The growth of cultured juvenile fish is usually quantified by two indexes, the specific growth rate or SGR, and the thermal-unit growth coefficient or TGC. The SGR is a relative growth index based on logarithms of body weights, and it decreases with body weight. The classical TGC is based on one-third powers of body weights and the summation of temperature over time. It can also depend on body weight, but it is possible to release this dependency by empirically adjusting the power function in its mathematical definition. These two indexes are usually presented in the same article to compare the growth attained by different groups of fish subjected to different experimental treatments. However, no formal framework linking both indexes is available for researchers up to the moment, the meanings of SGR and TGC remaining unrelated. The present work shows that the TGC of a group of fish growing at a given temperature can be expressed as a function of the SGR. In addition, the relationship between SGR and TGC here reported provides the basis to re-defined the TGC as a size-independent index with application to fish culture.
The specific growth rate, G, is widely used in articles dealing with the growth of aquatic organisms under experimental conditions.When individuals are untagged, the arithmetic mean of G for a group of animals must be calculated from weight geometric means, not from arithmetic means.The type of weight mean used in articles to calculate the arithmetic mean of G is usually not reported, and an extended use of weight arithmetic means is common.The arithmetic mean of G so calculated is biased according to the increment in the squared coefficient of variation of body weights.Another potential bias in the calculation of the arithmetic mean of G is size-dependent mortality; this bias cannot be avoided when individuals are untagged, but maximal and minimal values can be obtained.In summary, in view of these analytical results, it seems prudent to calculate the arithmetic mean of G for a group of untagged animals from geometric means of weights, and to estimate the maximal error due to the possibility of size-dependent mortality whenever possible.
Legumes are an important source of protein, lipids, and other essential nutrients. As the demand for protein and lipids continues to surge on a global scale, there is a growing interest in incorporating legumes into aquafeeds. This shift is driven not only by the escalating growth of the aquaculture sector in recent years but also by the imperative to diminish the dependency on traditional resources like fishmeal (FM) and fish oil. Amongst legumes, different lupin species had been identified as a potential protein source to partially reduce the inclusion of FM in countries such as Australia, Chile, and the European Union. A comprehensive evaluation of their nutritional profiles, overall characteristics, and potential antinutritional factors is essential for informed utilization and the implementation of nutritional enhancement strategies. In pursuit of this goal, an in vitro gastrointestinal simulation system was devised to replicate the digestive conditions of rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ). The study focused on determining the bioaccessibility of protein and phosphorus within two sweet lupin varieties (alkaloids < 0.05) with high ( Lupinus mutabilis ) and low ( Lupinus angustifolius ) native phytic acid content evaluated as whole (W) or dehulled (D) seeds meals and the effect of a single dose of phytase (2,500 FTU/kg DM). Additionally, regular soybean meal (SBM) served as reference (10 treatments with 3 replicates). A 2,500 FTU/kg DM phytase dose increased the levels of PO 4 −3 released throughout the intestinal phase by 122.6% for L. mutatabilis W, 116.3% for L. mutatabilis D, 65.2% for L. angustifolius W, 59.0% for L. an gustifolius D, and 91.8% for SBM compared to controls without phytase. The bioaccessibility of amino acids in varieties treated with phytase increased with respect to the control without phytase. L. mutabilis was found to be a potentially viable alternative as a good quality protein source for the manufacture of environmentally friendly aquafeeds.