Culture of native species of zooplanktonic crustaceans: Tumeodiaptomus diabolicus (Brehm, 1935) from northern Patagonian lakes (Chile)

Abstract

The inland waters of Chile hold endemic species of crustaceans, and these habitats are threatened at present due to pollution as a result of human activities. Until now, the environmental studies performed have not considered native species for evaluating environmental risks. The aim of the present study was to do a first culture experiment with the freshwater copepod Tumeodiaoptomus diabolicus that inhabits central and northern Chilean Patagonian lakes. The copepods were cultured under two dietary regimes, i.e., a diet of microalgae and an artificial diet. The experiment was conducted over 12 days, and the maximum growth was obtained with the artificial diet. The present results would agree with similar results obtained for pseudodiaptomid copepods, that are massively used for aquaculture activities. In accordance with the obtained results and published data in the literature, T. diabolicus culture could be relatively easily done, and would thus qualify as an assay for investigating environmental conditions.