Assessment of potential trade‐off between maternal colouration and offspring quality in the ornamental “red cherry” shrimpNeocaridina davidi(Bouvier)

Abstract

Maternal colouration based on carotenoids has been proposed to negatively affect offspring quality in several taxa, since females might trade off their limited carotenoid resources between body colouration and eggs. This study investigated in the ornamental “red cherry” shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) the relationship between maternal colouration and female reproductive performance, as well as offspring quality. Females selected displayed a broad array of body colour, from less coloured to intensely red coloured and were paired with transparent males. The first two spawning events of each female were studied and compared. The number of newly hatched juveniles was associated to maternal weight, but not to maternal colouration. Offspring quality was measured in terms of survival at the end of the 90‐day growth period, weight and length increment for 0–30 days and 30–60 days periods, and protein, lipid and glycogen contents in 30‐day‐old offspring. Yet, neither of these variables was associated to maternal colouration. These results indicate that there is no trade‐off between maternal colouration and offspring quality in this species. Furthermore, no association was found between maternal and offspring colouration, evaluated at a similar age. However, body colouration in 180‐day old females was significantly higher than in 90‐day‐old females, indicating that female colouration is strongly influenced by age.

All Shades of Shrimp: Preferences of Colour Morphs of a Freshwater Shrimp Neocaridina davidi (Decapoda, Atyidae) for Substrata of Different Colouration

“…This was obtained by artificial selection consisting of the elimination of all body pigments but the white one (personal information from the shrimp provider: R. Maciaszek). This has been confirmed in preliminary observations: these shrimp did not differentiate their colouration after a 3-month exposure to differently coloured backgrounds, as the other morphs normally do [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. All shrimp used in the experiments had black pigmented eyes, indicating their non-impaired vision [ 10 ].…”

“…They originated from clean variety lines in artificial pond cultures in Taiwan. We selected the following morphs ( Figure S1 ): (1) red, with intense translucent red colouration, corresponding to the popular Red Cherry variety [ 11 ], (2) brown, with less intense translucent blueish colouration with black-brown spots, corresponding to the wild type occurring in native habitats, and (3) white, with translucent white colouration. In contrast to the other morphs used in the experiments, the white morph seems unable to change its colouration.…”

Does egg carotenoid improve larval quality in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)?

“…Studies published in the later years give ambiguous conclusions as well, with some studies being in accordance with (Cantarero et al, 2017;Cotton et al, 2015;Hernández et al, 2021;Lüdtke & Foerster, 2018, 2019, and others contrary to (Caro et al, 2021, andRigaill &Garcia, 2021) predictions from the direct selection hypothesis. Some studies give support to the genetic correlation hypothesis (Sganga & Greco, 2019), and the social selection hypothesis (Enbody et al, 2018, see also Kroken et al, 2021). A few studies simply suggest female ornaments to signal readiness to reproduce (e.g., Belliure et al, 2018;Laplante, 2015).…”

Symbiotic effect of Bacillus clausii and Galacto-oligosaccharide on growth and survival rates in red cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi)

“…The production of crustaceans in aquaculture has increased from 7 million tons, which is about 36 billion US dollars in 2014 (FAO, 2016), to 11.3 million tons, which is estimated at 81.5 billion US dollars in 2020 (FAO, 2022). This dramatic increase, which is expected to continue growing, is not just for human consumption as crustaceans are grown for other reasons, one of which is aquarium sector (Sganga et al, 2019). The cultivation of ornamental crustaceans is an established industry that provides huge economic incentives to both small and large-scale farmers and traders.…”