Mass
production of microalgae in six commercial shrimp hatcheries of the Mexican
northwest
J.A. López Elías, D. Voltolina, C.O. Chavira
Ortega, B.B. Rodríguez Rodríguez, L.M. Sáenz Gaxiola, B. Cordero
Esquivel, M. Nieves-2003
Aquacultural Engineering, 29(3-4): 155-164
Abstract:
A 2-year survey in six commercial shrimp hatcheries
of the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, in the Mexican northwest, aiming to
investigate the variability of the outdoor biomass production and
composition of microalgae showed wide differences in daily mean yields, from
0.68 to 1.71×1012 cells m-3 and between 23.9 and
73.9 g m-3 of dry organic biomass.
These differences were mostly related to the type of
culture containers and consequent differences in light penetration. The best
yields were in 0.7 m deep polyethylene tanks and the lowest in 1 m
deep concrete tanks with a small surface to volume ratio.
Protein, carbohydrate and lipid yields followed the
same trends as biomass production and were mostly associated with the design
of the culture containers and, in part, with the geographic location of the
hatcheries.
Variability was high also within laboratories, and
this was related to seasonal climatic differences. In Sonora, cell
concentrations were negatively related to temperature, but organic biomass
production increased with the increase of this climatic variable, probably
because of larger cell sizes. In contrast, the data obtained in Sinaloa
showed that cell concentration and organic biomass are directly related to
temperature and inversely to light.
Proteins and lipids were negatively related to
temperature in Sonora but not in Sinaloa, where high carbohydrates were
associated with low temperatures.
Fatty acid profiles were highly variable in all cases
and were not associated with the type of culture containers or, with the
possible exception of 18C unsaturates, with the geographic location of the
laboratories, indicating as probable sources of variability between and
within hatcheries either the handling routines or the composition of the
growth media.
(Departamento de Investigaciones Científicas y
Tecnológicas de la Universidad de Sonora, Rosales y Niños Héroes s/n,
Col. Centro, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, e-mail of D. Voltolina: microalgas@mzt.megared.net.mx)