Abstract
This study tested the effects of temperature and pH on water quality and the growth of Sargassum linearifolium and S. podacanthum in potassium-fortified Inland Saline Water (ISW) of Western Australia (WA), at two levels of pH (low pH range of 5.5-6.5 and ambient pH 7.0-8.2) and two levels of temperature (high temperature 26-27°C and ambient room temperature of 20-22°C) in triplicate for 42 days. The pH of ISW in WA varies from 3.9 to 9.1, whereas the temperature is from 6.1-28.1°C. The results showed that the high temperature initiated the mortalities of the both Sargassum species from the first 14 days of culture period. The high temperature also resulted in a reduction of dried weight and ash content of these two species of Sargassum by the end of the trial. S. linearifolium temperature tolerant threshold was larger than S. podacanthum. Since the day 14, the S. linearifolium biomass and specific growth rate were higher than S. podacanthum at both temperature levels under ambient pH. Higher crude protein in S. linearifolium than S. podacanthum was also recorded at high temperature. Ambient pH and ambient temperature resulted in higher biomass and higher specific growth rate than low pH and high temperature in both species, which is recommended for Sargassum spp. growth.
Highlights
Australia has a significant Inland Saline Water (ISW) resource (Nulsen, 1997; Allan et al, 2001; Timms, 2005)
The higher temperature resulted in a reduction of S. podacanthum and S. linearifolium biomass from the first and second week, respectively, followed by the total mortality by day 42
The fresh standing biomass of S. linearifolium was significantly (p
Summary
Australia has a significant Inland Saline Water (ISW) resource (Nulsen, 1997; Allan et al, 2001; Timms, 2005). Targeting to the farm sustainability and environmental protection, the land management of nearly 30,000 farms in Australia has changed to prevent the expansion of salinization, 470,000 hectares of land were fenced and 210,000 km of levees, banks, drains for salinity management has been built (ABS, 2002), providing an available water source for ISW aquaculture. Building onshore farm to culture seaweeds is cheaper than seaweed farms in the open sea (Borowitzka, 1997), as well as contributing to environmental protection by reducing the salinity contamination (Ogburn, 1997), considering the availability of inland water resources and farm infrastructure. S. naozhouense has been used as a source of food and drugs for traditional orientation treatments (Hur et al, 2008; Wang et al, 2010b). The Sargassum can be used for agriculture as biochemical compounds, cattle food, fertilizer (Ara et al, 1997; Huisman, 2000)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
