Water Temperature in Inland,Low-Salinity Shrimp Ponds in Alabama

Water temperature in eight ponds and air temperatures were monitored at 2-h intervals during the 2010 growing season at an inland, low-salinity shrimp farm in Alabama. There was a high correlation (P < 0.01) between mean daily air and water temperatures; pond water usually averaged 3° to 4°C warmer than air. Monthly mean water temperatures among eight ponds differed by 3.40°C in May and by 2.83°C in September, but there was less than 1°C difference among ponds in June, July, and August. Differences in temperature among ponds were not related to pond water surface:volume ratio, but in July and September there was a negative correlation (P < 0.05) with increasing aeration rate. Negative correlations (P < 0.05) between average water temperature over the entire culture period and survival and production of Pacific white shrimp, Litopeneaus vannamei, possibly resulted from variation in crop duration and were not causal. Nevertheless, differences in water temperature among ponds in May and September were great enough to have possibly caused differential shrimp survival and production among ponds.