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Growth and survival of the winged oyster Pteria colymbus (Röding, 1798), in tubular structures in the Bahía de Mochima, Sucre state, Venezuela

Abstract:

The winged oyster Pteria colymbus is distributed in western Atlantic, from North Carolina to south of Brazil. Juveniles of P. colymbus of 32 mm (dorso-ventral axis) were cultivated in cylinders made from plastic net, suspended at 1,5 m in a long line in the Bahía de Mochima, Sucre state. Once a month, survival and shell length was determined, as well as the mass for the shell, muscle and rest of body parts. Additionally, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, seston and phytoplanktonic biomass was determined in the location. The different body parts showed differential growth patterns during the experimental period, due to different energetic demands needed for their production and the availability of energy sources in the environment. At the end of the experiment, P. colymbus increased in dorso-ventral length and total tissue mass in 68 and 390%, respectively. The growth of the tissue mass was not exponential, showing growth only in the last months, which suggests that the oysters were under stress conditions induced by the low phytoplankton availability and high temperatures. The low observed growth, along with the low final survival (30%) allows to determine that the studied area is not suitable for the culture of this species, than can be performed in other areas of eastern Venezuela such as Cariaco Gulf.