Abstract:Thisstudyinvestigatedtheeffectsoffoodrationongrowthanddevelopmentofovaryandenergybudgetsoffemaletofirstsexualmaturity.The25-dayoldwithoocyteswiththeslowestgrowthstageswereselectedrandomly,andplacedinaquariumcagesinthelaboratoryatandgiventhreefoodrationlevels(low,mediumandhigh[repletion]).EfoodsupplydatawereanalyzedtoidentifyinvasivemechanismsofResultsshowedthatattheonsetofsexualmaturity,bodylength,wetmass,fullness,specificgrowthrate,hepatosomaticindex,gonadosomaticindex,numbersofmatureeggsandcalorificvaluesignificantlyincreasedwithincreasingrationlevels.Therewerenosignificantdifferencesindrymassanddiameterofmatureeggsunderdifferentrationconditions.Fishbodysizeattheonsetofsexualmaturitywasminimalwithlowfoodration(averagelengthofmgweightsdecreasedwithincreasingrationlevelsweresignificantlyhigherthanthoseatrepletionrations.Theproportionoffoodenergyallocatedtogrowthandovariesincreasedwithdecreasingrationlevels.Themaximumproportionoffoodenergyallocatedtogrowthwas56.22%,andthatallocatedtoovarieswas10.42%whenlowfoodrationswereprovided.Thus,whenwereexperiencingfoodshortages,thebodysizesoftheindividualsatfirstsexualmaturitydecreased.Inaddition,feedconversionefficienciesincreased,andtheproportionoffoodenergyallocatedtogrowthandreproductionincreased.Thisphysicaladaptationmaybebeneficialfor
