Spawning of the Temperate Sea Cucumber,Australostichopus mollis (Levin)

The spawning of sea cucumbers is related to the interaction of environmental cues and reproductive maturity. Groups of Australostichopus mollis were collected every 2 wk during the summer reproductive season from mid‐October to early February. They were observed for spawning in the hatchery during heat‐shock trials conducted 3–5 C above ambient seawater temperature. Lunar periodicity existed with spawning being most prominent in the week following a full moon. In the week prior to a spawning event, there was also a decrease in ambient incoming seawater temperature. More than 75% individuals spawned during most trials in which spawning occurred. In total, 40% of the 270 individuals spawned during the reproductive season. Reliable spawners were females with a yellow gonad color and large numbers of vitellogenic oocytes, and males with large numbers of spermatocytes and an absence of motile spermatozoa. Furthermore, the percentage germinal vesicle breakdown of oocytes exposed to starfish radial nerve extract compared to seawater was greater for the more orange‐colored gonad of nonspawners. Gonad color is useful in determining the likelihood of spawning over a 2‐wk period in the presence of a cue. Sea cucumbers held for short periods in the hatchery during the reproductive season maintain a natural rhythm of spawning that can be monitored using visual indices and augmented using heat shock.     

Growth of Hatchery‐reared Juveniles of the Australasian Sea Cucumber,Australostichopus mollis,Fed with Artificial and Natural Diets

Australostichopus mollis is the most common and valuable sea cucumber species on the coasts of New Zealand and southern Australia. However, information supporting the development of artificial diets to advance the aquaculture of this species is scarce. In this study, the nutrient absorption, growth, pigmentation, and survival of small (111 mg) and large (434 mg) early juveniles were measured. The juveniles were fed with mussel biodeposits (MB); a commercial hatchery diet‐powdered macroalgae (HD); and artificial diets with different protein levels, 5% (5P) and 10% (10P), respectively. During the experiment, survival was greater than 66% in all diet treatments, with the juveniles feeding actively and absorbing all major macronutrients. The small juveniles, which were starting pigmentation, had higher growth rates (0.8–2.5%/d) than the large juveniles (0.2–1.2%/d), which were completing pigmentation. Growth was higher with the MB and HD diets than with the 5P and 10P diets, which could be explained by differences in the food consumption and nutrient absorption among the diet treatments. This study shows the feasibility of developing artificial diets without depending on naturally available ingredients; however, palatability and consumption need to be improved in order to make artificial diets for this species more effective and commercially available.     

Method for Determining Apparent Digestibility of Carbohydrate and Protein Sources for Artificial Diets for Juvenile Sea Cucumber,Australostichopus mollis

Effective nursery diets can greatly reduce the cost of producing juvenile sea cucumbers for release to aquaculture or restocking programs. However, methods for systematically testing the bioavailability of artificial diet ingredients for sea cucumbers are poorly developed, and consequently, there has been little research in this field. The current study presents methods developed to test the suitability of common carbohydrate and protein sources for inclusion in artificial diets for juvenile Australostichopus mollis. Apparent digestibility of carbohydrates was moderate and did not exceed 50% for any carbohydrates assayed. Wheat starch and carrageenans showed the highest digestibility amongst carbohydrates. Differences in apparent digestibility were not reflected in growth performance of juvenile A. mollis fed carbohydrate diets; overall growth performance was poor for all diets. Artificial protein sources consistently exhibited higher apparent digestibility, ranging from 75.1% for fish meal to 98.1% for casein. Low‐cost protein sources, like meat meal, show promise for future use in artificial diet formulation. However, delivering high protein content may reduce ingestion rates and thereby lower overall digestive efficiency in juveniles. Results show that artificial carbohydrate sources have some potential as diet constituents for juvenile sea cucumbers but are unsuitable as primary energy sources. Future testing of artificial carbohydrate sources for A. mollis may require predigestion to improve digestibility.     

The Effect of Diet on the Energy Budget of the Brown Sea Cucumber,Stichopus mollis (Hutton)

