Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Water temperature and salinity synergistically affect embryonic and larval development of the tropical black-lip rock oyster Saccostrea echinata

  • Published:
Aquaculture International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Poor larval survival is a bottleneck to commercial hatchery production of the tropical black-lip rock oyster, Saccostrea echinata. This study investigated the synergistic effects of water temperature and salinity on embryonic and larval development across each major larval life stage. Results showed that water temperature and salinity have a significant effect on embryonic development of S. echinata and that embryos did not develop below 17 °C and 14 psu. Survival was high (55–100%) across all treatments and larval stages, and shell size was used primarily to determine larval response to treatments. Larval shell size increased as water temperature and salinity increased, reaching optima at 32 °C and 23 psu for D-veligers (mean DVM 78.18± 0.85 μm), at 32 °C and 26 psu for umbonate larvae (mean DVM 183.40± 2.60 μm), and at 32 °C and 29 psu for eyed larvae (mean DVM 249.64± 3.22 μm). It is recommended that S. echinata embryos and larvae are cultured within 28–32 °C and at salinity optima for each larval stage: embryo development at 32 psu, D-veligers and umbonate larvae between 23 and 26 psu, and eyed larvae between 28 and 30 psu. This is the first investigation of the combined effects of water temperature and salinity on S. echinata and provides valuable information to accelerate commercial aquaculture of this tropical species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Angell CL (1986) The biology and culture of tropical oysters. International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management, Manila

    Google Scholar 

  • Bendif EM, Probert I, Schroeder DC, Vargas C (2013) On the description of Tisochrysis lutea gen. nov. sp. nov. and Isochrysis nuda sp. nov. in the Isochrysidales, and the transfer of Dicrateria to the Prymnesiales (Haptophyta). J Appl Phycol 25:1763–1776

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Camacho EG, Dominguez GR, Armenta OOZ, Haws M, Supan J, Bajo LJA, Llamas GH, Valenzuela JEV, Juárez RNP (2011) Developing hatchery methods for the mangrove oyster, Crassostrea corteziensis for the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Final reports: investigations 2009–2011. Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Mexico, p 288

  • Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2015) PRIMER v7: user manual/tutorial. PRIMER-E, Plymouth

    Google Scholar 

  • Coeroli M, De Gaillande D, Landret JP (1984) Recent innovations in cultivation of molluscs in French Polynesia. Aquaculture 39:45–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis HC, Calabrese A (1964) Combined effects of temperature and salinity on development of eggs and growth of larvae of M. mercenaria and C. virginica. US Fish Wild Serv Fish Bull 63:393–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Doroudi MS, Southgate PC, Mayer RJ (1999) The combined effects of temperature and salinity on embryos and larvae of the black-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera (L.). Aquac Res 30:271–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dos Santos AE, Nascimento IA (1985) Influence of gamete density, salinity and temperature on the normal embryonic development of the mangrove oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae. Aquaculture 47:335–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dove MC, O'Connor WA (2007) Salinity and temperature tolerance of Sydney rock oysters Saccostrea glomerata during early ontogeny. J Shellfish Res 26:939–947

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming AE (2015) Improving business investment confidence in culture-aligned indigenous economies in remote Australian communities: a business support framework to better inform government programs. IIPJ 6(3):1–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glude JB (1984) The applicability of recent innovations to mollusc culture in the western Pacific islands. Aquaculture 39:29–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gosling E (2003) Bivalve molluscs biology, ecology and culture. Fishing News Books, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Helm MM, Bourne N, Lovatelli A (2004) Hatchery culture of bivalves. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 471. FAO, Rome, p 203

    Google Scholar 

  • His E, Robert R, Dinet A (1989) Combined effects of temperature and salinity on fed and starved larvae of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the Japanese oyster Crassostrea gigas. J Mar Biol 100:455–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopley D, Smithers S, Parnell K (2007) The geomorphology of the great barrier reef. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Huo Z, Wang Z, Liang J, Zhang Y, Shen J, Yao T, Su J, Yu R (2014) Effects of salinity on embryonic development, survival, and growth of Crassostrea hongkongensis. J Ocean Univ China 13:666–670

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kinne O (1964) The effects of temperature and salinity on marine and brackish water animals: II. Salinity and temperature-salinity combinations. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 2:281–339

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemmermann E (1898) Der grosse Waterneverstorfer Binnensee. Eine biologische Studie. Forschungsber Biol Stat Plön 6:166–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemos MBN, Nascimento IA, Araujo MMS, Pereira SA, Bahia I, Smith DH (1994) The combined effect of salinity, temperature, antibiotic and aeration on larval growth and survival of the mangrove oyster, Crassostrea rhizophorae. J Shellfish Res 13:187–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay SR (1994) The reproductive seasonality of two tropical rock oysters, Cassostrea echinata (Quoy and Gaimard) and C. sedea (Iredale), from North Queensland, Australia. Honours Dissertation, James Cook University

