Abnormal pituitary‐gonad function in two feral populations of goldfish, Carassius auvatus (L.), suffering epizootics of an ulcerative disease

Abstract. The activity of the pituitary‐gonad axis was examined in goldfish, Carassius auratus (L.), collected from two populations exhibiting epizootics of an ulcerative disease. One population, collected from a pond in Toronto, Ontario, exhibited a significant linear relationship between the extent of lesions and the ovarian state. In a second population, collected from Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario, there was no correlation between the high prevalence of oocyte atresia, or the ovarian state with the extent of the ulcerative lesions. Additionally, in the Hamilton Harbour population there were no seasonal changes in the stages of egg development, frequency of mature ova, activity of the pituitary‐gonad axis or gonadosomatic index consistent with gamete release. This apparent spawning failure of the Hamilton Harbour population was supported by the age distribution in the population (no fish younger than 4 years of age were found), and probably accounts for the drastic decline in the capture success of goldfish at that site since 1978. This decline in capture success was correlated with the outbreak of a persistent epizootic of ulcerative disease, suggesting that either the lesions themselves caused the spawning failure, or that the spawning failure and lesion outbreak were both correlated with undetermined changes in the environment, possibly a deterioration in the water quality in Hamilton Harbour.