Reconstructed 3D models of digestive organs of developing Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae (original) (raw)
Journal of Fish Biology, 1991
Cod larvae, Gadus morhua L., were reared in the laboratory and released to a large marine enclosure4 to Sdaysafter hatching(6-8" C). Thedevelopment ofthedigestive system was studied until day 24 after hatching. Morphological investigations of the jaw apparatus and the digestive tract showed that the larvae are able to absorb ingested food well before exhaustion of the yolk sac. The foregut, and especially the midgut, were particularly active in lipid absorption, and the hindgut was characterized by pinocytotic activity. During the first days of feeding, no distinct prey organisms were observed in the gut. and signs of food absorption in the epithelial cells of the gut were sparse. A distinct red fluorescence, restricted to the hindgut, was observed from day I 1 to day 19. On the basis of changes in absorptive pattern in the gut we suggest that changes in digestive and absorptive abilities, as well as in nutritional needs, take place around days 15-17 after hatching. In starved larvae, signs of degeneration of the gut tissue were first visible in the foregut. By day 9 after hatching, microvilli was degenerated to such an extent that the ability to absorb food must have been severely restricted. Iflarvae are starved longer than this, they will probably not survive.