Abstract
SUMMARY: Food availability can affect larval survival directly through starvation and indirectly through the effects on larval growth rate, swimming performance and vulnerability to predators. In the present study we evaluate the effects of starvation on growth, nutritional condition and swimming behaviour of the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) throughout ontogeny (8 to 14 days after hatching). Biochemical analysis (RNA/DNA ratios) and behavioural experiments (critical swimming speed, U crit ) were conducted on larvae reared under 3 feeding treatments: fed ad libitum, deprived of food for 48 hours and deprived of food for 96 hours. Growth was significantly affected by feeding treatment, while only slight decreases in RNA/ DNA ratio and swimming performance were registered. Late stage larvae of the three feeding treatments had slower critical speeds than the pre-flexion and flexion stages, which is probably related to the benthic lifestyle acquired by the species at the end of the larval period. These physiological and behavioural changes are in accordance with previous results, which show that flatfish larvae are more resistant to starvation than pelagic species and that they become less active later in development.
Highlights
Life stages of marine fishes experience high rates of mortality, with serious implications on species’ future recruitment
In the present study we evaluate the effects of starvation on growth, nutritional condition and swimming behaviour of the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) throughout ontogeny (8 to 14 days after hatching)
Biochemical analysis (RNA/DNA ratios) and behavioural experiments were conducted on larvae reared under 3 feeding treatments: fed ad libitum, deprived of food for 48 hours and deprived of food for 96 hours
Summary
Life stages of marine fishes experience high rates of mortality, with serious implications on species’ future recruitment. The two main mortality agents acting upon marine fish larvae are predation and starvation (Bailey and Houde, 1989). These factors are not independent, as starvation leads to a decreased growth rate (Yin and Blaxter, 1986), slower development (Kamler et al, 1990) and changes in behaviour (Sogard and Olla, 1996; Chick and Van den Avyle, 2000). For a variety of fish species (herring, hake, cod, flounder, anchovy, striped bass), it has been shown that starved larvae are more susceptible to predation than fed larvae (Bailey, 1984; Neilson et al, 1986; Yin and Blaxter, 1987; Booman et al, 1991). Larvae in better condition may reveal greater swimming abilities and responsiveness to predators than larvae in poor condition (Chick and Van den Avyle, 2000; GrorudColvert and Sponaugle, 2006)
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