| Abstrakt: |
The bioremediation efficiency of the sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, held at different stocking densities as an eco-based waste treatment technology on the quality of water and sediment of the Penaeus monodon pond culture, was evaluated in this study. Two separate experiments were simultaneously conducted indoors for five days using 100-L capacity aquaria. The treatments for the pond water experiment were: (T1) control, 10 L pond water only, (T2) 10 L pond water + one sea cucumber, and (T3) 10 L pond water + two sea cucumbers. For the pond sediment experiment, the conditions of the three treatments were the same except that pond sediments were added in each aquarium. The results showed that T2 had a significant reduction of ammonia (28%), and nitrite (84%) in pond water, and nitrogen (88%) and phosphorus (9%) in pond sediment. It also efficiently improved the management of the microbial load with a significant decrease, particularly in heterotrophs (39%) in pond water compared to that in the control treatment. The results showed that the presence and activity of H. scabra have a positive bioremediation effect on waste as demonstrated by reduced ammonia, nitrite, nitrogen, and phosphorus levels and microbial load from the P. monodon pond water and sediment. Furthermore, the stocking density of one sea cucumber is more efficient in reducing these wastes compared to the two sea cucumbers stocking density. The result suggested that H. scabra can be a potentially efficient bioremediator of waste in shrimp ponds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
