Evaluation of Limnocorrals for Studying the Effects of Phytotoxic Compounds on Plankton and Water Chemistry in Aquaculture Ponds |
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| Authors: | Kevin K Schrader Craig S Tucker Marjan Q de Regt Susan K Kingsbury |
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| Institution: | United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Natural Products Utilization Research Unit, P.O. Box 8048, University, Mississippi 38677 USA;National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 197, Stoneville, Mississippi 38776 USA |
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| Abstract: | Abstract.— Two studies were conducted to evaluate the potential use of limnocorrals (in situ enclosures) for evaluating the effects of phytotoxic compounds on phytoplankton community structure and water quality. Limnocorrals consisted of open‐bottomed, fiberglass cylinders that were 2.44 m in diameter and 1.53 m high. The enclosures were placed in an aquaculture pond and allowed to settle 10–20 cm into the bottom mud, forming a watertight seal that isolated approximately 5.5 m3 of pond water. The first study evaluated the effect of water mixing on environmental conditions within limnocorrals. Mixing was accomplished by injecting air through airstones suspended inside the enclosures. Conditions in unmixed limnocorrals rapidly deviated from conditions in the pond and in aerated enclosures, with overall phytoplankton biomass decreasing while abundance of cyanobacteria and concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus increased. Conditions in limnocorrals with continuous mixing also deviated from conditions in the pond. Environmental conditions among replicate mixed enclosures were, however, relatively consistent and stable for at least 2 wk. The second study evaluated the use of limnocorrals for testing the effects of phytotoxic compounds on phytoplankton community structure and water quality. A commercial chelated copper algicide was added to randomly selected, mixed limnocorrals at the label‐recommended rate. The algicide killed nearly all phytoplankton in the treated enclosures within 1 wk; however, treated limnocorrals were rapidly recolonized by green algae and diatoms. Conditions in untreated limnocorrals remained relatively stable and consistent among replicates for 16 d, after which total phytoplankton biomass began to decrease, possibly due to nutrient depletion within the enclosures. Although conditions inside the enclosures deviated with time from those in the surrounding pond water, mixed limnocorrals appear to provide a convenient and reliable method for short‐term studies of algicides and other water quality manipulations. |
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