This study investigated the ability of the brown sea cucumber, Stichopus (Australostichopus) mollis, to grow on diets made from aquaculture waste. Weight‐standardized rates (ingestion, assimilation, respiration, ammonia excretion, and fecal excretion) of small (juvenile), medium (mature), and large (mature) sea cucumbers were measured and energy budgets constructed to quantify their growth rates when offered three different diets at 14, 16, and 18 C. Three types of diet were offered: uneaten abalone food (diet A) and two types of abalone feces, one where abalone were fed 50% Macrocystis pyrifera and 50% Undaria pinnatifida macroalgae (diet B) and the other where abalone were fed 25% M. pyrifera, 25% U. pinnatifida, and 50% Adam & Amos Abalone Food, where the latter is an industry standard diet (diet C). The organic contents of the diets were much higher than natural sediments and varied such that diet A (76.40%) > diet B (54.50%) > diet C (37.00%). Diet had a significant effect on S. mollis ingestion rates, assimilation efficiencies, and consequently energy budgets and growth rates. Greater quantities of organic matter (OM) from diet A and diet B were ingested and assimilated by the sea cucumbers compared with the OM in diet C. The energy budgets indicated that after taking routine metabolism into account, all sizes of sea cucumbers had energy to allocate to growth when offered diet A and diet B, but only juveniles had energy to allocate to growth when offered diet C. Fecal excretion rates when offered diet A and diet C at 14 C were greater than those at 18 C, but neither was significantly different from that at 16 C. Ammonia excretion rates increased nonlinearly with temperature for small and medium sea cucumbers but not for large sea cucumbers. Weight‐standardized respiration rates increased with temperature and unexpectedly with animal size, which may have been because of the narrow weight range of test animals biasing the results. These results suggest that industry standard type abalone waste lacks sufficient energy to meet the metabolic requirements of mature sea cucumbers but that growing juveniles on these wastes appears to be feasible and warrants further investigation.     

Evaluation of transportation methods of juveniles of the Australasian sea cucumber,Australostichopus mollis

The transport of juvenile sea cucumbers to grow‐out sites is problematic as they are prone to damage and mortality. The response of juvenile Australostichopus mollis to simulated transport conditions with and without seawater for different periods of time (2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h) at different temperatures was evaluated in this study. Sea cucumbers were placed in plastic bags with seawater or wrapped in a seawater‐soaked cloth. Monitoring of evisceration, skin lesions, feeding activity and survival was used to evaluate the success of transportation. The juveniles of this species can withstand being without seawater for up to 8 h with no consequences to their survival and feeding activity. Complete immersion of the juveniles in seawater was found to be the only option for transportation over longer periods, but preventive measures should be taken to avoid detrimental levels of temperature, oxygen and pH. Overall, the existing constraints to moving juvenile sea cucumbers to grow‐out sites can be overcome through preventing desiccation during short‐term transport without seawater, and by the control of temperature for long‐term transportation with seawater. The results suggest that in juvenile sea cucumbers, feeding activity and the presence of skin lesions are more sensitive indicators of the success of transport than evisceration and survival.     

花刺参胚胎和幼体发育的形态观察

为提高花刺参育苗技术,对花刺参自受精卵发育到稚参的形态变化进行了观察研究,详细描述了胚胎发育各个时期的形态特征。通过阴干、流水刺激法对成熟亲参进行人工催产,得到大量的受精卵。在水温27~30℃及盐度33.0~35.0室内水泥池进行花刺参幼体培育。花刺参受精卵经5h发育成囊胚,7h进入旋转囊胚期,9h进入原肠期,31h完成胚胎发育变态为耳状幼体,并经10d的生长发育进入樽形幼体,第20d变态为稚参。由结果可知,花刺参的幼体的健康状况与其水体腔和胃部生长发育状况密切相关,水体腔和胃部发育良好,花刺参的健康状况则佳,有利于幼体的变态与存活。     

海参加工业清洁生产评价指标体系的构建

海参加工业是我国北方重要的水产品加工行业之一。近年来,随着市场需求的不断增大,海参加工产品产量逐年增加,海参加工业面临的环境问题日益凸显。为了促进我国海参加工业的清洁生产,保证产业的可持续发展,本研究基于我国清洁生产技术体系及海参加工行业的特点,构建了由生产工艺及装备等6个一级指标和加工工艺等24个二级指标组成的海参加工业清洁生产评价指标体系,并选择两家案例企业进行清洁生产水平的评价。研究结果表明,案例企业的清洁生产水平均为Ⅱ级:国内清洁生产先进水平;通过案例分析结果与企业生产现状的对比,证明本指标体系具有一定的科学性、可操作性和适用性。根据评价结果对两家案例企业提出了改变能源类型、提高废弃物资源利用率的清洁生产改进措施,为我国水产品加工行业的清洁生产提供了借鉴与参考。     

