Detrital protein contributes to oyster nutrition and growth in the Damariscotta estuary, Maine, USA

Cm Adams,P Rawson,Dc Brady,C Newell,Lm Mayer

doi:10.3354/aei00330

Abstract

AEI Aquaculture Environment Interactions Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AEI 11:521-536 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00330 Detrital protein contributes to oyster nutrition and growth in the Damariscotta estuary, Maine, USA Cheyenne M. Adams1,*, Lawrence M. Mayer1, Paul Rawson2,4, Damian C. Brady1,4, Carter Newell3,4 1Darling Marine Center, School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Walpole, ME 04573, USA 2School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA 3Maine Shellfish Research and Development, Bucksport, ME 04416, USA 4Aquaculture Research Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469; USA *Corresponding author: cheyenne.adams@maine.edu ABSTRACT: The expansion of oyster aquaculture relies on identifying and utilizing estuarine conditions that enable the economical production of a filter-feeding species. Detrital complexes may provide nutrition to oysters between beneficial phytoplankton blooms. The upper Damariscotta estuary is the most successful aquaculture site in Maine for eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica. To examine the impact of labile detrital protein detected in this estuary on oyster growth, we monitored enzymatically hydrolysable amino acids (EHAA, labile protein), chlorophyll a (chl a) and particulate organic matter (POM) biweekly, along with continuous monitoring of temperature, turbidity, and chl a by a Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory (LOBO) buoy. Oyster feeding and growth were measured biweekly in the field and in a controlled laboratory experiment to assess responses to detrital proteins. Phytoplankton alone provided insufficient nutrition for field oysters based on measured POM absorption rate, suggesting a role for additional organics such as detritus in oyster nutrition. Oysters readily absorbed phytodetritus under laboratory conditions and cleared phytodetritus with high efficiency under field conditions. Bioavailable EHAA in the field was nearly completely absorbed by oysters, unlike POM, and seasonal EHAA concentrations correlate well with field growth rates. These indications of protein limitation on oyster growth are not explained by phytoplankton, which cannot account for all EHAA, and are consistent with seasonally abundant, labile detrital protein and observed phytodetritus. Detrital protein influence on this species implies that EHAA measurements can improve aquaculture site selection, help determine nutritional carrying capacity of estuaries, and help explain clarification of water columns by these filter feeders. KEY WORDS: Oyster · Detritus · Protein · Bioavailable · EHAA · Crassostrea virginica · Aquaculture · Feeding Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Adams CM, Mayer LM, Rawson P, Brady DC, Newell C (2019) Detrital protein contributes to oyster nutrition and growth in the Damariscotta estuary, Maine, USA. Aquacult Environ Interact 11:521-536. https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00330 Export citation Mail this link - Contents Mailing Lists - RSS Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AEI Vol. 11. Online publication date: October 02, 2019 Print ISSN: 1869-215X; Online ISSN: 1869-7534 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.

Highlights

Shellfish aquaculture presents a significant opportunity to meet increased global food demand and minimize pressure on diminishing wild fish stocks and arable land (Costa-Pierce 2010)
Because enzymatically hydrolyzable amino acids (EHAA) concentrations measure labile protein potentially available to oysters, and growth rates generally scale with EHAA concentration, our observations suggest that the supply of nutritional protein limits oyster growth
Detritus in the Damariscotta estuary contains a wide variety of products including algal necromass, heterotrophic biomass, and heterotrophic necromass

Summary

Introduction

Shellfish aquaculture presents a significant opportunity to meet increased global food demand and minimize pressure on diminishing wild fish stocks and arable land (Costa-Pierce 2010). The concentration of particulate organic matter/carbon (POM/C) is typically used to assess the bulk nutritional resources available to bivalves, while the nutritional quality of seston is often estimated by the concentration of phytoplankton-derived pigment chlorophyll a (chl a) Nitrogenous compounds can often limit growth in secondary producers such as oysters (Bowen et al 1995). Both laboratory (e.g. Romberger & Epifanio 1981, Hawkins & Bayne 1991, Ibarrola et al 1996, 2000, Brown et al 1997) and field studies (e.g. Grémare et al 1997, Bayne 2009) suggest the supply of protein in the diet can be nutritionally limiting for bivalves. Growth rates typically increase with increasing protein availability up to a maximum ration (Hawkins & Bayne 1991, Kreeger & Langdon 1993, Wikfors et al 1996, Chi et al 2010)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion