effect of artificial diets containing carotenoid-rich microalgae on gonad growth and color in thE sea urchin psammechinus miliaris (gmelin)

G. McLaughlin, M.S. Kelly-2001

Journal of Shellfish Research, 20(1): 377-382

Abstract:

Gonadal growth and colour 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 colour, compared to the control, was observed for both treatments receiving microalgae: whereas, those fed the macroalgae Laminaria saccharina diet showed no significant improvement in colour. The P. tricornutum diet improved gonad colour 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 colour of P. miliaris, with promising implications for commercial echinoculture.

(Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, Scotland, United Kingdom)

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