Effects of feeding plant material on growth and survival of pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus paulensis

Abstract

Significant amounts of plant material have been detected in the stomach contents of Farfantepenaeus paulensis juveniles inhabiting the Patos Lagoon estuary, southern Brazil. A 20-day long laboratory feeding experiment was performed to evaluate survival and growth of F. paulensis juveniles (0.84 ± 0.24 g; mean initial body weight ± sd) fed on three distinct plant diets. The feeding treatments consisted of: (1) macroalga Enteromorpha sp. (Entero treatment); (2) seagrass Ruppia maritima (Ruppia treatment); (3) saltmarsh Spartina sp. (Spartina treatment); (4) commercial diet (CD treatment); and (5) without food (Unfed treatment). Overall, growth and survival of juveniles submitted to plant treatments were similar to the Unfed treatment. Significant growth and survival were observed only in the CD treatment. Results indicated that the plant material tested were not capable to support survival and growth of F. paulensis when offered as the sole food source. It could be suggested that the consumption of this plant material by F. paulensis during their estuarine phase might be focused on the attached organisms.