ARS | Publication request: USE OF IMAGING ANALYSIS FOR MODELING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF LARVAL SOUTHERN FLOUNDER PARALICHTHYS LETHOSTIGMA

Submitted to: Book of Abstracts World Aquaculture Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 1, 2003
Publication Date: February 18, 2003
Citation: BACHMANN, R., RICHE, M.A. USE OF IMAGING ANALYSIS FOR MODELING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF LARVAL SOUTHERN FLOUNDER PARALICHTHYS LETHOSTIGMA. BOOK OF ABSTRACTS WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY. 2003. p.14.

Technical Abstract: Southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) is an important recreational and commercial species along the southern U.S. Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico. Declining wild populations and increasing national and international demand have stimulated interest in the development of commercial southern flounder production. As with many marine species larval development through metamorphosis and weaning are the most critical stages of production. Although larval growth and development have been described for other flatfish species such as Japanese flounder and turbot, little is known about such development of southern flounder. In order to develop appropriate management strategies for a new species it is imperative to understand its growth and development. Therefore the purpose of this study was to employ imaging analysis to describe and model growth and development of larval southern flounder through metamorphosis. At the beginning of the 2001-2002 spawning season wild southern flounder females (n=4) were collected from Sebastian Inlet, Florida and held under spawning conditions (170C; 34 ppt salinity; and natural photoperiod) in a 20 MT recirculating tank with hatchery spawned southern flounder males (n=8). Females were implanted with LHRH-a (50 :g/kg BW) slow release pellets and males injected with HCG (1,000 IU/kg BW). Fish were allowed to spawn volitionally and eggs collected twice daily. Collected eggs were transferred to incubation/larval tanks and maintained at 200C through metamorphosis. Larval fish from two separate spawnings were collected daily from hatch (1 DPH) through metamorphosis (40-43 DPH). The collected larvae were preserved in a 10% buffered formalin solution until analysis. Individual fish were digitally recorded and growth, mouth gape, and other developmental parameters analyzed using an Image Pro+ digital analysis system. The descriptive models presented can be used for establishing appropriate management techniques for larval rearing of southern flounder.