Strain-specific vital rates in four Acartia tonsa cultures, I: Strain origin, genetic differentiation and egg survivorship

• Published in: Aquaculture Vol. 280; no. 1-4; pp. 109 - 116
• Main Authors: Drillet, Guillaume, Goetze, Erica, Jepsen, Per M., Højgaard, Jonas K., Hansen, Benni W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.08.2008; Amsterdam: Elsevier Science; Elsevier Science; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: 16S ribosomal RNA; Acartia tonsa; Animal aquaculture; Animal populations; Animal productions; Aquaculture; Biological and medical sciences; Brackish; Cod; Common garden; Copepod; Crustacea; Cytochrome oxidase subunit I; Delayed hatching; Experiments; fish culture; fish feeding; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Genetic diversity; genetic variation; Invertebrates; live feeds; Marine; ova; Resting egg; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Florida; Alabama; Germany; Oresund; Mobile Bay; Kiel Germany; Turkey Point Maryland; ASW, USA, Florida, Turkey Point; ASW, Mexico Gulf; ANE, Baltic Sea; ANE, Europe; Common garden; Copepod; Delayed hatching; Resting egg; Cytochrome oxidase subunit I; 16S ribosomal RNA; Cytochrome; Garden; Genetic variability; Egg; Enzyme; Acartia tonsa; Hatching; Copepod,Common garden,Resting egg,Delayed hatching,Cytochrome oxidase subunit I,16S ribosomal RNA; Diapause; Oxidase; Subunit; Survival; Crustacea; Ribosomal RNA; Arthropoda; Copepoda; 16S-RNA; Oxidoreductases; Invertebrata; Aquaculture
• ISSN: 0044-8486; 1873-5622
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2008.04.005

Successful development of planktonic copepods for use as live feed in marine aquaculture relies on optimization of environmental conditions for population growth and egg storage. This study examined strain-specific differences in egg survivorship during cold-storage-induced quiescence in four cultures of the widespread marine calanoid Acartia tonsa Dana, 1849. Experimental cultures were obtained from Øresund, Denmark (DIFRES), Kiel, Germany (KIEL), Turkey Point, Florida, USA (FL), and Mobile Bay, Alabama, USA (AL), and were shown to derive from three highly distinct mitochondrial clades. Eggs from Gulf of Mexico strains had low tolerance for cold storage, and showed very low hatching success after 10 days. In contrast, Baltic Sea strains produced eggs able to tolerate up to 150 days of cold storage, with the DIFRES strain showing the highest egg survivorship during the experiment. Eggs from the Kiel strain showed an increase in hatching over time, indicating the presence of dormant eggs. Parental rearing temperature was also found to affect egg survivorship during quiescence in the DIFRES strain, with lower hatching success observed among eggs produced at 25 °C than at 17 °C. The DIFRES strain is recommended as the optimal strain for use in aquaculture, and conditions for cold storage of eggs are discussed.