Impact of Potential Food Sources on the Life Table of the Cladoceran, Moina macrocopa

Abstract

The zooplankton Moina macrocopa was cultured with three kinds of emulsified lipid media (Selco®, squid oil, canola oil) and two kinds of fish wastes (fish pellets and fish feces) to determine the impact of these food sources on its population dynamics. All diets were provided at five levels: 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 g/l. For all diets, life history parameters showed the highest values at the lowest concentrations, i.e., <0.125 g/l. Overall demographic performance was better in M. macrocopa fed the emulsified liquid diets than M. macrocopa raised in the control treatment (dechlorinated water; no diet) but not as good as in M. macrocopa fed the fish wastes. Fish feces was excellent for propagating M. macrocopa. In conclusion, using fish wastes to cultivate M. macrocopa could be an inexpensive and sustainable cultivation approach.