Animal husbandry – Aquatic animal culturing – Crustacean culturing
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-30
2004-09-14
Price, Thomas (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Aquatic animal culturing
Crustacean culturing
Reexamination Certificate
active
06789506
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The inventions of this application relates to a method and device for detecting oviposition of crustaceans. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and device for detecting oviposition of crustaceans for easily and reliably obtaining unfertilized eggs from crustaceans, which is essential for the culture and strain improvement of the animals.
BACKGROUND ART
Unfertilized eggs are essential for the culture and strain improvement of crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters. However, it is difficult to obtain unfertilized eggs from crustaceans due to the following reasons:
(1) Unlike the unfertilized eggs of fishes that remain inside the female body for a while even after ovulation, the unfertilized eggs of crustaceans are discharged from the female body immediately after ovulation.
(2) Since the bodies of crustaceans are covered with a shell, it is not possible to examine ovulation simply by touching the female bodies.
(3) It is literally not possible to predict the exact date and time of ovulation or oviposition.
In order to obtain unfertilized eggs from crustaceans, therefore, the res archers must spend a lot of time watching a female crustacean with their own eyes until oviposition. Not only is this method energy- and time-consuming, problems arise if the researcher misses the moment at which oviposition occurs, and eggs are discharged from the female body, become overripe, and cannot be used.
Therefore, a method by which one can easily and accurately detect the oviposition of crustaceans and a device for signaling it are needed.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Given the problems arising from the conventional method of obtaining unfertilized eggs from crustaceans, the inventions of this application aim to provide a method and device for detecting the oviposition of crustaceans.
The first invention of this application is a method of detecting oviposition of crustaceans, which comprises sealing off one of the gonopores of a female crustacean, covering the other gonopore with a bag, and detecting eggs laid into the bag with a sensor.
The second invention is a device for detecting oviposition of crustaceans, which comprises a bag, a sensor put inside the bag, a waterproof cordless transmitter connected to the sensor; and a receiver to receive a signal from the transmitter, wherein the bag is set up in such a way that it covers one of the two gonopores of the surface of the crustacean, while the waterproof cordless transmitter is set up on the surface of the crustacean's body so that eggs laid into the bag can be detected by the sensor, and signals can be transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4788427 (1988-11-01), LeRoy
Carral et al., Aquaculture, vol. 104(3-4), pp. 261-269 (1992).
Minagawa et al., Marine Biology, vol. 115(4), pp. 613-623 (1993).
Japan Science and Technology Corporation
Price Thomas
Wenderoth Lind & Ponack LLP
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