Effect of three different feeding strategies on phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthos in pacific brown shrimp Penaeus californiensis (Holmes 1900) farming ponds

Abstract

An experimental study was conducted during 23 weeks in Bahia Kino, Sonora (Mexico), to evaluate the effect of three different feeding strategies used in the culture of Pacific brown shrimp, Penaeus californiensis, on the abundance of phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthos. The use of feeding trays (treatment FT) and the complementation of natural food (treatment CNF) promoted a higher abundance of zooplankton and benthic organisms in the ponds. The use of feeding tables (treatment FTA) enhanced the abundance of benthic polychaete species. There were no differences among treatments with respect to chlorophyll a concentration. Growth and yield were higher and feeding conversion ratios lower in treatments CNF and FT. This seems to be related to the higher abundance of zooplankton and benthic organisms in these treatments. Some water quality parameters were also affected by the feeding strategy.

Keywords

• Pacific brown shrimp
• Penaeus californiensis
• feeding
• zooplankton
• benthos
• Sonora