Adapting bioenergetic factorial modelling to understand the implications of heat stress on barramundi (Lates calcarifer) growth,feed utilisation and optimal protein and energy requirements – potential strategies for dealing with climate change?

The implications of temperature on bioenergetics for barramundi (Lates calcarifer) were defined in an improved factorial model that encompassed revised parameters accounting for effects over the temperature range of 16–39 °C and size range of 10–3000 g. A revised growth function describing weight gain by barramundi as a function of fish weight and temperature was derived from farm and laboratory data and included a term for a shift in optimal temperature with fish size: Gain (g fish^?1 day^?1) = (K + xT + yT ² + zT³) * (weight)^ax+b. Maintenance energy and protein demand functions were also derived on a similar form, and all three functions combined to form the basis of a factorial model for energy and protein demand. Using this model, optimal iterative feed specifications were defined for a range of fish sizes at temperatures of 25, 30 and 35 °C. A feed demand model was also developed based on the demand for digestible energy (DE) at each of these temperatures. The model shows that at high temperatures (35 °C), there is an increase in digestible protein (DP) to DE demand, and that with increasing size, there is a decrease in the DP to DE demand.     

A feed is only as good as its ingredients – a review of ingredient evaluation strategies for aquaculture feeds

The evaluation of feed ingredients is crucial to nutritional research and feed development for aquaculture species. In evaluating ingredients for use in aquaculture feeds, there are several important knowledge components that should be understood to enable the judicious use of a particular ingredient in feed formulation. This includes information on (1) ingredient digestibilities, (2) ingredient palatability and (3) nutrient utilization and interference. Diet design, feeding strategy, faecal collection method and method of calculation all have important implications on the determination of the digestible value of nutrients from any ingredient. There are several ways in which palatability of ingredients can be assessed, usually based on variable inclusion levels of the ingredient in question in a reference diet and feeding of those diets under an apparent satietal or self‐regulating feeding regimes. However, the design of the diets, the parameters of assessment and the feeding regime can all be subject to variation depending on subtleties of the experimental design. Clearly, issues relating to feed intake are the key performance criteria in palatability assessments, and it is important that such experiments maintain sufficient stringency to allow some self‐discrimination of the test feeds by the fish. The ability of fish to use nutrients from the test ingredient, or defining factors that interfere with that process, is perhaps the most complex and variable part of the ingredient evaluation process. It is crucial to discriminate effects on feed intake from effects on utilization of nutrients from ingredients (for growth and other metabolic processes). To allow an increased focus on nutrient utilization by the animals, there are several experimental strategies that can be adopted, which are based on variations in diet design and feeding regime used. Other issues such as ingredient functionality, influence on immune status and effects on organoleptic qualities are also important consideration in determining the value of ingredients in aquaculture feed formulations. A key aspect to note is the need to design all experiments with sufficient experimental capacity to detect significant effects.     

A meta‐analysis of the effects of dietary marine oil replacement with vegetable oils on growth,feed conversion and muscle fatty acid composition of fish species

The effects of the replacement of marine oils (MO) with canola oil (CO), linseed oil (LO) and soybean oil (SO) on growth, feed conversion and major muscle fatty acid (FA) classes were quantified using a meta‐analysis of published results. There was an absence of relationships between levels of MO replaced and effect sizes for all outcomes. High heterogeneity when combining effects sizes according to fixed effects models imposed the stratification of values in MO replacement categories and the use of random effect models to calculate the summary statistics. Limited values at 50% and 60% hampered clear tendencies when compared to 100% MO replacement. A medium mean effect size (?0.3773, 95% confidence intervals = ?0.7325 to ?0.0222, n = 22) for growth was obtained when replacing all MO with CO, whereas LO (?1.5609, 95% confidence intervals = ?2.3584 to ?0.7633, n = 19) and SO (?1.0589, 95% confidence intervals = ?1.7197 to ?0.3980, n = 22) resulted in high negative effect sizes. This study quantified the extent of differences in production parameters caused by dietary MO replacement with VO and could serve as reference for future experimental studies.     

