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Beneficial co‐culture of jellyfish Rhopilema esculenta (Kishinouye) and sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka): implications for pelagic‐benthic coupling
Author(s) -
Ren Yichao,
Dong Shuanglin,
Wang Xiubin,
Gao Qinfeng,
Jiang Senhao
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2109.2012.03225.x
Subject(s) - jellyfish , apostichopus japonicus , biology , sea cucumber , benthic zone , monoculture , sediment , bioturbation , organic matter , pelagic zone , zoology , oceanography , fishery , ecology , geology , paleontology
This study investigated monthly changes of sedimentation and sediment properties in three different culture systems (ponds) – i.e. jellyfish Rhopilema esculenta monoculture ( J ), sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus and jellyfish co‐culture ( SJ ) and sea cucumber monoculture ( S ) – to verify the feasibility of co‐culturing jellyfish and sea cucumbers. Results showed that jellyfish culture accelerated the settling velocity of total particulate matter ( TPM ). Average TPM settling velocities in the SJ (75.6 g m −2 day −1 ) and J (71.1 g m −2 day −1 ) ponds were significantly higher than that in the S pond (21.7 g m −2 day −1 ) from June to September during the jellyfish culture period. Average settling velocities of organic matter ( OM ), total organic carbon ( TOC ), total nitrogen ( TN ) and total phosphorus ( TP ) in the SJ pond increased significantly by 3.0, 2.9, 3.3 and 3.8 times, respectively, compared with those in the S pond. Sediment contents of OM , TOC , TN and TP in the SJ and J ponds were significantly higher than those in the S pond during the jellyfish culture season. The specific growth rate of sea cucumbers feeding on SJ sediment was significantly higher than that of those feeding on S sediment. Co‐culturing sea cucumbers with jellyfish may help alleviate benthic nutrient loading due to the jellyfish and provide a secondary cash crop.