Analisi istologica delle gonadi maschili di alice europea (Engraulis encrasicolus L.) nella Laguna di Lesina (Mare Adriatico, Italia).

Male gonads of Engraulis encrasicolus (Osteichthyes, Engraulidae) (Linnaeus, 1758) collected in the Lesina Lagoon from May to September 2012 were histologically examined in order to determine the maturity stage. All specimens were ripe with gonads to the spermatozoal stage. The small lengths of anchovies suggest that the male population in the Lesina Lagoon is composed of young individuals at their first maturity. The temporal evolution of the gonad morphology suggests that the reproductive activity peak was reached at the end of summer.