Open AccessASSESSMENT OF THE NUTRITIONAL ROLE OF ALGAE IN THE CULTURE OF LARVAL PRAWNS (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) 1, 2
Author(s) -
Joseph Jeanne D.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
proceedings of the annual meeting ‐ world mariculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0164-0399
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-7345.1977.tb00166.x
Subject(s) - phaeodactylum tricornutum , biology , algae , macrobrachium rosenbergii , dunaliella salina , larva , metamorphosis , fatty acid , botany , macrobrachium , nannochloropsis , food science , biochemistry , crustacean , zoology , fishery , decapoda , prawn
For some years, crustacean mariculturists have been aware of the effectiveness of “green water” in enhancing survival and growth of larvae, but its mode of action has not been known. Because fatty acids have been shown to be excellent biochemical tracers in food‐web studies, this class of compounds was selected to assess the possible nutritional role of algae in promoting metamorphosis, growth and survival of Macrobrachium rosenbergii larvae. Larvae, fed Artemia salina nauplii, were provided with supplements of Pseudoisochryois paradoxa, Dunaliella tertiolecta or Phaeodactylum tricornutum for 32 days. Fatty acid analysis of the algae showed that each species of alga contained unusual fatty acids, not normally present in larvae, which might be expected to appear in the larval lipids if the algae contribute to larval nutrition. P. paradoxa contain 18:5ω3 (4.5%); D. tertiolecta, 16:4ω3 (18.2%); and p. tricornutum, 16:3ω4 (13.3%). Fatty acids of the larvae from the different dietary treatments were remarkably similar and none of the unusual algal fatty acids were observed. These results provide additional evidence that algae are not utilized as a supplemental food by the larvae. However, the possibility that the larvae have an active “species‐oriented” lipid metabolism and do not retain algal fatty acids, as has been demonstrated in the oyster, cannot be ruled out.