Impact of Environmental and Anthropogenic Conditions on the Reproductive Cycle of the Pearl Oyster Pinctada Imbricata in Qatar

Abstract

To master the aquaculture of pearl oysters Pinctada imbricada, one must master its reproductive cycle. We investigated it through histology, analysis of water physico chemistry and behavior recording on wild oysters sampled at Simaisma, a clean coastal site in Qatar where, from May 2020 March 2021, temperature varied from 18.3-37.3 C. The reproductive cycle followed a seasonal pattern, with two maturation periods: one in summer, one in winter. Gametogenesis was influenced by seawater temperature and chlorophyll-a levels. During the winter, a tailored experimental design was established to study the impact of noise pollution on spawning under standard noisy laboratory condition and low noise condition. Noise pollution clearly influenced oyster valve opening behavior, growth-rate and spawning activity. Importantly, two and a half more spawning were recorded in the low noise conditions. Based on present findings, pearl oyster aquaculture and restocking programs can potentially be started in Qatar.