Relationships between fecal pellet production and feeding in the calanoid copepod Boeckella

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
James F. Haney ◽  
Margaret A. Trout
Keyword(s):  
Calanoid Copepod ◽  
Fecal Pellet ◽  
Pellet Production

scholarly journals Effects of Microalgal Food Quantity on Several Productivity-Related Parameters of the Calanoid Copepod Bestiolina similis (Calanoida: Paracalanidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Camus ◽  
Lucrezia Rolla ◽  
Jufeng Jiang ◽  
Chaoshu Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Calanoid Copepod ◽  
Fecal Pellet ◽  
Food Concentration ◽  
Egg Hatching ◽  
Pellet Production ◽  
Survival And Development ◽  
Culture Productivity

The optimization of copepod feeding protocol is paramount to improve culture productivity and to maintain favorable water quality parameters overtime, as well as saving operational costs by preventing the production of unnecessary quantities of microalgae. The influence of microalgal feeding concentration on major parameters related to culture productivity of the calanoid copepod Bestiolina similis (Paracalanidae) was investigated in a series of laboratory experiments. B. similis was fed eight different concentrations (0, 150, 300, 600, 900, 1,200, 1,500 and 1,800 μgC l–1) of a mixed microalgal diet consisting of Tahitian strain of Isochrysis species, Pavalova 50 and Tetraselmis chuii at 1:1:1 carbon ratio. The results indicate that female daily and cumulative egg production over lifespan, egg hatching rate, naupliar and copepodite survival and development, adult female life expectancy, population growth and fecal pellet production rate (FPPR) were all significantly affected by microalgae feeding ration. Conversely, no significant influence could be established between microalgae food concentration and egg diameter or adult sex ratio. Feeding rations as low as 150 μgC l–1 led to lower egg hatching rates, survival and development, adult female life expectancy and population growth compared with the higher microalgae rations tested. Feeding concentration ≤ 900 μgC l–1 significantly limited female daily egg and fecal pellet production rate, as well as their cumulative egg production over lifespan, when compared to a level of 900 μgC l–1. Bestiolina similis fed with 1,200 μgC l–1 significantly improved female egg and fecal pellet production when compared to the lower treatments and was responsible for the highest female lifespan egg production and population growth observed among all treatments. Feeding rations as high as 1,500 μgC l–1 and 1,800 μgC l–1 did not lead to significant improvement in any of the parameters measured. This is likely due to a saturation effect at high food concentration which is known to decrease calanoid copepods feeding efficiency. Finally, B. similis FPPR, used as a proxy for ingestion, was found to saturate at a microalgae concentration of 783.4 μgC l–1 using a non-linear Michael-Menton (2 parameters), indicating that CVI female ingestion did not increase significantly above this concentration. Based on the above results it is recommended that B. similis cultures should be fed at a concentration of 1,200 μgC l–1, and not above, as rations > 1,200 μgC l–1 will not significantly improve any of the productivity-related parameters observed in this study. Feeding rations should never be below 783.40 μgC l–1 as this is the threshold level below which adult female ingestion rates become limiting.

Ecology of Pseudodiaptomus annandalei in tropical aquaculture ponds with emphasis on the limitation of production

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 741-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine GrØnning ◽  
Nam X Doan ◽  
Nguyet T Dinh ◽  
Khuong V Dinh ◽  
Torkel Gissel Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Production Rate ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Fecal Pellet ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Egg Hatching ◽  
Pellet Production ◽  
Live Feed ◽  
Egg Production Rate ◽  
Tropical Aquaculture

ABSTRACT The calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus annandalei is used as live feed in aquaculture because of its nutritional value and the ability to cope with environmental fluctuations in outdoor ponds. However, little knowledge exists on its ecology. Here we investigated the ecology of P. annandalei in an aquaculture pond in Vietnam. Temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a and biomass of protozoans and copepods were monitored every other day for 1 month. Experiments on protozoan growth and grazing by P. annandalei were also conducted. Copepod fecal pellet production and temperature-dependent egg hatching rates were likewise quantified. Despite very high phytoplankton biomass, biomass of P. annandalei was surprisingly low. Copepod production was estimated from three independent methods: clearance, weight-specific egg production rate (SEP) and specific fecal pellet production rate. SEP proved to be accurate to predict the in situ population growth in the pond. A simple model for production of P. annandalei based on SEP was developed. Our study extends our knowledge of how environmental conditions in the pond may affect the population dynamics and production of copepods. The results have important implications for pond managements ensuring stable copepod production and harvest.

Copepod summer grazing and fecal pellet production along the Western Antarctic Peninsula

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 732-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miram R. Gleiber ◽  
Deborah K. Steinberg ◽  
Oscar M.E. Schofield
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Fecal Pellet ◽  
Western Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Pellet Production ◽  
Summer Grazing

scholarly journals Effect of the silica content of diatom prey on the production, decomposition and sinking of fecal pellets of the copepod <i>Calanus sinicus</i>

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbin Liu ◽  
Chih-Jung Wu
Keyword(s):  
Biogenic Silica ◽  
Fecal Pellet ◽  
Grazing Rate ◽  
Silica Content ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Calanus Sinicus ◽  
Fecal Pellets ◽  
Prey Concentration ◽  
Pellet Production ◽  
High Silica

Abstract. The effects of changing the amount of silica in the cell wall of diatom prey, on the production, decomposition rate and sinking velocity of fecal pellets of the calanoid copepod, Calanus sinicus, were examined. Using different light intensities to control the growth of the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii also led to the accumulation of different amounts of biogenic silica. Copepods were then fed with either low (~ 1600 cells L−1) or high (~ 8000 cells L−1) concentrations of this diatom. Copepods fed on a high concentration of diatoms with high silica content, exhibited a lower grazing rate and lower fecal pellet production rate than those fed on a high concentration of diatoms with low silica content. However, there was no difference in either the grazing or fecal pellet production rates at low prey concentrations with high or low silica content. The size of the fecal pellets produced was only affected by the prey concentration, and not by the silica content of prey. In addition, the degradation rate of the fecal pellets was much higher for copepods fed a low-silica diet than for those fed on a high-silica diet. Significantly lower densities and sinking rates only occurred in the fecal pellets of copepods fed a low-silica diet and a low prey concentration. Calculating the L-ratio (the ratio of degradation rate:sinking rate) for each group indicated that the fecal pellets produced by copepods fed on highly silicified diatoms are likely to transport both biogenic silica and organic carbon to the deep layer; whereas those produced following the consumption of low-silica diatoms are likely to decompose in the mixing layer.

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