Meeting Abstract

P3-47   -   Characterizing gill pigmentation in Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) Eminhizer, MA*; Robertson, JC; Westminster College PA; Westminster College PA eminma22@westminster.edu

Acipenser Oxyrhinchus, commonly known as the Atlantic sturgeon, has been fished and exploited nearly to extinction in several areas and is still endangered in a lot of them. Other results of human activity such as pollution and climate change have it made significantly more difficult for this species to grow and reproduce to bring the population back up to where it was. The goals of this study are to observe the change in the degree of pigmentation within varying ages of Atlantic sturgeon specimens. Beginning with the research question, “How does the degree of pigmentation in gill tissue change among varying ages and developmental stages of Atlantic sturgeon?”. It is hypothesized that the degree of pigmentation will increase as the sturgeon age and reach higher developmental stages. It is also hypothesized that there will be localization within the gill tissue shown through staining and histology starting at the base of the lamella. To assess the degree of pigmentation, photo analysis will be used in order to electronically determine the amount of pigmentated cells present in a single gill arch. For histology, the gills are fixed, stained, and analyzed for presence and localization. The expected results will show pigmentation having a positive linear relationship with the age of the sturgeon as well as there being a pattern of localization in pigment cells on the gills beginning within the primary lamella. These results serve to develop a better understanding between pigmentation and the gills of this species in regards to potential developmental stages as well as add to the missing link behind the reasoning for this pigmentation in this location.