Survival and growth of hatchery-produced postlarvae and spat of the Caribbean scallopsArgopecten nucleusandNodipecten nodosus

Abstract

A study was made of the growth and survival of postlarvae and spat of Argopecten nucleus and Nodipecten nodosus produced in the laboratory and exposed to di¡erent conditions of settlement and culture. An evaluation was made of the di¡erent types of collection substrates (onion-bags, arti¢cial-grass, ¢breglass-plates), two types of settlement inducers (epinephrine, low temperature), and two culture environments (sea, laboratory). The results showed that larger numbers of postlarvae were obtained in arti¢cial-grass collectors than on ¢breglass-plates or in the onion-bags. The growth of the A. nucleus postlarvae was not a¡ected by the collector type, while that of N. nodosus was higher on ¢breglass-plates, and lesser in the onion-bags. Both thermal and chemical stimulation of the competent larvae resulted in recovery of a greater percentage of postlarvae. The growth of postlarvae of A. nucleus was better in groups exposed to the two methods of settlement induction, while those of N. nodosus remained un-a¡ected by this treatment. The survival of the postlarvae and spat was greater in the laboratory than at sea except in the case of A. nucleus postlarvae attached to collectors, whose survival was similar in both environments. The growth of postlarvae and spat was greater in the sea than in the laboratory.

Assessing the genetic diversity in Argopecten nucleus (Bivalvia: Pectinidae), a functional hermaphrodite species with extremely low population density and self‐fertilization: Effect of null alleles

“…Argopecten nucleus is a functional hermaphrodite that forms sparse, low-density populations in nature. To date, the only source of live wild individuals has been seeds obtained from artificial collectors suspended in the sea (0-19 seed m −2 collector) (Díaz & Puyana, 1994;Lodeiros et al, 1993;Valero et al, 2000;Velasco & Barros, 2009).…”