Effect of Rhodomonas salina addition to a standard hatchery diet during the early ontogeny of the scallop Pecten maximus

• Published in: Aquaculture 2007-02, Vol.262 (2), p.410-418
• Main Authors: Tremblay, Réjean, Cartier, Simon, Miner, Philippe, Pernet, Fabrice, Quéré, Claudie, Moal, Jeanne, Muzellec, Marie-Louise, Mazuret, Michel, Samain, Jean-François
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algal fatty acids and sterols; Animal aquaculture; animal growth; Animal productions; Bacillariophyceae; Biological and medical sciences; body composition; Chaetoceros; Chaetoceros gracilis; Cryptophyceae; Energetic content; fatty acid composition; feeds; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Isochrysis; Metamorphosis; microalgae; mollusc culture; mortality; Nutrition; Pavlova lutheri; Pecten maximus; Rhodomonas; Rhodomonas salina; Scallop; scallops; Skeletonema costatum; sterols
• ISSN: 0044-8486; 1873-5622
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2006.10.009

The main objective of this study was to identify algal diets that maximize the survival and growth and alter the biochemical content of Pecten maximus larvae with the aim of improving metamorphosis. We also evaluated the potential of the cryptophyceae Rhodomonas salina as a food source for these larvae. Two flagellates, Isochrysis aff. galbana (T) and Pavlova lutheri (P), and two diatoms, Chaetoceros gracilis (C) or Skeletonema costatum (S), were tested as two ternary diets, namely PTC and PTS. PTC and PTS were compared with diets that also included R. salina (R). The addition of R. salina and the replacement of C. gracilis by S. costatum in the traditional hatchery diet seem to be two interesting alternatives for increasing the productivity of larval scallop culture and improving the metamorphosis rate. With these two diets, larval growth increased and metamorphosis was observed to occur more rapidly. Moreover, our results showed that the addition of R. salina significantly improved the overall condition of the larvae by promoting an increase in organic matter and total lipids. This accumulation of lipids during ontogeny seems to promote larvae to grow and to complete metamorphosis more rapidly than with the other diets. The level of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the algae could also at least partially explain the results obtained, since the PUFA level of C. gracilis was about half those of S. costatum and R. salina.