Open AccessAN EVALUATION OF THREE SPECIES OF DIATOMS AS FOOD FOR Cancer magister LARVAE 1
Author(s) -
Hartman M. C.,
Letterman G. R.
Publication year - 1978
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.1749-7345.1978.tb00251.x
Subject(s) - thalassiosira pseudonana , phaeodactylum tricornutum , larva , moulting , biology , botany , phytoplankton , zoology , algae , ecology , nutrient
Diets consisting only of the diatoms Skeletonema costatum, Thalas‐siosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum were tested on Cancer magister larvae. Each algal species was fed singly and in combination with the others. Unfed controls died after 10 days without molting to the second stage. Those larvae receiving P. tricornutum lived only slightly longer than the starved animals and none reached second stage. S. costatum and T. pseudonana fed singly sustained the larvae 40 and 48 days and allowed development to the third and fourth stages respectively. Survival to 57 days and development into the fifth stage was reached on a diet consisting of a mixture of S. costatum and T. pseudonana. Mixing P. tricornutum with either of the other species did not improve survival beyond those used singly, and mixture of all 3 species was less beneficial than the best 2‐part diet.