Are bivalves susceptible to domestication selection? Using starvation tolerance to test for potential trait changes in eastern oyster larvae.

ABSTRACT: Conservation efforts are increasingly being challenged by a rapidly changing environment, and for some aquatic species the use of captive rearing or selective breeding is an attractive option. However, captivity itself can impose unintended artificial selection known as domestication selection (adaptation to culture conditions) and is relatively understudied for most marine species. To test for domestication selection in marine bivalves, we focused on a fitness-related trait (larval starvation resistance) that could be altered under artificial selection. Using larvae produced from a wild population of Crassostrea virginica and a selectively bred, disease-resistant line we measured growth and survival during starvation versus standard algal diet conditions. Larvae from both lineages showed

SUBMITTER: McFarland K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7326227 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature