Larviculture of the painted river prawn Macrobrachium carcinus in different culture systems
Introduction
The genus Macrobrachium Bate (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) is found on all continents except for Europe and is consisted of the freshwater prawn species most suitable for aquaculture (Holthuis, 1980). The M. rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) and M. nipponense (De Haan, 1849) are the most commercialized freshwater prawn aquaculture species around the world, of which the latter species is only produced in China (Valenti and Flickinger, 2020). The M. rosenbergii naturally occurs in southeast Asia, but the production of this species is carried out around the world due to its adaptation to artificial rearing systems, its large size, and its tolerance to integration in polyculture systems (New and Valenti, 2017; Valenti and Flickinger, 2020). However, growing interests in sustainable production emphasize the need to develop native species for aquaculture (Valenti et al., 2018; Dantas et al., 2020). Other prawn species, such as the M. carcinus (Linnaeus, 1758), M. acanthurus (Wiegmann, 1836), M. tenellum (Smith, 1871), M. vollenhovenhii (Herklots, 1857), M. americanum (Bate, 1868), and M. gangeticum (Bate, 1868) are exploited by artisanal fisheries and have potential as an alternative to the M. rosenbergii because of their large size (Valenti and Flickinger, 2020). The production of these species in artificial rearing systems has shown little development because of difficulties related to their management during the larval phase. Similar to other palaemonids, the larviculture of freshwater prawns is the bottleneck to producing prawn post-larvae because it depends on strict control of the water quality, adequate feeding and highly specialized management (García-Guerrero et al., 2015).
The larviculture of Macrobrachium prawns in artificial rearing conditions is often performed in open or closed systems with clear water (David et al., 2016, 2018). Open systems that use clear water are carried out as continuous flow-through systems, in which the water is renewed daily (50–70% of the tank volume) and replaced by fresh and clean water to maintain environmental conditions adequate for larval rearing (Ling and Merican, 1961; Valenti, 1996; Correia and Castro, 1998). The water exchange can be minimized by carrying out the culture as a greenwater system, which consists of the inoculation of Chlorophyceae algae in the culture tanks, mainly with Chlorella spp. The algae absorb the nitrogen compounds and provide feed for the Artemia nauplii, which eventually results in better larval development (Fujimura, 1966; Cordeiro and Silva, 1981; Cavalcanti et al., 1986). In the greenwater system, phytoplankton is cultivated separately in tanks at a density of 105 to 106 cells/mL with the use of chemical fertilizers and algae collected from the natural environment or from monospecific cultures (Fujimura, 1966; Manzi et al., 1977; Lee, 1982; Cavalcanti et al., 1986; Silva, 1995). In general, clearwater systems can show a productivity of 50 post-larvae/L (PL/L) of M. rosenbergii with an original density of 75–100 larvae/L while 40–60 PL/L have been shown for greenwater systems with similar stocking densities of the larvae (Correia et al., 2000). Yamasaki-Granados et al. (2013) obtained few post-larvae of the M. americanum in a greenwater system using a stocking density of up to 50 larvae/L.
Closed recirculation systems use more modern techniques by reusing part or all of the culture water through mechanical and biological filtration and chemical treatment (Sandifer and Smith, 1978; Aquacop, 1983; Daniels et al., 1992; Carvalho-Filho and Mathias, 1998; Valenti et al., 1998), which allow for high biomasses to be maintained in a limited volume (Lobão, 1997; Lobão et al., 1998). In systems that use mechanical and biological filters, the water circulating in the larval rearing tank crosses a substrate colonized by aerobic and anaerobic bacteria that remove solid residues and undesirable metabolites (Hirayama, 1972, 1974; Valenti et al., 2010). These systems are generally managed as static closed systems (Carvalho-Filho and Mathias, 1998) or dynamic closed systems (Valenti et al., 1998; Valenti and Daniels, 2000; David et al., 2016) for freshwater prawn larviculture and are based on the nitrification of ammonia. Nitrifying bacteria of the genus Nitrosomonas and Nitrosococcus in the biological filter oxidize ammonia (NH4+-N) to nitrite (NO2−-N). Then, bacteria of the genus Nitrobacter, Nitrospira and Nitrococcus, further oxidize nitrite to nitrate (NO3−-N) (Spotte, 1979; Kaiser and Wheaton, 1983; Brock et al., 1994; Lobão et al., 1998). In static closed systems, the water is removed from the culture tank and the nitrification and filtration is carried out in a separate system, and then treated with chlorine and sodium thiosulfate before being returned to the culture tanks (Valenti et al., 2010). Dynamic closed systems are coupled to a biological and mechanical filter and water is only added to compensate for evaporation (David et al., 2016). M. amazonicum (Heller, 1862) and M. rosenbergii larvicultures with densities of up to 100 larvae/L have shown high productivities of 75–80 and 50 PL/L, respectively in dynamic closed systems (Maciel et al., 2012; Maciel and Valenti, 2014; David et al., 2016).
