Comparison of growth, respiration and feeding of juvenile Crepidula fornicata (L.) following natural or KCl-triggered metamorphosis

A variety of chemical treatments have recently been shown to induce larval metamorphosis for a number of benthic marine invertebrate species, but the influence of these inducers on subsequent growth and metabolism has not been examined. We induced larvae of the prosobranch gastropod Crepidula fornicata (L.) to metamorphose either naturally (by using adult-conditioned seawater and biologically filmed shell chips) or artificially (by elevating seawater KCl levels by 20 mM). Newly metamorphosed juveniles from the two treatments were reared up to 14 days on the unicellular flagellated alga Isochrysis sp. (clone T-ISO) and then tested for differences in growth rates, weight-specific respiration rates and weight-specific feeding rates. Treating larvae with KCl did not significantly alter juvenile growth or metabolism, suggesting that 20-mM elevations of KCl may be safely used to induce metamorphosis in this species.