AN AUTOMATED REARING CHAMBER SYSTEM FOR STUDIES OF SHELLFISH FEEDING

Producing large volumes of high quality microalgae to feed shellfish a nd other organisms is a limiting factor in the development of the aqua culture industry. Feeding regimes yielding the highest conversion effi ciencies of algal feed to molluscan growth are required to maximize th e return on algal-culture investments. In the past we have used 12 spe cialized, manually-controlled molluscan rearing chambers to study nutr itional requirements and growth of oysters, clams, and scallops. A com puter-controlled, solenoid-valve system was added to automate seawater flow, volume of microalgal food delivered, and feeding duration indep endently for each chamber. Labor was reduced from 7 h per week to 3 h, while adding flexibility. Each chamber represents a model for a progr ammed nursery system. Evidence that superior growth of bivalves can be achieved by feeding regimes made possible by this apparatus are provi ded by an experiment with juvenile bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) . Published by Elsevier Science B.V.