Influence of food density and temperature on ingestion, growth and settlement of Pacific oyster larvae, Crassostrea gigas

Type Article
Date 2009-02
Language English
Author(s) Rico Villa Benjamin1, Pouvreau StephaneORCID1, Robert ReneORCID1
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Dept Physiol Fonct Organismes Marins, Stn Expt Argenton, F-29840 Argenton, France.
Source Aquaculture (0044-8486) (Elsevier), 2009-02 , Vol. 287 , N. 3-4 , P. 395-401
DOI 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2008.10.054
WOS© Times Cited 99
Keyword(s) Temperature, Food, Growth, Ecophysiology, Bivalve larvae, Crassostrea gigas
Abstract Ingestion, growth and metamorphosis of Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, larvae were studied under controlled conditions of food density and temperature using a combination of a flow-through rearing system and a hydrobiological monitoring device. In a first experiment larvae were exposed to three different phytoplankton densities (12, 20 and 40 cells μl-1) while in a second trial larvae were reared at five different temperatures (17, 22, 25, 27 and 32°C). Both food concentration and temperature significantly affected the larval physiology throughout the entire development from D-veliger to young spat. Larvae survived over a wide range of both environmental parameters with high survival at the end of experiments. The feeding functional response provided the maximal ingestion rate (50 000 cells larva-1 day-1) which occurred at an algal density of 20 cells μl-1 surrounding the larvae and 25 °C. At the highest temperature (32 °C), maximal growth and metamorphosis performances were reached in less than 2 weeks while the lowest temperature (17°C) consistently inhibited ingestion and growth over the entire larval period. The estimate of the Arrhenius temperature (TA) was 11000 K for C. gigas larvae. Larval development could be divided on the basis of feeding activity into an initial mixotrophic period with a lower and constant ingestion over the first days (from D- stage to early umbonate larva of ≈110 μm length) followed by an exotrophic phase characterized by a sharp increase in ingestion (umbonate to eyed of ≈ 300 μm length) and, finally, a third period for larvae 300 μm during which ingestion decreased suddenly because of metamorphosis. Optimum larvaldevelopment and settlement of the oyster C. gigas occurred at 27 °C and an increasing food supply as the larvae were growing. A food density of ≥20 cells μl-1 of T-ISO + CP or CG (1:1 cells number) in the culture water was required to maximise growth and metamorphosis success.
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