Meta‐analysis approach to the effects of live prey on the growth of Octopus vulgaris paralarvae under culture conditions

Abstract

The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris, Cuvier 1797) is a promising species for aquaculture diversification, but the massive mortality during the first life stage is the main bottleneck for its commercial production. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of different live preys (Artemia and crustacean zoeae) and/or Artemia enrichment protocols in the paralarval growth by using a meta‐analysis approach. A total of 26 independent assays were used, including data from the bibliography and from experiments carried out by our group. Three comparisons were established: (i) crustacean zoeae vs. Artemia, (ii) different crustacean zoeae species and (iii) Artemia enriched with marine lecithin (rich in polar lipids‐PL and docosahexaenoic acid‐DHA) vs. previously used Artemia enrichments. The meta‐analysis approach allowed a quantitative review of independent studies with reliable conclusions, avoiding the subjectivity inherent to classical reviews. The outputs provided statistical confirmation of the better suitability of crustacean zoeae with respect to Artemia. However, not all crustacean species showed the same results, given that the high variability on Grapsus zoeae hampered finding significant differences with respect to the control treatment (Artemia). Nutrient composition and biometry of the different types of prey are discussed as possible causes of the differences arising from the meta‐analysis. Finally, the present results suggest that marine lecithin has a beneficial effect on paralarval growth with respect to previously used enrichments, which could be related to the increase in DHA and PL in Artemia, given the essential role of these lipid components in octopus paralarval physiology.

Diet Composition and Variability of Wild Octopus vulgaris and Alloteuthis media (Cephalopoda) Paralarvae: a Metagenomic Approach

“…It has been suggested that the high mortality of paralarvae in captivity is due to a lack of knowledge regarding the physiology and nutrition of paralarvae (Domingues et al, 2003; Villanueva et al, 2009; Garrido et al, 2016a) or the lack of a suitable diet meeting all micronutrient requirements (Iglesias et al, 2007). Several experiments have shown that feeding new born paralarvae with different diet can influence its survival (Villanueva, 1994; Iglesias et al, 2004; Farías et al, 2015).…”

Feeding Relationship between Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier, 1797) Early Life-Cycle Stages and Their Prey in the Western Iberian Upwelling System: Correlation of Reciprocal Lipid and Fatty Acid Contents

“…In recent years, major efforts have been conducted to understand the nutritional needs for paralarvae in captivity (Garrido et al, 2016b) and their fatty acid profile in the wild (Estefanell et al, 2013; Garrido et al, 2016a), however the nutritional link between them and their prey in natural conditions is still largely unknown.…”

Effects of co-supply ratios of swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus zoeae and Artemia on survival and growth of East Asian common octopus Octopus sinensis paralarvae under an upwelling culture system

“…trituberculatus zoea is an attractive prey for common octopus paralarvae, which is in accordance with the fact that they feed on decapod crustacean larvae in the natural habitat (Olmos‐Pérez, Roura, Pierce, Boyer, & González, ; Roura, González, Redd, & Guerra, ). Although there have been a number of reports documenting the effectiveness of supplying crab zoeae as feed for paralarvae (Garrido et al, ; Iglesias et al, ; Roo et al, ; Villanueva, ), P . trituberculatus appeared to have great potential as paralarval prey in the mass production of juvenile octopus because of their high fecundity (attaining over a million zoeae per female) and the availability of ovigerous females from fishery landings (Hamasaki et al, ).…”

“…vulgaris ’ (Iglesias et al, ; Okumura, Kurihara, Iwamoto, & Takeuchi, ); they share a characteristic meroplankton stage (a paralarva) early in their life cycle (Villanueva, Nozais, & Boletzky, ). They have great potential for aquaculture because of their rapid growth and high commercial value (Garrido et al, ; Iglesias et al, ; Vaz‐Pires, Seixas, & Barbosa, ). However, despite efforts spanning 50 years, reliable culture technology for paralarvae has not yet been established due to the severe mortality, poor growth and impairments of paralarvae that might be attributed mainly to inappropriate prey type and nutritional deficiency (Garrido et al, ; Iglesias et al, ; Itami, Izawa, Maeda, & Nakai, ; Vaz‐Pires et al, ).…”

“…It could be expected that a large number of decapod crustacean larvae (over 10 million individuals) would be required to produce 10,000 benthic juvenile octopuses, based on the results of Dan, Iwasaki et al (). Decapod crustacean larvae have long been known to outperform Artemia as a better live prey for common octopus paralarvae culture (Garrido et al, ; Iglesias et al, ; Itami et al, ; Villanueva, ). In fact, Iglesias et al () suggested that a commercially available large‐size decapod brachyuran, the spider crab Maja brachydactyla , might have potential as a feed source for the paralarvae of the Mediterranean common octopus O .…”