Survival and Physiological Stress of Juvenile Disk Abalone Haliotis discus discus during Long-Term Starvation

Abstract

Changes in the glycogen and triglyceride levels of the muscle and mid-gut gland of fed and starvedjuvenile disk abalone Haliotis discus discus were examined over a 70 day period. In the starved treatment, the glycogen and triglyceride contents in both tissues were consumed within 30 days, and from then, the water solubleprotein content decreased. The mortality ratio increased after40 days and reachedapproximately 50% on the 70 th day, suggesting that juvenile Haliotis discus discus are able to resistcomparatively long-term starvation. However, abalones which were starved for more than 30 days wereconsidered to show high physiological stress, that is with a reduction of behavioral activity and increaseof mortalityratio due to degradation of water soluble protein.