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- The effects of light intensity on growth and survival of cuttlefish (sepia officinalis) hatchlings and juvenilesPublication . Sykes, António V.; Quintana, Daniel; Andrade, José PedroCephalopods, particularly the European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), are considered to be potential species for aquaculture diversification due to their high growth rates in captivity (Domingues, Sykes & Andrade 2001; Domingues, Bettencourt & Guerra 2006) and great demand as food throughout different regions of the world (FAO 2009). Nonetheless, cuttlefish differ from fish in several biological aspects, thus requiring different approaches to solve similar or new problems associated with their culture. For instance, the hatchling stage has been identified as the most problematic due to mortality and the need of live prey. Several factors might influence growth and mortality of cuttlefish in captivity, such as culture conditions and nutritional requirements of the species. According to Downing and Litvak (1999), there is a need to understand the physical and biological factors that act on developing fish larvae to create protocols that maximize survival and growth under culture conditions. It is known that system design may promote stress and lower animal welfare in finfish (Conte 2004) and the same seems to apply to cuttlefish.
- Effects of using live grass shrimp (Palaemonetes varians) as the only source of food for the culture of cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1758)Publication . Sykes, António V.; Domingues, Pedro M.; Andrade, José PedroThe life cycle of cuttlefish fed ad libitum exclusively on live grass shrimp (Palaemonetes varians) was studied during 5 consecutive generations. Different culture temperatures promoted different (P < 0.05) exponential growth for each life cycle, being summer generations shorter than those of winter. Higher temperatures promoted higher IGR’s and mortality, while lower temperatures promoted increased life span, reproduction stages, total fecundity and total egg biomass. Increased generations also seemed to increase fertility. A ‘‘hybrid’’ generation promoted the best results in terms of hatchling weight, individual fecundity and fertility. Mean egg weight was related to female size and embryonic development took longer at lower temperatures. Brood stock sex ratios seemed to be temperature related.All of these culture aspects were also compared between themselves in order to establish future brood stock methodologies. Grass shrimp proved to be a good diet for the culture of cuttlefish throughout the life cycle. The use of only one species reduces costs and labor associated to cuttlefish culture.
- Early weaning of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis, L.) with frozen grass shrimp (Palaemonetes varians) from the first day after hatchingPublication . Sykes, António V.; Gonçalves, Rui A.; Andrade, José PedroThe European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is one of the most well-known cephalopods (Boletzky 1983). During the last years, research on cuttlefish has focused on its introduction as a new species for aquaculture. This is due to the biological and economical characteristics that this species display, which have the potential for industrial culture. The most important are the short life cycles and the fast growth rates which imply lower production periods and associated costs. On the other hand, the inability to grow cephalopods on an inexpensive and storable prepared diet has been identified as a bottleneck (Sykes, Domingues, Correia & Andrade 2006).
- Effects of increased tank bottom areas on cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis, L.) reproduction performancePublication . Sykes, António V.; Pereira, Diana; Rodríguez, Covadonga; Lorenzo, António; Andrade, José PedroMuch interest on cuttlefish research during the last years has focused on its introduction as a new species for aquaculture. This is due to this species biological (Barnabe´ 1996) and economical (FAO 2009) aspects which display potential for industrial culture. Recently, Sykes, Domingues, Correia and Andrade (2006) reviewed this potential, the state of the art and future trends of research for the European cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis. In this work, a series of bottlenecks were identified that need to be resolved before the technology acquires sufficient maturity to enable a transition to the industrial scale. Control of reproduction in captivity is essential for the sustainability of commercial aquaculture production. This factor was identified as a major bottleneck in cuttlefish culture due to several biological aspects of the species, such as semelparity, low fecundity and fertility and eventually inbreeding (Sykes, Domingues & Andrade 2006).