Cepeda-Pérez, Evelyn

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    Induced spawning behavior and larval development of the hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria (linné, 1758) in Puerto Rico
    (2004-07) Cepeda-Pérez, Evelyn; González-Lagoa, Juan G.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Lilyestrom, Craig; Williams, Ernest H.; Bunkley-Williams, Lucy; Kubaryk, John M.; Aponte, Nilda E.; Department of Marine Sciences; Wiscovich Teruel, Saúl
    The northern quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria was accidentally introduced to Puerto Rico in the early decades of the 20th century. Since then, a small-scale market has been established along the northeast coast of the island. The presence of hard clams or northern quahogs in localized areas in Puerto Rico and the possible revenues for the island economy present Mercenaria sp. as a suitable organism to be considered for local mariculture activities. Two attempts have been made to evaluate Mercenaria sp. as a possible candidate for mariculture. However, neither of them studied the reproductive response under controlled conditions in tropical waters. This experiment evaluated the response of two populations (Florida stock and Puerto Rico stock) of M. mercenaria to induced spawning by thermal stimuli. It also evaluated possible disease outbreaks during Mercenaria mercenaria rearing; growth and survival rates, and larval development. The results were compared with clam hatchery production in the southeastern region of United States. Relationships between clam responses of both populations to thermal stimuli, clam size and conditioning time were analyzed with a binomial non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. Although, the Florida stock displayed better performance, poor responses from both populations were obtained. Results revealed a negative effect of time spent by clams in the conditioning tank and their response to the induced spawning method (P< 0.001). Clam growth and survival rates were comparable with those reported for commercial hatcheries of the southeastern region of the United States. Presences of bacterial and ciliate infections were reduced with the implementation of better sanitary procedures.