No abstract

Summary The morphology and distribution of the minute tubercles on the skin surface of larvae in Korean bitterling, Rhodeus pseudosericeus, were observed during larval development. Just after hatching, the epidermis of the larvae consists of a thin single cell layer having smaller basophilic flat or round‐flattened basal cells. As the larvae grow, the epidermis contains more small flat cells and large epidermal cells that are round or hemisphere‐shaped. These large unicellular epidermal cells, called minute tubercles, consist of more or less homogeneous cytoplasm that is PAS (Periodic acid‐Schiff method) positive. They are more densely distributed in the wing‐like yolk sac projection. Vestigial minute tubercles occur in the body region and the caudal fin‐fold region. These minute tubercles grow in number and height from 6 to 8 days after hatching onward. However, they become reduced in height and number as the larvae develop. At day 31 after hatching (i.e. free‐swimming stage), minute tubercles no longer exist on the larval skin. The sequence of occurrence and gradual disappearance of these cell structures are described and histologically documented for comparative purposes of beta, taxnomomic and environmental studies.

To investigate the vascularization and structure of the skin and its relationship to cutaneous respiration in Pseudobagrus brevicorpus, a histological study by light microscopy was carried out on 15 regions of the skin, including eight body regions, six fins and the barbel. The skin consisted of the epidermis, dermis and subcutis in all regions, except for the barbel that had a relatively thin dermis and subcutis. The epidermis was composed of the outermost layer, the middle layer and the stratum germinativum. There were two kinds of gland cells: the unicellular mucus cells and large club cells. The middle layer had a small number of fine blood capillaries accompanied by dermal collagen in all regions; the mean number of blood capillaries ranged from 0.9 to 5.9. The mean diffusion distance between the capillary endothelial cells and the surface of the epidermis ranged from 50.6 to 126.8 lm. Based on these intra-epithelial blood capillaries, the relative surface area of the respiratory epithelium ranged from 0.1 to a maximum value of 1.2%. The dermis lacking scales had collagen bundles arranged parallel to each other, but vertical fiber bundles around the dorso-lateral regions were seen at intervals. Sensory organs such as taste buds, pit organs and lateral canals were found whereby the taste buds in particular were more abundant in the epidermis of the barbel. The vascularization of the skin may be closely related to an additional respiratory system used to deal with an extreme hypoxic condition during dry seasons.

The effects of food, temperature, salinity, and rearing density on the survival and growth of the swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus, were studied. With regard to food, the larval survival rate to zoea IV was the highest (53.9%) in the mixed feed group (rotifers+ Artemia), followed, in order, by the rotifer, commercial feed, and Artemia groups. The growth of young crabs reared on different diets was the highest in group VI. The survival rate to zoea II at 20 to 30 ℃ ranged between 77.2% and 83.1%, and was the highest for crab I (17.3%) at 25 ℃ . When young crabs were cultured individually at four different temperatures (20, 25, 30, and 35 ℃ ), the growth did not differ significantly at 25 to 30 ℃ , but was higher than at 20 ℃ . The survival rate of larvae to crab I was 12.7 and 11.4% at 25 and 28 psu, respectively, while all of the larvae died at 15 psu. For young crabs, there was no significant difference in growth and survival from 20 to 30 psu. The survival rate decreased with increasing rearing density from zoea I to crab I. Each molting cycle took 1 month from crab I to VIII. Subsequently, the interval increased with growth. The mean body weight of crab XV after 24 months was 428.05± 57.63 g.