The Effect of Diet on the Biochemical Composition of Juvenile Artemia: Potential Formulations for Rock Lobster Aquaculture

The lipid class and fatty acid (FA) composition of juvenile Artemia fed continuously on four diets—the microalga Tetraselmis suecica , a mix of oat bran-wheat germ-lecithin (OWL), OwL-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and OWL-EPA-arachidonic acid (AA)—were examined over a 9-d experiment in an attempt to approximate the FA profile of phyllosoma larvae of wild southern rock lobster Jasus edwardrii . The main difference in lipid class composition of Artemia fed the four diets was the relative level of polar lipid (PL) and triacylglycerol (TAG). By day 9, the algal-fed Artemia were highest in PL (95% of total lipid) and lowest in TAG (2%), whereas the remaining diets resulted in Artemia with 16–30% PL and 41–82% TAG. After 2 d, the relative FA composition of all Artemia treatments closely reflected those of the diets, with no marked change after further feeding (to day 9). In terms of the content of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), by day 5 Artemia fed: 1) with the algal diet contained 7 mg/g FA dry mass (0.3% DHA, 6.3% EPA, 3.4% AA of total FA); 2) with the OWL diet contained 3 mg/g (0.3% DHA, 0.9% EPA, 0.7% AA); 3) with the OWL-EPA diet contained 55 mg/g (6.2% DHA, 11.6% EPA, 1.1% AA); and 4) with the OWL-EPA-AA contained 83 mg/g (3.8% DHA, 7.5% EPA, 17.4% AA). The PUFA profiles of Artemia using the OWL-oil diets were similar to wild rock lobster phyllmmata, although levels of doco-sahexaenoic acid (DHA) were lower (10% DHA) than in J. edwardsii larvae. On the basis of PUFA composition data alone, the results suggest the suitability of the OWL-oil mixed diets for consideration for feeding to Artemia used in the culture of southern rock lobster larvae, particularly if the level of DHA can be further enhanced.     

Effects of Stocking Sac-Fry and Hatchery-Fed Fry on Production of Fingerling Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus

Abstract.— Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus fry are typically held under hatchery conditions for 7 to 14 d after hatching to allow feeding and growth before they are stocked into nursery ponds to produce fingerling catfish. In an attempt to reduce hatchery operating costs, several catfish fingerling producers in Louisiana presently stock fry within 2 d after hatching before yolk absorption is complete. Fry at this stage of development are commonly referred to as "sac-fry." Although research has shown that fry can be stocked at the onset of yolk absorption with no detrimental effects on subsequent fingerling production, stocking sac-fry has been reported to result in reduced fingerling survival. To further investigate this topic, production trials were conducted in experimental outdoor pools over the course of two growing seasons to evaluate the effect of stocking fry of three different ages (2-, 7-, and 14-d post-hatch, DPH) on survival, growth (weight and length), condition factor (K), yield, feed consumption, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of fingerling catfish. Results from both trials indicated that the age at which fry were stocked had no effect on production characteristics with the exception of growth. Specifically, fingerlings reared from fry stocked at 2 and 7 DPH were significantly larger than fingerlings reared from fry stocked at an age of 14 DPH. These findings suggest that the practice of stocking sac-fry may be a suitable alternative to the traditional procedure of holding and feeding fry under hatchery conditions prior to stocking. However, in order to fully evaluate the effects of early-age stocking of catfish fry on fingerling production, additional studies must be conducted under pond conditions. Furthermore, these studies must be coupled with a rigorous economic analysis before the practice of stocking sac-fry can be recommended to the catfish industry.     

Response time of broiler chickens to cimaterol: meat tenderness, muscle composition fiber size, and carcass characteristics.

The response time to cimaterol (CIM), a beta-adrenergic agonist, by broiler chickens for carcass characteristics, muscle composition, muscle fiber size, catheptic enzyme activity, and tenderness was determined. Two trials were conducted in which chickens were fed a control diet (CON) containing 0 ppm of CIM or a diet containing 1 ppm of CIM. Trial 1 consisted of 55, 31-d-old broiler chickens individually fed for up to 48 h. At 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 48 h, five CON and five CIM-fed chickens were killed. Trial 2 consisted of 160, 33-d-old broiler chickens group-fed for up to 14 d. At 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 d, 10 CON and 10 CIM-fed chickens were killed. The breast muscle (BM) and leg muscle (LM) weight, cathepsin B and L activities, DNA, RNA, and protein concentration, and BM shear force value (SFV) were measured in both trials. Thigh muscle (TM) SFV were measured in Trial 2 only. Fiber size of BM was measured (five birds per treatment) at d 2, 6, 10, and 14. In Trial 1, BM weight and SFV were lower in CIM-fed birds at 6 h (P less than .05). In Trial 2 BM SFV were higher at d 8 (P = .06) and d 10 (P less than .05) in CIM-fed chickens. The SFV of CIM-fed chickens were higher at d 4, 8, 10, 12, and 14 (P less than .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

An automated micro-method for the enzymatic determination of D-B-hydroxybutyrate in ruminant plasma

1. An enzymatic ‘reaction rate’ micro-method for the rapid routine estimation of D-B-hydroxybutyrate (D-B-HOB) in ruminant plasma, using an I.L. Multistat III centrifugal analyzer, is described.
2. Reaction conditions were optimized to give a linear response for plasma D-B-HOB concentrations between 100 and 2500 μmoles per litre, at 30°C and pH 9.0.
3. For the standardized method the within-run and between-run coefficients of variation for deproteinised ovine plasma were consistently less than 3.5%.
4. There was good agreement between plasma concentrations obtained by the present method and both original U.V. end-point technique (r=0.927b=0.950) and a colorimetric end-point procedure (r=0.937. b=0.879).
5. Utreated ovine and bovine plasma consistently exhibited high ‘blank’ activity and this was directly correlated with plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in both species (r=0.971; p<0.001 and r=0.949; p<0.001 respectively). The distribution of LDH activity in man was similar to sheep but, contrastingly, non-specific interference was extremely low in human plasma and unrelated to LDH. Horse, chicken and rat had negligible ‘blank” activity and comparatively low LDH levels. In both cattle and sheep non-specific interference was abolished by perchloric acid precipitation. In the sheep subtraction of ‘blank’ activity gave D-H-HOB concentrations for untreated plasma comparable to those in deproteinised samples. However, in the bovine, D-B-HOB levels remained significantly (t=6.44; p<0.001) higher even after ‘blank’ correlation. In contrast to man and other non-ruminants, perchloric acid precipitation is essential in ruminants to avoid false overestimation of plasma D-B-HOB levels.
6. Plasma with EDTA as anticoagulant and serum gave concentrations of D-B-HOB approximately 60% lower, than samples containing heparin or oxalate/fluoride. However, heparin was associated with much higher (up to 50%) non-specific NAD rduction than oxalate/fluoride.
7. High levels of acetoacetate (400–1000 μmoles per litre) reduced the recovery of D-B-HOB from ovine plasma by less than 10%. This effect was negated by the inclusion of hydrazine hydrates in the reaction mixture. Perchlorate ion concentrations above 25 μmoles per litre per test dramatically inhibited the assay in ovine plasma, and therefore precipitation conditions must be carefully controlled.
8. Plasma with oxalate/fluoride as anticoagulant showed the greatest stability in storage; 24 hours at room temperature, one week at +4°C and at least one month at ?20°C.