Egg hatching success in an Asian horseshoe crab, Tachypleus gigas incubated in different sediment as substrate

Ramli, Riwan and Ramli, Rohayu and Mazli, Nor Nazifa Mazli and Kassim, Zaleha and Ahmad, Zuhairi and Yunus, Kamaruzzaman (2023) Egg hatching success in an Asian horseshoe crab, Tachypleus gigas incubated in different sediment as substrate. KEPES, 21 (3). pp. 354-361. ISSN 1794-7111

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Abstract

Tachypleus gigasis one of the Asian horseshoe crabs facing threats from human exploitation and habitat degradation. This study aimed to determine the effect of using sediment as substrate in the egg incubation procedure. Freshly laid eggs clutches were collected from a nesting beach during the low tide. Eggs were incubated under the treatment of seawater without sediment (T1), with fine sand (T2), coarse sand (T3), and muddy sand (T4) in the laboratory condition for seven weeks to observe the size, colour changes, and hatching success. Sediment was moderately sorted and poorly sorted for T2 and T3, and T4 respectively, which could be caused to the failure of egg development and hatching. Eggs in T1 (without sediment) developed as shown by the significant increase in size (p<0.05) according to week and hatching success was at 27.8%. The egg’s colour was normal for T1, but eggs turned black and rotten for T2, T3, and T4 despite the good maintenance of water parameters (temperature 29.18 +0.57 -29.56 +0.7 oC; salinity 29.4 +0.5 -29.8 +0.8 ppt; dissolved oxygen 6.16 +0.90 -6.64 +0.90 mg/L; pH 7.7 +0.7 -7.9 +0.4) during the incubation period. Further study is needed to verify the association of sediment grains and microenvironment thus improving the incubation protocol in the conservation initiative of this important living fossil.DOI

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Horseshoe crab’s egg, Sediment, Hatching
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Science Kulliyyah of Science > Department of Marine Science Institute of Planetary Survival for Sustainable Well-Being (PLANETIIUM)
Depositing User:	Associate Prof. Dr. Zaleha Kassim
Date Deposited:	02 Oct 2023 15:34
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2023 15:34
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/107211

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