Degree-Days as a Tool to Determine the Heating Requirement for Channel Catfish Spawning in Earthen Ponds

Abstract Temperature and time are critical in determining when channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus will be physiologically ready to spawn (conditioned). Natural and hormone-induced spawning can occur when the fish are held at, above, or below specific temperatures for a largely undetermined minimum period of time. This period of conditioning can also be described as the heating requirement for spawning. We used degree-days as a standard unit to describe and quantify the heating requirement for channel catfish spawning, and we developed specific terminology and standard parameters to support the use of the degree-day concept for channel catfish spawning. The heating requirements for spawning were quantified by (1) retrospectively calculating degree-day values using previously collected data (2000–2003) from heated and ambient-temperature ponds before and during the natural spawning season and (2) calculating degree-days using data from fish conditioned for the 2004 natural spawning season at different ther...

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