Term of Award

Summer 2024

Degree Name

Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Biology

Committee Chair

John Carroll

Committee Member 1

Michele Guidone

Committee Member 2

Anthony Siccardi

Abstract

The Georgia coast has shown great potential for large-scale oyster aquaculture, and the rate at which the sector has grown demands implementation of novel techniques to ensure sustainability and success in the face of climate change. One practice – integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) or polyculture – is known to have positive effects on the health and quality of farmed organisms and the surrounding environment through low pH/alkalinity amelioration, while also being a unique and viable way for a farming operation to diversify its products. To date, there has been no such attempt at investigating or demonstrating macroalgae culture in Georgia. One species, sea lettuce (Ulva sp), is widely cultivated around the world for its many useful applications. Before any large-scale polyculture can occur in Georgia, there is a need to investigate the feasibility of farming sea lettuce and the potential interactions with oysters. Ulva specimens were collected from coastal Georgia for use in spore settlement and ocean grow-out trials. Seeded ropes were placed at two experimental small-scale plots on Skidaway Island, GA and grown in the field for ~3 months. 890 g of Ulva was cultivated in total (~15 g ∙ cm-1 of rope) at a maximum daily growth rate of 1.1 g ∙ day-1. Additionally, a 1-month lab experiment and several 50-min incubations were conducted in which Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and Ulva were cultivated together and separately to determine any influences on water quality or organismal growth. Under daytime laboratory conditions, total alkalinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen were higher in Ulva and polyculture treatments than controls and oyster-only treatments, illustrating the buffering influence of a photosynthesizing organism on water chemistry. The results of this study can inform future research in shellfish-seaweed polyculture in the Southeast US.

OCLC Number

1448131643

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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