Abstract
The filtration and ingestion rates of spat of the Japanese pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii fed various concentrations of micro-algae Pavlova lutheri for 14 days, were determined. On day 4, filtration rates decreased with increasing algal concentration (average spat hinge length: 2.96mm). Ingestion rates increased with increasing algal concentration but reached a plateau at algal concentrations of 3.6×104cells/ml/day or greater. The daily algal feeding rate and whole weight of the spat were determined on day 14 (spat hinge length range: 5.0-5.5mm), when daily consumption of algae, in terms of dry weight of algal cells was estimated about 3-5% of spat whole weight per day. There was a positive correlation between ingestion rate and the product of algal concentration and filtration rate (r=0.857, p<0.05).
