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The IMTA-cultivated Chlorophyta Ulva spp. as a sustainable ingredient in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) diets

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Abstract

Increasing levels of a mixture of Ulva spp. produced in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system were evaluated in Nile tilapia juveniles for partial replacement of dietary fish meal. A control diet (CTRL) was compared with three experimental diets containing 10 % (U10), 15 % (U15), and 20 % (U20) of Ulva spp. meal. Triplicate groups of fish (13 g initial body weight) were fed each diet for 63 days at 26 °C. Nutrient apparent digestibility coefficients and nitrogen retention efficiency did not vary significantly among diets. By the end of the trial, all groups of fish more than tripled their initial body weight. Specific growth rate and final body weight of U10 diet were similar to CTRL and significantly higher than U15 and U20 diets. Increasing Ulva dietary incorporation levels significantly increased feed conversion ratio (FCR), from 1.0 (CTRL) to 1.4 (U20). Fish fed with U10 diet had the highest protein efficiency ratio and nitrogen retention efficiency allowing this fish to growth and reach a final body weight similar to the CTRL group. Protein content was highest in fish fed with the CTRL diet, whereas the highest lipid content was observed in fish fed with U20 diet. The results show that the incorporation of IMTA-produced Ulva meal in Nile tilapia diets is possible up to 10 % without compromising growth performance, protein utilization, and protein retention of juveniles. The high capacity of Nile tilapia to digest all experimental diets suggests that Ulva meal is a practical partial replacement for fish meal in Nile tilapia diets.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by FEDER (European fund for regional development), in the context of the Operational Competitiveness Programme—COMPETE, by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the project Project Benefits (PTDC/MAR/105229/2008) n. FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-010622.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal

    Gonçalo Marinho, Isabel Sousa-Pinto, Rui Pereira, Paulo Rema & Luísa M. P. Valente

  2. Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), Quinta de Prados, Apartado 1013, 5001-801, Vila Real, Portugal

    Cristóvão Nunes & Paulo Rema

  3. Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Universidade do Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    Luísa M. P. Valente

  4. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal

    Isabel Sousa-Pinto

  5. ALGAPLUS, Lda, Rua António Castilho s/n, 3850-405, Angeja, Portugal

    Rui Pereira

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  1. Gonçalo Marinho
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  2. Cristóvão Nunes
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Correspondence to Luísa M. P. Valente.

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Marinho, G., Nunes, C., Sousa-Pinto, I. et al. The IMTA-cultivated Chlorophyta Ulva spp. as a sustainable ingredient in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) diets. J Appl Phycol 25, 1359–1367 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9965-3

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