Pengaruh Zooxanthellae Karaug Terhadap Kelangsungan Hidup dan Pertumbuhan Kerang Raksasa Kima (Tridacna squamosa)

The influence of zooxanthellae isolated from corals on the growth and suwivorship of giant clams. Giant clam known as marine bivalves (Tridacnidae) which live in coral reef. One important aspect of giant clam biology is the existence of zooxanthellae as symbiotic algae which have important role source of energy In hatchery operational procedure zooxanthellae were introduced into larvae. Zooxanthellae were isolated from adult clams. Since clams are also known as endangered species, it is important to find other sources of zooxanthellae. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of introduction of zooxanthellae which were isolated from different sources on the survival and growth of giant clams larvae. The results showed that there is no differences on the survivorship and growth of giant clams larvae introduced by zooxanthellae isolated from several corals. This result has open a possibility of using corals as source of zooxanthellae instead of using giant clams