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MODELING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHRIMP MARICULTURE AND WATER QUALITY IN THE RIO CHONE ESTUARY, ECUADOR
Citation:
Stram, D. L., C. R. Kincaid, AND D E. Campbell. MODELING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHRIMP MARICULTURE AND WATER QUALITY IN THE RIO CHONE ESTUARY, ECUADOR. Presented at Estuarine Research Federation, New Orleans LA, September 25-30, 1999.
Description:
The Rio Chone estuary in Ecuador has been heavily altered by the conversion of over 90% of the original mangrove forest to shrimp ponds. We carried out computational experiments using both hydrodynamic and shrimp pond models to investigate factors leading to declines in estuarine water quality and shrimp production.
A two-dimensional, laterally-averaged model is employed to characterize circulation and residence time in the estuary. This model solves the shallow water equations for the flow and mixing of water and salt subject to a range in forcing conditions. The location, magnitude and frequency of salt sources are varied to evaluate the effect of saline pond effluents on the density-driven circulation. Experiments using Lagrangian particles indicate that residence times increase dramatically with seasonal and long term trends in decreased freshwater input.
A shrimp pond model was developed to simulate seasonal variation in pond yields and effluent characteristics. This model solves a coupled set of first order differential equations for the state variables, oxygen, nitrogen, salt, detritus, phytoplankton ad shrimp biomass subject to a range in forcing functions and pond input variables. The model was calibrated with data from shrimp farms in the Rio Chone. Coupled modeling scenarios will be used to recommend regional management decisions.