Early development, survival and growth rates of the giant clam Tridacna crocea (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae)

Mies, Miguel; Braga, Felipe; Scozzafave, Marcello Santos; Lemos, Daniel Eduardo Lavanholi de; Sumida, Paulo Yukio Gomes

Abstracts

Tridacnid clams are conspicuous inhabitants of Indo-Pacific coral reefs and are traded and cultivated for the aquarium and food industries. In the present study, daily growth rates of larvae of the giant clam Tridacna crocea were determined in the laboratory during the first week of life. Adults were induced to spawn via intra-gonadal serotonin injection through the byssal orifice. After spawning oocytes were collected, fertilized and kept in 3 L glass beakers and raceways treated with antibiotics to avoid culture contamination. Larvae were fed twice with the microalga Isochrysis galbana and zooxanthellae were also offered twice during the veliger stage (days 4 and 6). Larval length was measured using a digitizing tablet coupled to a microcomputer. Larval mortality was exponential during the first 48 hours of life declining significantly afterwards. Mean growth rate was 11.3 μm day-1, increasing after addition of symbionts to 18.0 μm day-1. Survival increased to ca. 75% after the addition of zooxanthellae. The results describe the growth curve for T. crocea larvae and suggest that the acquisition of symbionts by larvae may be useful for larval growth and survival even before larvae have attained metamorphosis.

Tridacnidae; Ontogenesis; Zooxanthellae; Early growth; Symbiosis; Culture

Bivalves tridacnídeos são habitantes conspícuos dos recifes da região do Indo-Pacífico e são cultivados e comercializados para os mercados alimentício e aquarista. No estudo apresentado foram determinadas as taxas de crescimento diário durante a primeira semana de vida da larva do bivalve ornamental Tridacna crocea. As matrizes foram induzidas à desova por meio de uma injeção intragonadal de serotonina realizada através do orifício bissal. Após desova, ovócitos foram coletados, fertilizados e mantidos em béqueres de vidro e tanques de fluxo contínuo tratados com antibióticos para evitar contaminação. Larvas foram alimentadas em duas ocasiões com a microalga Isochrysis galbana e zooxantelas foram oferecidas também por duas vezes. O comprimento larval foi medido através de mesa digitalizadora conectada em um microcomputador. A mortalidade larval foi exponencial durante as primeiras 48 horas de vida, diminuindo em seguida. A taxa média de crescimento foi de 11,3 μm dia-1, aumentando para 18,0 μm dia-1 após a adição de simbiontes. A sobrevivência aumentou para 75% após a adição de zooxantelas. Os resultados apresentam a curva de crescimento para a larva de T. crocea e sugerem que a aquisição de simbiontes pela larva pode ser importante para o crescimento larval e sobrevivência mesmo antes delas completarem a metamorfose.

