Increasing the yield of red abalone with the alga, Microcladia coulteri

摘要

High growth rate is a key to viability in the abalone aquaculture industry, and an excellent diet is required to achieve it. A basic Macrocystis diet might be greatly improved by supplementing it with another algal species. We observed that the epiphytic red alga, Microcladia coulteri, was rapidly consumed by 8-16 mm abalone. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this alga for its ability to stimulate growth rate in juvenile abalone under production conditions. A pairwise design with eight cages and 33,000 8-mm abalone was used to compare a control Macrocystis diet with a Microcladia-supplemented diet over a 4-mo period. The supplemented cages gained weight 2.6 times as rapidly as did the controls. Shell growth and survival were significantly higher in the supplemented populations as well. Thus, the Microcladia had a pronounced effect on the yield.