Abstract
In this study, polyethylene filter cotton (PFC) was used as a suspended biocarrier to remove ammonium from aquaculture ponds. The concentration of the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB amoA gene reached ~107 copies cm−3 in the PFC after 16–19 days of incubation, whereas only 101–102 copies cm−3 were present in the aquaculture water. The effects of temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration on the nitrification rate were evaluated in the laboratory. The nitrification rate of PFC enriched with AOB reached 0.035 ± 0.002 mg N cm−3 PFC h−1 measured at pH 7.0–8.5, 28 °C, and a DO concentration of 6.0–7.0 mg L−1. These results suggest that the use of PFC as a suspended biocarrier in aquaculture ponds is a feasible and cheap method for removing ammonium ion in situ.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Auguet J-C, Nomokonova N, Camarero L, Casamayor EO (2011) Seasonal changes of freshwater ammonia-oxidizing archaeal assemblages and nitrogen species in oligotrophic Alpine Lakes. Appl Environ Microbiol 77:1937–1945
Beman JM, Popp BN, Francis CA (2008) Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for ammonia oxidation by marine Crenarchaeota in the Gulf of California. ISME J 24:429–441
Boer WD, Kowalchuk GA (2001) Nitrification in acid soils: micro-organisms and mechanisms. Soil Biol Biochem 33:853–866
Chang WYB (1989) Estimates of hypolimnetic oxygen deficits in ponds. Aquacult Fish Manag 20:167–172
Chang WYB, Ouyang H (1988) Dynamics of dissolved oxygen and vertical circulation in fish ponds. Aquaculture 74:263–276
Editorial Board of Monitoring and Analytical Method of Water and Wastewater, State Environmental Protection Administration of China (2002) Monitoring and analytical method of water and wastewater, 4th edn (in Chinese). China Environmental Science Press, Beijing
Emerson K, Russo RC, Lund RE, Thurston RV (1975) Aqueous ammonia equilibrium calculations: effect of pH and temperature. J Fish Res Board Can 32:2379–2383
Erguder TH, Boon N, Wittebolle L, Marzorati M, Verstraete W (2009) Environmental factors shaping the ecological niches of ammonia-oxidizing archaea. Fems Microbiol Rev 33:855–869
French E, Kozlowski JA, Mukherjee M, Bullerjahn G, Bollmann A (2012) Ecophysiological characterization of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria from freshwater. Appl Environ Microbiol 78:5773–5780
Handy RD, Poxton MG (1993) Nitrogen pollution in mariculture: toxicity and excretion of nitrogenous compounds by marine fish. Rev Fish Biol Fish 3:205–241
Könneke M, Bernhard AE, de la Torre JR, Walker CB, Waterbury JB, Stahl DA (2005) Isolation of an autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing marine archaeon. Nature 437:543–546
Li W, Li Z (2009) In situ nutrient removal from aquaculture wastewater by aquatic vegetable Ipomoea aquatica on floating beds. Water Sci Technol 59:1937–1943
Lin YF, Jing SR, Lee DY, Chang YF, Sui HY (2010) Constructed wetlands for water pollution management of aquaculture farms conducting earthen pond culture. Water Environ Res 82:759–768
Lu SM, Liao MJ, Xie CX, He XG, Li DP, He LL, Chen J (2014) Seasonal dynamics of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in freshwater aquaculture ponds. Ann Microbiol. doi:10.1007/s13213-13014-10903-13212
Matsutani N, Nakagawa T, Nakamura K, Takahashi R, Yoshihara K, Tokuyama T (2011) Enrichment of a novel marine ammonia-oxidizing archaeon obtained from sand of an eelgrass zone. Microbes Environ 26:23–29
Merbt SN, Stahl DA, Casamayor EO, Marti E, Nicol GW, Prosser JI (2012) Differential photoinhibition of bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidation. Fems Microbiol Lett 327:41–46
Mincer TJ, Church MJ, Taylor LT, Preston C, Kar DM, DeLong EF (2007) Quantitative distribution of presumptive archaeal and bacterial nitrifiers in Monterey Bay and the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Environ Microbiol 9:1162–1175
Sauder LA, Engel K, Stearns JC, Masella AP, Pawliszyn R, Neufeld JD (2011) Aquarium nitrification revisited: thaumarchaeota are the dominant ammonia oxidizers in freshwater aquarium biofilters. PLoS ONE 6:e23281
Stahl DA, de la Torre JR (2012) Physiology and diversity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea. Annu Rev Microbiol 66:83–101
Stark JM (1996) Modeling the temperature response of nitrification. Biogeochemistry 35:433–445
Tang YY, Li XZ, Zhou YQ, Jia Y, Xin ZJ, Sun YG (2012) Effect of Ipomoea aquatica Floating-bed on the quantity and distribution of nitrogen cycling bacteria and nitrogen removal (in Chinese). Acta Ecol Sin 32:2837–2846
Tilley DR, Badrinarayanan H, Rosati R, Son J (2002) Constructed wetlands as recirculation filters in large-scale shrimp aquaculture. Aquacult Eng 26:81–109
Tourna M, Freitag TE, Nicol GW, Prosser JI (2008) Growth, activity and temperature responses of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria in soil microcosms. Environ Microbiol 10:1357–1364
Acknowledgments
This study was supported financially by the Special Fund for National Technology System for Conventional Freshwater Industries (No. nycytx-49-09), Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest Project (No. 201203083), and National Key Technology R&D Program (2012BAD25B01) of China.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Shimin Lu and Mingjun Liao contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lu, S., Liao, M., Xie, C. et al. Removing ammonium from aquaculture ponds using suspended biocarrier-immobilized ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms. Ann Microbiol 65, 2041–2046 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13213-015-1042-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13213-015-1042-0