Aquaculture Vol. 164 (1-4) pp. 49-65
Aspects of penaeid biology and ecology of relevance to penaeid biology, ecology, taxonomy and physiology

^a Peter C. Rothlisberg
^a , CSIRO Division of Marine Research, PO Box 120 Cleveland, , Queensland 4163, Australia
Abstract :    This paper reviews the recent literature on aspects of the biology and ecology of penaeid prawns (shrimp) that are relevant to the aquaculture research community and the aquaculture industry. I've used, as a point of departure, the review by Dall et al. [Dall, W., Hill, B.J., Rothlisberg, P.C., Staples, D.J., 1990. The biology of the Penaeidae. Adv. Mar. Biol. 27, 489] and will emphasize both the non-aquaculture literature and work in progress at the CSIRO Marine Laboratories in Queensland, Australia. The review covers four general areas: habitat or environmental requirements; reproductive ecology; nutritional requirements and trophodynamics; and reseeding or stock enhancement. I have examined how factors, both natural and anthropogenic, can affect growth rate and survival at different stages of the life cycle, and thereby influence species and site selection by the aquaculture industry. Ecological studies demonstrating how prawn size, age and seasonality of reproduction affect larval fitness and hatchery outputs are described. An example of the benefits of selective breeding of Penaeus japonicus from commercial trials in Queensland, Australia, are presented. Natural diets and feeding behaviour are reviewed to assist nutritionists and farm managers to formulate diets and select feeding regimes. The use of stable isotopes to assess assimilation efficiencies, as well as to trace trophodynamic pathways in ponds, is discussed. Lastly, the requirements for prawn reseeding are examined. The studies reported explore habitat requirements; carrying capacity and predation pressure; cost-benefit analyses based on growth rates, survival rates and market price at size; and tagging with genetic markers to differentiate between natural and enhanced recruitment. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.