两种方法培育的仿刺参幼参(Apostichopus japonicus)越冬期的成活率与生长

2005年11月至2006年4月，将室外土池培育（简称土池苗）和室内工厂化培育的仿刺参（Apostichopus japonicus）幼参（简称工厂苗）放养在室外池塘和蓄水池的网箱中，比较了越冬成活率和生长速度，测定了水质变化。经113d的越冬后，土池苗和工厂苗体重分别增加了79．2％和93．0％；土池苗（92．09％）的成活率比工厂苗（82．18％）高12．3％。蓄水池中的幼参体重增加了110．0％，成活率为10．2％。实验期间，蓄水池和土池中水温分别变化在．2．0℃～10．2℃和1．70℃～6．81℃；溶解氧量变化在2．51mg／L-7．21mg／L和6．75mg／L-15．19mg／L；土池水中溶解氧和氨态氮的含量随水温的“高-低-高”而呈“低-高-低”和“高-低-高”的变化；底栖硅藻的生物量变化在1．20mgim2～1553．56mg／m2之间，优势种为舟形藻（Navfcula sp）和新月拟罄形藻（Nitzschiella closterium）．文中还讨论了海参室外土池或网箱越冬的可行性。     

Spawning and Larval Development of the Four‐Sided Sea Cucumber,Isostichopus badionotus (Selenka 1867), under Controlled Conditions

The objective of this study was to generate information for the development of Isostichopus badionotus culture protocols by determining optimal spawning methods, egg production, length and duration of larval stages, and larval habitat settlement preferences. Studies performed during the spawning seasons of 2010 and 2011 showed that this organism spawns between July and November without mechanical or chemical induction. The larval development has five well‐defined stages: early, mid and late auricularia, doliolaria, and pentactula. Juveniles (654.3 µm length) were obtained on average 25 days after fertilization (DAF), when larvae were incubated at 25 ± 1 C. No preference was observed for any of the materials used for settlement of the larvae. The easy adaptation of I. badionotus to the culture conditions and the competence of the larvae to complete metamorphosis while feeding solely on microalgae concentrates make this species an excellent candidate for farming. However, it is necessary to continue designing techniques for larval culture and to establish appropriate captivity conditions that allow multiannual reproduction.     

Evaluation of Processing Methods on the Nutritional Quality of Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus Selenka)

The close relationship between the consumption of sea cucumber and health status stems from the nutritional and functional substances found in sea cucumber that play a key role in the prevention of different diseases. The processing methods have a great effect upon the nutritional and functional substances in sea cucumber. A superior product should not only be abundant in nutritional substances, but also require an easy and cost effective processing method. This study compared the influence of processing methods on the stability of macronutrients and micronutrients present in sea cucumber in order to recommend products that could provide high nutritional quality. The five processes investigated were hot air drying (60°C), vacuum freeze-drying (0.5 cm thickness material, 5–10 Pa vacuum degree, ?85 to ?90°C cold trap temperature, ?25°C material temperature), sun drying, double-distilled water cooking followed by sun drying, and 3.5% sodium chloride solution cooking followed by sun drying. A significant decrease of all the chemical compositions determined was shown in all the sea cucumber products treated by the five processing methods (p < 0.05). Among all the processing methods, hot air drying resulted in the highest nutritional quality of the product. Moreover, hot air drying can be operated easily with low cost.     

土池网箱培育仿刺参Apostichopus japonicus(Selenka)幼参的试验

2006年8月～11月,在面积33亩的土池塘中,放置10个用60目筛绢围成的6m×6m网箱,每个网箱中放置115、145、175或200个网吊,每个网吊由6个50cm×50cm的聚乙烯网片串成。每个网箱放入体重5.0mg(20万头/kg)或12.5mg(8万头/kg)的稚仿刺参(Apostichopus japonicus)0.3～0.5kg。经85d的饲养,培育出幼刺参19.39kg,平均每个网箱1.9kg,规格为540～702mg,成活率4.1%～9.6%。文中讨论了土池网箱培育幼刺参的技术关键,强调应在水温8℃～15℃下尽早放养、适时投喂、加大水交换量。     

Macronutrient selection,absorption and energy budget of juveniles of the Australasian sea cucumber,Australostichopus mollis,feeding on mussel biodeposits at different temperatures

This study was set up to examine the selection and absorption of macronutrients (lipid, protein and carbohydrate) of juveniles of the Australasian sea cucumber Australostichopus mollis, feeding on an effective natural feed (mussel waste) at different temperatures. Our results indicate that the juveniles select and absorb lipid more efficiently than carbohydrate and protein at all temperatures. However, the overall magnitude of absorption of carbohydrate and protein make them the main source of nutritional energy for juvenile sea cucumbers. Seawater temperature affects the feeding behaviour of the juveniles, reducing the selection efficiency of macronutrients, while increasing metabolic energy demand, resulting in less energy available for growth. These results show the importance of each macronutrient in the diet of A. mollis as a source of energy for growth, which opens up the possibility to replace more expensive nutrient sources, such as protein and lipid, with less costly carbohydrate to reduce costs of diet formulation.     

