Lewin, R.A., Wikfors, G.H., Patterson, G.W.
Abstract:
85 different clones of Tetraselmis spp., some from culture collections and some isolated by one of us (R.A.L.), were freed from bacterial contaminants and grown under standard conditions for two weeks. Cells were then examined for intracellular production of lipids by Nile Red fluorescence. The 8 most promising strains, grown in mass culture, were supplied as food to oyster spat in experimental growing conditions. In 8-week trials, 5 of these strains doubled the growth rate of young oysters, in comparison with rates obtained using food algae previously employed. The beneficial effect is attributed to both quantitative and qualitative features of the Tetraselmis lipids. (Details of lipid contents, growth rates etc., will be presented.) Use of these high-lipid strains is now being introduced for commercial production of oysters, and the studies are being extended to the culture of other molluscs, notably bay scallops.
(Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA)
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