The effects of temperature and salinity on survival and development of larvae Trachinotus ovatus

Abstract:

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of different temperatures and salinities on the survival and development of larva Trachinotus ovatus. The newly hatched larva was transferred from sea water (24 ℃, salinity 32) to and kept in a combination of four temperatures (18 ℃, 21 ℃, 24 ℃, 27 ℃) and six salinities (16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36). After 1 day, the survival of larva Trachinotus ovatus exposed to combinations of salinities 16, 20, 24 and 21 ℃, 24 ℃, 27 ℃ are the lowest, less than 10%. The mortality of larva at salinities 28, 32, 36 were lower, less than 50%. Surprisingly, the survival rates of larvae at 18 ℃ with different salinities were higher, more than 50%. Our experiment showed that temperature plays a critical role in larva development.The larvae developed faster at higher temperature to a certain extent, the development of larvae Trachinotus ovatus became slow or even stopped at 18 ℃. Taking both survival and the development conditions into account, we draw a conclusion that the preferable temperature and salinity for larval survival and development is 24 ℃and 32, respectively.