University of Guilan Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences 1735-3033 14 3 2016 09 01 Spermatological parameters of wild and cultured beluga (Huso huso Linnaeus, 1758) and their effects on fertilization rate, hatching rate, larval growth and survival rates 273 279 1863 EN Z. Madadi Islamic Azad University of Lahijan H. Khara Islamic Azad University of Lahijan Journal Article 2015 11 30 To compare the reproductive performance of the wild and cultured stocks of beluga, <em>Huso huso</em> males, some spermatological parameters were measured including: sperm motility, sperm density, spermatocrit and also fertilization rate, hatching rate and larval growth and survival rates. The semen samples were sampled from 11 wild spawners and 12 cultured brooders. A half of each semen sample was allocated for spermatological analysis and remaining were used for artificial propagation. In  wild beluga, sperm motility time  was 339.09 ± 23.11 s; spermatozoa motility rate  83.64 ± 2.01%; sperm density 15.22 ± 3.46 ×10⁹ and spermatocrit 5.88 ± 1.36% while  in cultured beluga, sperm motility time was 199.35 ± 29.02 s; spermatozoa motility rate 74.22 ± 2.4 %; sperm density 8.37 ± 0.24 ×10⁹ and spermatocrit 3.21 ± 0.29 %. The fertilization rate (%), hatching rate (%), larval growth (% g.day^-1).  and survival rate (%) in wild beluga were 61.72 ± 14.16, 43.33 ± 11.13, 12.28 ± 0.33 and 52.66 ± 7.77, while  in cultured beluga were 49.98 ± 6.55, 31.47 ± 8.49, 12.28 ± 0.62 and 57.37 ± 7.89 respectively. The spermatozoa motility (the ratio and duration of motility) were significantly different between wild and cultured brooders (P<0.05). The values of sperm density, spermatocrit, fertilization rate, hatching rate, larval growth and survival rate were not significantly different between wild and cultured beluga (P> 0.05). https://cjes.guilan.ac.ir/article_1863_098ce6fc89cc43fa363e76f2f5032796.pdf