Aquacultural Engineering 5 (1986) 115-121

Aquaculture and Controlled Eutrophication: Photoautotrophic/Heterotrophic Interaction and Water Quality

Gary D. Pruder
Oceanic Institute, Waimanalo,Hawaii 96795, USA

ABSTRACT In this paper, parallels are drawn between processes that underlie eutrophication in natural systems and processes that underlie productivity and stabili~' in aquaculture production systems. It is suggested that aquaculture is a form of controlled eutrophication in which succession is" restricted by management strategies including loading density, aeration, water exchange, type of fertilizer and various feeds and feeding regimes. The importance of gas exchange inhibition in aquatic systems and the interactive role of volatile organics and plant nutrients in determining the degree of balance that exists between gross" photosynthesis and total respiration is discussed. The impact of photoautotrophic/heterotrophic interactions on water quality is stressed.

INTRODUCTION The term "eutrophication' was originally applied to the accumulation of nutrients and increase in organic matter that are a natural part of the succession of lakes. Recently it has been applied not so much to the natural successional process as to the greatly accelerated one resulting from human interference (Keeton, 1972). Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of organic materials from upland and tidal marsh sources enter coastal waters annually (Biggs and Flemer, 1972). The importance of this input to the detrital food web has long been recognized. Changes in its properties such as volatility 115 Aquaculmral Engineering 0144-8609/86/S03.50- Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Etd, England, 1986. Printed in Great Britain

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(biochemical oxygen demand) and carbon to nitrogen ratios, linked with increased levels of plant nutrients from other sources, contribute to the anthropogenic degradation of coastal waters. The internal cycling of dissolved oxygen and dissolved carbon dioxide must be considered with nutrient cycling and remineralization in understanding aquatic system stability and productivity in the development of a satisfactory management strategy for water quality improvement. Evidence indicates that the decline in fisheries and other resources appears linked in some way to plant nutrient enrichment, measured as total nitrogen and phosphorus (Jaworski, 1981 ). The organic material entering coastal waters rapidly loses its identity through physical and biolo~cal breakdown. Oxygen is consumed and carbon dioxide and inorganic plant nutrients are released and serve as input materials for the growth of algae and other aquatic plants. Other plant nutrients are added directly to coastal waters by effluent from secondary wastewater treatment plants and agricultural runoff. Biggs (1981) and Brush et al. (1981) illustrate an anthropogenic effect as evidenced by the shifts in vegetation in the Chesapeake Watershed, USA (64 000 square miles) during the past four centuries. Forests and heavily vegetated woodlands have given way to urban areas, highways, pasturelands and fertilizer-intensive agriculture. These shifts, along with the increase of secondary wastewater treatment plants, have most likely resulted in a substantial change in the absolute and relative levels of biological oxygen demand and plant nutrient inputs to the estuarine system during historical time.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Unlimited input of volatile organic materials and their biochemical oxygen demand limits the carrying capacity of any aquatic system, natural or constructed, as the result of unacceptably low dissolved oxygen concentration. Likewise, input of plant nutrients can limit any aquatic system's carrying capacity, resulting in algal bloom and decay and upset of pH and dissolved oxygen. In contrast, input of volatile organic material and plant nutrients in proper proportion are required for natural intensive aquatic production, as evidenced, in part, by the relatively high productivity of nearshore waters as compared to open ocean waters. Therefore, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and

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plant nutrient input should be considered together when devising a management strategy for aquatic production systems. Aquatic plant photosynthetic metabolism consumes carbon dioxide and contributes dissolved oxygen (DO), helping maintain the DO and pH of aquatic systems. The new plant biomass enters the food web. Highly productive aquatic systems (from estuaries to aquaculture ponds) are orderly: there exists a balance in oxygen production and demand, and between carbon dioxide production and demand. Otherwise DO and pH would not remain within acceptable levels. Aquatic production systems are under severe gas exchange limitations as compared to their terrestrial counterparts which function in the atmosphere, whose composition is not substantially affected by metabolic processes. Therefore aquatic and terrestrial systems present quite different management problems. Nixon ( 1981 ), in discussing changing views of remineralization and nutrient cycling in coastal marine ecosystems, states "The major trend has been an increasing appreciation for the complexity of the processes involved, including some marked changes in our assessment of the importance of bacteria with respect to smaller animals and in our perception of the association between bacteria and particulate matter in the sea'. Further, "... the fact that eutrophication appears to be an increasing problem in many estuaries is dramatic warning that anthropogenic nutrient inputs can overwhelm the recycling and remineralization processes in coastal waters'. Scientists and enNneers working in the field of intensive aquatic production systems (mariculture) have also changed their views considerably over the past ten years. Significantly, they have recently identified the management of interactions between heterotrophic and photoautotrophic microorganisms as the key to maintaining stable and productive aquatic production systems. In the Sea Grant Aquaculture Plan 1983-87 research on control of aquatic systems was given top priority over all other areas including nutrition, genetics, diseases, economics and policy. Aquaculturists have long suffered the pains of aquatic system instability, highly variable productivity and mass mortality due to low levels of dissolved oxygen. It is only recently that I have come to realize that it is impossible to separate the feeding of aquatic organisms from environmental control (Pruder, 1981). There is widespread appreciation for the importance of balanced input of volatile

