CrustaWohl

We aim at studying stress in shrimp farming, carrying out experiments with standardized stressors (social, chemical/environmental, handling) to uncover chronic stress responses in crustaceans and to extract sensitive behavioural, endocrine and physiological parameters for the evaluation of chronic stress in RAS-based shrimp aquaculture.

The research will be carried out in close cooperation by the IGB and the Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI). The envisioned evaluation system will be used to communicate the sustainability of the production to the consumer in cooperation with industrial partners (Oceanloop) and the partners from the aquaculture stewardship council (ASC) as well as Aquaculture Welfare Standards Initiative (AWSI) of the Albert-Schweitzer Stiftung. Using a transcriptomic research strategy, pathways and differentially expressed candidate genes will be extracted. For large-scale verification, selected genes will be quantified by RT-QPCR. Furthermore, biochemical parameters for oxidative stress and metabolic shifts will be integrated. Behavioural traits will equally be assessed. Thereby, the project will represent a model study on chronic stress in shrimp farming and will provide insights into the regulation of stress response and, for the first time, characterise chronic stress.