Use of Phytoplankton to Assess Water Quality of Eco-Aquaculture System in Super-Intensive Whiteleg Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) Pond

Rapid development of whiteleg shrimp farming industries has destroyed coastal environments due to land conversion, particularly mangroves. Recently, the concept of eco-green aquaculture by integrating mangroves and shrimp ponds has been discussed as an attempt to preserve mangrove forests as well as using them as wastewater treatment for aquaculture sewage. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of integrated super-intensive shrimp aquaculture with mangroves in terms of water quality characteristics and phytoplankton as a bioindicator. The study was conducted at coastal area of Probolinggo region, Indonesia. Our research showed that the cultured ponds had high abundance of phytoplankton but low species diversity. Meanwhile, the water inlet and outlet of the shrimp farming which served at mangrove area had higher phytoplankton diversity. The composition of phytoplankton in this work was ideal for shrimp farming because it was dominated by the Chlorophyta and Chrysophyta divisions, which favour shrimp growth. On the other hand, water quality parameters across studied sites were quite similar, except for temperature and dissolved oxygen. Therefore, the study indicated that the existence of mangrove was supporting to increase the quality of water supply for the cultivation as well as the aquaculture water sewage in terms of phytoplankton bioindicator.