Effects of salinity, cold
storage and enrichment on the calanoid copepod Gladioferens imparipes
M.F. Payne, R.J. Rippingale-2001
Aquaculture, 201(3-4): 251-262
Abstract:
Intensive culture techniques have been developed for
the calanoid copepod Gladioferens imparipes. Despite reliable,
long-term production of nauplii from these cultures, further improvements
are required to maximise the number and nutritional content of nauplii
available for feeding to larval fish. The effects of salinity on copepod
production and prolonged algal enrichment on nutritional content of nauplii
is shown. Use of cold storage for accumulating large numbers of nauplii and
storing adults with minimum maintenance is evaluated. The size range of G.
imparipes life history stages, particularly early nauplii, is
determined. Maximum copepod production was obtained in salinities of 18-27
ppt. Fatty acid content of nauplii increased with prolonged enrichment.
Copepod survival was poor at 4°C. At 8°C, nauplius survival was 99% after
12 days and adult survival was 90% and 68% after 21 and 42 days,
respectively. Early nauplii were 67 µm in width, similar to nauplii used to
rear larvae with small gapes at first feeding. Implications of these results
to the use of G. imparipes as food for fish larvae is discussed.
(Department of Environmental Biology, School of
Resource Science and Technology, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box
U1987, Perth, 6845, Australia, Tel.: +61-8-9266-7922; fax: +61-8-9266-2495,
e-mail of R.J. Rippingale: R.Rippingale@info.curtin.edu.au)