Determinación del punto de no retorno en juveniles de la langosta de pinzas rojas Cherax quadricarinatus.

N. S. CALVO, L. STUMPF Y L. S. LÓPEZ GRECO

MADRID, ESPANA

Congreso; XII CONGRESO NACIONAL DE ACUICULTURA; 2009

SOCIEDAD ESPANOLA DE ACUICULTURA

Abstract Cherax quadricarinatus is a crayfish of great interest in freshwater aquaculture. This study was the first to estimate the point of no return (PNR) in early juveniles of C. quadricarinatus and the first in a species of direct development. Stage III juveniles were assigned to 19 protocols with different periods of starvation and 2 controls: continuous starvation and continuous feeding. The experiment finished when all juveniles molted or died. The relationship between percentage of molts per treatment and the starvation period was estimated by sigmoid regression. PNR50 was 5.48 ± 0.28 days. According to this, only 50% of the juveniles could molt if they were fed during the half of stage duration. This value was similar to the obtained by Anger y Dawirs (1981) for marine crab larvae. The study provides information for the evaluation of broodstock quality and to improve growth and survival increasing the profitability of the culture.