EFFECT OF STARVATION ON THE FEEDING ABILITY OF GILTHEAD SEABREAM (SPARUS-AURATA L) LARVAE AT 1ST FEEDING

The effect of delayed initial feeding on the ingestion ability of gilt head seabream Sparus aurata larvae was studied. The percentage of larv ae with visible gut contents was maximal when food was first provided on the 5th day after hatching and decreased to half this value when pr ovision of food was delayed until Day 8, indicating the point at which starvation became irreversible. Morphological and histological change s were studied in growing and starving larvae. Sizes of different orga ns increased in actively feeding larvae but decreased in unfed larvae, particularly in the case of the liver. In unfed larvae, development d ue to yolk reserves attained a maximum on Dav 5. The digestive tract w as functional in 4-day-old larvae, which had food in the gut. The abso rption process was obvious from Day 6, although it could be detected i n 5-day-old larvae. Starving larvae exhibited widespread histological degeneration, especially in the digestive tract and associated glands.