I want to perform feeding experiments with freshwater invertebrate shredders. Usually, animals are collected in the stream and acclimated to the lab prior to experiments. However, it would be better if animals were all of the same size/age/stage. I know that some species of invertebrates (Chironomus riparius) can be cultured in the lab. I want to know if anybody knows how or if it is possible to culture invertebrate shredders (e.g. Limnephilidae, Sericostomatidae, etc) in the lab. If you have any papers, or contacts of any lab doing it, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you in advance.
Isabel
Dear Isabel - which species? tipulid larvae, isopods, amphipods, snails...? This makes quite some difference...
In general, however, freshwater shredders are relatively easy to culture: make sure there is enough oxygen supply (which at the same time provides water movement that is important for, e.e., amphipods), and the temperature is stable...
Good luck!
Hi Isabel,
If you want to work with caddisflies, then culturing them is not an option to my opinion. You can make them succesfully emerge, but you cannot make the adults reproduce. Many of them have so specific requirements for swarming, feeding etc. that you could not meet these criteria in the lab. If you want to culture shredders, then stick to the amphipod Gammarus sp. Several of them can be colonised in the lab, and you may find that you can make them reproduce up to two times in one year for Gammarus pulex and G. lacustris. So it will take you quite a while to establish a big population from which you continuously can withdraw a high number of individuals for experiments.
If you want to work with Gammarus sp. I can provide you with some practical info on what not to do (own experiences) - just let me know.
I will follow this thread with interest just in case anyone comes up with a way to colonize Trichoptera shredders in the lab :-)
Cheers,
Jes
Hi Isabel,
That would be nice wouldn't it... You may want to give a look at the chapter I am attaching or contact Fernando Cobo (Univ. Santiago Compostela, [email protected]) or Rufino Vieira-Lanero (Univ. Santiago Compostela, [email protected]) who have experience with maintaing trichoptera in the lab, but I agree that you can cultivate the larvae until they emerge as adults, but it would be difficult to have them reproduce under lab conditions (the adults have a completelly different set of requirements!)
Best,
Verónica.
Hi Isabel,
I agree with J. J. Rasmussen. Gammarus are quite easy to keep and reproduce even at simple "home", conditions: a container, tap water and leaf-litter it is enough. In UPV/EHU team we had some good experience working with echinogammarus (See papers by A. Larrañaga).
The only problem is that big ones use to feed on small ones, so I recommend you to think in a way of separate them (e.g. constant flow in a direction and space divided by very fine mesh nets).
All the best with the project,
Javi
Thank you all very much for all the advices, for the contacts and papers suggested. If we succeed I'll definitely let you know, but meanwhile I'll probably bother you again asking for more advices. Thanks again
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