THE EFFECT OF STARVATION AND FEEDING REGIMES ON SURVIVAL, INTERMOLT PERIOD AND GROWTH OF CULTURED PANULIRUS-JAPONICUS AND THENUS SP PHYLLOSOMAS (DECAPDOA, PALINURIDAE AND SCYLLARIDAE)

The effect of initial starvation and duration of feeding period on sur vival, intermoult period, and growth of newly hatched phyllosomas of P anulirus japonicus and Thenus sp. was examined under laboratory condit ions. P. japonicus larvae were fed on newly hatched Artemia nauplii wh ile Thenus sp. larvae were fed on three-day cultured Artemia nauplii a nd chopped frozen mussel gonad. During the experiments, P. japonicus a nd Thenus sp. larvae developed to the fifth and fourth instar, respect ively. Results showed that longer periods of time-to-first-feeding (TF F) effectively lengthened the intermoult period of the first instar, b ut did not affect the duration of later intermoult periods or growth i n size. The 50% level of point-of-no-return (PNR(50)) in TFF for phyll osomas was estimated to be 3.4 days for P. japonicus and 1.7 days For Thenus sp, The 50% levels of point-of-reserve-saturation (PRS(50)) wer e estimated to be 2.0 days and 4.6 days, respectively. These results s uggest that palinurid phyllosomas can survive longer periods of starva tion than can scyllarid phyllosomas, and indicate differences in metab olism and/or growth rates between the two species.