The regulation mechanisms and yield of brackish water populations of Moina micrura reared in tanks

• Published in: Aquaculture 1998-01, Vol.160 (1), p.69-79
• Main Authors: Bonou, Clément Agossou, Saint-Jean, Lucien
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ACUICULTURA; AGUA SALOBRE; Animal aquaculture; Animal productions; AQUACULTURE; Biological and medical sciences; BIOMASA; BIOMASS; BIOMASSE; Brackish; BRACKISH WATER; CISTERNAS; CITERNE; Cladocera; Crustacea; EAU SAUMATRE; Fertilization; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GROWTH RATE; INDICE DE CRECIMIENTO; Invertebrate aquaculture; Marine; MOINA; Moina micrura; Regulation processes; RENDEMENT; RENDIMIENTO; TANKS; TAUX DE CROISSANCE; Tropics; YIELDS
• ISSN: 0044-8486; 1873-5622
• DOI: 10.1016/S0044-8486(97)00224-X

Moina micrura populations were reared in open air concrete tanks filled with enriched brackish pond water for a period of about 15 days. With no fertilization and no harvesting, the biomass quickly increased showing daily population growth rates from 0.62 to 0.97, before crashing. Fertilization strongly improved the population growth rate, while periodic harvesting and water renewal maintained a productive culture with elevated biomasses for only a few additional days. Population was mainly regulated by food, notably through a shift to sexual reproduction, which partially explained why M. micrura populations crashed in natural conditions. This regulation process rendered unpredictable to some extent the development and productivity as well as the nutritive value (due to the presence of indigestible ephippia) of the population, and the authors ask whether or not M. micrura and related prolific species are convenient for permanent open culture systems in the tropics, compared to less productive species such as copepods and certain other cladocerans.