Morphological Distortion among Post-Ossified Larval Fish in Varying Durations of Alcohol and Formalin Solutions
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
18-4-2016 10:00 AM
End Date
18-4-2016 11:30 AM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Shannon Fisher
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Second Mentor's Name
Nathaniel Lederman
Second Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Second Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
Larval fish identification is a tedious and time consuming process. Therefore larvae are usually fid and preserved for later analysis. Literature indicated that researchers are moving away from formalin as a fixative due to its carcinogenic nature. However, formalin remains the preferred option if preventing morphometric distortion is warranted. Studies have suggested that prior fixing in formalin could reduce the amount of morphometric distortion induced by the ethyl alcohol preservation. However, no mention of time or amount of distortion that occurred among fixation periods was mentioned. We assessed larval fish distortion as a result of varying 10% formalin fixation followed by preservation in 90% ethyl alcohol. Preliminary results show a significant (p < .05) difference between the 12 and 48 hour fixation in formalin, but no significant difference (P > 0.05) between the 24 and 48 hour fixation after being preserved in 90% ethyl alcohol. The 48 hour fixation period showed a greater distortion. The study is ongoing and being completed by the Minnesota State University, Mankato Subunit of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. Preliminary results were presented at the 2016 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan for fish at one day old. The final results are pending at the post- ossified level. However, these data may be useful for attempts to establish standardized larval fish sampling that protocols that preserve the morphological characteristics while also limiting exposure of employees to exposure to formalin.
Morphological Distortion among Post-Ossified Larval Fish in Varying Durations of Alcohol and Formalin Solutions
CSU Ballroom
Larval fish identification is a tedious and time consuming process. Therefore larvae are usually fid and preserved for later analysis. Literature indicated that researchers are moving away from formalin as a fixative due to its carcinogenic nature. However, formalin remains the preferred option if preventing morphometric distortion is warranted. Studies have suggested that prior fixing in formalin could reduce the amount of morphometric distortion induced by the ethyl alcohol preservation. However, no mention of time or amount of distortion that occurred among fixation periods was mentioned. We assessed larval fish distortion as a result of varying 10% formalin fixation followed by preservation in 90% ethyl alcohol. Preliminary results show a significant (p < .05) difference between the 12 and 48 hour fixation in formalin, but no significant difference (P > 0.05) between the 24 and 48 hour fixation after being preserved in 90% ethyl alcohol. The 48 hour fixation period showed a greater distortion. The study is ongoing and being completed by the Minnesota State University, Mankato Subunit of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. Preliminary results were presented at the 2016 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan for fish at one day old. The final results are pending at the post- ossified level. However, these data may be useful for attempts to establish standardized larval fish sampling that protocols that preserve the morphological characteristics while also limiting exposure of employees to exposure to formalin.
Recommended Citation
Roberts, Endora. "Morphological Distortion among Post-Ossified Larval Fish in Varying Durations of Alcohol and Formalin Solutions." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 18, 2016.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2016/poster-session-A/26
