Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2006 Design and Evaluation of Automated, Continuous Culture Techniques for Brachionus rotundiformis Zhengzhong Zhang Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Zhang, Zhengzhong, "Design and Evaluation of Automated, Continuous Culture Techniques for Brachionus rotundiformis" (2006). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1537. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1537 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF AUTOMATED, CONTINUOUS CULTURE TECHNIQUES FOR BRACHIONUS ROTUNDIFORMIS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering by Zhengzhong Zhang B.S., Jimei University, 1996 M.S., Qingdao Ocean University, 1999 May 2007 ©Copyright 2006 Zhengzhong Zhang All rights reserved ii DEDICATION To my Mom and Dad Guifeng WANG and Zhuding ZHANG iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, under the advocacy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U. S. Department of Commerce, funded this research. I would like to thank Mr. Ronald E. Becker, Associate Executive Director of the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, for his trust and recognition in this research project. My major professor, Dr. Kelly Rusch, regularly reviewed and helpfully commented on my research work. Her patient directing, critical review and editing made the dissertation possible. Dr. Ronald Malone, kindly shared his pertinent and critical comments during the dissertation research. His philosophy of “teaching fishery rather than giving fishes” benefited me in the past and will in the future. His kindness and encouragement gave me confidence to overcome the hardships in this research. Thanks should be extended to other advisory committee members, Drs. Edward Chesney, Chandra Theegala, Ronald Boquet and Henry Mascagni for their patience, time, and effort contributing to the success of the dissertation research and this document. The writing of this document would not have been possible without their assistance. I would particularly like to thank the editor Ms. Susanna Dixon, Records Officer Ms. Mary Adcock in the Graduate School, and Ms. Sandy Malone in AgCenter, who kindly commented on and polished the format. I am grateful for the assistance of Dr. Tingzong Guo (for statistical analyses), Ms. Sarah Jones (for the data quality assurance), and Mr. Lance Beecher (for biofilter fabrication). iv Special thanks are extended to Miss Magdalena Angelova, Mr. Dan Seedah, Miss Daysi Espinal, Mr. Andrew Wills, and Ms. Marisa L. Sylvester. It is their hard work and cooperation that made the research run smoothly. My first stop for study in the United States was the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where I spent one and a half years. I appreciate the kind help from Mr. Ruguang Chen, Drs. Hugh Thomforde, Tim Pfeiffer, Andy Goodwin, Carole Engle, Peter Perschbacher, Rebecca Lochmann, and many others during my stay there. The pleasant time spent there will never be forgotten. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION...................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ................................... 1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 Goals and Objectives of Research .............................................................................. 4 Literature Review........................................................................................................ 5 Future of Rotifer Biotechnology............................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2.THE EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY ON BATCH- CULTURED ROTIFERS (BRACHIONUS ROTUNDIFORMIS): PRECURSOR TO A CONTINUOUS CULTURE SYSTEM DESIGN............................................................. 26 Introduction............................................................................................................... 26 Materials and Methods.............................................................................................. 29 Results....................................................................................................................... 32 Discussion................................................................................................................. 39 Summary................................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER 3. THE EFFECT OF NANNOCHLOROPSIS OCULATA FEED RATION ON THE GROWTH OF BRACHIONUS ROTUNDIFORMIS (S-TYPE) .............................. 48 Introduction............................................................................................................... 48 Materials and Methods.............................................................................................. 50 Results and Discussion ............................................................................................. 52 Summary................................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER 4. THE DESIGN OF A TURBIDOSTAT CULTURE SYSTEM FOR S- TYPE ROTIFERS (BRACHIONUS ROTUNDIFORMIS)............................................... 61 Introduction............................................................................................................... 61 System Design .......................................................................................................... 66 Preliminary Test of Rotifer Turbidostat System....................................................... 75 Discussion and Implications ..................................................................................... 81 Summary................................................................................................................... 83 CHAPTER 5. THE EFFECT OF HARVEST RATE ON THE DAILY PRODUCTIVITY OF S-TYPE ROTIFERS (BRACHIONUS ROTUNDIFORMIS) CULTURED IN AN AUTOMATED TURBIDOSTAT .................................................................................... 85 vi Introduction............................................................................................................... 85 Materials and Methods.............................................................................................. 87 Results....................................................................................................................... 90 Discussion................................................................................................................. 97 Summary................................................................................................................. 104 CHAPTER 6. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MECHANISTIC MODEL FOR A RECIRCULATING ROTIFER TURBIDOSTAT FOR BRACHIONUS ROTUNDIFORMIS (S-TYPE)........................................................................................ 105 Introduction............................................................................................................. 105 Background............................................................................................................. 106 The Development of A Mechanistic Recirculating Rotifer Turbidostat (RRT) Model .............................................................................................................. 111 Model Calibrations.................................................................................................. 115 Discussion............................................................................................................... 119 Summary................................................................................................................. 122 CHAPTER 7. AN ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS AND MODEL SIMULATIONS FOR A ROTIFER TURBIDOSTAT SYSTEM.................................. 123 Introduction............................................................................................................. 123 Materials and Methods............................................................................................ 124 Results and Discussion ........................................................................................... 125 Summary................................................................................................................