Abstract
Understanding the feeding preferences of abalone (high-value marine herbivores) is integral to new species development in aquaculture because of the expected link between preference and performance. Performance relates directly to the nutritional value of algae – or any feedstock – which in turn is driven by the amino acid content and profile, and specifically the content of the limiting essential amino acids. However, the relationship between feeding preferences, consumption and amino acid content of algae have rarely been simultaneously investigated for abalone, and never for the emerging target species Haliotis asinina. Here we found that the tropical H. asinina had strong and consistent preferences for the red alga Hypnea pannosa and the green alga Ulva flexuosa, but no overarching relationship between protein content (sum of amino acids) and preference existed. For example, preferred Hypnea and Ulva had distinctly different protein contents (12.64 vs. 2.99 g 100 g−1) and the protein-rich Asparagopsis taxiformis (>15 g 100 g−1 of dry weight) was one of the least preferred algae. The limiting amino acid in all algae was methionine, followed by histidine or lysine. Furthermore we demonstrated that preferences can largely be removed using carrageenan as a binder for dried alga, most likely acting as a feeding attractant or stimulant. The apparent decoupling between feeding preference and algal nutritive values may be due to a trade off between nutritive values and grazing deterrence associated with physical and chemical properties.
Highlights
Understanding feeding preferences of abalone is integral to developing sustainable diets for their aquaculture because of the expected link between preference and performance [1,2]
Consumption rates of algae in the no-choice assay mirrored that of the preference hierarchy observed in the choice assays, confirming distinct preferences between available tropical algae
Protein content varied substantially between species, there was no relationship between protein content and preference amongst algae, contrary to predictions for other species of abalone
Summary
Understanding feeding preferences of abalone is integral to developing sustainable diets for their aquaculture because of the expected link between preference and performance [1,2]. Abalone from North and Central America (H. rufescens, H. fulgens and H. corrugata) [7], Japan (H. discus hannai and H. diversicolor supertexta) [8], New Zealand (H. iris) [9] and South Africa (H. midae) [10,11,12,13] prefer brown algae over red and green algae This variability suggests that the diverse preferences of abalone are influenced by multiple factors, including secondary metabolites or chemical defences [5,14,15], the toughness or physical defence of the algae [16,17], and nitrogen or protein content [11,18]. Natural algal diets do not appear to provide a consistent dietary source of protein
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