Estudo comparativo da histologia ovariana de Farfantepenaeus paulensis com e sem ablação do pedúnculo ocular após a desova

The effect of unilateral eyestalk ablation on ovarian histology of Farfantepenaeus paulensis after spawning was evaluated in the present study. Wild females were captured in deep-sea waters of southern Brazil (27°S) and randomly divided in two groups: unilaterally eyestalk ablated and unablated (intact) females. A total of six eyestalk ablated and five unablated females were sampled after spawning in separated tanks. Morphological variables were recorded and ovaries were histologically evaluated according to oocyte type and diameter. In the ovarian tissue of unablated females, basophilic oocytes (48.8 ± 18.7 µm) were dominant (99.7 ± 0.6%), with presence significantly lower in the ablated females (93.5 ± 13.8%). Larger acidophilic oocytes (114.9 ± 16.9 µm), with yolk granules in the cytoplasm, were detected only in the ovaries of ablated females. The significantly higher occurrence of atretic oocytes (4.8 ± 10.3%) is another distinguishable feature in the ovaries of ablated females compared with the unablated ones. The presence of advanced yolky oocytes in ablated females just a few hours after spawning may indicate the effect of eyestalk ablation on the precocious rematuration of the ovary. The higher number of atretic oocytes in the ovary of ablated females could be relevant to their reproductive performance, as they represent a percentage of oocytes that were not released in the spawning process. The present results of the histology of the ovaries reveal the existence of substantial differences in the cell arrangement of ablated and unablated females after spawning. The results also demonstrate the effects of unilateral eyestalk ablation in the reproductive cycle of F. paulensis under laboratory conditions.