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organic materials and inorganic plant nutrients. It would be profitable to initiate cooperative research amongst those attempting to maintain the quality of marine ecosystems and those attempting to produce aquatic plants and animals in intensive production systems. Our goals are in principle similar and our problems nearly identical. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The interactive role of various volatile organic materials, BOD and plant nutrient inputs to intensive aquatic production systems is being explored for many types of aquaculture processes. By far the most productive aquaculture systems depend upon the input of organic feedstuffs, often waste materials. Aquatic microbial organisms are thought to function as an external 'ruminant stomach' (Pruder, 1983), serving to increase the nutritive value of the input organic material. According to Schroeder (1978, 1979) the productivity of aquaculture fish pond systems depends upon the addition, in proper proportion, of chemical fertilizers and organic materials. Schroeder reports the maximum fish yields attainable in earthen ponds in Israel without supplemental feed are:
-

with no fertilizer, 1-5 kg ha- ~day-~; with chemical fertilizers, 10-15 kg ha- ~day- ~; with chemical fertilizers and manure, 32 kg ha-~ day- 1

Excessive addition of chemical fertilizers to pond systems results in massive algal bloom, subsequent die-off, unacceptably low DO level, and mass mortalities to fish. The proper amount of chemical fertilizer is dependent upon the type of manure being utilized. Cassinelli et al. (1979) developed a preliminary model for dissolved oxygen in shrimp mariculture ponds: DO/AT = - ODEC - OCRES - OPRES + OPHO + OWEND + OWTUR where ODEC is the rate of oxygen consumption by shrimp respiration, OCRES is the rate of oxygen consumption by algal respiration, OPRES is the rate of oxygen consumption by photosynthesis,

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OPHO is the rate of oxygen production by photosynthesis, OWIND is the rate of oxygen input from atmospheric diffusion, and OWTUR is the rate of net oxygen input from water turnover. Cassinelli et al. (1979) used the empirical relationship developed by Redfield et al. (1963) for respiration and photosynthesis to estimate values for the preceding model. The Redfield equation is (CH20)tt}6(NH3)IsH3PO a + 1380, respiration
( photosynthesis

106CO,+ 16HNO 3+H3PO~+ 122H,O From this equation it can be shown that for each gram of carbon fixed in photosynthesis, 2'6 g of oxygen are produced. Similarly, for each gram of organic material decomposed, 1"2 g of oxygen are consumed. It is also evident that the production and consumption of nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen and carbon dioxide are related. Cassinelli et al. concluded that the major source of oxygen to a shrimp pond is photosynthesis and the major oxygen sink is algal and bacterial respiration. Indeed, shrimp respiration and diffusion from the atmosphere play minor roles in the oxygen balance. These findings support our contention that balance between heterotrophic and photoautotrophic organisms is important in aquatic system stability. Therefore, the relationship between volatile organic materials and plant nutrients, which control these processes, is important. The degree of similarity between shrimp ponds, fish ponds and certain parts of nearshore waters remains to be demonstrated. Further evidence supporting the importance of photoautotrophic/ heterotrophic interaction shows that intensive production of algae is often carbon limited, (Bidwell, 1977; Pruder, 1978, 1981; Pruder et al., 1978; Pruder and Bolton, 1979; Gordon et al., 1982; Kawasaki et al., 1982; Tarifeno-Silva et al., 1982). Goldman et al. (1982) disputes carbon limitation, but his arguments are not convincing. The required addition of carbon is similar to the long recognized need to add nitrogen, phosphorus, vitamins and trace metals for plant growth. In the terrestrial environment one seldom is concerned with the carbon dioxide for the plants or oxygen for the animals. While in the aquatic environment adequate levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen are continually threatened.