The culture of marine shrimp in biofloc systems (Biofloc Technology – BFT) is expanding in research and industry, of which these systems integrate a heterotrophic medium to recycle nitrogenous compounds and make use of the microbial protein to supplement shrimp nutrition (Avnimelech, 1999, 2009; Schryver et al., 2008; Furtado et al., 2011; Krummenauer et al., 2011, 2012). These systems are predominated by heterotrophic and nitrifying bacteria that colonize particles of organic waste and absorb nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients from the water (Ebeling et al., 2006; Avnimelech, 2009), which are supplemented with feed for carbohydrates to maintain the C:N ratio (Avnimelech, 1999, 2006; Ebeling et al., 2006; Schneider et al., 2006; Michaud et al., 2006; Samocha et al., 2007; Asaduzzaman et al., 2008; Azim et al., 2008; Crab et al., 2009, 2012). BFT systems minimize environmental impacts by reducing the use of water and the emission of effluents. Furthermore, the BFT systems increase biosecurity and production by complementing the diet of the cultured animals from the natural productivity (McIntosh et al., 2000; Burford et al., 2003, 2004; Erler et al., 2005; Wasielesky et al., 2006; Crab et al., 2009; Kuhn et al., 2009; Ballester et al., 2010). Little is known about the efficacy and applicability of the BFT system in the larviculture of freshwater prawns due to being a recent development. Nevertheless, the BFT holds potential as an alternative to produce post-larvae without water renewal.
The M. carcinus (Painted river prawn – FAO) demonstrates characteristics advantageous for aquaculture such as rusticity, tolerance to variations in environment and management, adaptation to confinement, and omnivorous feeding habits of the adults (Mago-Leccia, 1995; Pinheiro et al., 2004). This species has potential as a sustainable alternative to the production of M. rosenbergii in the western hemisphere given the extent of its natural range, which is in estuarine environments and inland waters from the southern United States (Florida and Texas) and Central America to the Antilles, Columbia, Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil (from Amapá to Rio Grande do Sul) (Holthuis, 1952, 1980; Lewis, 1961; Lewis and Ward, 1965; Choudhury, 1971a; Graziani et al., 1993; Bond-Buckup and Buckup, 1989; Bowles et al., 2000; Melo, 2003). In addition, the M. carcinus has market recognition, as it has been a constant target of commercial exploitation through artisanal fishing in several countries (Ling and Costello, 1979; Holthuis, 1980; Silva et al., 1981; Rabanal, 1982; Chauvin, 1992; Graziani et al., 1993; Bowles et al., 2000; Montenegro et al., 2001). However, populations of this species have been reduced significantly due to pollution and destruction of natural ecosystems and overfishing (Valenti, 1993; Herman et al., 1999; Bowles et al., 2000). The M. carcinus has been listed as vulnerable or endangered in the United States and Brazil, but no protective policies are enforced (Kutty and Valenti, 2010).
The cultivation of the M. carcinus in artificial rearing conditions still lacks effective management strategies for commercial production (Coelho et al., 1978, 1981; Correia and Cordeiro, 1981; Cavalcanti, 1998; Coelho-Filho et al., 2018). Thus, considering the vulnerability of the M. carcinus throughout the western hemisphere, the development of culture technologies that enable the production of post-larvae in the laboratory may contribute to the conservation of this species. Improved management techniques can increase the availability of juveniles for commercial aquaculture, support research during the grow-out phase and repopulate natural environments. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate survival, larval development and the production of post-larvae as related to the use of different larviculture systems for the M. carcinus.
Section snippets
Collecting and maintaining larvae
Ovigerous females of the M. carcinus were captured (License nº 35782−2 MMA/ICMBio/SISBIO) in the Una river near the municipality of Barreiros, Pernambuco (08°47′14,8′′S and 035°12′35,4′′W) with the use of "covos" baited with coconut pieces. The animals collected were placed in plastic bags with pressurized oxygen and transported to freshwater prawn larviculture facilities for subsequent study at the Aquaculture Station of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife – PE.
In the
Water quality
The mean values of the water quality parameters for the Greenwater (GW), Clearwater (CW), Biofloc (BFT) and Biofilter (RAS) systems are shown in Table 2. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and salinity remained within the standards required by M. carcinus larvae and did not differ significantly (P ≥ 0.05) among the culture systems.
The mean temperature of the water during the experimental period was 30.3 °C, with minimum and maximum temperatures of 28.6 and 32 °C, respectively (Table 2). The
Conclusions
The dynamic closed recirculating aquaculture system with a Bio-filter (RAS) in the present study was shown as the most adequate strategy for the larviculture of the M. carcinus (ZVI – PL), demonstrating better results for survival and water quality. On the other hand, the delay in metamorphosis observed in this system (LSI = 11.09) can be attributed to the highest density at the end of the culture (12.3 larvae/L). Alternatively, considering the possibility of adopting a multiphase system of
CRediT authorship contribution statement
João Paulo V. Lima: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Fabiana P. Melo: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Formal analysis, Methodology. Maria Gabriela P. Ferreira: Formal analysis, Data curation. Dallas L. Flickinger: Formal analysis, Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors report no declarations of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to the Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation of Biodiversity – ICMBio, for the granting of authorization for the capture and transportation of the prawns (License no. 35782-2 MMA/ICMBio/SISBIO). This research was funded with financial resources from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq (Proc. CNPq Universal No. 480717/2010-9) and the Foundation of Support towards Science and Technology of the State of Pernambuco – FACEPE
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