Utilization of different macroalgae by sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus revealed by carbon stable isotope analysis

B Wen,HB Yu,YR Hou,QF Gao,SL Dong

doi:10.3354/aei00173

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 8:171-178 (2016) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00173 Utilization of different macroalgae by sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus revealed by carbon stable isotope analysis Bin Wen1,2, Qin-Feng Gao1,2,*, Shuang-Lin Dong1,2, Yi-Ran Hou1,2, Hai-Bo Yu1,2 1Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong Province 266003, PR China 2Function Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong Province 266003, PR China *Corresponding author: qfgao@ouc.edu.cn ABSTRACT: Understanding the feeding habit of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) is crucial for improving aquaculture techniques of this commercially important species. In the present study, carbon stable isotopes were used as trophic tracers to investigate the uptake of different macroalgae, including brown alga Sargassum muticum, red alga Gracilaria lemaneiformis and green alga Ulva lactuca by A. japonicus. A 70 d experiment was conducted to examine the carbon isotopic signatures of A. japonicus feeding on 6 different types of diets containing either pure powder of a single alga species or mixtures of 2 algae species. After the feeding trial, carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of A. japonicus showed significant changes and reflected the isotopic compositions of corresponding diets. An isotope mixing model revealed the dietary preferences of A. japonicus between the 3 species of macroalgae, suggesting that green alga U. lactuca was the preferentially utilized food source of A. japonicus, followed by brown alga S. muticum. A. japonicus tended to reject red alga G. lemaneiformis in the presence of multiple macroalgae choices. Moreover, the specific growth rates of A. japonicus fed on S. muticum and U. lactuca were similar, but were both significantly higher than those fed on G. lemaneiformis, indicating the direct link between the feeding preferences and growth performance of A. japonicus. KEY WORDS: Apostichopus japonicus · Macroalga · Stable isotope · Growth Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Wen B, Gao QF, Dong SL, Hou YR, Yu HB (2016) Utilization of different macroalgae by sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus revealed by carbon stable isotope analysis. Aquacult Environ Interact 8:171-178. https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00173 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AEI Vol. 8. Online publication date: March 30, 2016 Print ISSN: 1869-215X; Online ISSN: 1869-7534 Copyright © 2016 Inter-Research.

Highlights

Sea cucumbers, belonging to the phylum Echinodermata and class Holothuroidea, are distributed worldwide in marine habitats, from shallow to deep seas
Three macroalgal species, including brown alga Sargassum muticum, red alga Gracilaria lemaneiformis and green alga Ulva lactuca were used as feed ingredients in the experiment
1.2 a a Stable isotope analysis, which is based on the predictable trophic enrichment between the isotopic signatures of consumers and their diets, is increasingly being used to investigate the feeding patterns and trophic positions of animals in food webs (Post 2002, Boecklen et al 2011)

Summary

Introduction

Sea cucumbers, belonging to the phylum Echinodermata and class Holothuroidea, are distributed worldwide in marine habitats, from shallow to deep seas. As deposit feeders, these organisms actively select organic-rich particles from the upper millimeters of sediments and promote bioturbation, playing an important role in detritus food chains (Yingst 1976, Uthicke 1999, Michio et al 2003, Hudson et al 2005, Slater & Jeffs 2010, Slater et al 2011). Previous studies have demonstrated that detritus derived from macroalgae is the major food source of A. japonicus (Sun et al 2013). The biology of A. japonicus has been studied for several decades, research efforts on the feeding habits and food preferences are relatively scarce to date (Gao et al 2011, Sun et al 2013)

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