The preliminary date for the IAC 2012 Technical session is Wednesday, 12 September.
Click here for the preliminary programme.
Abstracts of presentations
AbyssBox, Life under pressure
By: Dominique Barthelemy, Head of Aquarium
Institution: Océanopolis, Brest, France
Keeping live animals from deep marine environments in captivity has long been an unexplored field of aquariology. Difficulties with capturing and transporting these animals, as well as the challenge of maintaining them in tanks that recreate the pressure of their original habitats, have been the most significant obstacles to maintaining and displaying these animals in public aquariums.
Exploration and study of deep reef slope by combination of deep diving operations by rebreather and manned submersibles
By: Forrest A Young, C Ben Daughtry and Adrian ‘Dutch’ Schrier
Institution: Dynasty Marine, Florida, USA
New scuba diving technology, specifically the mixed gas re-breather, has enabled scientists to explore ocean depths of 100-150 meters, which have not been explored in detail by submersibles. Consequently hundreds of new coral reef species have been described, and divers have observed the coelacanth in its natural environment. The authors have surveyed reefs to 150 metres off Indonesia, Florida and Curacao.
Keynote – The history of life support systems: From Sumeria to Cape Town
By: Paul Cooley (1) & Rebekah Gladson (2)
Institutions: 1) MWH Americas, California, USA; 2) FAIA, rggroup global, inc.
Since the beginning of civilization, people have kept, studied and enjoyed aquatic animals. Ancient Egyptians had something equivalent to a zoo in Giza as early as 3500 BC and the earliest known ‘aquarists’ were the Sumerians, who kept fish in ponds for food as far back as 2500 BC. But it wasn’t until 1853 that the first public aquarium opened in London. This presentation follows the rapid advancements in aquarium life support systems from the earliest dump-and-fill systems through today’s sophisticated filtration, disinfection and temperature control equipment.
In the name of changing and improving public aquarium exhibits
By: Leng Sy
Institution: EcoSystem Aquarium, California, USA
Some public aquariums change the fishes in their exhibits regularly in order to improve or change the themes of their exhibits. But is this really the reason? Most often fish are removed because they lose their coloration or become unhealthy with lateral line disease. Most of these fishes are destroyed as there seems to be no effective treatment.
Rethinking the sustainable life support: ‘Membranes’
By: Chris Eccles (1), Paul Cooley (1), Dennis Thoney (2), Alex Sandu (1) & Dave Botwright (3)
Institutions: 1) MWH Americas, California, USA; 2) Vancouver Aquarium, Canada; 3) Sanitherm, Vancouver, Canada
Life support systems (LSS) are the largest consumers of electricity and water in aquariums, so ensuring sustainability requires innovative LSS design. Attempts to control turbidity, suspended solids, bacteria, algae and nutrients can run counter to the goal of sustainability when traditional designs are employed. New approaches must inform the design of LSS if aquariums are to be models of sustainability and innovation. This presentation will discuss advances in LSS design and show how these can contribute to a more sustainable facility.
Solid phase denitrification: A sustainable technology for reducing nitrate and phosphate concentrations
By: Douglas Drennan, Erik Kopache and James Ebeling
Institution: Aquaculture Systems Technologies (AST) LLC, New Orleans, USA
Water reuse in aquarium exhibits is limited by the accumulation of nitrate, which is toxic to many species. Nitrate removal by denitrification or assimilation into biomass reduces costs of water exchanges and artificial sea salts. Solid Phase Denitrification (SPD) uses a solid biopolymer as a carbon source to promote anaerobic denitrification and/or aerobic nitrate assimilation. Dissolved nitrate is transformed into either N2 gas or solid biomass. SPD uses a biologically synthesized medium, Polyhydroxyalkanote (PHA) as a consumable carbon source and bacterial substrate. AST introduced NP-Active Pearls to the home aquarium industry to reduce dissolved nitrate and phosphate. We are testing a larger pellet for the public aquarium market and will report on results at IAC.
The mother of all long-term transports: We’re gonna need a bigger boat
By: João Correia, Telmo Morato, José Graça, Morikawa Hirofumi, Nuno Rodrigues, Filipe Rodrigues, Rui Guedes, Rúben Pinho
Institution: Flying Sharks, Lisbon, Portugal
In March 2010 Flying Sharks received its largest order ever: 3,100 fish and invertebrates to be shipped to the new Istanbul Aquarium in December 2010. The list of animals ranged from fast pelagics to the smallest rocky shore ornamentals. Collections were made in four locations: Olhão (south of Portugal), Peniche (west of Portugal), Funchal (Madeira) and Horta (Azores). The mortality rate was less than 0,1% (three individuals).
User-friendly denitrification for sustainable seawater use
By: Andrew Aiken, Director of Life Support and Design
Institution: National Aquarium, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
According to the United Nations, global freshwater demand will exceed supply by the year 2050. Water conservation is both an environmental and fiscal imperative for public aquariums, especially where seawater must be manufactured. Despite the need to conserve water, ‘blowdown’ (water replacement) continues to be the most common means of nitrate reduction in life support systems. Advances in denitrification systems continue to be made, however risks associated with narrow system tolerances and operational complexity have prevented their widespread use.