Microalge For Aquaculture
Microalge For Aquaculture
Microalge For Aquaculture
DOI 10.1007/s11274-010-0632-z
REVIEW
Received: 9 August 2010 / Accepted: 8 December 2010 / Published online: 24 December 2010
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
Introduction
Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms contributed
40% of the yield from wild fisheries in the year 2000 and is
expected to surpass the yield of wild fisheries by
20202025 (Tacon 2003). India was one of the top ten
producers of aquatic organisms within the Asian region in
the year 2000 and contributed about 5% of the total
aquaculture production (FAO 2002). Increased production
in aquaculture is dependent on the adoption of an approach
with overall economic management, improved water
management, better feeding strategies, more environmentally friendly feeds, genetically fit stocks, improved health
management and integration with agriculture. Although
aquaculture dates back to the earliest parts of human history in Asia, Europe and the Pacific islands (New and
Wagner 2000), it is only in the last few decades that
aquaculture has begun to catch up with the science of feed
manufacture and nutrition. Almost 40% of all aquaculture
production is now firmly dependent on commercial feed.
This is especially true of high value carnivorous species
like shrimp, salmon and trout, whose feed contains large
portions of marine inputs in the form of fish meal (Alvarez
et al. 2007). The percentage of farms using commercial
feeds varies from 100% for salmon and trout, 83% in
marine shrimp to 38% in carp farms.
Algae are a diverse group of aquatic, photosynthetic
organisms generally categorized as either macroalgae (i.e.
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et al. 2010). Application of the genetic engineering concept, by using u.v.-light as mutagenic agent generated
strains with EPA and DHA contents about 32.8 and 32.9%
(in % dry biomass) higher than those of the control, native
strain (Meireles et al. 2003). Use of process engineering, an
on-line based controlled process in a model system has
been employed to increase the production rates of both
EPA and DHA by P. lutheri under various conditions of
light and growth rate (Meireles et al. 2008). A multidisciplinary approach involving genetically modified microalgae and optimization of the production of the desired
compound using process control would perform better than
resorting to the classical methods. In this review, the current status of knowledge of the general attributes of microalgal species used in aquaculture, their nutritional
properties, production systems, use of algae to enrich
zooplankton and directions for future research is summarized and potential areas of research and industrial development are identified (Fig. 1).
Culture systems
Existing commercial microalgal systems range from 100 l
to [109 l. Culture systems such as large open ponds, circular ponds and raceway ponds (Borowitzka 1997; Pulz
2001) exist. A common feature of most of the algal species
commercially produced is that they grow in highly selective
environments, which means that they can be grown in the
open air and still remain relatively free of contamination by
other algae and protozoa (Borowitzka 1997). For instance,
Chlorella grows well in nutrient-rich media, while Spirulina
requires a high pH of 1011 with appropriate concentration
of bicarbonate. Similarly Dunaliella salina grows at the
very high salinity of 0.56 M (Raja 2003, 2004a, 2007b).
On the other hand, those algae viz. Chaetoceros, Isochrysis,
Skeletonema, Thalassiosira, Tetraselmis and Crypthecodinium cohnii which do not have these selective advantages
must be grown in closed systems. Commercial large scale
systems such as the cascade system were developed in
Trebon, Czech Republic in the 1970s and heterotrophic
fermenters have been used for the culture of Chlorella in
Japan and Taiwan. Table 1 summarizes the commercial
algal culture and their uses. Factors to be considered for
production of microalgae include: the biology of the alga,
cost of land, labor, energy, water, nutrients (also climate if
the culture is outdoors) and the type of final product.