  • Lough RG (1975) A revaluation of the combined effects of temperature and salinity on survival and growth of bivalve larvae using response surface techniques. Fish Bull 73:86–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas JS (2008) Feeding and metabolism. In: Southgate PC, Lucas JS (eds) The pearl oyster. Elsevier, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas JS (2012) Bivalve molluscs. In: Lucas JS, Southgate PC (eds) Aquaculture: farming aquatic animals and plants second edition. Blackwell Publishing, Sussex

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nair MR, Appukuttan KK (2003) Effect of temperature on the development, growth, survival and settlement of green mussel Perna viridis (Linnaeus, 1758). Aquac Res 34:1037–1045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nowland SJ, O’Connor WA, Southgate PC (2018) Embyonic, larval, and early postlarval development of the tropical black-lip rock oyster Saccostrea echinata. J Shellfish Res 37:73–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor S, Moltschaniwskyj N, Bolch CJS, O’Connor WA (2015) Assessment of temperature or salinity effects on larval development by catecholamine-induced metamorphosis of hatchery-reared flat oyster, Ostrea angasi (Sowerby 1871) larvae. Aquac Res 46:2501–2511

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O'Connor WA, Lawler NF (2004) Salinity and temperature tolerance of embryos and juveniles of the pearl oyster, Pinctada imbricata Röding. Aquaculture 229:493–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O'Connor WA, Dove M, Finn B, O'Connor S (2008) Manual for hatchery production of Sydney rock oysters (Saccostrea glomerata). NSW Department of Primary Industries, Port Stephens

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker LM, Ross PM, O'Connor WA (2009) The effect of ocean acidification and temperature on the fertilization and embryonic development of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata (Gould 1850). Glob Chang Biol 15:2123–2136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peck LS, Morley SA, Richard J, Clark MS (2014) Acclimation and thermal tolerance in Antarctic marine ectotherms. J Exp Biol 217:16–22

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2017) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. The R Foundation, Vienna

  • Rao KV (1950) Observations on the probable effects of salinity on the spawning, development and setting of the Indian backwater oyster, Ostrea madrasensis Preston. In: Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Science, p 231–254

  • Rybovich M, La Peyre MK, Hall SG, La Peyre JF (2016) Increased temperatures combined with lowered salinities differentially impact oyster size class growth and mortality. J Shellfish Res 35:101–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Southgate PC, Lee PS (1998) Hatchery rearing of the tropical blacklip oyster Saccostrea echinata (Quoy and Gaimard). Aquaculture 169:275–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takano H (1968) On the diatom Chaetoceros calcitrans (Paulsen) emend. and its dwarf form pumilus forma nov. Bull Tokai Reg Fish Res Lab 55:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan S, Wong T (1996) Effect of salinity on hatching, larval growth, survival and settling in the tropical oyster Crassostrea belcheri (Sowerby). Aquaculture 145:129–139

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tubiash HS, Chanley PE, Leifson E (1965) Bacillary necrosis, a disease of larval and juvenile bivalve mollusks. J Bacteriol 90:1036–1044

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Utting SD, Spencer BE (1991) Laboratory leaflet 68: the hatchery culture of bivalve mollusc larvae and juveniles. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Directorate of Fisheries Research, Lowestoft

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang T, Li Q (2018) Effects of salinity and temperature on growth and survival of juvenile Iwagaki oyster Crassostrea nippona. J Ocean Univ China 17:1–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams D, Wolanski E, Spagnol S (2006) Hydrodynamics of Darwin harbour. In: Wolanski E (ed) The environment in Asia Pacific harbours. Springer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu F, Guo X, Li L, Zhang G (2011) Effects of salinity on larvae of the oysters Crassostrea ariakensis, C. sikameaand the hybrid cross. Mar Biol Res 7:796–803

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted within the Northern Territory Governments “Tropical Rock Oyster Aboriginal Economic Development Program”. We thank the Warruwi community of Goulburn Island for supporting this project with the supply of broodstock. We also recognise the significant support provided by the Darwin Aquaculture Centre staff, in particular we thank Cameron Hartley, Paul Armstrong, Shannon Burchert, and Ella-Monique Mason for their contribution during hatchery culture.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aquaculture Unit, Department of Primary Industry and Resources, Northern Territory Government, GPO Box 3000, Darwin, NT, 0801, Australia

    Samantha J. Nowland, Shane S. Penny & Matthew W. J. Osborne

  2. School of Science and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, QLD, 4556, Australia

    Samantha J. Nowland

  3. NSW Fisheries, Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, Taylors Beach, NSW, 2316, Australia

    Wayne A. O’Connor

  4. Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research and Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD, 4556, Australia

    Paul C. Southgate

Authors
  1. Samantha J. Nowland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wayne A. O’Connor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shane S. Penny
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Matthew W. J. Osborne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Paul C. Southgate
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samantha J. Nowland.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed by the authors.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nowland, S.J., O’Connor, W.A., Penny, S.S. et al. Water temperature and salinity synergistically affect embryonic and larval development of the tropical black-lip rock oyster Saccostrea echinata. Aquacult Int 27, 1239–1250 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-019-00381-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-019-00381-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation