AIMS To evaluate the effect of Vibrio harveyi strains on the growth rate of the gnotobiotically cultured rotifer Brachionus plicatilis, and to establish whether quorum sensing is involved in the observed phenomena. METHODS AND RESULTS Gnotobiotic B. plicatilis sensu strictu, obtained by hatching glutaraldehyde-treated amictic eggs, were used as test organisms. Challenge tests were performed w...

Induction of mixis (sexual reproduction) in rotifers of the genus Brachionus is believed to be triggered by a chemical that is released into the water and accumulates at high population densities. However, direct and conclusive evidence for this hypothesis is thus far lacking. In this study, two mass cultures of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis were monitored as they grew from low to high popu...

Growth rates of anchovy larvae, Engraulis mordax, reared for 19 days under constant environmental conditions on a diet of laboratory-cultured organisms, exceeded the growth rates of anchovies fed on a diet of wild plankton. The rotifer Brachionus plicatilis was found to be a nutritious food source when fed to the larvae in concentrations of 10 to 20/ml and in combination with the dinoflagellate...

1. The analysis of functional groups with a resolution to the individual species level is a basic requirement to better understand complex interactions in aquatic food webs. Species-specific stable isotope analyses are currently applied to analyse the trophic role of large zooplankton or fish species, but technical constraints complicate their application to smaller-sized plankton. 2. We invest...

Crowding chemicals influence a wide variety of life history traits in zooplankton communities. In the rotifer Brachionus, sexual reproduction (mixis) is induced by a chemical signal produced by the rotifers that accumulates during population growth. The specificity of the reaction to the mixis induction signal could play a central role in maintaining reproductive barriers between closely relate...

Using the marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis acute toxicity tests, we estimated the toxicity of Corexit 9500A(®), propylene glycol, and Macondo oil. Ratios of 1:10, 1:50 and 1:130 for Corexit 9500A(®):Macondo oil mixture represent: maximum exposure concentrations, recommended ratios for deploying Corexit (1:10-1:50), 1:130 the actual dispersant:oil ratio used in the Deep Water Horizon spill. ...

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture takes advantage of the mutualism between some detritivorous fish and phytoplankton. The fish recycle nutrients by consuming live (and dead) algae and provide the inorganic carbon to fuel the growth of live algae. In the meanwhile, algae purify the water and generate the oxygen required by fishes. Such mechanism stabilizes the functioning of an artificially r...

The accumulation of bacteria in Brachionus plicatilis and Artemia franciscana during a Ž . short-term incubation was quantified using immunocolony blot ICB and an enzyme-linked Ž . immunosorbent assay ELISA . Four bacterial strains, isolated from turbot and halibut, were Ž 7 y1. grazed effectively by both species when given at high concentrations G5=10 bacteria ml . B. plicatilis accumulated 21...

Fernandez-Reiriz, M.J., Labarta, U. and Ferreiro, M.J., 1993. Effects of commercial enrichment diets on the nutritional value of the rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis). Aquaculture. 112: 195-206. The rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis, pre-fed on baker’s yeast, was enriched for 6 h with three commercial products from Artemia Systems S.A., namely Protein Selco (microcapsules), Dry Selco (microparticles...