Broodstock: Spawning There are two general methods of spawning clams: passive and active. Passive spawning is less management-intensive. Multiple clams are placed in a tank. Spawning typically occurs at night,and broodstock are removed from the tank the next morning. Active spawning requires more management, as individual male and female clams are identified and separated when spawning to ensure an appropriate sperm-to-egg ratio. Passive spawning can produce large numbers of larvae, but broodstock are likely to ingest larvae and not all eggs released are fertilized successfully (they may be either unfertilized or subject to polyspermy). In addition, with passive spawning it is impossible to document spawning success of individual clams and to ensure adequate genetic variability (e.g., it is possible that only one female or one male spawns in a passive spawn). These problems are remedied by active spawning. At CCML, passive spawning is employed. The same 1,500 L tanks that held clams during conditioning are used. After a thorough tank cleaning, the batch of clams (10 PVC tubes, a total of about 30 clams) is returned to the tank which is gradually filled with 15 oC water. No thermal shockis used; temperatures are warmed gradually over several hours (approximately 1oC per hour) until 22 to 24 oC is attained. An 1,800 watt heater will warm a 1,500 L tank at a rate of about 1oC per hour. Generally, heaters are turned-on late in the day; clams are fed a broodstock dose of algae (Table 1) and left overnight. The next morning, seawater in the tank(s) is checked for presence of larvae. As a quick check, a flashlight is used to detect trochophore larvae. Larval presence and abundance is confirmed by volumetric samplings that are viewed microscopically. When larvae are detected, broodstock clams and PVC tubes are removed and placed into a separate tank gradually filled with 15 to 16oC seawater filtered to 1µm. Larval clams are not disturbed or siphoned for 30 to 36 hours post spawn to allow for shell formation and hardening.At DEI, passive spawning is also used, but the preferred method is active spawning. Both techniques use thermal shock to stimulate spawning. In passive spawning, sandwiches filled with broodstock that have been maintained at 15 oC for 6 to 7 weeks are cleaned and transferred to a 2,000 L larval tank containing 23 to 24 oC seawater. Sandwiches are placed into floating wooden trays lined with nylon window screen. One to two liters of algae are concurrently added. Spawning typically occurs at night, and the next morning broodstock are removed from the tank. At that time, the number of trochophore larvae is estimated by draining the tank completely and catching larvae on a 44 µm sieve. Throughout the draining event, sieve contents are frequently and gently transferred to a 19 L bucket. Several samples (e.g., 1 mL) are taken from the bucket to estimate trochophore abundance per mL. In active spawning, clams are removed from the sandwiches and placed into a shallow tray containing 24oC seawater. Clams are watched carefully for a period of time that can take from 15 minutes to six hours. Typically, male clams spawn first. All spawning males are collected and placed into one bucket or dish and permitted to continue releasing gametes. As females spawn, each is removed from the shallow tray and gently placed into a 1 L glass bowl with seawater to facilitate observation. Females typically resume spawning after a few minutes. Eggs from a single female are collected and transferred to one 19 L bucket. This process is continued until all females that will spawn have done so. Typically from a batch of conditioned broodstock clams, only 40 to 60% will spawn at any given time. When done, sperm from all males is in one bucket and eggs from each female are in separate buckets. Actual fertilization proceeds cautiously by placing a small amount of the sperm water (about 250 mL) into each egg-containing bucket. Visual inspection of the eggs using a microscope is the best method to determine whether fertilization has been successful. Fertilization is noted when a polar bodyforms, which occurs within 20 minutes after the egg and sperm contact. Eggs and sperm remain viable at room temperature for several hours, so if the percent of successful fertilization is low, it is possible to add small aliquots of sperm and increase fertilization success. Small aliquots are used to prevent polyspermy. Resultant fertilized eggs, 50µm in diameter, are poured through a 125µm sieve held over the larval tank. The sieve removes larger debris, while eggs pass into the tank. An alternate approach used at the Eastham, Massachusetts Hatchery employs adult clams maintained in mussel tubing (25 mm mesh). T.chuii(1 L) is added to each bath. Clams and tubing are placed in one of two 30 L cylinders of water (Rubbermaid®). One cylinder is heated to 25 oC, while the other is cooled to 15 oC. Clams (25 to 30) in socks are alternately switched between the warm and cold baths at 45 minute intervals. After 8 or more cycles the clam socks are rinsed with fresh water and placed on a rack constructed of vinyl covered wire mesh suspended near the top of a 1,000 L conical tank filled with 1 µmfiltered seawater heated to 20 oC. Clams are left to spawn overnight. The rack, socks and clams are removed the following morning and clams are returned to the conditioning tank. Water exchanges and clam sieving begin on the second day after the spawn and follow procedures employed by CCML and DEI. Spawns of up to 30 million trochophores have been observed.
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