High-intensity light of full-spectrum LED promotes survival rate but not development of the larval swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus

Abstract

In this study, a 25-day experiment was performed to evaluate the survival and development of Portunus trituberculatus larvae under different light intensities (0, 61.55, 93.57, 124.31, 195.31, 248.51, and 310.95 μmol m−2 s-1). The newly hatched larvae were cultured in 1-L beakers at a density of 100 individuals/L, with four replicates per treatment. Full-spectrum light-emitting diode (LED) strip lamps were used as the light source. The larvae were fed with Artemia nauplii until all the larvae metamorphosed to young crabs or died, and survival and development of the larvae were recorded. The results showed that P. trituberculatus zoeae were not able to complete the entire larval cycle in the absence of light. In the dark treatment, the survival rate of the larvae decreased sharply in Z3 and reached 0.8 % in Z4, and all the larvae failed to develop to the megalopa stage. In the light treatment, no significant differences were observed in the survival rates of the Z1, Z2, and Z3 larvae under different light intensities (P > 0.05). However, the highest survival rates were detected for Z4 larvae and megalopae at 195.31 and 124.31 μmol m−2 s-1, respectively, indicating a decline in the light requirement. Although the Z2 and Z4 larvae were found to develop faster at a light intensity of 195.31 μmol m−2 s-1 (P < 0.05), no significant differences were found among the treatments at the end of the experiment (P> 0.05). In conclusion, the results show that P. trituberculatus needs more lighting than other crab species, and the light requirement declines as the zoeal and megalopal larvae develop into young crabs.