Reproductive condition of the tropical blacklip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera (Linnaeus 1758) from Chuuk Lagoon, Federated State of Micronesia during the summer months in 2003

Abstract

Reproductive condition of the tropical blacklip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera collected during the period July through September 2003 from Chuuk Lagoon, Federated State of Micronesia was investigated using histology. The level of gonad development for each pearl oyster was determined with an average score of five microscopic fields, and the average score was used as the maturity index (MI). All wild pearl oysters collected in July did exhibit fully ripe eggs in their ovaries (45-50 μm in diameter), indicating that they were ready for spawning. In mid August, most wild pearl oysters were in spawning and MI dropped dramatically from mid- to late September, suggesting that the wild pearl oyster completed spawning during this period. In contrast, the cultivated pearl oysters collected in mid-September held ripe eggs in the ovaries and only a few of them spawned, indicating that gonad maturation of the cultivated pearl oyster was somewhat slower than that of the wild pearl oyster in Chuuk Lagoon during the summer period. Histological analysis also indicated that spawning of the pearl oyster is rather incomplete and they may spawn continuously during summer.