Use of swimming speed and egg ratio as predictors of the status of rotifer cultures in aquaculture

Abstract

This study evaluated the use of egg ratio (eggs rotifer−1) and swimming speed (mm min−1) as prediction criteria for production and culture quality in mass cultures of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. Egg ratio was determined to be a suitable predictor of rotifer growth and production in the cultures. Low egg ratios (i.e., 0–0.17 eggs rotifer−1) indicate reduced rotifer population over time (i.e., negative net population growth rates). However, at this time egg ratio dynamics are not suitably understood to predict in advance a sudden population collapse.