The various large scale systems also need to be compared with regard to such basic properties as light utilization efficiency, operation costs, ability to control
temperature, gaseous transfer for carbon source, hydrodynamic stress placed on the algae, ability to maintain axenic
culture and ease of scalability (Borowitzka 1997; Raja
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Morphology
Purpose
Growing rotifers and in fin fish hatcheries, used in reef tanks for feeding
corals and other filter feeders, very high EPA level
Pavlova
Small golden-brown flagellate, very difficult to Used to increase the DHA/EPA levels in broodstock, oysters, clams,
grow so it is not produced by many hatcheries
mussels and scallops, sterol composition so it is popular with cold water
fish hatcheries (cod) for enriching rotifers
Isochrysis
Tetraselmis
Excellent feed for larval shrimps and contains natural amino acids that
stimulate feeding in marine animals, used in conjunction with
Nannochloropsis for producing rotifers, good size for feeding brine
shrimp, standard feed for oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops, excellent
feed for increasing growth rates and fighting zoea syndrome
Thalassiosira
weissflogii
Large diatom
Dunaliella
Used to increase vitamin levels in some shrimp hatcheries and also for the
coloration
Chaetoceros
Diatom
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nutritional quality of the zooplankton; (c) growth-promoting substances such as vitamins being provided by the
algae; (d) a probiotic effect of the algae. Most likely, the
mechanism may be a combination of several of these
possibilities. While microalgae provide food for zooplankton they also help to stabilize and improve the quality
of the culture medium. Indeed, for numerous freshwater
and seawater animal species, the introduction of phytoplankton to rearing ponds leads to much better results
in terms of survival, growth and transformation index
(Muller-Feuga 2000). The reasons for this are not entirely
known, but may include water quality improvement and
stabilization by algal oxygen production and pH stabilization, the action of some excreted biochemical compounds
along with the induction of behavioural processes like
initial prey catching and the regulation of bacterial population, probiotic effects and the stimulation of immunity
(Hong et al. 2005; Raja and Hemaiswarya 2010).
Several factors can contribute to the nutritional value of
a microalga (including its size and shape, digestibility,
biochemical composition, enzymes, toxins and the
requirements of animal feeding on the alga). Studies have
attempted to correlate the nutritional value of microalgae
with their biochemical profile (Richmond 2004; Durmaz
2007). However, results from feeding experiments that
have tested microalgae differing in a specific nutrient are
often difficult to interpret because of the confounding
effects of other microalgal nutrients. Nevertheless, from
examining the literature, including experiments where
algal diets have been supplemented with compounded diets
or emulsions, some general conclusions can be reached
(Knauer and Southgate 1999). Microalgae grown to late
logarithmic growth phase typically contain 3040% protein, 1020% lipid and 515% carbohydrate (Fujii et al.
2010). In the stationary phase, the proximate composition
of microalgae can change significantly (e.g.) when nitrate
is limiting, carbohydrate levels can double at the expense
of protein (Liang et al. 2009). There does not appear to be a
strong correlation between the proximate composition of
microalgae and nutritional value, though algal diets with
high levels of carbohydrate are reported to produce the best
growth for juvenile oysters, Ostrea edulis (Ponis et al.
2006). Larval scallops, Patinopecten yessoensis provided
polyunsaturated fatty acids in adequate proportions. In
contrast, high dietary protein provided best growth for
juvenile mussels, Mytilus trossulus and Pacific oysters,
Crassostrea gigas (Knuckey et al. 2002).
Microalgal pigments transferred to zooplankton may
contribute to nutritional value (Lorenz and Cysewski 2000;
Gagneux-Moreaux et al. 2007; Raja et al. 2008) and it has
been found that dominant pigments in the copepod Temora
sp. are lutein and astaxanthin whereas in Artemia it was
canthaxanthin (Kang and Sim 2008; Gentsch et al. 2009).
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Shrimp
Shrimp farming production reached 737,200 tonnes in
1998, an increase of 12% from 1997. This increased production mainly takes place in subtropical regions of
America (28%, 457 hatcheries) and south-east Asia (72%,
3,718 hatcheries) (Alam et al. 2009). Microalgae are necessary from the second stage of larval development (zoea)
and in combination with zooplankton from the third stage
(myses). Naturally occurring microalgal blooms are
encouraged in large ponds with low water exchange where
the larvae are introduced. Sometimes fertilizers and bacteria are added to induce more favorable conditions. This
production system with poor control of microalgae provides a better part of shrimp production (Rosenberry 1991;
Lopez Elas et al. 2003). On the other hand, large sized
hatcheries require highly paid technicians, multimillion
dollar investments and highly controlled medium
conditions. The observed trend is toward specialized production, particularly with the supply of post larvae in the
hands of big centralized hatcheries. They open a pathway
to new techniques especially the genetic selection of strains
with stronger immunity.
