Nutritional Value of Binary Microalgal Diets for Larvae of the Blacklip Pearl Oyster Pinctada margaritifera (L.)

This paper reports on two experiments to assess the nutritional value of cultured microalgae for larvae of the blacklip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera. In the first experiment, two binary diets were assessed and Isochrysis sp. (T-ISO) was administered in combination with either Pavlova salina or the diatom Chaetoceros muelleri. The second experiment assessed the nutritional value of the individual species of microalgae from the best binary diet used in the first experiment (T-ISO and C. muelleri). Larvae fed T-ISO/C. muelleri in the first experiment showed significantly better growth and survival (P < 0.05) than those fed T-ISO/Pav. salina after 20 days of feeding. Administering the microalgae from the best binary diet separately, showed that C. muelleri alone is unsuitable for rearing D-stage P. margaritifera larvae. Larvae fed with T-ISO showed significantly better growth and survival (P < 0.05) than those fed C. muelleri at the end of 9 days of feeding and the slower growth rate of larvae fed C. muelleri was apparent from day 5. The mean antero-posterior shell measurement (APM) of larvae fed C. muelleri at day 5 (88.33 ± 1.95 μm) was significantly smaller (P < 0.05) than that of the larvae fed T-ISO (94.33 ± 4.47 μm). The data generated in this study will be valuable in the further refinement of hatchery culture techniques for P. margaritifera throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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