Advances in greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili, Risso, 1810) larval husbandrynutrition, rearing systems and weaning protocols

  1. DJELLATA, ADNANE
Dirigida por:
  1. Francisco Javier Roo Filgueira Director/a

Universidad de defensa: Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Fecha de defensa: 18 de marzo de 2022

Tribunal:
  1. Daniel Montero Vítores Presidente/a
  2. Juan Antonio Martos Sitcha Secretario
  3. Luis Eugénio Castenheira da Conceiçao Vocal

Tipo: Tesis

Resumen

SUMMARY Greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) has been proposed as a prominent new emerging species in the European aquaculture sector due to its good biological characteristics. However, the production of sufficient number of larvae and juveniles remains one of the main bottlenecks for greater amberjack culture on large scale. The main general objective of the present PhD dissertation was: Improving larval rearing and juveniles’ production of greater amberjack based on nutritional optimization of broodstock and larval feeds and husbandry techniques. In this sense, four specific objectives were established, in order to (1) examine the effects of supplemental taurine, histidine, and protein in broodstock diets, on larval biological performance and larval quality during the first weeks of life; (2) determine the most appropriate rearing technique (intensive versus semi-intensive system) at the initial rearing phases to improve growth performance and survival rate; (3) improve larval co-feeding protocols in early stages to reduce the use of live feeds; and finally (4) Improve larval performance during the weaning phase with specific taurine supplementation on dry diets. This thesis showed that (1) the supplementation of histidine and protein in broodstock diets optimize the greater amberjack larval survival and larval quality; (2) the most suitable larval rearing protocol to sustain a regular and predictable greater amberjack fingerling demand would be the semi-intensive system; (3) the density of Artemia sp. in larval co-feeding could be reduced at least to 25% of the standard protocol, ensuring high growth and survival rates while reducing the costs, stress response, and occurrence of skeletal anomalies; and (4) moderated level of taurine supplementation (1.24 g/100 g diet dry mass) is necessary for the microdiet for greater amberjack to support maximal growth parameters and minimal incidence of skeletal anomalies during the weaning stages.