The Salinity Threshold of Market Squid Embryos in Southeast Alaska

Abstract

My initial project focused on the way market squid embryo morphology can possibly be effected by ocean salinity levels during development. This was to be accomplished by testing two sets of embryos with three replicates each. These two sets would comprise a salinity level that matched the ocean conditions of Sitka sound, and a comparative salinity which would represent the low salinity levels of the inner passages of Southeast Alaska. Once the embryos hatched they would be transferred into tanks especially designed to safely contain soft tissue organisms. After several weeks of paralarval development, the squid would then be euthanized in accordance with regulations and their statoliths would be removed and analyzed for and morphological differences.

As it currently stands my project has achieved a working prototype of the circulatory current aquarium that I had originally proposed in the beginning. This aquarium system exists on larger scales, however I was able to draft, develop and test my own small scale version. This scaled down aquarium allows for larval stage vertebrates and invertebrates on a focused level that’s optimized for smaller labs.