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In p o n d culture, where supplemental feed is added, the utilization of chemical fertilizers is often limited to p o n d start-up. T h e feeds provide a balance between B O D and plant nutrients. Inappropriate ratios of B O D to fertilizer input could cause a b r e a k d o w n in the pond productivity and stability. T h e r e is growing recognition of the need to 'feed the system' and not just the fish or shrimp.

REFERENCES Bidwell, R. G. S. (1977). Photosynthesis and light and dark respiration in freshwater algae. Can. J. Bot., 55,809-18. Biggs, R. B. (1981). Freshwater inflow to estuaries, short and long term perspectives. Proc. Natl. Syrup. on Freshwater Flow to Estuaries, US Fish and Wildlife #/FWS/OBS-81-04. Biggs, R. B. & Flemer, D. A. (1972). The flux of particulate carbon in an estuary. Mar. Biol., 12, 11-17. Brush, G. S., Davis, F. W. & Stenger, S. A. ( 1981). Sediment Accumulation and the Histoo' of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the Patuxent and Ware Rivers: A Stratigraphic Study. The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Cassinelli, R. D., Farnsworth, J. T., Sweat, V. E. & Stoner. D. L. (1979). Variations in dissolved oxygen concentration in mariculture ponds: a preliminary model. In: 7bird Annual Conference on Tropical and Sub-7?opical Fisheries, ed. R. Nickelson, Texas A&M University. Goldman, J. C., Azov, Y., Riley, C. & Dennet, M. (1982). The effect ofpH in intensive microalgal cultures. I. Biomass regulation. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 57, l- 13. Gordon, M. S., Chapman, D. J., Kawasaki, L. Y., Tarifeno-Silva. E. & Yu, D. (1982). Aquacultural approaches to recycling of dissolved nutrients in secondarily treated domestic wastewaters. IV. Wat. Res., 16, 67-71. Jaworski, N. A. (1981). Sources of nutrients and the scale of eutrophication problems in estuaries. In: Proc. Symposium on Nutrient Enrichment in Estuaries, eds B. J. Neilson & L. E. Cronin, Humana Press, Clifton, New Jersey, pp. 83-110. Kawasaki, L. Y., Tarifeno-Silva, E., Yu, D. & Gordon, M. (1982). Aquaculrural approaches to recycling of dissolved nutrients in secondarily treated domestic wastewaters. I. War. Res., 16, 37-49. Keeton, W. T, (1972). Biological Science, 2nd edn, W. W. Norton & Co., New York, p. 673. Nixon, S. W. (1981 ). Remineralization and nutrient cycling in coastal marine ecosystems. In: Estuaries and Nutrients, eds B. J. Neilson & L. E. Cronin, Humana Press, Clifton, New Jersey, pp. 111-38.

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Pruder. G. D. (1978). Effect of pH, carbon dioxide, oxygen and light intensity on the growth of Thalassiosira pseudonana, clone 3H, an important food for bivalve molluscan mariculture. PhD Dissertation. University of Delaware. 100 pp. Pruder, G. D. (198 I). Aquatic production systems: algae. In: Nursery Culturing of Bivalve Molluscs, eds C. Claus, N. DePauw & E. Jaspers. Ghent. Belgium, pp. 219-26. Pruder, G. D. (1983). Foreword. In: Second International Conference otz Aquaculture Nutrition, eds G. D. Pruder, C. J. Langdon & D. Conklin. October 1981, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Pruder, G. D. & Bolton, E. T. (1979). The role of CO~ enrichment of aerating gas in the growth of an estuarine diatom. Aquacult, tre, 17, 1-15. Pruder, G. D., Bolton, E. T. & Faunce, S. R. (1978). System configuration and performance bivalve molluscan mariculture. In: Proc. Ninth Ann. Meet. World Maric. Soc., Atlanta, pp. 747-59. Redfield, A. C., Ketchu, B. H. & Richards, E A. (1963). The influence of organisms on the composition of seawater. In: The Sea: Ideas and Observations on Progress in the Study of the Seas, ed M. H. Hill, Interscience PUN., New York, Vol. 2, pp. 26-77. Schroeder, G. L. (1978). Autotrophic and heterotrophic production of microorganisms in intenselv-manured fish ponds and related fish yields. Aquaculture, ! 4, 3(i)3-25. Schroeder, G. L. (1979). Fish farming in manure loaded ponds. ICLARMSEA RCA Con[: on Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture Farming Systems, 1978, Manila, Philippines. Tarifeno-Silva, E., Kawasaki, L. Y.. Yu, D. & Gordon, M. (1982). Aquacultural approaches to recycling of dissolved nutrients in secondarily treated domestic wastewater. II. It~tt. Res., 16, 51-7.