Ontogenetic changes in biochemical composition during larval and early postlarval development of Lepidophthalmus louisianensis, a ghost shrimp with abbreviated development.

Changes in growth and biochemical composition during the transition from egg through zoea to decapodid in the ghost shrimp, Lepidophthalmus louisianensis (Schmitt, 1935), were documented in terms of dry weight, lipid classes, fatty acid composition, and carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratios. Larvae of the ghost shrimp were mass-reared in the laboratory (28 degrees C; 20% S) from hatching to the decapodid stage. latroscan lipid class analysis revealed that major lipid classes in recently produced eggs were phospholipids (80.8 +/- 1.3%) and triglycerides (16.0 +/- 1.1%), which decreased during the incubation period. Polar lipids (zoea 1: 77.4 +/- 1.7%; zoea II: 77.5 +/- 2.1%; decapodid: 80.0 +/- 1.7%) and neutral lipids, of which free fatty acids (zoea I: 10.5 +/- 2.7%; zoea II: 13.1 +/- 5.2%; decapodid: 7.8 +/- 2.1%) were dominant, represented the major lipid classes in the zoeal and decapodid stages. Triglycerides were present in small amounts. The predominant fatty acids of L. louisianensis eggs, zoeae and decapodids were palmitic (16:0), stearic (18:0), eicosapentaenoic (20:5omega3), oleic (18:1omega9), and arachidonic (20:4omega6). Elemental composition of eggs, larvae, and the decapodid stage revealed conspicuous changes in the C:N ratio, with N being relatively stable during larval development but C decreasing during the decapodid stage. These data suggest independence of newly hatched L. louisianensis on external energy resources. This combined with the ability to incorporate saturated fatty acids into polar lipids provides a selective advantage for fast development of new tissue and growth, characteristic of decapod crustacean larvae with lecithotrophic development.