Dietary strategies to improve the growth and feed utilization of barramundi,Lates calcarifer under high water temperature conditions

Several dietary strategies to ameliorate poorer growth observed to occur at temperatures above the upper thermal optima were examined with juvenile barramundi (Lates calcarifer). A reference (REF) and three experimental diets, one with an increased protein to energy ratio (PRO), another with an increased level of the amino acid histidine (HIS) and a third with supplementation of dietary nucleotides (NUC), were each fed to fish at either 30 °C or 37 °C for a 28‐day period. Growth was affected by both temperature and diet. Fish fed the PRO diet at 30 °C grew fastest, but not faster than those fed the NUC diet at the same temperature. The addition of the amino acid histidine to the diet did not improve growth rates at either temperature. At water temperatures of 37 °C, only the fish fed the PRO diet had growth rates equivalent to those of fish at the 30 °C temperatures. Other key factors including feed intake, feed conversion rate, nutrient and energy retention and plasma enzymology were also all affected by temperature and diet. This study shows that the use of a diet with an increased protein to energy ratio provides significant benefits in terms of reducing the impact of growth retardation at higher temperatures.     

Evaluation of the influence of different species and cultivars of lupin kernel meal on the extrusion process, pellet properties and viscosity parameters of salmonid feeds

This study examined the influence of different lupin species and cultivars and their inclusion levels on the physical properties of an extruded diet. Lupin kernel meals were included into a fish diet formulation at 0%, 10%, 20% and 30%. Soybean meal was also included in a series of diets on a similar basis as a reference. The diet mashes were extruded using a laboratory-scale APV19:45 twin-screw extruder. The pellets were examined for radial expansion, bulk density, vacuum oil uptakes, sink rate, shear and crush strengths. Inclusion of lupin kernel meal significantly increased bulk density, sink rate, shear and crush strength of the pellets. With the increase in lupin kernel meal inclusion level, a concomitant decline in vacuum oil uptake and radial expansion was also observed. An assessment of the diet mashes using a Rapid Visco Analyser showed that the inclusion of lupin kernel meals increased the rate and degree of gelatinization of the mash starch content compared with that with a similar inclusion level of soybean meal. The inclusion of lupin kernel meals in the diet mash also improved the water-holding capacity of the extrudate, which has important implications for the reduction in extruder wear.     

An assessment of cereal grains and other starch sources in diets for barramundi (Lates calcarifer) – implications for nutritional and functional qualities of extruded feeds

This study examined the digestibilities of whole diets and ingredients of a range of starch/cereal grains when fed to barramundi (Lates calcarifer). The ingredients included wheat, oats, sorghum, triticale, barley, among others. Twelve diets were prepared using a twin‐screw extruder to mimic modern aquafeed‐manufacturing processes. The diets were then fed to juvenile barramundi and the faeces collected using stripping methods. Significant variability in the digestible energy and starch value was seen among the test ingredients and diets. Diet starch digestibility ranged from 49.1% to 93.9%. Ingredient starch digestibility ranged from 18.0% to 96.5%. Among the different starch ingredients, a strong negative correlation between the ingredient amylopectin content and starch digestibility of that ingredient was observed. This relationship was also mirrored by a similar relationship, although not as strong, between total starch and starch digestibility. This study demonstrates that barramundi have limited ability to digest starch and that there is an effect of inclusion level on the ability of the animal to digest this nutrient. But it also demonstrates that there is a wide range of cereal sources that can be effectively used as starch sources in extruded diets for this species.     

Evaluation of the influence of Lupinus angustifolius kernel meal on dietary nutrient and energy utilization efficiency by rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

This study examined the utilization efficiencies of three diets when fed to rainbow trout in a 28‐day growth study. Each of the diets was fed at one of three ration levels, and an additional starved treatment was also included. The diets differed by an increasing concentration of lupin (Lupinus angustifolius cv. Myallie) kernel meal (MKM) inclusion. Two lupin kernel meal inclusion levels of 15% (MKM15%) and 30% (MKM30%) were studied. The diets were formulated to equivalent digestible protein and energy specifications based upon the predetermined digestibility values for each of the ingredients used. There were no significant differences in digestible protein level among the diets. However, a significantly higher level of digestible energy of both MKM diets was measured, as well as a significantly higher level of digestible phosphorus in the MKM30% diet. No significant differences between the diets were observed with respect the utilization of dietary digestible energy. Over the full data range, the energy utilization efficiency was described by the linear equation of; y = 0.747x ? 26.174, R² = 0.985. Efficiency of protein utilization over lower digestible protein intake levels was also linear (y = 0.599x ? 0.142, R² = 0.905), but over the full range was better described by a nonlinear function. The comparison of the three diets in this study shows that the dietary inclusion of lupin kernel had no significant effect on the gain of either protein or lipid energy relative to protein or lipid energy intake, respectively. Protein energy use efficiency constants varied depending on the feed intake level, but were not significantly affected by diet type. The efficiency of use of lipid energy for lipid energy retention was also not affected by diet type. The findings of this study demonstrate that the inclusion of lupin kernel meal, at up to 30% of the diet, does not affect the ability of rainbow trout to utilize the dietary digestible protein and energy of diet in which it is included.     

