Effect of temperature on biochemical composition, growth and reproduction of the ornamental red cherry shrimp Neocaridina heteropoda heteropoda (Decapoda, Caridea)

CAROLINA TROPEA; LIANE STUMPF; LAURA S. LÓPEZ GRECO

PLOS ONE

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2015

1932-6203

The effect of water temperature on biochemical composition, growth and reproduction of the ornamental shrimp, Neocaridina heteropoda heteropoda, was investigated to determine the optimum temperature for its culture. The effect of embryo incubation temperature on the subsequent performance of juveniles was also evaluated. Ovigerous females and recently hatched juveniles (JI) were maintained during egg incubation and for a 90-day period, respectively, at three temperatures (24, 28 and 32ºC). Incubation period increased with decreasing water temperature, but the number and size of JI were similar among treatments. At day 30 of the 90-day period, body weight and growth increment (GI) at 24ºC were lower than those at 28 and 32ºC. On subsequent days, GI at 24°C exceeded that at 28 and 32°C, leading to a similar body weight among treatments. These results suggest growth was delayed at 24ºC, but only for 30 days after hatching. The lipid concentration tended to be lowest, intermediate and highest at 28, 32 and 24ºC, respectively, possibly as a consequence of the metabolic processes involved in growth and ovarian maturation. Protein and glycogen concentrations were similar among treatments. Both the growth trajectory and biochemical composition of shrimps were affected by the temperature experienced during the 90-day growth period independently of the embryo incubation temperature. During the growth period, shrimps reached sexual maturity and mated, with the highest proportion of ovigerous females occurring at 28ºC. All the females that matured and mated at 32ºC lost their eggs, indicating a potentially stressful effect of high temperature on ovarian maturation. Based on high survival and good growth performance of shrimps at the three temperatures tested over the 90-day period it is concluded that N. heteropoda heteropoda is tolerant to a wide range of water temperatures, with 28ºC being the optimum temperature for its culture.