CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How do oysters reproduce?

How do oysters reproduce?

Oysters have two sexual phenomena: hermaphroditism and dioecy, and they often change gender. When oysters reach one year old, their gonads mature and they begin to reproduce. Oysters can be divided into two types of reproduction: oviparous and larval. The oviparous reproduction method is that the parent shellfish excretes mature sperm and eggs from the body, which are fertilized, hatched, and developed in the seawater. After a period of floating life, they are fixed on objects such as reefs. Most oysters, such as pleated oysters, long oysters, and Omi oysters, belong to this reproduction method.

The breeding season of oysters varies with species, and even for the same species, the breeding season varies depending on the sea area where they live. Generally speaking, the breeding season of oysters is mostly in the months with the highest water temperature and the lowest salinity in the sea area. For example, the peak breeding season of Crassostrea gigas in Xiangshan Port is from June to August.

Hermaphroditic individuals lay about 10 eggs at a time, which are fertilized and hatched in the mantle, and the larvae separate from the mother; heterozygous individuals lay tens of millions of eggs at a time, and the sperm and eggs are fertilized and hatched in seawater; once the larvae are fixed to an object, they will never separate. Some species can be artificially cultured.

Oysters are oviparous and breed from June to August. Ostrea edulis (European flat oyster) breeds in summer. Some species release their eggs into the water for fertilization, while others do so inside the female.

The fertilized eggs develop into swimming larvae, called veliger larvae. After two weeks, the veliger larvae become permanently fixed to other objects, such as other oyster shells or rocks. After three days of fixation, the larvae lose the ability to swim and become small adults, called spats. They are harvested after 3 to 5 years.

Additional information

Oyster Main Ingredients:

It contains 80% to 95% calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate and calcium sulfate, as well as magnesium, aluminum, silicon and iron oxide. After calcining, the carbonate decomposes to produce calcium oxide.

Oysters contain glycogen, taurine, 10 essential amino acids, glutathione, vitamins A, B1, B2, and D, and inorganic substances such as copper, zinc, manganese, barium, phosphorus, and calcium. Among them, they contain the most abundant leucine, arginine, and citrulline. They are one of the marine species with the highest content discovered by humans so far.

There are many oysters farmed in Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan. The meat is delicious and rich in protein, fat and glycogen. It can be eaten fresh or cooked. It can also be processed into dried oysters or oyster sauce. The shell can be used as medicine or burned as lime.

Oyster Nutrition Facts:

Teach you how to read the nutritional composition table of oysters. From the table on the left, you can see that the cholesterol, calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, sodium, zinc, selenium, copper, and vitamin B2 of oysters are higher than the average compared with similar foods. The content of each nutrient in oysters and the function of each nutrient are detailed in the chart.

Oysters are rich in protein, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids and tyrosine, and low in cholesterol. They are high in zinc, which helps improve male sexual function. Note: 6 oysters contain twice the daily zinc requirement. If oysters are not fresh, they can easily cause food poisoning.