Artemia Franciscana Essay

Effect of Diets with Different Nutrition Levels on Oxygen Consumption Rate and Reproduction of Artemia Franciscana

Introduction

Throughout the history, people have often discussed the key elements that lead to the success of heterotrophic lives. One of the contributing factors, dietary intake, is regarded as the most essential among all. Although people recognize the importance of dietary intake, the effect of nutrition level of diet on various parameters of heterotrophs is poorly understood (Cruz-Rivera & Hay, 2000). Some of these biological attributes such as metabolism and fecundity allow organisms to achieve a higher Darwinian fitness, the likelihood of organisms to survive and reproduce (Sober, 2001). Thus, such an important relation between

To test how Artemia’s metabolism and fecundity are affected by its diet, two samples of Artemia were prepared, one treated with diet of high nutrition and the other treated with diet of low nutrition. Since the metabolic rate of Artemia is directly proportional to its respiration rate, rate of O2 consumption was measured and compared (“Living System”, 2014). The fecundity of each sample was estimated and analysed by counting the number of gravid and non-gravid females. The aim of this experiment is to determine the influence of diets with different nutrition levels on Artemia’s reproduction and oxygen consumption. The results are compared using Student’s t-test.

Materials and Methods

Seven to thirteen Artemia (from low nutrition sample) treated twice a day with Tetraselmis species for 3 weeks were placed in a vial with water filling half of the vial. After the vial was kept uncapped for 4 minutes, it was sealed under water with no air bubbles left in the vial. The vial was left for another 4 minutes. O2 concentration was measured using an oxygen meter every 4 minutes for 16 minutes. The length of each Artemia was measured and was used to calculate the length-specific O2 consumption rate. Nine replicates were made.

Seven to thirteen Artemia (from high nutrition sample) fed twice a day with Tetraselmis species, New Life Spectrum Thera,

The experiment can be improved by counting the number of eggs each gravid Artemia carries and the number of successfully born offspring to further support the hypothesis that the females fed on high nutrition have higher fecundity compared to the ones treated with low nutrition.

More reliable data can be obtained if more techniques are used to measure metabolic rate. By measuring the heat flow from an organism to its surroundings using a calorimeter, a more accurate metabolic rate can be measured (De V. Weir, 1949). The ratio of the quantity of food an animal consumes and the amount it excretes can also indicate the metabolic rate of that animal (Paradis et al., n.d.). Determining the water flux in animals with tritium labelled water is another valid method of measuring metabolic rates (Paradis et al., n.d.).

Recently, researchers discovered an effect of dietary restriction on the average lifespan of many organisms, including yeast, worms, flies and rodents (Bishop, N., & Guarente, L., 2007). Since most heterotrophs have similar physiological mechanisms to utilize obtained nutrition, many are also affected by diets of different nutrition levels. Thus, future experiments on other animals with similar protocols can be conducted; these experiments can be based on other measurable parameters such as the average lifespan of