Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate swimming performance and oxygen consumption as non−lethal indicator traits of production parameters in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. and Gilthead seabream Sparus aurata L. A total of 34 individual fish of each species were subjected to a series of experiments: (1) a critical swimming speed (Ucrit) test in a swim-gutter, followed by (2) two starvation-refeeding periods of 42 days, and (3) swimming performance experiments coupled to respirometry in swim-tunnels. Ucrit was assessed first to test it as a predictor trait. Starvation-refeeding traits included body weight; feed conversion ratio based on dry matter; residual feed intake; average daily weight gain and loss. Swim-tunnel respirometry provided oxygen consumption in rest and while swimming at the different speeds, optimal swim speed and minimal cost of transport (COT). After experiments, fish were dissected and measured for tissue weights and body composition in terms of dry matter, ash, fat, protein and moist, and energy content. The Ucrit test design was able to provide individual Ucrit values in high throughput manner. The residual Ucrit (RUcrit) should be considered in order to remove the size dependency of swimming performance. Most importantly, RUcrit predicted filet yield in both species. The minimal COT, the oxygen consumption when swimming at Uopt, added predictive value to the seabream model for feed intake.
Highlights
With the general aim of improving the efficiency and profitability of Atlantic salmon and Gilthead seabream farming by selective breeding, an important development would be the identification of accurate indicators for target traits that manifest late in life, such as survival, or traits that are difficult to measure, such as individual feed efficiency
The Ucrit that we found for seabream was much higher than the 3.4 ± 0.2 BL s−1 that was reported by Steinhausen et al (2010) which may be explained by the larger size of the fish in that study, the short swimming section of the respirometer that was used in comparison with the “endless” swim gutter in our study (Tudorache et al, 2007) and, by the fact that this value was determined on individual fish while in our study fish were schooling
We have shown that residual COTmin (RCOTmin) had predictive value for response variables such as average daily weight gain (ADG), Feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio on dry matter (FCRDM) and RFI
Summary
With the general aim of improving the efficiency and profitability of Atlantic salmon and Gilthead seabream farming by selective breeding, an important development would be the identification of accurate indicators for target traits that manifest late in life, such as survival, or traits that are difficult to measure, such as individual feed efficiency. Maximal and optimal swimming speeds, and routine and active metabolic rates, may correlate with traits that either target robustness (and resilience) or growth performance in relation to feed intake. Such correlations have hardly been studied in fish far. The role of swimming performance and oxygen consumption parameters as non-lethal predictors of production parameters such as growth, feed intake, intestinal fat and filet yield, was assessed, using Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and Gilthead seabream Sparus aurata as example species. The aim was to estimate phenotypic correlations as a first proxy for further research aimed at establishing genetic parameters for these traits
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