A determination of the quantitative requirements for docosahexaenoic acid for juvenile barramundi (Lates calcarifer)

A series of diets with varying docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n‐3) inclusion levels (1 g kg^?1 3 g kg^?1, 6 g kg^?1, 10 g kg^?1, 15 g kg^?1 and 18 g kg^?1) were fed to juvenile barramundi (Lates calcarifer) for 6 weeks. Two additional diets examined the addition of arachidonic acid (ARA; 20:4n‐6) or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n‐3) to the diets at 10 g kg^?1 when DHA was also included at 10 g kg^?1. Fish were fed the diets on a pair‐fed feeding regime to eliminate feed intake variability. Fish were weighed, and blood and tissue samples were collected after 6 weeks. Behavioural parameters were also assessed. Improvement in growth was seen with increasing inclusion of DHA up to a maximum at 10 g kg^?1 inclusion, albeit the response was minor. However, the addition of ARA to the diet reduced the growth response, while the addition of EPA improved the growth response. An improvement in feeding behaviour was also seen with increasing DHA up to a peak at 10 g kg^?1, while those animals fed diets low in DHA showed increasingly cryptic behaviour. With the increasing inclusion of DHA, a range of pathologies were observed, but the addition of an EPA component to the diet limited these pathologies, while the addition of ARA made little improvement and in some cases exacerbated the pathologies.     

A comparison of the digestibility of diets and ingredients fed to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) or barramundi (Lates calcarifer) – the potential for inference of digestibility values among species

This study aimed to determine if the diet and ingredient digestibilities from one carnivorous species of fish could be applied to another carnivorous species of fish. To do this, the digestibility of a series of diets and grain and poultry waste ingredients were compared when fed to either rainbow trout or barramundi. The same batches of diets were fed to either species prior to faecal collection using stripping techniques. There were strong correlations between the digestibilities of the diets and ingredients between the two species for each of the dry matter, protein and energy digestibility parameters. Both diet and ingredient digestibility values were similar for both species, although protein and dry matter digestibilities were generally higher for trout. The correlations were generally stronger for diet digestibilities than the ingredient digestibilities with the diet energy digestibility the strongest of the correlations (R² =0.925, P = 0.0001). Ingredient digestibilities were weakest for the protein digestibility (R² = 0.552, P = 0.0218), and this relationship is heavily dependent on one or two outlier values. The strong correlation between both diet and ingredient digestibilities between the two fish species indicates that there is considerable potential for the application of digestibility data for one carnivorous species to another.     

Assessment of methods for the determination of digestibilities of feed ingredients for Tra catfish,Pangasinodon hypothalamus

In this study, we undertook a series of experiments to assess different faecal‐collection methods and also the digestibilities of a range of feed ingredients when fed to Tra catfish (Pangasinodon hypothalamus). Apparent digestibility coefficients for dry matter, energy and nitrogen for a reference diet were also determined from faeces collected by way of settlement at 2‐h intervals from 2 to 24 h. No significant effect of sample collection time on the digestibility values was observed. Stripping was attempted, but was not considered a suitable method for collecting digesta from Tra catfish. Dissection collection was also evaluated. Values determined from dissection collection were lower than those from using settlement. In a second experiment, a suite of test ingredients was combined with a reference diet component in a 30 : 70 ratio to determine the ingredients for dry matter, energy and nitrogen digestibilities. Ingredients included were trash‐fish, defatted rice bran, wet full‐fat rice bran, dried full‐fat rice bran, broken rice, cassava, soybean and fish meals. Collection of faeces by settlement was used for determining the digestibility of each of the ingredients. The results showed that Tra catfish can efficiently digest protein and energy from a wide range of feed ingredients and nutrient sources.