DOI: 10.7910/dvn/gixodr
title: Global Experiment Data Reports for Pond Dynamics and Aquaculture
title: Standardized data for ponds in Asia, Africa, Central America under the PD/A CRSP 1982-1987

description: Collaborative Research Data Report Series 
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Through 1996, the Pond Dynamics/ Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program (PD/A CRSP) conducted a standardized global experiment at sites in seven countries: Egypt, Rwanda, Honduras, Panama, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Data were uploaded into a Central Data Base from these seven countries (see Global Experiment dataset in this dataverse). Data Reports covers the first three cycles from the original participating sites from 1982-1987: Indonesia, Philippines, Rwanda, Honduras, Gualaca Panama, and Aguadulce Panama.
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Data Reports reported on verified data from the PD/ A CRSP Central Data Base and presented interpretations of site specific results. Research results from experiments conducted after the first three cycles were not included in Data Reports. They were later published in various aquaculture journals or in the program's own PD/ A CRSP Research Report series: https://aquafishcrsp.oregonstate.edu/aquafish-nop 
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The first of the Data Reports, General Reference: Volume I (first and second editions), provides descriptive information for each of the PD/A CRSP sites and serves as a guide for the entire Data Report series. Volume I presents the physical characteristics of each site, including a geographical sketch, climatology, and water and soil analyses. The second edition of Volume I provides additional information about the CRSP research sites, including several sites added to the program since the first edition of Volume I.
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Subsequent volumes of Data Reports focus on each of the original sites in the first three cycles separately. Each volume includes one cycle (wet and dry seasons) of the PD/A CRSP Global Experiment. Therefore, with few exceptions, each original project site has three volumes devoted to it, representing the results of the three cycles of the global experiment. The experimental cycles are described in PD/A CRSP Work Plans which are available as links from this dataset. 
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EXCERPTED DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTS (for full descriptions, please refer to the related links)
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During the planning of the PD/A CRSP, researchers recognized the need to improve the existing data available on pond culture systems. The technical literature about pond aquaculture contained general operating guidelines; however, the lack of standardization in experimental design, data collection, and analysis precluded statistical comparison between studies or sites, and were of limited utility in predicting the performance of pond culture systems. The PD/A CRSP developed a standardized data base that could be used to evaluate pond performance over a broad range of environments. 
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Experimental Design 
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The statistical design for the first three cycles of the global experiments involves monitoring environmental and fish production variables at seven geographical locations. The different locations provided a spectrum of pond environments, in different climatic zones and geographies within 20 degrees of the equator. Observations specified in the annual work plans 
(experimental cycles) were made on twelve or more ponds at each location, except at Gualaca Panama where ten ponds were used. The pond variables observed, frequency of observation, materials and methods for determination, and standardized reporting units are presented in the Work Plans, and other reports available on the PD/A CRSP website. Observations at each location were recorded by the research team involved at that location, and data were filed and managed in a centralized CRSP Data Base at Oregon State University until the early 1990s, and then at both OSU and the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. 
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CRSP Work Plans 
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The PD/A CRSP technical work plans were developed by a research team composed of U.S. and host country Principal Investigators, and then reviewed by the PD/A CRSP Technical Committee. Each work plan presents detailed experimental protocols for one experimental cycle. A cycle involves two series of observations of four to five months duration. One set of observations was made during the dry season and the other during the wet season. Three work plans constitute the original series of the global experiment, and are tabulated in hard copy as Data Reports. The rationale included managing all ponds in exactly the same way to establish a detailed baseline of pond variables. Then in subsequent experiments, the pond environments were manipulated in different ways and the responses observed.
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First Cycle of the CRSP Global Experiment 
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The first work plan was developed in 1983. This work plan specified standard methods for pond preparation and monitoring. All ponds were prepared in the same way, fish were stocked at the same levels, and specified variables were observed during both the wet and dry seasons. The sites of the research projects can be categorized as: brackish to marine tropical locations in Panama (Aquadulce) and the Philippines; warm, tropical, freshwater locations with elevations below 700 m and average temperatures above 25°c in Honduras, Panama (Gualaca) and Thailand; and temperate, tropical, freshwater locations with elevations above 750 m and average temperatures of 25°c or below in Indonesia and Rwanda. These categories serve as a general reference; a great deal of variation exists within these categories. 
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To establish a common reference point between locations, Oreochromis niloticus (Tilapia nilotica) was used as the culture organism. This tilapia was found in all the participating PD/A CRSP countries. It offered great potential as a research organism in that it responded well to a variety pond management regimes, including inorganic and organic fertilization, and several qualities of supplemental feeds. The level and quality of nutrient inputs can be used as another reference point. Finding a source of nutrients common to all locations was problematic. Feeds and animal manure vary from location to location in both availability and composition. Consequently, inorganic fertilizer was selected for use in the first PD/A CRSP experiment. A standard formulation was used at all locations, and applied at a level representative of contemporary practices.
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Variables measured during the first three experimental cycles included:
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1. Physical environmental measurements: 
solar radiation, rainfall, wind speed and direction, air temperature, pond soil characteristics, pond temperature extremes (fluctuation), pond depth (fluctuation), hydrologic characteristics, pond morphology 
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2. Water analyses:
dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, alkalinity, total hardness, water quality characteristics 
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3. Water analyses:
ammonia nitrogen, nitrate, total phosphorus, total dissolved phosphorus, total dissolved reactive phosphorus (dissolved orthophosphate) 
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4. Growth and yield measurements:
growth, reproduction, survival 
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5. Biological limnology measurements:
secchi disk visibility, chlorophyll
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6. Biological limnology measurements:
light-dark bottle experiments, qualitative identification of phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthos
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Second Cycle of the CRSP Global Experiment 
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The plan for the second experimental cycle was developed in 1984. Site specific problems were encountered during the first experimental cycle. The second work plan included a series of pilot experiments intended to circumvent site specific problems. The second cycle of the PD/A CRSP experiment continued the standardized global experiments. The standardized experiments involved the culture of Oreochromis niloticus at five sites and penaeid shrimp at two sites. The second cycle of experiments was designed to expand the quantitative baseline established during the first cycle. In addition, the second cycle tested the working hypothesis that organic fertilization would improve water quality and would produce higher fish yields than inorganic fertilization. 
