Collaborative Research: Investigation of decoupled algal-biofloc aquaponics technology for deployment in food deserts

人们对在食品沙漠采用水培技术(水产养殖与水培蔬菜生产的融合)的想法兴趣高涨。在最好的情况下，水培技术允许当地人生产自己的鲜鱼，并以可持续的方式生产：鱼的废水被用来为植物提供水和肥料。然而，有重大的技术和社会障碍阻碍了生活在食物沙漠中的边缘化人口采用水培技术。障碍包括1)没有先进技术知识的系统容易不稳定，2)鱼和农产品的质量不符合消费者的质量要求(例如浑浊的鱼味)，以及3)食品安全问题，因为鱼废水中的病原体可能污染蔬菜。如果不能解决这三个问题，水培系统(以及相应的营养和环境效益)将继续使边缘化人口无法承受。该项目的目标是提高对水培设计决策如何影响稳定性、病原菌动态和产品质量的理解。该项目的中心假设是，藻类生物絮凝物和解偶联系统在以下方面的性能指标将超过以细菌为中心的生物絮凝物和耦合系统(当前系统的85%)：1)系统稳定性和易操作性，2)营养和风味特征，以及3)新手用户手中的病原体管理。该项目将允许对将藻类生物絮凝物和分离的植物生产整合到小规模水培系统中进行严格测试，无论是独立的还是组合的。测试系统将由东阿拉巴马州的高中生(经过动手培训)在学校和大学之间的协作伙伴关系中操作。该大学团队在研究水培系统和废物的藻类细菌处理方面拥有丰富的经验，并经常参与与新手用户的教育和推广计划。这三个具体的研究目标是：(目标1)测试将藻类和解耦技术整合到biofloc水培中，以提高新手用户(高中生)的稳定性和易操作性。其假设是，将绿藻整合到生物群中，并将其部署到一个分离的水培系统中，将提高系统的稳定性(硝化能力)和可靠性(植物和鱼类的存活)。(目的2)确定藻类生物絮凝剂对改善水培产品的营养品质和风味的贡献。假设将小球藻整合到生物絮凝物中将增加鱼类的omega-3脂肪酸组成，蔬菜的抗氧化剂含量，并通过取代产生浑浊味道的机会细菌和蓝藻物种来改善鱼的风味组成。(目的3)量化藻类生物群落和解偶对水培指示病原菌的影响。假设是，在生物圈中存在像小球藻这样的藻类分类群，以及使用解耦系统将减少指示性病原体的存在。学生和教师将运行不同的水培系统，奥本大学和巴山科学研究所将对这些系统进行高级化学、微生物和基因组分析。学生在正式的父母知情同意后，将通过调查来评估系统的易用性和产品的风味。对水培中微生物动态的更好的理解可以广泛地推广到水产养殖、养分回收和废物管理的其他领域。更好地理解设计选择如何影响用户体验，可能会转化为对其他可扩展食品生产技术的研究。该项目旨在加强对生活在食物供应有限的低收入社区的高中生的教育。大约225名学生将通过操作水培系统进行动手学习，使他们能够学习和应用农业、生物、化学、营养和工程方面的知识。这些学生可能会对可持续食品生产的未来产生影响：他们学到的技能应该延伸到广泛的职业和教育途径。预计在他们成长的几年里，他们对STEM主题的自我认知将产生可衡量的变化，这将通过调查工具进行评估。该项目由CBET/ENG环境可持续发展计划和既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)联合资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

There is heightened interest in the idea of deploying aquaponics technology (the fusion of aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable production) in food deserts. At its best, aquaponics allows local people to produce their own fresh fish and produce in a sustainable manner: the wastewater from the fish is used to provide water and fertilizer to the plants. However, there are significant technological and social barriers that have hindered adoption of aquaponics by marginalized populations living in food deserts. Barriers include 1) systems that are prone to instability without advanced technical knowledge, 2) fish and produce quality that do not meet consumer quality demands (e.g. muddy fish flavor), and 3) food safety issues given that pathogens in the fish wastewater can contaminate the vegetables. Failure to address these three issues will continue to place aquaponics systems (and the corresponding nutritional and environmental benefits) out of reach of marginalized populations. The objective of this project is to improve understanding of how aquaponics design decisions affect stability, pathogen dynamics, and product quality. The central hypothesis of this project is that algal biofloc and decoupled systems will exceed the performance metrics of bacteria-centric biofloc and coupled systems (85% of current systems) in terms of 1) system stability and ease of operation, 2) nutritional and flavor profiles, and 3) pathogen management when placed in the hands of novice users. This project will allow rigorous testing of integrating algal- biofloc and decoupled plant production into small-scale aquaponics systems, both independently and in combination. The test systems will be operated by high school students in East Alabama (after hands-on training) in a synergistic school-university partnership. The university team has extensive experience conducting research on aquaponics systems and algal-bacterial treatment of waste, and engages frequently in educational and outreach programs with novice users. The three specific research aims are to: (Aim 1) Test the integration of algae and decoupling into biofloc aquaponics to improve stability and ease of operation for novice users (high school students). The hypothesis is that integration of green algae into the biofloc and deployment into a decoupled aquaponics system will improve system stability (nitrification capacity) and reliability (plant and fish survival). (Aim 2) Determine the contribution of algal biofloc to improved nutritional quality and flavor profile of aquaponics products. The hypothesis is that integrating Chlorella algae into the biofloc will increase the omega-3 fatty acid profile of fish, antioxidant content of vegetables, and improve the fish flavor profile by displacing opportunistic bacteria and cyanobacteria species that generate muddy flavors. (Aim 3) Quantify the impacts of algal biofloc and decoupling on indicator pathogens in aquaponics. The hypothesis is that the presence of algal taxa like Chlorella in the biofloc and use of decoupled systems will reduce the presence of indicator pathogens. While students and teachers will run the different aquaponics systems, Auburn University and the Bashan Institute of Science will conduct advanced chemical, microbiological, and genomic analyses of the systems. Students, after formal parental informed consent, will evaluate system ease-of-use and flavor of products through surveys. Improved understanding of microbial dynamics in aquaponics can translate broadly to other areas of aquaculture, nutrient recovery, and waste management. Improved understanding of how design choices impact user experience may translate to research on other scalable food production technologies. The project is designed to lead to enhancement of education of high school student participants who live in low-income communities with limited food access. Approximately 225 students will engage in hands-on learning by operating the aquaponics systems, allowing them to learn and apply knowledge of agriculture, biology, chemistry, nutrition, and engineering. Potentially, these students can impact the future of sustainable food production: the skills that they learn should extend to a wide range of career and education pathways. It is expected that reaching them in their formative years will result in measurable changes in self- perceptions regarding STEM topics, which will be assessed through survey instruments.This project is jointly funded by the CBET/ENG Environmental Sustainability program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.