ASPECTS OF PENAEID BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF RELEVANCE TO AQUACULTURE - A REVIEW

This paper reviews the recent literature on aspects of the biology and ecology of penaeid prawns (shrimp) that are relevant to the aquacultu re research community and the aquaculture industry. I've used, as a po int of departure, the review by Dall et al. [Dall, W., Hill, B.J., Rot hlisberg, P.C., Staples, D.J., 1990. The biology of the Penaeidae. Adv . Mar. Biol. 27, 489] and will emphasize both the non-aquaculture lite rature and work in progress at the CSIRO Marine Laboratories in Queens land, Australia. The review covers four general areas: habitat or envi ronmental requirements; reproductive ecology; nutritional requirements and trophodynamics; and reseeding or stock enhancement. I have examin ed how factors, both natural and anthropogenic, can affect growth rate and survival at different stages of the life cycle, and thereby influ ence species and site selection by the aquaculture industry. Ecologica l studies demonstrating how prawn size, age and seasonality of reprodu ction affect larval fitness and hatchery outputs are described. An exa mple of the benefits of selective breeding of Penaeus japonicus from c ommercial trials in Queensland, Australia, are presented. Natural diet s and feeding behaviour are reviewed to assist nutritionists and farm managers to formulate diets and select feeding regimes. The use of sta ble isotopes to assess assimilation efficiencies, as well as to trace trophodynamic pathways in ponds, is discussed. Lastly, the requirement s for prawn reseeding are examined. The studies reported explore habit at requirements; carrying capacity and predation pressure; cost-benefi t analyses based on growth rates, survival rates and market price at s ize; and tagging with genetic markers to differentiate between natural and enhanced recruitment. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.