Simulation of Yesso scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis, growth with a dynamic energy budget (DEB) model in the mariculture area of Zhangzidao Island

Scallop farming is the main economic activity in the northern parts of China, with a production that has increased quickly since the 1980s. In the present study, a bioenergetics growth model to the Yesso scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis, in the mariculture area of Zhangzidao Island was applied, based on dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory which describes energy flux variation through different compartments of the scallop body. Estimates of most DEB parameters were based on available physiological data or published information, and the two parameters, i.e., detritus contribution to food (αDet) and half-saturation constant for food (XK) were calibrated using datasets in this study. The model relied on two forcing variables: water temperature and food density expressed by different food quantifiers. The sets of data used to validate the model came from a growth experiment performed on P. yessoensis for bottom-sowing culture. The DEB model developed here for P. yessoensis was allowed to simulate growth and reproduction of the scallop in the growing area of the Zhangzidao Island.