with temperature manipulation and the second under a control cycle, in which this parameter was left at natural conditions. Every two months blood samples from all females were taken for the analysis of plasma testosterone (T) and oestradiol (E2) levels, taking ovarian biopsies simultaneously to register the mean diameter of the oocytes. After six months, a significative... |