Seasonal variations in condition, reproductive activity and biochemical composition of the flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, from San Cibran (Galicia, Spain)

The influence of environmental parameters (temperature, salinity and available food) on the condition, reproductive activity and biochemical composition of a native population of Ostrea edulis L. in San Cibran (Galicia, Spain) was studied between September 1988 and December 1989. Histological preparations of gonads showed that gametogenesis started when temperature was at its lowest in winter. The water temperature in San Cibran never fell low enough to interrupt it. Gametogenesis proceeded slowly and spawning took place in May–June, although the predicted time of ripening was early March. Salinity in San Cibran was relatively stable throughout the year; it did not seem to have any influence on gametogenesis. Available food appeared to be a very important factor in controlling gonad growth, once gametogenesis was initiated. The major concentration of suspended organic particulate matter was present in the spring at the time of rapid gonadal maturation. Only one spawning period was observed. Larvae were released when the food in the water was high. Seasonal changes in the main biochemical components of this oyster were determined for a standard individual. Lipids and carbohydrates presented a similar time-course whereas proteins were constant. When food was abundant, energy reserves were built up. Spawning produced a decrease in biochemical constituent levels, and recovery coincided with the phytoplankton bloom. The stored reserves, mainly lipids, were used to overcome a state of energy imbalance in late autumn associated with low food availability. Results show this oyster to be an opportunist organism which concentrates its reproductive effort during a short period of favourable conditions and which is directly dependent on nutritive availability in the environment.