Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Biofouling. 2013;29(2):119-31. doi: 10.1080/08927014.2012.752465.
Hydroids are major biofouling organisms in global aquaculture. Colonies of the hydroid Ectopleura crocea have recently established in Australian commercial mussel leases culturing Mytilus galloprovincialis. This study examined the impacts of E. crocea on mussel culture at two stages of the production cycle: spatfall and grow-out. Hydroids most commonly fouled the body, edge and dorsal regions of the mussel shell and cause a reduction in the length (4%) and weight (23%) of juvenile mussels. They also consumed mussel larvae in the field and in the laboratory. Prey numbers of many taxa, including mussel larvae, were consistent in natural hydroid diets regardless of the temporal variation in prey availability, implying some selectivity in hydroid feeding. In the laboratory, E. crocea consumed settling plantigrade mussel larvae more readily than trochophore or veliger larvae. Fouling by E. crocea is detrimental to mussel condition, and may affect the availability of wild mussel larvae in the commercial culture of M. galloprovincialis.
水螅是全球水产养殖中的主要生物污损生物。水螅属 Ectopleura crocea 的群体最近在澳大利亚商业贻贝租地中建立，这些租地用于养殖马氏珠母贝。本研究在生产周期的两个阶段（苗种投放和养成）检查了 E. crocea 对贻贝养殖的影响。水螅最常附着在贻贝贝壳的身体、边缘和背部，导致幼贝长度减少（4%）和重量减少（23%）。它们还在野外和实验室中摄食贻贝幼虫。尽管猎物的可利用性存在时间变化，但许多类别的猎物数量（包括贻贝幼虫）在自然水螅饮食中是一致的，这表明水螅摄食具有一定的选择性。在实验室中，E. crocea 更容易摄食沉降的足丝幼虫，而不是担轮幼虫或面盘幼虫。E. crocea 的污损对贻贝状况有害，并可能影响马氏珠母贝商业养殖中野生贻贝幼虫的可用性。
