3.2. Effects of water temperature on larval development
With the increase of water temperature from 23 °C to 29 °C, the days for post-larval development and pelagic larval duration (PLD) reduced and the developmental rate of larvae increased significantly (P < 0.05) ( Table 1). Temperature effect (Q10) in larval developmental rate showed a decline trend at higher water temperature ( Table 2).
Table 1.
Days for post-larval development and pelagic larval duration and developmental rate (mean ± SE, n = 3) of larvae of A. clarkii reared at water temperatures of 23 °C, 26 °C and 29 °C.
Temperature (°C) Post-larval development (days) Pelagic larval duration (days) Developmental rate
23 13.0 ± 0.6a 24.7 ± 0.9a 0.041 ± 0.001a
26 8.7 ± 0.3b 16.0 ± 0.6b 0.063 ± 0.002b
29 6.0 ± 0.6c 11.3 ± 0.9c 0.089 ± 0.007c
Notes. Means in the same column with the different letters on the superscripts represented the significant difference (P < 0.05).