Tridacnidae; Ontogênese; Zooxantelas; Crescimento Larval; Simbiose; Cultura

BECKVAR, N. Cultivation, spawning, and growth of the giant clams Tridacna gigas, T. derasa and T. squamosa in Palau, Caroline Islands. Aquaculture, v. 24, p. 21-30, 1981.
BRALEY, R. D. Serotonin-induced spawning in giant clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). Aquaculture, v. 47, p. 321-325, 1985.
CULKIN, F.; COX, R. A. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and strontium in sea water. Deep-Sea Res, v. 13, p. 789-804, 1966.
DELBEEK, J. C.; SPRUNG J. The Reef Aquarium v. 2. Coconut Grove, Fl.: Ricordea Publishing, 1997. 546 p.
ELLIS, S. Spawning and early larval rearing of giant clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture. Publication CTSA #130, 55 p., 1998.
ELLIS, S. Nursery and grow-out techniques for giant clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture. Publication CTSA # 143, 99 p., 2000.
FATHERREE, J. Giant Clams in the Sea and the Aquarium Tampa, Fl.: Liquid Media Publications, 2006. 227 p.
FITT, W. K.; TRENCH, R. K. Spawning, development, and acquisition of zooxanthellae by Tridacna squamosa (Mollusca: Bivalvia). Biol. Bull, v. 161, p. 213-235, 1981.
FITT, W. K.; FISHER, C. R.; TRENCH, R. K. Larval biology of tridacnid clams. Aquaculture, v. 39, p. 189-195, 1984.
FITT, W. K.; FISHER, C. R.; TRENCH, R. K. Contribution of the symbiotic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium microadriaticum to the nutrition, growth and survival of larval and juvenile tridacnid clams. Aquaculture, v. 55, p. 5-22, 1986.
FITT, W. K.; HESLINGA, G. A.; WATSON, T.C. Use of antibiotics in mariculture of giant clams (f. Tridacnidae). Aquaculture, v. 104, p. 1-10, 1992.
GABBOTT, P. A. Storage cycles in marine bivalve molluscs: a hypothesis concerning the relationship between glycogen metabolism and gametogenesis. In: EUROPEAN MARINE BIOLOGY SYMPOSIUM, 9, 1975. BARNES, H. (Ed.). Proceedings… Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1975. p. 191-211.
GAITHER, M. R.; ROWAN, R. Zooxanthellar symbiosis in planula larvae of the coral Pocillopora damicornis J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol,v. 386, p. 45-53, 2010.
GIBBONS, M. C.; CASTAGNA, M. Serotonin as an inducer of spawning in six bivalve species. Aquaculture, v. 40, p. 189-191, 1984.
GWYTHER, J.; MUNRO, J. L. Spawning induction and rearing of larvae of tridacnid clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). Aquaculture, v. 24, p. 197-217, 1981.
HART, A. M.; BELl, J. D.; FOYLE, T. P. Growth and survival of the giant clams, Tridacna derasa, T. maxima and T. crocea, at village farms in the Solomon Islands. Aquaculture, v. 165, p. 203-220, 1998.
HESLINGA, G. A.; PERRON, F. E.; ORAK, O. Mass culture of giant clams (f. Tridacnidae) in Palau. Aquaculture, v. 39, p. 197-215, 1984.
HIROSE, E.; IWAI, K.; MARUYAMA, T. Establishment of the photosymbiosis in the early ontogeny of three giant clams. Mar. Biol, v. 148, p. 551-558, 2006.
ISHIKURA, M.; ADACHI, K.; MARUYAMA, T. Zooxanthellae release glucose in the tissue of a giant clam, Tridacna crocea Mar. Biol, v. 133, p. 665-673, 1999.
JAMESON, S. C. Early life history of the giant clams Tridacna crocea Lamarck, Tridacna maxima (Röding) and Hippopus hippopus (Linnaeus). Pacif. Sci, v. 30, p. 219-233, 1976.
LEUNG, P.; SHANG, Y. C.; WANITPRAPHA, K.; TIAN, X. Production economics of giant clams (Tridacna species) culture system in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands. Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture. Publication CTSA # 114. 40 p., 1993.
KLUMPP, D. W.; GRIFFITHS, C. L. Contributions of phototrophic and heterotrophic nutrition to the metabolic and growth requirements of four species of giant clam (Tridacnidae). Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser, v. 115, p. 103-115, 1994.
KNOP, D. Giant Clams: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tridacnid Clams. Ettlingen: Dähne Verlag, 1996. 255 p.
KNOP, D. Riesenmuscheln: Arten und Pflege im Aquarium. Ettlingen: Dähne Verlag, 2009. 220 p.
MIES, M.; BRAGA, F.; SCOZZAFAVE, M. S.; SUMIDA, P. Y. G. ; LEMOS, D. Successful spawning and a possible solution for broodstock mortality in giant clams (Tridacnidae): a neurotransmitter injection through the byssal orifice. Aquacult. Res., v.42(12). 2011.
MINGOA-LICUANAN, S. S. Induction of symbiosis in Tridacna crocea (C. Bivalvia, F. Tridacnidae) using zooxanthellae from T. gigas and T. crocea: effects on clam survival and growth. Science Diliman, v. 2, n. 12, p. 28-32, 2000.
NASH, W. J.; PEARSON, R. G. ; WESTMORE, S. P. A histological study of reproduction in the giant clam Tridacna gigas in the north-central Great Barrier Reef. Canberra: ACIAR Monograph Series n.^.9, 1988. p. 89-94.
NORTON, J. H.; JONES, G. The giant clam: an anatomical and histological atlas. Canberra: ACIAR Monograph Series n. 14, 1992. p 1-142 p.
RICO-VILLA, B.; POUVREAU, S.; ROBERT, R. Influence of food density and temperature on ingestion, growth and settlement of Pacific oyster larvae, Crassostrea gigas Aquaculture, v. 287, p. 395-401, 2009.
SCHWARZ, J. A.; KRUPP, D. A.; WEIS, V. M. Late larval development and onset of symbiosis in the scleractinian coral Fungia scutaria Biol. Bull, v. 196, p. 70-79, 1999.
TRENCH, R. K.; WETHEY, D. S.; PORTER, J. W. Observations on the symbiosis with zooxanthellae among the Tridacnidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia). Biol. Bull, v. 161, p. 180-198, 1981.
YONGE, C. M. Mode of life, feeding, digestion and symbiosis with zooxanthellae in the Tridacnidae. Sci. Rept Great Barrier Reef Expedition, v. 1, p. 283-321, 1936.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
06 Aug 2012
Date of issue
June 2012

