Biolog EcoPlates are useful tools to study the metabolic function of microbial community in water bodies; however, the influence of aquaculture water, which contains complex chemical compositions, on color development in Biolog EcoPlates, has not been clearly illustrated. Previously, we detected a delayed color development in original water samples, comparing to that in the tenfold diluted samples. The objective of this study was to evaluate the differences of average well color development (AWCD) and community-level physiological profiles (CLPP) between the original and tenfold diluted water samples collected from three intensive Litopenaeus vannamei culture ponds, and to explore potential causes of the delayed color development by measuring microbial community structure and physiochemical indexes. Compared with the tenfold diluted samples, the original water samples from all three ponds exhibited delayed color development and reduced microbial metabolic activity. The original water samples exhibited higher utilization of carbohydrates, while significantly higher utilization of amino acids was observed in the corresponding diluted samples. The CLPP of the original water samples was significantly correlated with the microbial community structure at 48 h of incubation, meanwhile both CLPP and community structure were substantially influenced by NO₃–N and NO₂–N. Therefore, NO₂-N and NO₃-N accumulation in the intensive Litopenaeus vannamei culture pond might be responsible for the delayed color development in Biolog EcoPlates. In order to minimize the influence of aquaculture water on color development in Biolog EcoPlates, a shorter incubation period is recommended.

Biolog EcoPlates是研究水体中微生物群落代谢功能的有用工具。但是，尚未清楚说明含有复杂化学成分的水产养殖用水对Biolog EcoPlates显色的影响。以前，与稀释十倍的样品相比，我们在原始水样中检测到了延迟的显色现象。这项研究的目的是评估从三个密集南美白对虾收集的原始和十倍稀释水样品之间的平均孔颜色发展（AWCD）和群落水平生理特征（CLPP）的差异。养殖池，并通过测量微生物群落结构和理化指标来探索颜色延迟发育的潜在原因。与十倍稀释的样品相比，来自所有三个池塘的原始水样品均显示出延迟的颜色发展和降低的微生物代谢活性。原始水样品显示出较高的碳水化合物利用率，而在相应的稀释样品中观察到的氨基酸利用率明显更高。孵化48小时后，原始水样的CLPP与微生物群落结构显着相关，同时CLPP和群落结构都受到NO ₃ -N和NO ₂ -N的显着影响。因此，NO ₂ -N和NO ₃密集的南美白对虾养殖池中的-N积累可能是造成Biolog EcoPlates显色延迟的原因。为了最大程度地减少水产养殖用水对Biolog EcoPlates显色的影响，建议缩短培养时间。