Abstract
IN the latest number (vol. x., No. 4) of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association there are two papers of very considerable interest. Of these, the first deals with experiments in the rearing of plankton animals (Crustacean larvae and Copepoda) which are of importance as a food supply for fish. The author is Mr. L. R. Crawshay. Plymouth Marine Station is justly celebrated for the invention by its director, Dr. Allen, of the method of rearing various types of marine larvae by feeding them with pure cultures of the diatom Nitzschia. By this method the larvae of Echinodermata, Mollusca, and Annelida have been reared until they attained the adult condition. Mr. Crawshay has endeavoured to extend the method to Crustacea. He has made some interesting discoveries. Thus he finds that in spite of sterilised water and abundant food, Copepoda live a very short time unless the culture flask be kept cool and the temperature remains constant. Then he finds that the harmful action of bacteria has been much exaggerated. There are only one or two varieties which are fatal to Copepoda, but these are of infrequent occurrence. When he had arranged for a good food supply and a constant temperature, he was able to keep the delicate pelagic form, Calanus finmarchicus, alive for months, and to rear the nauplii of Pseudocalanus through all stages of development until the attainment of the adult condition. When this method has been perfected it will be possible to study the life-histories of the economically important Copepoda in detail in the laboratory, instead of, as now, piecing the development together from scattered observations of plankton.
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M., E. Marine Biology at Plymouth . Nature 95, 629 (1915). https://doi.org/10.1038/095629a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/095629a0