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Growth, filtration and ingestion rate of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis fed with large ( Asteromonas gracilis ) and small ( Chlorella sp.) celled algal species
Author(s) -
Hotos George N.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2109.2003.00868.x
Subject(s) - rotifer , brachionus , biology , chlorella , algae , ingestion , filtration (mathematics) , botany , zoology , ecology , biochemistry , statistics , mathematics
Abstract The rotifer Brachionus plicatilis was fed in experimental conditions with a small celled (2–5 μm) Chlorella sp. and a large celled (16–22 μm) Asteromonas gracilis algae. The specific growth rate (SGR) of rotifers fed Asteromonas (maximum 0.79) was statistically higher than that for rotifers fed Chlorella (maximium 0.61). The filtration and ingestion rates using different rotifer and algal densities exhibited certain maxima depending on the species, the cell density and the condition of the rotifers. The filtration rate was higher with Asteromonas and, although ingestion rate was lower than with Chlorella , the ingestion in terms of cell volume was 10‐fold higher. It seems that B. plicatilis ingests the larger cell diameter algal species more efficiently than the smaller species that is usually used for its mass culture.