Aquaculture continues to significantly expand its production, making it the fastest-growing food production sector globally. However, the sustainability of the sector is at stake due to the predicted effects of climate change that are not only a future but also a present reality. In this paper, we review the potential effects of climate change on aquaculture production and its implications on the sector's sustainability. Various elements of a changing climate, such as rising temperatures, sea-level rise, diseases and harmful algal blooms, changes in rainfall patterns, the uncertainty of external inputs supplies, changes in sea surface salinity, and severe climatic events have been discussed. Furthermore, several adaptation options have been presented as well as some gaps in existing knowledge that require further investigations. Overall, climate change effects and implications on aquaculture production sustainability are expected to be both negative and positive although, the negative effects outweigh the positive ones. Adapting to the predicted changes in the short-term while taking mitigation measures in the long-term could be the only way toward sustaining the sector's production. However, successful adaptation will depend on the adaptive capacity of the producers in different regions of the world.

No abstract

The gut microbiota plays an important role in a variety of physiological functions such as intestinal digestion, metabolic homeostasis, immune response, and responses to disease treatment. Whether there is a relationship between gut microbial communities and fatty acid (FA) profiles of Chinese mitten crab is unclear. Hence, we analyzed the relationship between FA profiles and the gut bacterial communities of six Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) populations from different lakes. The crabs were sampled from six different lakes in Jiangsu Province, China. The FA profiles of these crab populations were compared and clustered, and then used to determine the relationship between geographic location and FA composition. We also characterized the gut microbial communities of these crabs using 16S rRNA high-throughput gene sequencing. The FA profiles varied significantly (P < 0.05) between crabs from different geographical locations. A similar trend was also observed in the gut microbial communities, which also varied significantly based on their geographical origin (P < 0.05). Furthermore, alpha diversity, cluster analysis, and matching bacterial community structures with specific locations revealed patterns that significantly linked FA profiles to the gut microbiota. Further analysis of FA profiles and gut microbial community generated patterns that linked the two parameters. Hence, it was observed that the gut microbial community seems to contribute significantly to the FA composition of the Chinese mitten crab. However, further studies need to be conducted to investigate the interactions between gut microbial communities and the biochemical composition of the Chinese mitten crab, which will ultimately unravel the complexity of microbial ecosystems for potential applications in aquaculture and species conservation.

No abstract

No abstract