Term of Award

Summer 2025

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

Anthony Siccardi

Committee Member 1

John Carrol

Committee Member 2

Jennifer Zettler

Abstract

Algal turf scrubber (ATS) is an engineered system that promotes natural wastewater treatment processes and improves water quality by passing a shallow stream of nutrient rich water over the surface of a gently sloped flow-way. Algae turf scrubber biomass is a combination of micro and macroalgae, as well as micro-invertebrates, ciliates, bacteria, and more. The overall aim of the study was to reduce the feeding cost of juvenile eastern oysters by replacing the commercial microalgae diet with ATS biomass. The experiment was designed to assess the viability of replacing commercial microalgal diet with ATS biomass at different substitution levels (0, 25, 50, 75, 100%) over a period of ten weeks. It was observed that the ATS biomass supports the growth and survival of the larval eastern oysters. Supplementing larval eastern oyster feeds with ATS biomass may benefit the aquaculture industry as it will help to reduce the microalgae feeding costs.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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