Effects of starvation on survival, growth and development of Exopalaemon carinicauda larvae

摘要

This study aimed at evaluating the effects of two starvation modes (fasting-feeding mode and feeding-fasting mode) on survival, growth and development of mysis larvae of Exopalaemon carinicauda. It showed that food restriction significantly affected the survival, growth and development in both starvation modes. With the extension of initial starvation period, a significantly reduced survival rate during metamorphosis was observed. In the fasting-feeding mode, the duration of metamorphosis was extended and the body lengths of the individuals, which experienced successful metamorphosis to the post-larval stage 1, were much shorter. In the feeding-fasting mode, the extension of initial feeding period led to dramatically increased survival rate and body lengths, while there was no significant difference in duration of metamorphosis of those groups that reached to post-larval stage. The 50% point-of-no-return and the 50% point-of-reserve-saturation were 3.85days and 4.81days respectively. The results of this study indicate that E.carinicauda mysis have the ability to withstand or recover from relatively extended starvation, but to ensure the success of commercial seedling, timely and adequate feeding is necessary. The information obtained from this study could provide a basis to optimize the feeding schedule of artificial seedling of E.carinicauda.