History

Received
02 Feb 2011
Accepted
14 Sept 2011
Reviewed
05 May 2011

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] BECKVAR, N. Cultivation, spawning, and growth of the giant clams Tridacna gigas, T. derasa and T. squamosa in Palau, Caroline Islands. Aquaculture, v. 24, p. 21-30, 1981.

[2] BRALEY, R. D. Serotonin-induced spawning in giant clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). Aquaculture, v. 47, p. 321-325, 1985.

[3] CULKIN, F.; COX, R. A. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and strontium in sea water. Deep-Sea Res, v. 13, p. 789-804, 1966.

[4] DELBEEK, J. C.; SPRUNG J. The Reef Aquarium v. 2. Coconut Grove, Fl.: Ricordea Publishing, 1997. 546 p.

[5] ELLIS, S. Spawning and early larval rearing of giant clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture. Publication CTSA #130, 55 p., 1998.

[6] ELLIS, S. Nursery and grow-out techniques for giant clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture. Publication CTSA # 143, 99 p., 2000.

[7] FATHERREE, J. Giant Clams in the Sea and the Aquarium Tampa, Fl.: Liquid Media Publications, 2006. 227 p.

[8] FITT, W. K.; TRENCH, R. K. Spawning, development, and acquisition of zooxanthellae by Tridacna squamosa (Mollusca: Bivalvia). Biol. Bull, v. 161, p. 213-235, 1981.

[9] FITT, W. K.; FISHER, C. R.; TRENCH, R. K. Larval biology of tridacnid clams. Aquaculture, v. 39, p. 189-195, 1984.

[10] FITT, W. K.; FISHER, C. R.; TRENCH, R. K. Contribution of the symbiotic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium microadriaticum to the nutrition, growth and survival of larval and juvenile tridacnid clams. Aquaculture, v. 55, p. 5-22, 1986.

[11] FITT, W. K.; HESLINGA, G. A.; WATSON, T.C. Use of antibiotics in mariculture of giant clams (f. Tridacnidae). Aquaculture, v. 104, p. 1-10, 1992.

[12] GABBOTT, P. A. Storage cycles in marine bivalve molluscs: a hypothesis concerning the relationship between glycogen metabolism and gametogenesis. In: EUROPEAN MARINE BIOLOGY SYMPOSIUM, 9, 1975. BARNES, H. (Ed.). Proceedings… Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1975. p. 191-211.

[13] GAITHER, M. R.; ROWAN, R. Zooxanthellar symbiosis in planula larvae of the coral Pocillopora damicornis J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol,v. 386, p. 45-53, 2010.

[14] GIBBONS, M. C.; CASTAGNA, M. Serotonin as an inducer of spawning in six bivalve species. Aquaculture, v. 40, p. 189-191, 1984.

[15] GWYTHER, J.; MUNRO, J. L. Spawning induction and rearing of larvae of tridacnid clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). Aquaculture, v. 24, p. 197-217, 1981.

