Combined effects of temperature and diet on the performance of larvae produced by young and old Palaemon serratus females.

Seasonal variations in environmental conditions determine the success of decapod larval development, and females transmit more energy in sub-optimal conditions to maximise the fitness of their offspring. The objective of this study was to focus on the combined effects of temperature (14, 18 and 22 °C) and food quality on the performance of larvae produced by 5 young (0+) and 5 old (I+) Palaemon serratus females. We prepared 3 diets based on Artemia, in decreasing order of total fatty acid content: freshly hatched nauplii (N), unenriched metanauplii (M) and metanauplii enriched with a mixture of microalgae (ME). At hatching, the larvae produced by I+ females had a higher biomass but a similar fatty acid concentration to those produced by 0+ females. Larvae survived better and developed relatively faster as temperature increased, and the longer they waited to metamorphose, the greater their weight at metamorphosis. These performances were diet-dependent, with more survival and more growth in less time with diet N than with the other two. Larvae from I+ females performed better than those from 0+ females, especially under the most stressful conditions. The greater biomass of the larvae of I+ females seems to have enabled them to follow a shorter, and therefore faster, development path than those of 0+ females. The larvae's diet also had an impact on post-metamorphic composition: larvae eating a diet richer in fatty acids produced richer juveniles and those eating a poorer diet produced juveniles with slightly more essential fatty acids. This study supports the high plasticity of caridean shrimp larval development and the importance of maternal effects on the fitness of offspring.