Photoperiod in aquaculture of the sea urchin Arbacia dufresnii (Echinodermata: Echinoidea): Effects on gamete production and maturity

SEPÚLVEDA, LUCAS ROBERTO; FERNANDEZ, JIMENA PIA; VERA PIOMBO, MERCEDES; CHAAR, FLORENCIA BELÉN; RUBILAR, TAMARA

REVISTA DE BIOLOGíA TROPICAL

REVISTA DE BIOLOGIA TROPICAL

Lugar: Turrialba; Año: 2021

0034-7744

Introduction: Photoperiod is, together with temperature and food availability,one of the main stimuli in the regulation of gametogenesis in a wide variety of species.Objective: To evaluate the effect of photoperiod on the production of mature gametes incultured Arbacia dufresnii. Methods: An experiment was carried out with three varyinglight-dark regimes/treatments: constant light (24 h light), neutral photoperiod (12 h light, 12 hdarkness), and constant darkness (24 h darkness). Twenty females were used in eachtreatment. All were induced to spawn and, ten randomly selected females from eachtreatment were induced to spawn again after 30 days. After 60 days, spawning was induced inthe remaining females. The gametes were collected in filtered seawater, fixed in Davidsonsolution, quantified and measured per individual in triplicate in a Sedgewick-Rafter chamber.To determine maturation, fertilization success was evaluated 30 minutes after fertilization.Results: Our results showed that in the aquaculture system, after only two months, maturegametes were obtained, and in the neutral light regime there were 10 times more gametesthan the number produced in wild sea urchins during the spawning period in question. Wealso found that with a greater exposure to light, a lower number of mature gametes wasproduced. Conclusions: This study suggests the viability of the production of maturegametes in a short period of time as regards Arbacia dufresnii.