Copepod Culturing: Conditions and Designs for Maximum Yield per Generation, Year 2

Overview

Objectives/Goals Copepods are essential food sources for captive marine animals. However, due to their slow reproductive rate in laboratories, copepods are not a viable food source for some organisms. In addition, pelagic copepods are notorious for their delicateness and cannibalism, resulting in difficulty when producing large volumes. Previously, culture conditions for the species Tigriopus californicus were explored, resulting in a 260% increase in copepod population by feeding Isochrysis algae. This year, the effects of DHA and ARA, the two major HUFA components of Isochrysis, were compared. In addition, a specialized tank that solves for all problems associated with culturing pelagic copepods was designed. Methods/Materials Trials testing fatty acid diets lasted four weeks. Cultures were 5gallon buckets with an air pump, starting off with 100 gravid females of T. californicus. Every two weeks, water was agitated to keep copepods in suspension, and three 20ml samples were taken. The average of samples was used to estimate the population. Tanks were built for the pelagic species Acartia tonsa using a fiberglass container as a base. PVC piping with 45 and 150 micron mesh was used for automatic adult and nauplii separation. Results Cultures fed on high DHA diets yielded 37% more than those fed a combination of the two HUFA#s, and 80% more than those fed ARA. A. tonsa tanks successfully separated nauplii from the adults with steady parameters. Conclusions/Discussion The data suggests DHA components in copepod diets over doubles the population per generation. Moreover, the A. tonsa tank increased the ease of culturing pelagic copepods.

Awards (1)

• First Place

Competition history

• CSEF 2012 Zoology · Entry S2204

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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