A study of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus budget in jellyfish–shellfish–fish–prawn polyculture ponds

A budget describing the flow of organic carbon ( OC ), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) through two polyculture ponds (jellyfish–shellfish–fish–prawn) was constructed. The total input of OC was 3107 kg ha −1 in pond 1 and 3358 kg ha −1 in pond 2, while total output was 1759 kg ha −1 in pond 1 and 1325 kg ha −1 in pond 2. In pond 1, the total input of N was 364 kg ha −1 and output was 359 kg ha −1 , whereas, in pond 2, the total input of N was 439 kg ha −1 and total output was 331 kg ha −1 . The total input of P was 75 kg ha −1 in pond 1 and 66 kg ha −1 in pond 2, while total outputs for pond 1 and pond 2 were 74 and 65 kg ha −1 respectively. Primary production from phytoplankton contributed the largest proportion of total OC (49–56%), while feed contributed the largest proportion of N (78–81%) and P (79–80%). Animals harvested from the aquaculture ponds accounted for the largest proportion of N (50–73%) and P (49–52%), and respiration accounted for the largest proportion of OC (43–61%) output from the system. The OC , N and P use efficiency of harvested animals was 30.30%, 70.19% and 50.14% in pond 1, respectively, and 21.03%, 46.95% and 46.47% in pond 2 respectively. In terms of nutrient use, the filter‐feeding bivalve, Sinonovacula constricta , was the most efficient species within the polyculture system.