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A Review Of The Factors Influencing The Growth Of The Northern Quahog, Mercenaria Mercenaria (Linnaeus, 1758), Michael A. Rice, Jan A. Pechenik

Michael A Rice

Factors affecting the growth of larval, juvenile, and adult northern quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria, are reviewed. Larval growth is affected by temperature, salinity, current speed, dissolved oxygen concentration, and the amount of suspended sediments in the water, along with such nutritional factors as food quantity and quality. Growth of post-set juvenile and adult quahogs is similarly affected by the same physical and nutritional factors. Recent work suggests that there is a strong genetic contribution to quahog growth rate and that selective breeding programs may be useful for producing rapid growth strains. A growing body of evidence suggests that larval growth rates …

Scanning Electron Microscope Observations Of Brine Shrimp Larvae From Space Shuttle Experiments, Lynnette Debell, Avelina Paulsen, Brian Spooner

Scanning Microscopy

Brine shrimp are encysted as gastrula stage embryos, and may remain dehydrated and encysted for years without compromising their viability. This aspect of brine shrimp biology is desirable for studying development of animals during space shuttle flight, as cysts placed aboard a spacecraft may be rehydrated at the convenience of an astronaut, guaranteeing that subsequent brine shrimp development occurs only on orbit and not on the pad during launch delays.

Brine shrimp cysts placed in 5 ml syringes were rehydrated with salt water and hatched during a 9 day space shuttle mission. Subsequent larvae developed to the 8th larval stage …