First report on the life history of the marine amphipod Ceradocus mizani and its implication for aquaculture

Abstract

The search for alternative live feed for aquaculture stocks has inspired research into marine amphipods. In this study, the life history of Ceradocus mizani was evaluated to better understand how this amphipod might be used in aquaculture as an alternative feed. The amphipods did not display copulatory behavior during the study period. The females were multivoltine and attained sexual maturity on average in 23.6 days at a mean length of 4.64 mm. The incubation period lasted 8.8 days, and the mean number of juveniles produced per brood during that incubation period was relatively low (7.58). Females produced a mean of 5.2 consecutive broods and 39.4 total juveniles over the life span. (i.e., 0.33 juveniles/day). Sex ratio was female skewed (1.55:1). Female size and the number of juveniles produced per brood were positively correlated (R² = 0.63). The mean life span for females and males was 119.4 and 91.2 days, respectively. Mean maximum length was 9.26 mm for males and 8.18 mm for females. This is the first account of the life history of C. mizani and forms the basis for future studies of this marine amphipod.