Jinfeng Pan^1,2

1 Shaoxing Shangyu Xinda Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd., Shaoxing, 312365, Zhejiang, China
2 Zhejiang Agronomist College, Hangzhou, 310021, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Marine Science, 2026, Vol. 16, No. 5   
Received: 30 Jul., 2026    Accepted: 05 Sep., 2026    Published: 30 Oct., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Continuous rainfall is an important environmental disturbance in giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) farming, particularly in high-density pond culture systems. Unlike short-term rainfall events, prolonged rainfall can cause repeated and cumulative changes in water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, turbidity, nutrient concentrations, and sediment conditions, thereby reducing the stability of the culture environment. This review summarizes the major effects of continuous rainfall on the water environment and health of giant freshwater prawns, with particular attention to the interactions among physicochemical conditions, nutrients, microbial communities, and host responses. Continuous rainfall can alter nitrogen cycling and organic matter dynamics, resulting in fluctuations or accumulation of ammonia nitrogen and nitrite, while increased runoff and sediment disturbance may further elevate turbidity and suspended solids. At the microbial level, rainfall-induced environmental changes can restructure phytoplankton and bacterial communities, including changes in Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, Bacteroidetes, and cyanobacterial populations, which may subsequently influence nutrient transformation and oxygen dynamics. For giant freshwater prawns, these environmental fluctuations may affect feeding activity, osmoregulation, gill function, oxidative balance, immune responses, growth, and disease susceptibility. The combined effects of hypoxia, temperature fluctuations, and nitrogenous compounds may further increase physiological stress during prolonged rainfall. A case study framework is also proposed to integrate changes in water quality, microbial communities, and prawn health before, during, and after continuous rainfall events. Finally, adaptive management strategies involving real-time water-quality monitoring, aeration, nutrient regulation, rainfall forecasting, and early-warning systems are discussed. Understanding the coupled interactions between continuous rainfall, aquatic environmental processes, microbial communities, and host health may provide a scientific basis for improving the resilience and sustainability of giant freshwater prawn farming under increasingly variable weather conditions.

Continuous rainfall; Giant freshwater prawn; Water quality; Microbial community; Aquaculture health