The role of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) in an environmentally sustainable rearing sustem (IMTA)
Author(s)
Brundu, Gianni
Date Issued
June 15, 2017
Type
Doctoral Thesis
Abstract
This PhD thesis aims to enhance the hatchery production of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and its live feed, micro- and macroalgae, by promoting responsible and sustainable aquaculture as the Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture.
Experiments of Chapter 2 and 3 identified an alternative sea urchin larval rearing method and microalgal diets, Dunaliella tertiolecta alone and mixed with Chaetoceros gracilis, which improve development and survival of larvae and post-metamorphic individuals. Macroalga Ulvella lens could represent a valid alternative to traditional biofilm of diatoms as inducing metamorphosis factor of larvae, while a higher settlement rate resulted by using seawater previously “conditioned” by adult conspecifics. Chapter 4 demonstrated that somatic growth of juvenile sea urchins increases by decreasing stocking density, and individuals achieve 15 mm in test diameter after ~13 months. Chapter 5 showed that D. tertiolecta is able to growth well in grey mullet Mugil cephalus wastewater, by removing more than 90% of dissolved nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous). Positive results in the nutrient assimilation of M. cephalus wastewater were also obtained with the macroalga Ulva sp. (Chapter 6), but the cultivation system resulted quite poor in the biomass yield, therefore it needs to be improved to ensure a higher production.
This study demonstrates that is possible to produce juvenile individuals of P. lividus by re-using M. cephalus wastewater to produce live feed for larvae and juveniles; however, further studies would be needed to test the applicability of these systems to larger scale production.
Additional information
Dottorato di ricerca in Ecologia e gestione sostenibile delle risorse ambientali
Subjects
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