Growth and gonad development of the tropical black-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera (L.), in the Gambier archipelago (French Polynesia)

The growth and reproductive cycle of cultured black-lipped pearl oysters, Pinctada margaritifera (L.), were studied in the Gambier Islands (134°52′ W, 23°07′ S) from September 2002 to August 2003. Temperatures were recorded throughout the year, revealing seasonal temperature variations between 22.3 and 27.8°C. The mean annual chlorophyll a value, as computed from satellite data, was 0.188 ± 0.075 μg L−1. To study growth and reproduction, 720 two-year-old individuals were ear hung on long-lines suspended at a depth of 7 m. Samples were taken twice a month to obtain the following measurements: shell height; wet weight of flesh and total oyster; dry weight of adductor muscle, mantle and visceral mass; and glycogen content. Gonad development was also studied by histology on parallel samples. Growth was relatively fast during the first 6 months of the study: average shell height increased from 89.1 ± 9.1 to 119.7 ± 10.8 mm and total weight from 93.4 ± 24.5 to 155.1 ± 33.6 g, between September and the end of March. Subsequently, from April to August, no significant growth was observed for shell and flesh, while the muscle weight decreased significantly. Condition index (CI), defined as the ratio of wet weight of the visceral mass to shell weight, and histological changes in the gonad revealed 3 significant reproductive events of different intensities. The analysis of correlations revealed a specific effect of the chlorophyll a concentration on the growth of shell and soma, and one of the temperature on tissue glycogen content. This study also showed also that CI could be an efficient indicator of reproductive events in pearl oyster. It thus appears that the development of gonads goes on throughout the year in the Gambier Islands, without any detectable phase of sexual rest.