Diversifying sustainable aquaculture and advancing hatchery production of bioaquatic species with high socioeconomic value represent pivotal challenges for Ecuador's coastal region. Within this domain, the oral defense was held for the postgraduate thesis in the Master’s Program in Applied Biosciences with a concentration in Biodiscovery, presented by researcher Leandro Javier Parrales Choez.
The research, titled “Evaluation of the nutritional potential of estuarine microalgae as live feed for Ucides occidentalis larvae,” was conducted under the academic supervision of Alba Calles, Ph.D., with co-advising by Johana Ortiz Ulloa, Ph.D.
The examination committee was chaired by the Associate Dean of the Faculty, Ana Tirapé Bajaña, Ph.D., and composed of evaluating faculty members Juan Manuel Cevallos, Ph.D., and Sonnia Guartatanga Argudo, M.Sc., who commended the experimental rigor and practical relevance of the findings for natural resource management and species conservation.
The investigation assessed the nutritional profiling and biochemical performance of native estuarine microalgal strains utilized as live feed across the initial larval rearing stages of the red mangrove crab (Ucides occidentalis). The findings deliver essential scientific baselines to optimize hatchery reproduction protocols, opening pathways for juvenile restocking programs in mangrove concession areas and safeguarding the long-term sustainability of artisanal mangrove fisheries.
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