Zhang Changsheng, Xue Suyan, Li Jiaqi, Fang Jinghui, Liu Lulei, Ma Zhanfei, Yu Wenhan, Zhuang Haonan, Mao Yuze
Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Aug 16;12(16):2094. doi: 10.3390/ani12162094.
The substrate is the key environmental factor that affects the growth, survival, population and distribution of dwelling mollusks in mudflat settings. To clarify the effect of the substrate grain size on soft substrate preference, burrowing ability and behavior during the selection process of juvenile Meretrix meretrix, four different grain size substrates (coarse sand, medium sand, fine sand, and natural substrate) were set up for comparison. The results indicated that: (1) the burrowing ability of juvenile specimens in fine sand was the strongest; (2) the degree (from high to low) of the juvenile’s preference for the four substrates was in the order of fine sand > natural substrate > medium sand > coarse sand; and (3) the selection process of the substrate by the juveniles could be divided into four stages: preparation, selection, burrowing and end stages. These stages showed the behavioral characteristics of a longer selection time and higher percentage of movement in coarse sand. Therefore, our results demonstrated that sea areas or ponds with fine sand as the main component are more suitable for stock enhancement with M. meretrix. These results provide basic data for habitat selection and suitability evaluations for the aquaculture of M. meretrix.
底质是影响泥滩环境中栖息贝类生长、存活、种群数量及分布的关键环境因子。为阐明底质粒径对文蛤稚贝在选择过程中对软底质的偏好、潜泥能力及行为的影响，设置了四种不同粒径的底质（粗砂、中砂、细砂和天然底质）进行比较。结果表明：（1）细砂中稚贝的潜泥能力最强；（2）稚贝对四种底质的偏好程度（从高到低）依次为细砂＞天然底质＞中砂＞粗砂；（3）稚贝对底质的选择过程可分为准备、选择、潜泥和结束四个阶段。在粗砂中，这些阶段表现出选择时间较长且移动百分比更高的行为特征。因此，我们的结果表明，以细砂为主要成分的海域或池塘更适合文蛤的增殖放流。这些结果为文蛤养殖的栖息地选择和适宜性评估提供了基础数据。
