1
|
Vasdravanidis C, Alvanou MV, Lattos A, Papadopoulos DK, Chatzigeorgiou I, Ravani M, Liantas G, Georgoulis I, Feidantsis K, Ntinas GK, Giantsis IA. Aquaponics as a Promising Strategy to Mitigate Impacts of Climate Change on Rainbow Trout Culture. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12192523. [PMID: 36230264 PMCID: PMC9559468 DOI: 10.3390/ani12192523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Climate change and overexploitation of natural resources drive the need for innovative food production within a sustainability corridor. Aquaponics, combining the technology of recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) and hydroponics in a closed-loop network, could contribute to addressing these problems. Aquaponic systems have lower freshwater demands than agriculture, greater land use efficiency, and decreased environmental impact combined with higher fish productivity. Rainbow trout is one of the major freshwater fish cultured worldwide, which, however, has not yet been commercially developed in aquaponics. Nevertheless, research conducted so far indicates that the trout species represents a good candidate for aquaponics. Abstract The impact of climate change on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems tends to become more progressively pronounced and devastating over the years. The sector of aquaculture is severely affected by natural abiotic factors, on account of climate change, that lead to various undesirable phenomena, including aquatic species mortalities and decreased productivity owing to oxidative and thermal stress of the reared organisms. Novel innovative technologies, such as aquaponics that are based on the co-cultivation of freshwater fish with plants in a sustainable manner under the context of controlled abiotic factors, represent a promising tool for mitigating the effect of climate change on reared fish. The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) constitutes one of the major freshwater-reared fish species, contributing to the national economies of numerous countries, and more specifically, to regional development, supporting mountainous areas of low productivity. However, it is highly vulnerable to climate change effects, mainly due to the concrete raceways, in which it is reared, that are constructed on the flow-through of rivers and are, therefore, dependent on water’s physical properties. The current review study evaluates the suitability, progress, and challenges of developing innovative and sustainable aquaponic systems to rear rainbow trout in combination with the cultivation of plants. Although not commercially developed to a great extent yet, research has shown that the rainbow trout is a valuable experimental model for aquaponics that may be also commercially exploited in the future. In particular, abiotic factors required in rainbow trout farming along, with the high protein proportion required in the ratios due to the strict carnivorous feeding behavior, result in high nitrate production that can be utilized by plants as a source of nitrogen in an aquaponic system. Intensive farming of rainbow trout in aquaponic systems can be controlled using digital monitoring of the system parameters, mitigating the obstacles originating from extreme temperature fluctuations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christos Vasdravanidis
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Florina, Greece
| | - Maria V. Alvanou
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Florina, Greece
| | - Athanasios Lattos
- Oecon Group, Business & Development Consultants, Frixou 9, 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Dimitrios K. Papadopoulos
- Oecon Group, Business & Development Consultants, Frixou 9, 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ioanna Chatzigeorgiou
- Oecon Group, Business & Development Consultants, Frixou 9, 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, ELGO-DIMITRA, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Maria Ravani
- Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, ELGO-DIMITRA, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Georgios Liantas
- Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, ELGO-DIMITRA, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ioannis Georgoulis
- Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Konstantinos Feidantsis
- Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Georgios K. Ntinas
- Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, ELGO-DIMITRA, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ioannis A. Giantsis
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Florina, Greece
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|