Bivalve mollusks
Intensive rearing of bivalves has so far relied on the production of live algae which comprises an average of 30%
of the operating costs in a bivalve hatchery. The relative
algal requirements of the various stages of the bivalve
culture process depend on whether the operation aims at
the mass production of larvae for remote setting or growing
millions of seed till planting size (Lavens and Sorgeloos
1996). In either case, juveniles consume the largest volumes of algal culture to produce a demand of large biomass
with high weight species. Bivalve hatcheries rely on a
broad range of algal species such as Chaetoceros sp,
Chlorella minutissima, Gomphonema sp, Isochrysis galbana, Nitzschia sp, Pavlova sp, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Skeletonema sp, Thalassiosira pseudonana and
Tetraselmis subcordiformis. The algal species that were
reported in an international survey among hatchery operators in 1995 are Isochrysis sp, C. gracilis, C. calcitrans
and T. suecica.
Zooplankton
Microalgae have an important role in aquaculture as a
means of enriching zooplankton for feeding to fish and
larvae (Chakraborty et al. 2007). As such, the algal and
zooplankton strains (Fig. 2) of the correct size and nutritional content have been identified for each of the major
aquaculture species. The zooplankton most commonly used
are rotifers Brachionus plicatilis and Artemia salina
(Chakraborty et al. 2007). To a much lesser extent, cladocerans (Moina macrocorpa, Daphnia sp.) and copepods
(Euterpina acutifrons, Tigriopus japonicus) are used. For
zooplankton to grow and reproduce in the hatchery algal
food is necessary and it is provided to the newly hatched
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action of some excreted biochemical compounds is generally mentioned, as well as the induction of behavioral
processes like initial prey catching, other positive functions
(such as regulating the bacterial population, probiotic
effects and stimulating immunity) have also been suggested but they are not sufficiently understood.
The future
The high production cost of microalgae remains a constraint to many hatcheries. Improvements in alternative
diets may continue but production costs of microalgae may
also decrease due to the uptake of new technology by
hatcheries. Therefore, it is unlikely that microalgae will be
totally replaced at least in the medium term. A good
selection of microalgal species is also available to support
the aquaculture industries (Lopez Elas et al. 2003).
However, for some particular applications or industrial
sectors new species with improved nutritional quality or
growth characteristics could improve hatchery efficiencies.
For instance, copepods are recognized as excellent feeds
for fish larvae, but they have proven difficult to produce in
intensive systems. The utilization of alternative microalgal
species could improve their production rates.
Apart from improvements in the cost-effectiveness of
on-site algal production, an alternative is the centralization
of algal production at specialized mass culture facilities
using heterotrophic methods or photobioreactors to produce cheaper algal biomass. These technologies could be
clubbed with post-harvest processing such as spray drying
or algal concentration to develop off-the-shelf algal biomass for distribution to hatcheries (Lopez Elas et al.
2003). Further research is required to enhance the shelf life
of concentrates and for the development of concentrates of
popular flagellates such as Isochrysis sp. and Pavlova
lutheri. The use of microalgae either as a full or partial
enrichment should be considered for improving the nutritional quality of zooplankton. Microalgae contain an array
of essential nutrients that may be transferred through food
chains especially PUFAs. Microalgae Isochrysis sp. and
P. lutheri can provide a moderate enrichment of DHA
though not as effective as commercial oil emulsions like
DHA. The new algae like thraustochytrid products are
extremely high in DHA and provide an effective means of
enriching zooplankton to produce good DHA: EPA ratios.
New thraustochytrids are being investigated with other
nutritional characteristics, high concentrations of AA.
Some work has been documented on the transfer of AA
from microalgae through zooplankton and fish larvae, but
much lesser is known about other vitamins.
Though microalgae have generally been proposed here
as a good source of vitamins, they can vary significantly
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Conclusion
Application of non-living microalgae in aquaculture have
provided mitigated or unsuccessful results, making live
microalgae the first choice in aquaculture feeding. Only
partial replacement for live microalgae is successful in
studies using preserved non-living algae, microencapsulated diets, or spray-dried algae. However, no complete
replacement has been achieved despite intensive research
efforts. According to the scientific literature, live microalgae with high nutritive value and appropriate physical
properties can provide a healthy rearing environment to the
aquaculture system.
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