Growth and survival of post-larval giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon feeding on mangrove leaf litter biofilms

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 511:117-128 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10938 Growth and survival of post-larval giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon feeding on mangrove leaf litter biofilms Charles Gatune1,2,3,*, Ann Vanreusel1, Renison Ruwa2, Peter Bossier4, Marleen De Troch1 1Ghent University, Biology Department, Marine Biology, Campus Sterre, Krijgslaan 281-S8, 9000, Ghent, Belgium 2Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, PO Box 81651-80100, Mombasa, Kenya 3Karatina University, School of Natural Resources & Environmental Studies, PO Box 1957-10101, Karatina, Kenya 4Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Laboratory of Aquaculture and Artemia Reference Centre, Rozier 44, 9000, Ghent, Belgium *Corresponding author: kgatune@yahoo.com ABSTRACT: Biofilm associated with decomposing mangrove leaf litter is a food source for shrimp post-larvae (PL). PL of giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon foraging on leaf litter of Rhizophora mucronata with developing biofilm at 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8 wk of decomposition were tested for specific growth rate (SGR, %) and percentage survival (SR, %). Biofilm was analyzed for species composition, abundance, and biomass of microalgae and epifauna. Microalgal biomass increased with the progress of litter decomposition. Diatoms, especially Navicula sp. and Nitzschia sp., dominated the first 6 wk of litter decomposition with a percentage cover of 88 and 99% during the third and fourth weeks, respectively. Cyanobacteria dominated in the 8 wk old biofilm with 61% cover. Copepods dominated the epifauna during the first 3 wk of litter decomposition. In the 4 to 5 wk old litter, polychaetes were most abundant whereas nematodes were dominant in litter that had decomposed for 8 wk. PL foraging on 4 wk old litter had a higher SGR (1.6 ± 0.5%) and SR (39.8 ± 4.8%) coincident with the maximum abundance of microalgae and epifauna. The study illustrated that nutritionally rich biofilm for PL shrimp is: (1) developed during the fourth week of mangrove leaf litter decomposition and is dominated by diatoms, polychaetes, harpacticoid copepods, and oligochaetes; and (2) limited by the collapse of the epifauna and subsequent colonization by cyanobacteria in mangrove leaf litter decomposed beyond 4 wk. KEY WORDS: Mangrove · Decomposition · Biofilm · Microalgae · Epifauna · Shrimp Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Gatune C, Vanreusel A, Ruwa R, Bossier P, De Troch M (2014) Growth and survival of post-larval giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon feeding on mangrove leaf litter biofilms. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 511:117-128. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10938 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 511. Online publication date: September 24, 2014 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2014 Inter-Research.