Seasonal gonadal development and age-related maturity patterns of introduced pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus Linnaeus, 1758) in a heated thermal reservoir and an adjacent river reach

Testis and ovarian maturation status, maturity profile and gonado-somatic index (GSI) were assessed in pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) collected from Mirgenbach, a cooling-water reservoir associated with a nuclear power plant, and from the River Moselle 7 km downstream of the reservoir's thermal outflow. Histological investigation indicated that in both sexes, gonadal development of pumpkinseed in the heated reservoir was more advanced than in the cooler Moselle River throughout the breeding season. The histological maturity profile of reservoir males ranked by the advancement of sperm cells was highly correlated with its GSI (r_s=0.73, P<0.001). GSI of females in the reservoir increased with the stage at maturity, but GSI was not significantly correlated with total length, age or growth rate of the individual. All sampled individuals of both sexes were mature at age 1 in the heated reservoir, whereas 48% of age 1 males and 57% of age 1 females were not mature in the river. GSI patterns suggest that males in the reservoir adopted one of two reproductive strategies (nesters or cuckolders), whereas no small males with large enough testes to be considered cuckolders were apparent in the river. The warm thermal regime of Mirgenbach Reservoir led to precocial maturity, early season reproduction, and the greater prevalence of apparent cuckolder males than would normally occur in this climatic zone.