The effect of nutritional condition by two nucleic acid derived indices on the growth to post-flexion of Atlantic bluefin tuna and Atlantic bonito larvae
Authors
Blanco, E. (Edurne); Reglero, P. (Patricia); Hernández-de-Rojas, A. (Alma); Ortega-García, A. (Aurelio); de-la-Gándara, F. (Fernando); Folkvord, A.Date
2019Type
articleKeywords
atún rojobluefin tuna
Thunnus thynnus
bonito
Sarda sarda
RNA:DNA ratio
DNA:DW ratio
larval rearing
larval development
flexion
growth
Abstract
Notochord flexion increases the swimming capacity of fish larvae, aids in the capture of mobile prey, and coincides with the timing of when the physiological capacities of larvae begin to develop significantly, allowing an early shift to piscivory. Therefore, reaching the flexion stage as soon as possible can be considered beneficial for the growth and survival of the larvae. Individual growth differences of larvae from the same cohort are very common before reaching flexion and the potential explanation is still unknown. In this study, we examined if the nutritional status of the larvae, measured by the RNA:DNA and DNA:DW ratios, explains the differences in the development of notochord flexion in laboratory-reared Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT; Thunnus thynnus) and Atlantic bonito (AB; Sarda sarda) larvae. Moreover, we described the ontogeny of the different stages and condition indices. The daily average condition of ABFT estimated by the RNA:DNA and DNA:DW ratios increased with larval ...
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