Abstract
Development of the scallop Pecten maximus (L.) from egg to metamorphosis takes 33 to 38 days at 16°C. The shelled veliger first appears 2 days after fertilisation, and crawling pediveligers at around 2 days before metamorphosis. The pediveliger can attach temporarily to filamentous objects by means of a byssus thread and, even after metamorphosis, periods of attachment alternate with periods of crawling. The larvae are reared in polythene bins containing 30 l of full salinity sea water (pre-filtered through 0.2μ filters), which is changed every 2 days. Mixtures of algal foods (Isochrysis galbana, Chaetoceros calcitrans, Pyramimonas obovata and Tetraselmis suecica), concentrated by centrifugation, are added at each change from the third day onwards to give a concentration of 50 cells/μl. Larval density is maintained below 10/ml. Antibiotics are added at each change, but very careful sterilisation of all equipment is necessary to guard against the introduction of diseases.
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Communicated by J. H. S. Blaxter, Oban
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Gruffydd, L.D., Beaumont, A.R. A method for rearing Pecten maximus larvae in the laboratory. Mar. Biol. 15, 350–355 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401395
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401395