Abstract:Exopalaemon carinicauda is a widely-distributed species. Its wide temperature and salinity tolerances, fast growth, and strong adaptability have enabled it to become a characteristic breeding species in coastal areas of China. In China, there are around 100 million acres of saline-alkali water with breeding potential. Saline-alkali water has a high-pH, high-carbonate alkalinity, and complex ion composition, which hinders the full development and utilization of resources. Due to its strong environmental adaptability, E. carinicauda has been successfully cultivated in coastal saline-alkali waters in recent years. It is urgent to improve its germplasm for saline-alkali aquaculture production of this species. In this study, quantitative genetics principles and intra-sibling correlation methods were used to estimate the heritability and heredity-related parameters of saline-alkali stress in 50-day-old E. carinicauda. Fifty full-sib families (including 42 half-sib families) were constructed by directional mating. The survival time under saline-alkali stress was analyzed with a general linear model (GLM) using SPSS software, and the genetic correlation with and heritability of saline-alkali tolerance were estimated. The results showed that the heritability of saline-alkali tolerance was 0.18~0.60, and the estimated value was not significant. The genetic correlation and phenotypic correlation between saline-alkali tolerance and body length were –0.401 and 0.127, respectively. The genetic and phenotypic correlations between saline-alkali tolerance and body weight were –0.196 and 0.033, respectively. The results of this study showed that selective breeding has great potential to improve the saline-alkali tolerance of E. carinicauda, and taking the saline-alkali tolerance as the breeding index would not significantly affect the body length and weight of E. carinicauda.