[16] HART, A. M.; BELl, J. D.; FOYLE, T. P. Growth and survival of the giant clams, Tridacna derasa, T. maxima and T. crocea, at village farms in the Solomon Islands. Aquaculture, v. 165, p. 203-220, 1998.

[17] HESLINGA, G. A.; PERRON, F. E.; ORAK, O. Mass culture of giant clams (f. Tridacnidae) in Palau. Aquaculture, v. 39, p. 197-215, 1984.

[18] HIROSE, E.; IWAI, K.; MARUYAMA, T. Establishment of the photosymbiosis in the early ontogeny of three giant clams. Mar. Biol, v. 148, p. 551-558, 2006.

[19] ISHIKURA, M.; ADACHI, K.; MARUYAMA, T. Zooxanthellae release glucose in the tissue of a giant clam, Tridacna crocea Mar. Biol, v. 133, p. 665-673, 1999.

[20] JAMESON, S. C. Early life history of the giant clams Tridacna crocea Lamarck, Tridacna maxima (Röding) and Hippopus hippopus (Linnaeus). Pacif. Sci, v. 30, p. 219-233, 1976.

[21] LEUNG, P.; SHANG, Y. C.; WANITPRAPHA, K.; TIAN, X. Production economics of giant clams (Tridacna species) culture system in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands. Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture. Publication CTSA # 114. 40 p., 1993.

[22] KLUMPP, D. W.; GRIFFITHS, C. L. Contributions of phototrophic and heterotrophic nutrition to the metabolic and growth requirements of four species of giant clam (Tridacnidae). Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser, v. 115, p. 103-115, 1994.

[23] KNOP, D. Giant Clams: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tridacnid Clams. Ettlingen: Dähne Verlag, 1996. 255 p.

[24] KNOP, D. Riesenmuscheln: Arten und Pflege im Aquarium. Ettlingen: Dähne Verlag, 2009. 220 p.

[25] MIES, M.; BRAGA, F.; SCOZZAFAVE, M. S.; SUMIDA, P. Y. G. ; LEMOS, D. Successful spawning and a possible solution for broodstock mortality in giant clams (Tridacnidae): a neurotransmitter injection through the byssal orifice. Aquacult. Res., v.42(12). 2011.

[26] MINGOA-LICUANAN, S. S. Induction of symbiosis in Tridacna crocea (C. Bivalvia, F. Tridacnidae) using zooxanthellae from T. gigas and T. crocea: effects on clam survival and growth. Science Diliman, v. 2, n. 12, p. 28-32, 2000.

[27] NASH, W. J.; PEARSON, R. G. ; WESTMORE, S. P. A histological study of reproduction in the giant clam Tridacna gigas in the north-central Great Barrier Reef. Canberra: ACIAR Monograph Series n.^.9, 1988. p. 89-94.

[28] NORTON, J. H.; JONES, G. The giant clam: an anatomical and histological atlas. Canberra: ACIAR Monograph Series n. 14, 1992. p 1-142 p.

[29] RICO-VILLA, B.; POUVREAU, S.; ROBERT, R. Influence of food density and temperature on ingestion, growth and settlement of Pacific oyster larvae, Crassostrea gigas Aquaculture, v. 287, p. 395-401, 2009.

[30] SCHWARZ, J. A.; KRUPP, D. A.; WEIS, V. M. Late larval development and onset of symbiosis in the scleractinian coral Fungia scutaria Biol. Bull, v. 196, p. 70-79, 1999.

[31] TRENCH, R. K.; WETHEY, D. S.; PORTER, J. W. Observations on the symbiosis with zooxanthellae among the Tridacnidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia). Biol. Bull, v. 161, p. 180-198, 1981.

[32] YONGE, C. M. Mode of life, feeding, digestion and symbiosis with zooxanthellae in the Tridacnidae. Sci. Rept Great Barrier Reef Expedition, v. 1, p. 283-321, 1936.

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Early development, survival and growth rates of the giant clam Tridacna crocea (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae)

Abstracts

Publication Dates

History