Dr. Hanping Wang
Aquaculture Program Leader
Feeding fish, monitoring oxygen levels, and measuring temperature appears to be routine work, but not in 2020.
The Aquaculture Research Center at OSU South Centers features a 3,000 sq. ft. wet lab/hatchery, a 4,500 sq. ft. broodfish building, and a 90-foot greenhouse that house around 40,000 research fish of multiple species in approximately 270 tanks and 15 ponds. Among them, thousands are genetically improved broodfish that that can produce fast-growing improved perch, all-female perch, and all-male bluegill. Taking care of daily business and keeping those important research fish alive is a huge accomplishment in 2020.
When almost everybody at South Centers works from home most of the time – or all the time—during this pandemic, Paul O’Bryant and Dean Rapp go to the hatchery daily to take care of the “routine” for the aquaculture center.
They have also been conducting weekend checks for all the non-aqua buildings at OSU South Centers. Their hard work keeps our centers’ facility safe and the fish alive.
In addition to their daily responsibilities, they have completed or assisted with four research or outreach projects: 1) breeding of yellow perch for producing all-female improved populations; 2) out-of-season spawning producing 15,000 all-male bluegill fingerlings for commercialization; 3) effects of hormones and density on sex determination in bluegill, and 4) temperature effects on sex ratio of bluegill.
Big thanks go to research assistants Paul O’Bryant and Dean Rapp for all they do for aquaculture and all of South Centers.