At the College of the Florida Keys, the Southernmost Marine Aquaculture Research and Training (SMART) Center is conducting a study entitled “From Guts to Glory”, with the intention of successfully introducing black grouper, Mycteroperca bonaci, into aquaculture. Through the study, a big challenge was maintaining water quality. Undergraduate research looks at valuable studies that have the potential to improve water quality. The target objective by introducing the red algae species, Asparagopsis taxiformis, into the M. bonaci broodstock system is to reduce the need for frequent water changes by absorbing excess nitrogenous wastes, providing a more consistent environment for the black grouper through regulating key physical and chemical conditions, minimizing the stress in the species and limiting their energy expenditure on adaptations.
A. taxiformis has been found to improve digestion within aquatic animals and decrease methane production in cattle. An observational study was designed by introducing A. taxiformis into a closed-recirculating system to determine its potential for integrated multitrophic aquaculture. The undergraduate study determined 1) substrate preference for sporophyte recruitment and 2) if A. taxiformis could successfully grow in recirculating systems. New growth of A. taxiformis was found on multiple types of substrates in the tanks under high flow suggesting the species can be introduced into aquaculture grow-out tanks and successfully reproduce in captivity.