14 JUNE 2024 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG The Aquaculture America 2024 conference in San Antonio, TX was a huge success for students, with nearly twice as many students entering the presentation competition than ever before. Due to the tremendous number of great presentations the student awards committee awarded the top three for poster and oral presentations as well as some honorable mentions. We look forward to another great student competition at Aquaculture 2025 in New Orleans, LA! Student Presentation Award Winners at Aquaculture America 2024 Allen Pattillo and Gulnihal Ozbay Aquaculture America 2024 Oral Presentation Student Winners • Sea Grant Award: Abdulmalik Oladipupo, Auburn University Title: Impact of Advanced Soybean Variants on California Yellowtail Seriola dorsalis: Growth Performance, Intestinal Morphology and Health Abdulmalik Oladipupo is an international student from Nigeria, a PhD student, and a graduate research assistant at Auburn University, AL, USA, in the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences. He earned his Master’s degree in the same department in 2023 and has 8 years of experience in aquaculture production and research. His current research focuses on the effects of feed-based additives as growth promoters on the digestibility and intestinal health of fish species. Additionally, he is studying the effects of these additives as immunostimulants and their impact on fish immunity and resistance against polymicrobial infections. His research activities are centered around dietary stimulations and optimization for overall fish health management using natural and cost-effective additives. • 1st Place USAS: Kalani Ortiz, Humboldt University Title: Assessing Twine Selection and Growth of Bull Kelp Nereocystis luetkeana from Nursery to Open Water Cultivation in Humboldt Bay, CA Born in Los Angeles, Kalani Ortiz developed a deep love for the marine environment and her cultural heritage during summers spent with family in Mexico. She received her B.S. in Environmental Biology from Cal Poly Humboldt, where she found her passion for macro/microalgae and the desire to pursue a career in mariculture. Her Master’s research in the Fisheries Biology Department at Cal Poly Humboldt, is centered on Bull kelp cultivation in Humboldt Bay, CA. Currently, she is a staff researcher in seaweed aquaculture at Scripps Institution of Oceanography under Dr. Jennifer Smith. Kalani’s research focuses on cultivating Bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) from hatchery to open water. Her study assessed the efficiency of various twines seeded from nursery cultivation to evaluating kelp growth in existing open water line systems at the ProvidenSea seaweed research farm. Further, she analyzed nutrient and heavy metal profiles of harvested kelp to ensure its safety for human consumption. Kalani’s research supports the expansion of local aquaculture and promotes broader ecological benefits through innovative seaweed farming practices in California. • 2nd Place (tie) USAS: Noah Jenkins, Kentucky State University Title: Evaluation of Dietary Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meals and Lauric Acid in Practical Diets for Largemouth Bass Micropterus Nigricans Noah Jenkins is a Master’s student at Kentucky State University. He is originally from Sacramento, California and has a passion for the outdoors and aquaculture. Noah’s project goal was to evaluate the effect of black soldier fly larvae and purified forms of lauric acid on growth and microbial biodiversity of juvenile largemouth bass. The project was a combined effort between his major professor Dr. Waldemar Rossi Jr. and Texas A&M. • 2nd Place (tie) USAS: Arnold Katende, Auburn University Title: Split-Root Hydroponics: Investigating Cherry Tomato Resilience to Salinity Stress Arnold Katende is currently a Master’s student in Horticulture at Auburn University. His interests include aquaponics, plant physiology, and controlled environment agriculture. His research explores the salinity tolerance of cherry tomatoes in a splitroot hydroponics system, which uses two root zone environments to grow plants under abiotic stresses such as salinity. His current work investigates the salinity tolerance thresholds of various tomato cultivars and conducts sensory analyses to determine consumer preferences for cherry tomatoes grown under high salinity levels and with shrimp aquaculture effluent.
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