Laboratory trials on the effects of different diets on growth and survival of the common whelk, Buccinum undatum L. 1758, as a candidate species for aquaculture

Abstract

Newly hatched juvenile Buccinum undatum can be reared under laboratory conditions. Good growth was achieved when juveniles were fed on combined diets (blue mussel, cod, and fish pellets). Juveniles reached shell heights of 33.0 AE 4.2 mm, 26.9 AE 3.8 mm, 23.2 AE 2.2 mm, and 20.1 AE 1.6 mm, after 14 months of feeding on a combined diet, blue mussel, cod, and fish pellets, respectively under ambient sea temperature and salinity. After 14 months juveniles fed blue mussel had the highest survival rates (67%) followed by those fed a combination of all other experimental diets (61%), cod waste (53%) and fish-feed pellets (46%). High mortalities were recorded in most treatments during the summer months, between June and September. This species appears to have an aquaculture potential, as juveniles readily feed on artificial diets at an early age, show high survival rates and could potentially reach market size in 2 years or less. The major constraint in realising this potential at present, is the relatively low value of the species; if market values increased as a result of serious depletion of natural populations, hatchery production of juveniles for intensive aquaculture or restocking could become economically viable.

Effect of Diet and Stocking Densities on Life History Traits of Clea helena (Philippi 1847) Reared in Captivity

“…Even under controlled conditions and ad libitum food availability, this species presented a very low fertility rate and a very high survival rate through the entire study [5].…”

Nurse egg consumption and intracapsular development in the common whelk Buccinum undatum (Linnaeus 1758)

“…Buccinum undatum is an important commercial species, providing locally valuable fisheries in several areas around the North Atlantic including the UK, the USA and Canada (Hancock 1967;Morel and Bossy 2004). It has been suggested as a good candidate for aquaculture (Nasution and Roberts 2004) and globally, demand for it is continuously increasing (Department of Marine Resources www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/whelks.html). Its reproductive cycle has been well documented across its range (Hancock 1967;Martel et al 1986a, b;Kideys et al 1993;Valentinsson 2002).…”

Application of anaesthetics for sex identification and bioactive compound recovery from wild Dicathais orbita

“…obs). It is common for a varied diet to increase growth of whelks, especially if a component of carrion is included that requires less energy than live prey (Nasution and Roberts, 2004;Woodcock and Benkendorff, 2008).…”