Assessment of the Carrying Capacity of Integrated Pond Aquaculture of Portunus trituberculatus at the Ecosystem Level

Abstract

In recent years, integrated pond aquaculture under controlled management has been crucial in improving the supply of aquatic products and ensuring food security. This study constructed two trophic models of integrated pond aquaculture ecosystems of Portunus trituberculatus–Penaeus japonicus (PP) and P. trituberculatus–P. japonicus–Sinonovacula constricta (PPS) using Ecopath with Ecosim software. The energy flows, ecosystem properties, and carrying capacities of the two ecosystems were analyzed and evaluated. The results showed that the ecotrophic efficiency values in the PP and PPS ecosystems were 0.962 and 0.954 for P. trituberculatus and P. japonicus and 0.952 for S. constricta. The effective trophic levels of P. trituberculatus and P. japonicus were 2.065 and 2.027 in the PP system, and those of P. trituberculatus, P. japonicus, and S. constricta were 2.057, 2.018, and 2.010 in the PPS system. The primary productivities of the PP and PPS ecosystems were 2623.79 and 2781.48 g/m2/240 days, with 2.13 and 37.83% of the energy flowing to trophic level II and 97.87 and 62.17% flowing to the detritus, respectively. The total energy of the detritus group was 2900.89 and 2372.98 g/m2/240 days, with 931.02 and 1505.35 g/m2/240 days flowing to trophic level II, respectively. The total primary production/total respiration ratio of the PPS ecosystem (1.632) was lower than that of the PP ecosystem (4.824), indicating that the former had a greater degree of exploitation. At the current feeding level, the carrying capacities of P. trituberculatus and P. japonicus were 65.15 and 47.62 g/m2 in the PP ecosystem, and those of P. trituberculatus, P. japonicus, and S. constricta were 64.96, 48.06, and 100.79 g/m2 in the PPS ecosystem, respectively. At adequate feeding levels, the carrying capacities of P. trituberculatus and P. japonicus were 83.76 and 48.52 g/m2 in the PP ecosystem and 81.82 and 53.44 g/m2 in the PPS ecosystem. The ecotrophic efficiency values and energy flow parameters of the two integrated pond aquaculture ecosystems indicated that S. constricta was a suitable collocation culture species for P. trituberculatus and P. japonicus, and there is room for further improvement in yields of this integrated aquaculture ecosystem.

Assessing the carrying capacity of Mercenaria mercenaria using a steady linear food web model in two pond‐culture ecosystems

“…Owing to the lack of high‐TL predators, most of the energy flow in the two ecosystems was distributed in TLs I and II, and the energy TEs between these two TLs were very high (61.10% and 34.74%, respectively). These results are in accordance with the attributes of aquaculture pond ecosystems demonstrated by Feng et al (2017), Aubin et al (2021) and Dong et al (2021). The monoculture ecosystem had a higher primary production utilization efficiency (44.76%) than that of the polyculture system (33.32%).…”

Feasibility Study Area and Dissolved Oxygen Carrying Capacity of Silvofishery Pond on the Coastal Area

“…In these silvofishery ponds, there are feasibility values that are quite good to support the operational cycle of cultivation. The feasibility status of cultivation land is also related to the carrying capacity when the operational cycle of aquaculture is underway (Dong et al, 2021).…”

“…Furthermore, the carrying capacity of cultivation is highly determined by the land's productivity level (He et al, 2020;Mardiana et al, 2023). In other words, the correlation between cultivation productivity and the carrying capacity along with the ecological parameters of the water is significant (Lukman et al, 2021;Dong et al, 2021). The objectives of this research are to assess the feasibility of water and soil quality in silvofishery cultivation areas, and to determine the environmental carrying capacity of the cultivation.…”

Filter-Feeding Bivalve Weakens Food Competition Between Crustaceans (Portunus trituberculatus, Marsupenaeus japonicus) in Integrated Culture Ponds: Evidence From 18S rDNA Barcoding and Stable Isotope Analysis

“…The experimental pond covered an area of 1.33 ha with an average water depth of 1.2 m. The culture models are P. trituberculatus-M. japonicu (PM) and P. trituberculatus-M. japonicu-S. constricta (PMS). In July 2020, 50 kg of healthy S. constricta (shell length: SL = 1.85 ± 0.14 cm, mean ± SD, n = 53) with uniform size were stocked, 10 kg of vigorous juvenile P. trituberculatus (carapace width: CW = 0.41 ± 0.02cm, mean ± SD, n = 82) and 26 kg of energetic M. japonicus (body length: BL = 1.02 ± 0.07cm, mean ± SD, n = 64) with sound appendages were stocked after half a month (Dong et al, 2021). 40kg of iced trash fish, including fish (Nibea albiflora and Trachinotus blochii), shrimp (Oratosquilla oratoria and Solenocera crassicornis), and crab (Portunus pelagicus) were provided daily at 17:00.…”