Effect of zinc on growth and development of larvae of the Pacific oysterCrassostrea gigas

✍ Scribed by A. Brereton; H. Lord; I. Thornton; J. S. Webb

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1973
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 559 KB
• Volume: 19
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3162
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00353580

✦ Synopsis

Following the observation of periodic high concentrations of zinc in estuarine waters used in the White Fish Authority's oyster hatchery at Conway, North Wales, two beaker trials were conducted to study the effect of zinc, over the range recorded, on the young stages of larvae of Crassostrea glgas.

Zinc, added to sea water both as zinc sulphate and as a natural mine-adit water, was applied for a period of 5 days, after which larvae were maintained for a further 5 days in sea water alone. Increasing concentrations over the range t25 to 500Exg/1 Zn resulted in decreasing growth, and increasing incidence of abnormality and larval mortality. A second trial with zinc sulphate showed 50~g/l Zn to have little effect on larval development, a progressive decrease in growth at 100 and 150 ~g/1, and no growth at 200 txg/1. It is suggested that the deleterious effect of short-term exposure to zinc may well have contributed to the intermittent failure of larvae and irregular productivity previously recorded at the hatchery. It is also possible that zinc contamination in estuaries may affect natural oyster breeding, and may have to be considered in the future siting of hatcheries for seed production.