Producing Pearls Using the Black-lip Pearl Oyster - CTSA

Producing Pearls Using the Black-lip Pearl Oyster (Pinctada margaritifera)Page 8Larval, larvae: an early developmental stage of the pearl oysterlife cycle when the pearl oyster is a microscopic andfree-swimming organism. This period last 2-3 weeks.Mabe or half pearl: dome-shaped secretions of nacre developedover an artificial form that is attached to the shell.Mantle: part of the tissue of the oyster that lays down thenacre.Metamorphosis: developmental stage involving anatomicaland behavioral changes that transform the free-swimminglarvae to a settled adult.Nacre or mother-of-pearl: The iridescent material lining theinside of mollusk shells. Nacre is composed of calciumcarbonate crystals (aragonite) deposited between layersof organic material. Nacre is one of the types of shellmaterial formed by the epithelial cells in the mantle tissue.Nucleus: a small, polished bead made from the shell of freshwatermussels used as the core of cultured pearls.Pearl sack: the tissue containing the nacre-producing epithelialcells which enclosed the developing pearl. Thepearl sac develops out of the transplanted piece of mantletissue (the graft) that is inserted into the gonad duringgrafting. This term may also be used to refer to the extremeend of the gonad where the nucleus is inserted.Spat: juvenile pearl oysterSpawn, spawning: release of eggs or sperm by the pearl oysterinto the water.AcknowledgmentsThis publication was prepared as part of the work undera project titled “Aquaculture Extension and Training Supportin the U. S. Affiliated Pacific Islands - Year 10.” Fundingwas partially provided by the Center for Tropical andSubtropical Aquaculture through a grant from the CooperativeState Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture(grant #97-38500-4042). This publication is alsofunded in part by a grant from the Pacific Aquaculture DevelopmentProgram which is sponsored by the U.S. Departmentof the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs (grant #GEN103), and in part by a grant/cooperative agreement from theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, project#A/AS-1, which is administered by the University of HawaiiSea Grant College Program, SOEST, under InstitutionalGrant No. NA86RG0041 from NOAA Office of Sea Grant,Department of Commerce. The views expressed herein arethose of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the viewsof the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department ofthe Interior, the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture,the Pacific Aquaculture Development Program or anystaff of those agencies. UNIHI-SEAGRANT-TR-98-07.Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture Publication Number 141December 1999