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During the second cycle, Oreochromis niloticus was used at the PD/A CRSP brackish water research site in the Philippines and at freshwater research stations at four other host countries: Honduras, Indonesia, Rwanda and Thailand. The PD/A CRSP research team in the Philippines also carried out a set of experiments using penaeid shrimp. A second brackish water station in Panama conducted its standardized experiments with penaeid shrimp exclusively. The experimental design differed for Oreochromis niloticus and penaeid shrimp. 
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Fresh Water Experiments 
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A minimum of twelve earthen ponds were used for second cycle experiments. Numbers of replicates per treatment were dictated by variation among ponds observed in the first cycle.
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Nutrient Inputs. Fertilizer treatments for the second cycle were: 
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I. Organic fertilizers- chicken manure or other locally available animal wastes were added at a rate of approximately 500kg/ha/wk.
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II. Inorganic fertilizers in the form of triple sugar phosphate (0-46-0) and urea were added at levels of total P and N in the organic fertilizers used in the environment.
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Pond Preparation for experiments, including the method for satisfying lime requirements of pond muds was specified in the Second Work Plan. All ponds were stocked with male Oreochromis niloticus of average weight between 25 and 50 grams. The standard stocking density was one fish per square meter (10,000 fish per hectare). The Second Work Plan specified methods for production of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings. Duration of Experiments: Each experiment was conducted for a period of five months (150 days). The experimental cycle was established so that one experiment was run during the wet season and the other was run during the dry season. In some instances, it was difficult to complete an entire experiment in a particular season. In such cases, however, the final 90 days of the culture period occurred within a single climatic season.
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Brackish Water and Marine Experiments (see Work Plan for additional detail)
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The following treatments were applied at the brackish water/marine ponds in the Philippines and Panama:
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Pond Treatment Description
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I manure
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II manure + inorganic fertilizer
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III manure + feed
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IV manure + fertilizer + feed
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Nutrient Inputs: dried chicken manure was applied as a pre-treatment to ponds at a rate of 2000 kg/ha; manure was broadcast over the pond bottom. Approximately four juvenile penaeid shrimp were stocked per square meter. Species selection depended on local availability of stocks. Duration of Experiments: The experimental periods lasted 90 to 120 days. Variables measured, sampling methods, frequencies, and methods of analysis are described in the Work Plan. 
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Third Cycle of the CRSP Global Experiment 
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The third cycle of pond dynamics experiments was developed in 1985 with the aim of expanding the quantitative baselines initiated during the first two years of research. In addition, the third cycle was designed to demonstrate the level of organic fertilization that would produce optimal fish yields. 
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During the third cycle, Oreochromis niloticus, preferably the Ivory Coast strain, was used at the CRSP brackish water research site in the Philippines and at freshwater research stations in the five other host countries: Honduras, Indonesia, Panama, Rwanda, and Thailand. The PD/A CRSP research team in the Philippines also carried out a set of experiments using penaeid shrimp (Penaeus monodon). A second brackish water station in Panama (Aquadulce) conducted its standardized experiments with penaeid shrimp (P. vannamei) exclusively. The experimental design differed for Oreochromis niloticus and penaeid shrimp. 
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Fresh Water Experiments 
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A minimum of twelve earthen ponds was used in experiments during the third cycle. Organic fertilizer, chicken manure, or other locally available animal wastes were added on a dry matter basis at the rates indicated in the Third Work Plan. Pond preparation, stocking rates, fingerling production, and nutrient inputs are specified in the Work Plan.Two experiments were accomplished during the third cycle. Each experiment ran for a period of four months (120 days). The experimental cycle was established so that one experiment ran during the wet season and the other ran during the dry season. In some instances, it was difficult to complete an entire experiment in a particular season. In such cases, the final 90 days of the culture period occurred within a single climatic season. 
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Brackish Water and Marine Experiments 
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The PD/A CRSP project teams in Panama and the Philippines investigated the impact of biological and physical manipulations on water quality in brackish water and marine ponds. Experimental protocols are described in the Work Plan.
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This dataset contains 28 .pdf files which are OCR, and can be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
description: The url (https://aquafishcrsp.oregonstate.edu/aquafish-nop) provides a link to peer-reviewed publications that used data from the Global Experiment (GE). Not every publication listed used GE data however. The publications before 1998 were more likely to have used data from the Global Experiment.
description: The Pond Dynamics/ Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program was one of a family of international agricultural research programs headquartered at US Land Grant Universities. CRSPs were initiated under Title XII legislation enacted by the US Congress. Research conducted by these programs helps farmers improve their incomes and alleviate hunger without depleting the natural resource base on which they depend for food, fuel, fiber, and shelter. 
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The Pond Dynamics/ Aquaculture CRSP was partly supported by the US Agency for International Development under CRSP Grant No.: DAN-4023-G-00-0031-00, and by the participating United States and Host Country institutions. 
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Disclaimer 
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The contents of this document do not necessarily represent an official position or policy of the US Agency for International Development, or of Oregon State University, or of the PD/A CRSP participating institutions. Also, the mention of trade names or commercial products in these reports do not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use on the part of the US Agency for International Development or the Pond Dynamics/ Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program's participating institutions.