Feeding resumption, morphological changes and
mortality during starvation in Japanese flounder larvae
S.
Dou, R. Masuda, M. Tanaka, K.
Tsukamoto-2002
Journal of Fish Biology, 60(6): 1363-1380
Abstract:
Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus larvae
established first feeding 3 days after hatching (DAH) at
c.17°C. Non-fed fish reached irreversible starvation
at age 5 DAH. Non-fed fish showed similar feeding rate
and feeding intensity as the fed fish when they were
provided with prey before 5 DAH, after which the
starved larvae did not feed even when prey became available.
None of the six morphological measurements examined
(total length, body height, eye height, head height,
gut height and myotome height) showed significant differences
between the non-fed and fed larvae until 5 DAH. Normal
development continued only in the fed group, and the
non-fed larvae showed reverse growth or body collapse
after 5 DAH. Owing to the shrinkage and collapse at
the top of head due to starvation, head height could
be a sensitive indicator of starvation in Japanese
flounder larvae. In the fed treatments, high mortality
occurred from first feeding (3 DAH) to irreversible
starvation (5 DAH), accounting for about
two-thirds to three-quarters of the overall mortality
(46-52%) throughout the experiments. This mortality
was not prey density or larval density dependent.
Mortality during the same period in the non-fed larvae
accounted for about a third of the overall mortality (100%).
(Institute
of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao 266071,
P.R. China. Tel.: +81 3 5351 6518; fax: +81 3 5351 6514; email: szdou@yahoo.com)