Morphological and biochemical effects of food deprivation during the early development of Pacific red snapper Lutjanus peru

Abstract

We report the effects of food deprivation on the early development of Pacific red snapper Lutjanus peru during the first days of development. The point of no return (PNR) was determined using the feeding incidence after a delay in first feeding. The gradual deterioration of the larvae during food deprivation was recorded using morphometric, histological, enzymatic and biochemical analysis. The time to reach the PNR was 120 h after hatching. Morphologically, the total length, muscle height, head length, tail length and pectoral angle showed the biggest reductions and their growth coefficients changed significantly during food deprivation. Histologically, enterocyte height also was reduced significantly. The protein concentration and activities of the digestive enzymes trypsin, cathepsin-like and lipase showed a significant decrease; meanwhile, amylase activity remained constant during food deprivation. The concentration of total essential free amino acids (EFAAs) decreased significantly while that of the nonessential free amino acids (NEFAAs) remain stable during food deprivation.The most abundant EFAAs were lysine, leucine, isoleucine and valine; the most abundant NEFAAs were alanine, glycine and glutamate, suggesting a more prominent role as energy substrates. At the time of the PNR the concentration of almost all the free amino acids showed a significant decrease. Early food deprivation has a significant impact on the morphology and biochemical characteristics of L. peru. These results suggest that initial feeding of L. peru should begin within 3 days of yolk sac depletion to avoid the PNR. Further studies are necessary to confirm and validate the characters identified in this study as biomarkers of starvation under culture conditions and evaluate their possible utility in ichthyoplankton surveys.

Effects of Prey Size, Microalgal Density, and Light Intensity on Survival of Pacific Red Snapper Larvae

“…The point of no return has been reported at 5 DPH for Pacific Red Snapper, and total mortality for starved larvae occurs at 6 DPH (Peña et al. 2021).…”

Transition from endogenous to exogenous feeding in longfin yellowtail Seriola rivoliana larvae under simultaneous effects of daily temperature fluctuation and enrichment of the rotifer Brachionus rotundiformis

“…5a) which is a common sign of starvation in sh larvae. In Lutjanus peru larvae, changes in body form due to starvation were a consequence of body mass loss resulting from the summed changes in organs and tissues (Peña et al 2021). However, in that species, organs such as head height do not undergo signi cant changes in body size, suggesting that this segment is preferentially spared from catabolic processes or catabolized more slowly than other tissues.…”

FishSizer: Software solution for efficiently measuring larval fish size

“…Therefore, body length is an essential measurement in studies of larval fish ecology (Bils et al, 2017), development (Fuiman et al, 1998), physiology (Illing et al, 2016; Petereit et al, 2008), evolution (Oomen & Hutchings, 2015, 2016; Oomen et al, 2021), reproductive biology (Roney et al, 2018), and aquaculture (Blanco et al, 2017). Besides length, body depth is also valuable, as it can be used as a proxy for muscle development (i.e., myomere height) and potential starvation resistance (Moyano et al, 2016; Peña et al, 2021).…”