Abstract

Barnacle aquaculture is a developing area of production that is currently limited by the reliance on capturing naturally produced larvae. The solution to this limitation would be the development of hatcheries for culturing barnacle larvae and juveniles (Juvs). The giant barnacle Austromegabalanus psittacus (Molina 1788) is an edible species and, thus, of economic importance in Chile. Extensive cultures and hatcheries on an experimental scale have been developed for this species. In this study, a dynamic model, based on data from previously published studies, was developed to evaluate the larval development of A. psittacus over a range of temperatures and salinities in order to identify the optimal culture conditions for obtaining Juvs. The larval development time, survival, physiological, and biochemical responses of A. psittacus larvae were evaluated. The conceptual model representing the dynamic hypothesis, and the simulations, were carried out using Vensim PLE and Stella Architect, respectively. The best production performance under hatchery conditions was obtained at 18 degrees C/32 PSU. Under these conditions, the survival during the development of the nauplius (Nau) stages was 90%, and the development time was 7.5 days. The recently molted cyprids (Cyps) had an accumulated energy of 24.42 J/mg dry weight (dw). At the Cyp stage, the development time was 6 days and the survival was 54%, while the energy of the Juv was 12.02 J/mg dw. Increasing the initial energy of Nau I (NI) resulted in higher survival and energy in the Cyp and Juv stages. These simulations demonstrate the usefulness of these dynamic models in designing and evaluating hatchery protocols that optimize the performance of A. psittacus larvae and may allow scaling to mass cultivation.