And the Culturing Continues...
After consulting with a local fisherman, that also serves as a member of the Reservoir Preservation Alliance (RPA), we decided to add a new organism to our aquaculture program at P.S.#28! On 3/20/12, we officially commenced the culturing of crayfish by purchasing 6 individuals from a local pet store. We established pools/aquariums in both aquaculture rooms to study the behavior and reproductive patterns of Procambarus clarkii. We hope to obtain native species of Procambarus acutus acutus and apply what we learn from our experience with Procambarus clarkii to successfully breed and introduce the native species into the Reservoir to supplement the food chain. We're sure that the current populations of large mouth bass and various species of turtles will benefit from the addition of crayfish!
Project Reservoir Subdivision: Crayfish Aquaculture
As of 4/25/12, we all made the decision that it would be best to divided the Project Reservoir team into smaller divisions of students to better focus on our MANY objectives. One of these subdivisions is the Crayfish Aquaculture team composed of Lexus, Esvicarla, and Jennifer!
On 4/27/12 we removed all seven of our adult crayfish from their enclosures and did our best in determining gender. We then placed "classified" individuals back into our three crayfish aquariums. We plan on experimenting with diet, light cycles, and temperature to encourage breeding.
We will study data generated from our experience with this species of crayfish to better understand the conditions required to hopefully one day breed and introduce a New Jersey native species to the Reservoir's waters.
On 4/27/12 we removed all seven of our adult crayfish from their enclosures and did our best in determining gender. We then placed "classified" individuals back into our three crayfish aquariums. We plan on experimenting with diet, light cycles, and temperature to encourage breeding.
We will study data generated from our experience with this species of crayfish to better understand the conditions required to hopefully one day breed and introduce a New Jersey native species to the Reservoir's waters.
