Feeding preferences and the nutritional value of tropical algae for the abalone Haliotis asinina

A R Angell; I Pirozzi; R de Nys; Nicholas A Paul

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038857

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Feeding preferences and the nutritional value of tropical algae for the abalone Haliotis asinina

Journal article

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Feeding preferences and the nutritional value of tropical algae for the abalone Haliotis asinina

A R Angell, I Pirozzi, R de Nys and Nicholas A Paul

PLoS One, Vol.7(6), e38857

2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038857

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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. © 2012 Angell et al.

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Title: Feeding preferences and the nutritional value of tropical algae for the abalone Haliotis asinina
Authors: A R Angell (Author) - James Cook University
I Pirozzi (Author) - James Cook University
R de Nys (Author) - James Cook University
Nicholas A Paul (Author) - James Cook University
Publication details: PLoS One, Vol.7(6), e38857; 10
Publisher: Public Library of Science
Date published: 2012
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038857
ISSN: 1932-6203
Copyright note: Copyright © 2012 Angell et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451308802621
Output Type: Journal article

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