Gerald Kwikiriza^1,2,3 , Ronald Semyalo³ , Gladys Bwanika³ , Alex Barekye² , Justus Kwetegyeka⁴ , Andrew Arinaitwe Izaara⁵ , Ivan Abaho⁶

1 Institute of Integrative Nature Conservation Research, Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research , University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Gregor Mendel Str., 331080, Vienna, Austria
2 Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), P. O. Box 421, Kabale, Uganda
3 Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
4 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kyambogo University, P.O. Box 1, Kyambogo, Uganda
5 Mukono Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), P.O. Box 164, Mukono, Uganda
6 Bulindi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), P.O Box 101, Hoima, Uganda
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 1   doi: 10.5376/ija.2024.14.0002
Received: 18 Sep., 2023    Accepted: 30 Oct., 2023    Published: 29 Jan., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Kwikiriza G., Semyalo R., Bwanika G., Barekye A., Kwetegyeka J., Izaara A.A., and Abaho I., 2024, The effect of density and temperature on survival and fatty acid profiles of copepods (Thermocyclop sp.), International Journal of Aquaculture, 14(1): 9-19 (doi: 10.5376/ija.2024.14.0002)

Cyclopoid copepods (Thermocyclop sp.) have the nutritional attributes of an ideal diet for fish larvae. However, long-term production and availability of copepods for feeding larval fish in hatcheries remain a challenge. The present study investigated the effect of density and temperature on survival and fatty acid profiles of Thermocyclop sp. at densities: 1 000, 3 000, and 5 000 individuals/L and temperatures: 4 °C, 8 °C, and 12 °C. A log-rank test showed a significant difference between the percentage survival of Thermocyclop sp. at 12 °C and 4 °C (P<0.001) and a significantly higher survival at 1 000 than at 5 000 individuals/L (P<0.001). Generally, saturated fatty acids (SFAs) were dominant compared to monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). For essential fatty acids, no significant differences were observed between storage temperatures on the 7th and 14th days of the experiment. The results demonstrated that at least a 50% survival rate is obtained when these organisms are stored at 12 °C with a density of 1 000 individuals/L for 14 days, with no significant changes in fatty acid profiles. Further studies are necessary to determine the effect of increased storage conditions, perhaps with aeration, on storage time.

Thermocyclop sp.; Density; Temperature; Survival; Fatty acids