Durvillaea aquaculture; optimising fertilisation rate to improve hatchery outcomes

Supervisory Team:

• Dr Wouter Visch (primary)
• Assoc. Prof Jeff Wright and Prof Catriona Hurd (co-supervisors)

Brief project description:

Durvillaea (bull kelp) is a large brown seaweed with diffuse growth with separate male and female plants (i.e. dioecious). It grows in wave-exposed intertidal and subtidal environments, due in part to its unique cellular structure and biomechanical properties which allow it to tolerate high wave energy. Durvillaea reaches high biomass and there is a small but valuable (~AU$1.5 million GVP) commercial industry for Durvillaea in Australia, based wholly on beach cast stock. For this industry to expand and improve sustainability there have been efforts to cultivate the species.

Like most seaweeds, Durvillaea cultivation includes two phases; (1) the indoor hatchery phase, and (2) the out-door grow-out phase at sea. During the indoor hatchery phase environmental factors such as temperature, light level/period, and nutrients for optimal fertilisation rates can be controlled. However, optimal conditions have thus far not been examined.

In this project, the aim is to examine optimal conditions for fertilisation to improve hatchery outcomes. The work will have a huge impact underpinning future aquaculture practice in Tasmania and will be associated with the Blue Economy CRC.

Skills students will develop during this research project:

The student will gain knowledge on seaweed reproductive biology, microbiological methods, experimental design, data analysis, PAM-fluorescence, microscopy, seaweed physiology, and seaweed aquaculture practices.