Litopenaeus setiferus is a native species of the North Atlantic; it shows good survival in seawater or in low salinity in clear water systems. However, its reduction in the natural population puts it at risk from an ecological viewpoint not only for its capture but also for its conservation. Biofloc have proven to be a sustainable alternative for other native shrimp species (Emerenciano et al., 2012; Magaña-Gallegos et al., 2018). Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of biofloc at high and low salinity on the antioxidant activity, and oxidative damage of L. setiferus.
L. setiferus postlarvae were separated into two groups: low and high salinity (5 and 35 psu, respectively). Shrimp were distributed into six fiberglass tanks and acclimated for 5 days. For biofloc stimulation in the experimental tanks, a volume of 1,000 L biofloc inoculum was used and filled at full capacity with filtered clear water. Three replicates were established and monitored for 90 days. At the end of the experiment, 15 shrimp for each treatment were dissected to obtain a portion of muscle tissue for further antioxidant (CAT, SOD, GST) and oxidative damage (PO, LPO) analysis. The contribution of salinity conditions on these parameters were identified by PCA analysis, supporting the tendency obtained by UPGMC to visualize the grouping for each treatment.
Results suggest that biofloc can stabilize and improve conditions for L. setiferus. During the experimental phase, oxidative stress was stimulated, which increased cell damage at low salinity due to the high oxygen consumption under fasting and postprandial conditions.