Growth and variations in lipid class and fatty acid composition during larval development of the stone crab, Menippe adina Williams and Felder, 1986

Larval development in decapod crustaceans is marked by variable growth patt erns and changes in weight and biochemical composition. Larvae of the stone crab, Menippe adina, were mass-reared under laboratory conditions (28 degr ees C; 20 parts per thousand S) from hatching to the megalopa stage. Growth in M. adina is exponential throughout the larval stages (y = 10.395e(01592 x), R-2 = 0.98). Dry weight increased by 16-fold from the first to fifth zo eal stage (ZI-ZV), and by day 22 the average weight for megalopae was 272.5 +/-48.6 mu g. Iatroscan lipid class analysis revealed that polar lipids (>6 4%) and neutral lipids, of which steryl esters (>20%) were dominant, repres ent the major lipid classes in larvae at every stage. Free fatty acids and free sterols were present in small amounts, but there was no trace of diacy lglycerols. Triacylglycerols represented on average 3% of total lipids. Tot al lipids of zoeae and megalopae contained substantial concentrations of pa lmitic (16:0), stearic (18:0), eicosapentaenoic (20:5 omega 3), oleic (18:1 omega 9) and arachidonic (20:4 omega 6). Proximate biochemical composition revealed conspicuous variations during metamorphosis that appear cyclic in nature.