温度、盐度和pH对仿刺参体腔细胞活性氧产生的影响

无脊椎动物主要依靠天然免疫进行自身防御,而活性氧在保护宿主免受病原侵害方面发挥重要作用。本文研究了环境因子温度,盐度和pH对仿刺参体腔细胞吞噬过程中活性氧产生的影响。不同环境条件处理暂养7d的仿刺参,于不同时间点抽取体腔液,然后用鲁米诺化学发光法检测仿刺参体腔细胞体外吞噬酵母细胞时活性氧的产生。试验结果表明,与对照组相比(17℃),6℃和26℃水温中的仿刺参分别从第1d和第15d极大地增加了活性氧的产生。盐度25和盐度35两组仿刺参体腔细胞比对照组吞噬过程产生更多的活性氧,而盐度16和40两组第1d时活性氧的产生亦显著增强。较低pH同样极大增强了吞噬作用中活性氧的产生。研究结果表明,温度、盐度和pH均可影响仿刺参体腔细胞吞噬过程中活性氧的产生。该试验为进一步研究仿刺参在适应不同环境时的生理生化过程及无脊椎动物免疫机制奠定了基础。     

发病仿刺参细菌的分离鉴定和生长特性的研究

从发病仿刺参中分离到5株菌,分别为痢疾志贺氏菌、有毒威克斯菌、奥斯陆莫拉氏菌、缺陷短波单胞菌和动物溃疡伯杰氏菌.经革兰氏染色和胞外酶活性剂生理生化特性的研究,确定了痢疾志贺氏菌、有毒威克斯菌、奥斯陆莫拉氏菌、缺陷短波单胞菌和动物溃疡伯杰氏菌的最佳生长条件分别是:35 ℃,pH 9,盐质量分数5%;25 ℃,pH 7,盐质量分数5%;25 ℃,pH 7,盐质量分数1%;25 ℃,pH 7,盐质量分数3%;35 ℃,pH 7,盐质量分数3%.能分解淀粉和蛋白,不能分解酯类.     

仿刺参与鼠尾藻、菊花心江蓠轮养时的生长及对环境因子的影响

将初始体质量(5.07±0.45)g的仿刺参幼参放养在池塘内竹制的4m×4m×1.5m网格中,将夹有初始平均体长(31.7±10)cm,体质量(2.32±1.2)g的鼠尾藻和菊花心江蓠的聚乙烯苗绳均匀地系在网格竹竿骨架上。仿刺参初始放养密度为11头/m2,鼠尾藻和菊花心江蓠的密度分别为187.5g/m2、375g/m2、562.5g/m2、750g/m2和250g/m2、500g/m2、750g/m2、1000g/m2,后轮养的菊花心江蓠按密度从小到大分别放置于原混养鼠尾藻密度为187.5g/m2、375g/m2、562.5g/m2、750g/m2网格内。每隔15d检测一次不同轮养系统中仿刺参和藻类的生长及水体中叶绿素a,底泥中总氮、总磷和有机碳含量的变化。120d的饲养结果表明,轮养大型藻的仿刺参特定生长率高于单养对照组的仿刺参,混养鼠尾藻562.5g/m2后,轮养菊花心江蓠750g/m2的模式下,仿刺参的特定生长率显著高于对照组(P0.05);轮养水体中叶绿素a含量明显下降,大型藻净产量越高,水体中叶绿素a含量下降越明显;轮养组底泥中总氮、总磷和总有机碳含量均明显低于单养组(P0.05)。     

栉孔扇贝与海胆和海参混养的净化水质作用

在容水40 L、放养5个海参、混养10、20或30个海胆的水槽中分别加入0、1、2、4或6个壳长(6.65±0.30)cm的栉孔扇贝,研究了扇贝密度对净化海胆和海参混养池水质的作用。结果表明:扇贝密度极显著影响水体的叶绿素、氨氮、颗粒有机物(POM)和悬浮颗粒含量(P<0.01);显著影响水体的总颗粒物(TPM)含量(P<0.05)。每升水放养0.05个扇贝的水槽(即2个/水槽)中叶绿素的含量[(0.282±0.060)μg.L-1]显著高于其他各组(P<0.05),POM[(3.68±0.61)mg.L-1]和TPM[(13.47±0.92)mg.L-1]含量显著低于其他组(P<0.05)。扇贝放养后第2-3 d氨氮、POM、TPM和悬浮颗粒的含量显著增加,第3 d后保持相对平稳。     

仿刺参对盐度的耐受能力研究

设置不同的盐度梯度(10～45),根据仿刺参的存活、溃烂、着壁状态、活力、排便和疣刺伸展情况,进行仿刺参的耐盐范围和耐盐能力分析.结果表明,仿刺参适宜生长的盐度为20～35,最适生长盐度为25～30.研究发现,仿刺参在盐度为15和40下生长一段时间后,就会逐步适应其所生长的环境.     

