Production Performance of Moina macrocopa (Straus 1820) (Crustacea, Cladocera) Cultured in Different Salinities: The Effect on Growth, Survival, Reproduction, and Fatty Acid Composition of the Neonates

Abstract

Salinity is a known factor in shaping population dynamics and community structure through direct and indirect effects on aquatic ecosystems. Salinity changes further influence food webs through competition and predation. The responses of Moina macrocopa (Cladocera) collected from Setiu Wetland lagoon (Terengganu) was evaluated through manipulative laboratory experiments to understand the ability of M. macrocopa to tolerate high salinity stress. Specifically, the fatty acid composition, growth, survival, and reproduction of this cladocerans species was examined. Sodium chloride (NaCl) as used in the treatments water with the concentration 0, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 15 salinity. Fatty acid levels were determined using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS). The results indicated that optimal conditions produced the highest fatty acid content, especially the polyunsaturated fatty acid content, such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), ALA (alpha-linoleic acid), ARA (arachidonic acid), and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Furthermore, M. macrocopa survival was best at salinity 0, with a percentage of 98%, whereas the opposite occurred at salinity 15, with approximately 20% of viable animals surviving. Besides, M. macrocopa also showed the highest reproduction rate at salinity 0 (e.g., average initial age of reproduction, 4.33 ± 0.58 days) compared with other salinities level. Interestingly, the difference in growth at different salinities was not evident, an unusual finding when considering adverse effects such as osmoregulation pressure on the organism. Based on the results, we conclude that M. macrocopa can only tolerate salinity below salinity 8 and cannot withstand stressful environmental conditions associated with salinities above 8.

Productivity and quality of Moina sp. cultivated with various culture medium

“…growth and ChBO: Chlorella + organic ingredient (fish meal, soy meal, rice bran meal); BF: biofloc; BFBO: biofloc + organic ingredient (fish meal, soy meal, rice bran meal). **VSS: volatile suspended solid, TSS: total suspended solid development are mostly affected by the amount, type, size, and the nutritional compound of the feed, especially amino acids and fatty acids (Nwachi, 2013;Neri et al, 2020;Yuslan et al, 2021).…”

Enhancement of protein, lipid and fatty acids in copepod, Oithona rigida for the improvement of growth, development and survival of early‐stage mud crab larvae ( Scylla olivacea )

“…Weekly alga preparation using the best alga growth phase seemed very suitable for copepod growth. The enrichment concentration of the alga diets used was 500 ppm = 500 mg/L, equivalent to 2 × 107 algal cells/mL (Espinosa‐Rodríguez et al, 2012; Rasdi & Qin, 2015; Yuslan, Najuwa, et al, 2021).…”

Growth Interaction of Moina sp. and Chlorella sp. for Sustainable Aquaculture

“…(Fakhri et al, 2017;Goto et al, 2018). However, all mediums had a salinity value below the limit of 0.5 ppt for proper Cladocera growth, although the optimal growth was suggested at 0 salinity (Yuslan et al, 2021) and limit at 2 ppt (Rasdi & Qin, 2018). Therefore, it was concluded that 0.015 ppt salinity value has no significant effect on Moina sp.…”