Anesthesia of wild female Persian sturgeon,Acipenser persicus (Borodin, 1897) breeders during controlled propagation: effects on hematological parameters,stress response and reproductive performance

This study examined the effects of anesthesia on the hematological and biochemical parameters as well as the reproductive performance of wild female Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus, during controlled spawning. Fourteen mature females were divided into two groups: ‘anesthetized’ and ‘non‐anesthetized’. All activities including transportation, catheterizing and handling were performed with both groups: (i) under anesthesia (150 ppm clove oil), and (ii) without anesthesia. After 10 days storage and handling, blood samples were taken from all fish after anesthesia. No significant differences were found in the reproductive performance of either group. However, differences were found in the hematological parameters, with values being significantly higher in the non‐anesthetized group, including neutrophils (34.36 ± 6.33% vs 23.63 ± 5.22%), monocytes (2.84 ± 1.70% vs 1.27 ± 0.64%), mean corpuscular volume (321.3 ± 39.40 pg vs 228.0 ± 24.46 pg) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (106.9 ± 15.70 fl vs 76.50 ± 7.50 fl). Significantly lower values were found in the non‐anesthetized group for lymphocytes (60.68 ± 7.25% vs 73.54 ± 4.80%), Hb (4.62 ± 0.74 mg dl^?1 vs 6.28 ± 1.21 mg dl^?1), Hct (13.86 ± 1.76% vs 18.84 ± 3.85%), red blood cell (0.43 ± 0.05 cell mm^?3 vs 0.85 ± 0.13 × 10⁶ cell mm^?3) and white blood cell (22 403 ± 2240 cell mm^?3 vs 35 318 ± 3084 cell mm^?3). The non‐anesthetized fish had significantly higher cortisol levels compared to the anesthetized group (62.33 ± 8.85 ng ml^?1 vs 46.12 ± 8.07 ng ml^?1). There was no difference in plasma glucose levels between groups. It is concluded that the use of clove oil as an anesthetic is suitable for handling of wild female Persian sturgeon in controlled propagation programmes. However, further research is needed to determine a standardized protocol for the safe application of anesthesia for use in sturgeons in general.