Temperature and salinity effects on post-marsupial growth of <i>Neomysis integer</i> (Crustacea: Mysidacea)

There has been an increasing interest in using the brackish water mysid Neomysis integer as a toxicological test species for Western European estuarine systems. In this respect, more data on growth, moulting and development in this species is needed. The influence of prevailing environmental variables (e.g. temperature, salinity) and age on these processes as well as their optimal range have to be known in order to develop optimal laboratory cultures and to differentiate between chemically induced variability and natural variability in toxicity testing. Individual post-marsupial growth (size, intermoult period, growth factor) was studied from first day neonates until adulthood at eight environmentally relevant temperature–salinity conditions. Three salinities (5, 15 and 30 psu) were tested at 15 and 20 °C, and two more extreme temperatures (8 and 25 °C) were tested at a salinity of 5 psu.Survival and growth of N. integer were detected within the whole range tested, but sexual maturation was only possible in the narrower range of 15–25 °C and 5–15 psu. The size at maturity of N. integer increased with decreasing temperature and increasing salinity. Salinity seems to have a stronger effect than temperature on the duration of maturation. The sigmoid von Bertalanffy growth model was fitted to the individual and pooled data, except for the 8 °C experiment where growth was linear. Estimates from pooled data were comparable with individually based estimates, but generally underestimated the asymptotic length. Temperature was negatively correlated with the asymptotic length and positively correlated with the growth constant K. Higher temperatures caused smaller intermoult periods but had no effect on the growth increment, while salinity effects were less straightforward and dependent on the water temperature. A tool is provided to estimate the age, moult number, intermoult period, growth factor and growth rate from the body standard length of N. integer. Experimentally derived von Bertalanffy parameter estimates resulted in a higher growth performance index compared with field-based estimates for the Schelde estuary and Galgenweel populations of N. integer