Egg cannibalism in Acartia tonsa: effects of stocking density,algal concentration,and egg availability |
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| Authors: | Guillaume Drillet Rémi Maguet Mohamed-Sofiane Mahjoub François Roullier Mark James Fielding |
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| Institution: | 1. DHI-NTU Research Centre and Education Hub, 1 CleanTech Loop, #03-05 CleanTech One, Singapore, 637141, Singapore
2. Observatoire Océanographique de Villefranche sur Mer, Chemin du Lazaret, BP 28, 06234, Villefranche, France
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| Abstract: | Cannibalism in copepod culture may limit its production yield and therefore affect the economic interests associated with the use of copepods as live feed in aquaculture. The effects of adult density, egg density, and algal availability were tested on the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa to understand how these parameters affect cannibalism rates on eggs. The overall cannibalism within the range of adult densities tested (120–1,000 adult L?1) was solely influenced by the egg and algal density, and not by the adult density. The increased densities of eggs lead to higher occurrences of cannibalism. Increasing the availability of alternative diets (e.g., algae) significantly diminished the adults’ cannibalistic behavior. The highest cannibalistic rates per adult were observed at low densities of adults and high densities of eggs (120 ind L?1 and 20,000 eggs L?1, respectively) and resulted in consumption rates >20 eggs ind?1 h?1. In this experiment, cannibalistic behavior reached 20 % of adult weight ind?1 h?1 under the aforementioned parameters. Additionally, the present study suggests that at high adult copepod density, the interactions between adults result in a decreased “time to feed.” Finally, it is argued that the separations of eggs from adult copepods, as well as the continuous access to an alternative food source, are necessary for decreasing the effects of cannibalism in copepod cultures. |
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