Fish Welfare in Urban Aquaponics: Effects of Fertilizer for Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) on Some Physiological Stress Indicators in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.)

Villarroel, M. ; Miranda-de la Lama, G. C. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Escobar-Álvarez, R. ; Moratiel, R.

Resumen: The combination of hydroponics and aquaculture, or aquaponics, normally requires adding fertilizer to recirculated water to ensure optimal plant growth, but the effect of that fertilizer on fish welfare has not been studied in detail, especially for small urban and coupled aquaponic systems. In this study, a commercial fertilizer was placed in two small aquaponic systems (less than 250 liters each) to test its effect on the stress levels of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) compared to controls without any fertilizer. Fish production parameters were not significantly different between treatments, nor were physiological indicators of fish stress (plasma cortisol, glucose, and triglycerides). On the other hand, lettuce growth (leaf and root weight and length) was up to three times higher in the treatment that received fertilizer. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/w14060935

Año: 2022

Publicado en: Water (Switzerland) 14, 6 (2022), 935 - [10 pp]
ISSN: 2073-4441

Factor impacto JCR: 3.4 (2022)

Categ. JCR: WATER RESOURCES rank: 38 / 103 = 0.369 (2022) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES rank: 135 / 275 = 0.491 (2022) - Q2 - T2

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 5.5 - Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Q1) - Social Sciences (Q1) - Environmental Science (Q2) - Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.723 - Geography, Planning and Development (Q1) - Aquatic Science (Q1) - Water Science and Technology (Q2) - Biochemistry (Q2)

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Producción Animal (Dpto. Produc.Animal Cienc.Ali.)