养殖仿刺参溃烂病病因初探

从患病仿刺参分离获得的两株优势菌2004—A1和2004—A2,经人工感染回接健康参试验,均获得与原发病相同症状,证实此两株菌是病原菌。另通过人工创伤感染试验确认海参受外伤后,容易感染发生溃烂病。     

Hatchery Production of Scallop Larvae (Pecten maximus) – Survival in Different Rearing Systems

Scallop farms in Norway rely exclusively on hatchery production of spat. Larval rearing is one of the most difficult parts of the production, and several experiments have been performed during the last years to improve the larval systems. This paper describes results from commercial and experimental trials obtained between 1996 and 2001. Four different rearing systems were compared: untreated batch cultures, chloramphenicol-treated batch cultures, flow-through cultures with filtered water and flow-through cultures with water from a biofilter. The chloramphenicol-treated batch cultures had overall significantly higher survival rates than the untreated and flow-through cultures. There were no significant differences in survival between untreated and flow-through cultures. The average survival rates for the untreated, treated and flow-through cultures were 6.8, 23.0 and 8.6%, respectively. No significant seasonal differences were found for the untreated and treated larval groups, whereas for larvae reared in flow-through systems survival was significantly higher in the winter than the spring. Overall best results were obtained during winter in years with high salinity water in the fjord.     

Hormonally Induced Spawning, Embryonic Development, and Larval Rearing of the Southern Temperate Banded Morwong, Cheilodactylus spectabilis

Banded morwong (Cheilodactylus spectabilis) are of interest for marine finfish aquaculture in temperate southern Australia. To improve their ovulatory response, adult females were implanted during the autumn spawning season with slow‐release pellets containing 0–400 μg luteinizing‐hormone‐releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa)/kg body weight within 24 h of capture from the wild. Compared to the sham control group, animals treated with LHRHa produced significantly more eggs on each day after implantation for the following 7 d (91 ± 39 and 290 ± 38 mL) and a higher proportion ovulated (8/12 and 27/27). Of fish treated with LHRHa, 93% ovulated 2 d after implantation and 79% ovulated three times at 2‐d intervals, whereas control animals showed no cyclicity of ovulation and few ovulated more than once. Egg production was highest at the first ovulation after LHRHa treatment and declined at subsequent ovulations. In a second experiment investigating the range 100–400 μg LHRHa, there was no effect of dose rate on ovulation parameters, which additionally examined implantation either immediately after capture or after a 5‐d delay. Compared to immediate implantation, a delay resulted in a lower proportion of animals that could be stripped after implantation (100 and 50%, respectively) and the volume of eggs was lower (135 ± 15 and 107 ± 10 mL). The egg quality was poor following delayed implantation, resulting in no fertilization after artificial insemination compared with immediate implantation in which fertilization and hatch rates were higher for eggs collected on Day 2 after implantation (79 ± 8% and 58 ± 9%) than on Day 4 (23 ± 7% and 15 ± 6%). Thus, it is important to implant animals as soon as possible after capture to ensure optimum egg quality. Good‐quality eggs were buoyant and spherical and had a diameter of 1050 ± 25 μm with a single pigmented oil droplet of 190 ± 9 μm. When a separate large batch of eggs collected 2 d after implantation with 100 μg LHRHa was inseminated and cultured at 18 C, larvae hatched after 63 ± 2 h at a standard length of 2.6 ± 0.4 mm. Newly hatched larvae were buoyant and transparent with only a few melanophores, eyes were nonpigmented and jaws were nonfunctional. By the fourth day, jaws were functional and eyes were fully pigmented. Utilization of the endogenous yolk and oil was completed by Day 6, and swimming commenced with exogenous feeding. Larvae, initially fed lipid‐enriched rotifers followed by Artemia, reached 8.9 ± 0.7 mm length on Day 55, after which they metamorphosed to the postlarval paperfish stage of development, 22 ± 0.9 mm on Day 100, and 43 ± 1.0 mm at 6 mo of age. The results show that treatment of wild‐caught females with slow‐release pellets containing LHRHa is effective for the production of eggs for hatchery rearing.