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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2024

Abstract

During the cultivation of Ulva fenestrata in a land-based aquaculture system, the colonisation of the water tanks’ surfaces and eventually the macroalgal biomass by the biofouling diatom Fragilariopsis oceanica compromises the production process. Since germanium dioxide (GeO2) is an effective growth inhibitor of diatoms, this study aimed to understand how it affects the presence of F. oceanica and the photosynthesis and growth of U. fenestrata as a primary parameter contribution to the biomass production. A toxicological dose-response experiment showed that the diatom’s growth was inhibited at the low GeO2 concentration of 0.014 mg l−1. In contrast, the photosynthetic performances and growth rates of U. fenestrata remained unaffected under a wide GeO2 concentration range (0.022–2.235 mg l−1) in small- and large-scale experiments in 1-l glass beakers and 100-l Plexiglass water tanks, respectively. In the latter, the diatom density in the tanks was reduced by 40 %. The costs arising from the use of GeO2 can range between €2.35 and €8.35  kg−1 fresh weight of produced U. fenestrata biomass under growth conditions resulting in growth rates of 20 and 11.5 % d−1, respectively. GeO2 is an effective agent to control biofouling diatoms such as F. oceanica during the land-based biomass production of U. fenestrata.