Effect of artificial diets containing
cartenoid-rich microalgae on gonad growth and color in the sea urchin
Psammechinus miliaris (Gmelin)
G. Mc Laughlin, M.S. Kelly-2001
Journal of Shellfish Research, 20(1): 377-382
(from Current Contents)
Abstract :
Gonadal growth and color were examined in the
echinoid Psammechinus miliaris when fed diets containing either micro- or
macroalgal supplements. Urchins receiving diets containing the microalgae
Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Tahitian Isochrysis sp. showed significantly
greater gonad growth at the end of the 12-wk experimental period as compared
to urchins fed the artificial diet with no added algae. An improvement in
gonad color, compared to the control, was observed for both treatments
receiving microalgae; whereas, those fed the macroalgae Laminaria saccharina
diet showed no significant improvement in color. The P. tricornutum diet
improved gonad color more rapidly than the other algal diets. These results
show that cultured microalgae, incorporated into an artificial diet, have a
positive effect on the gonad color of P. miliaris, with promising
implications for commercial echinoculture.
(Scottish Assoc Marine Sci, POB 3, Oban PA34 4AD,
Argyll, Scotland, UK)