As part of a larger study aimed at reducing the effluent loads of phosphorus from high density, flow-through aquaculture facilities, preliminary research steps were taken to establish a relationship between total phosphorus and ratios of carbon and nitrogen isotopes. The goal of this facet of the project is to determine residence time of phosphorus particles in a high-density flow through aquaculture facility. Isotopes of phosphorus are relatively unstable, therefore our intention is to use stable isotopes of carbon or nitrogen as a proxy. To this end, samples of water, feed, whole fish and feces were collected and analyzed for total phosphorus and d ¹³C and d ¹⁵N. Phosphorus concentrations, d ¹³C and d ¹⁵N were analyzed using a liner regression to establish a relationship.

The links to the left describe the work that has been done to date on this aspect of the project.  If you would like more information or have questions that were not answered, please send me an e-mail at dmcintosh1@hotmail.com.  If you would like, click here, to get a MSWord version of this paper. 

Dennis McIntosh, Graduate Research Associate

University of Arizona - Environmental Research Lab

2601 E. Airport Dr.

Tucson, AZ 85706

Phone: (520) 626-3318

Fax: (520) 573-0852