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Ulva as a functional feed: a practical investigation into the effects of Ulva lacinulata on the growth, consumption, health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone Haliotis midae

Since around 2000, there has been increased adoption of cultivation of the macroalga Ulva by the South African abalone aquaculture industry using IMTA systems. Farms that use fresh Ulva as a supplement to formulated feed have reported a reduction in the volume of formulated feed required to achieve...

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Main Author: Brand, Morgan
Other Authors: Bolton, John
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Biological Sciences 2024
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access_status_str Open Access
author Brand, Morgan
author2 Bolton, John
author_browse Bolton, John
Brand, Morgan
author_facet Bolton, John
Brand, Morgan
author_sort Brand, Morgan
collection Thesis
description Since around 2000, there has been increased adoption of cultivation of the macroalga Ulva by the South African abalone aquaculture industry using IMTA systems. Farms that use fresh Ulva as a supplement to formulated feed have reported a reduction in the volume of formulated feed required to achieve optimal growth of abalone however, there are no standard methods available for integration into production systems. This study shows that IMTA-grown Ulva, or specific components thereof, could be used to reduce the farms reliance on formulated feeds, enhance feed consumption, improve growth rates and product quality, positively influence the immune and metabolic state of abalone while also impacting the gut microbial ecology. The supplementation of formulated feed with fresh IMTA-grown Ulva increased the total daily feed consumption by 90 % and reduced the reliance on formulated feeds by 60 % in a farmscale trial. The basal haemolymph glucose concentration for abalone fed formulated feeds was higher, and demonstrated a significantly prolonged period of hyperglycaemia when compared to abalone fed on fresh Ulva. The immune response of abalone fed formulated feed was not significantly different to that of abalone fed fresh Ulva, however Ulva fed abalone had more pronounced activity from stimulated haemocytes. Feeding fresh Ulva, as a partial replacement (40%) for a formulated feed, significantly improved SGR and MISL compared to that of abalone fed on either diet individually. Abalone that were fed fresh Ulva had significantly lower muscle glycogen content and higher tissue moisture content than abalone fed formulated feed AB or the mixed feeding regime ABFU. The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis data clearly separated the gut microbial fingerprints into two groups, with one cluster consisting mainly of abalone maintained on formulated feeds and the other cluster comprised of abalone fed fresh Ulva diets. The analysis of specific bands within the DGGE data indicates that abalone fed fresh Ulva diets, and its components, produced significant associations in their intestinal bacterial patterns. Collectively, these findings provide a basis for further investigation into specific roles of extracts obtained from fresh Ulva on the growth, health, physiology and microbiome of aquaculture species.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:33:51.607Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39286 Ulva as a functional feed: a practical investigation into the effects of Ulva lacinulata on the growth, consumption, health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone Haliotis midae Brand, Morgan Bolton, John Biological Sciences Since around 2000, there has been increased adoption of cultivation of the macroalga Ulva by the South African abalone aquaculture industry using IMTA systems. Farms that use fresh Ulva as a supplement to formulated feed have reported a reduction in the volume of formulated feed required to achieve optimal growth of abalone however, there are no standard methods available for integration into production systems. This study shows that IMTA-grown Ulva, or specific components thereof, could be used to reduce the farms reliance on formulated feeds, enhance feed consumption, improve growth rates and product quality, positively influence the immune and metabolic state of abalone while also impacting the gut microbial ecology. The supplementation of formulated feed with fresh IMTA-grown Ulva increased the total daily feed consumption by 90 % and reduced the reliance on formulated feeds by 60 % in a farmscale trial. The basal haemolymph glucose concentration for abalone fed formulated feeds was higher, and demonstrated a significantly prolonged period of hyperglycaemia when compared to abalone fed on fresh Ulva. The immune response of abalone fed formulated feed was not significantly different to that of abalone fed fresh Ulva, however Ulva fed abalone had more pronounced activity from stimulated haemocytes. Feeding fresh Ulva, as a partial replacement (40%) for a formulated feed, significantly improved SGR and MISL compared to that of abalone fed on either diet individually. Abalone that were fed fresh Ulva had significantly lower muscle glycogen content and higher tissue moisture content than abalone fed formulated feed AB or the mixed feeding regime ABFU. The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis data clearly separated the gut microbial fingerprints into two groups, with one cluster consisting mainly of abalone maintained on formulated feeds and the other cluster comprised of abalone fed fresh Ulva diets. The analysis of specific bands within the DGGE data indicates that abalone fed fresh Ulva diets, and its components, produced significant associations in their intestinal bacterial patterns. Collectively, these findings provide a basis for further investigation into specific roles of extracts obtained from fresh Ulva on the growth, health, physiology and microbiome of aquaculture species. 2024-04-03T13:31:13Z 2024-04-03T13:31:13Z 2023 2024-04-03T13:23:17Z Thesis / Dissertation Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39286 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science
spellingShingle Biological Sciences
Brand, Morgan
Ulva as a functional feed: a practical investigation into the effects of Ulva lacinulata on the growth, consumption, health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone Haliotis midae
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title Ulva as a functional feed: a practical investigation into the effects of Ulva lacinulata on the growth, consumption, health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone Haliotis midae
title_full Ulva as a functional feed: a practical investigation into the effects of Ulva lacinulata on the growth, consumption, health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone Haliotis midae
title_fullStr Ulva as a functional feed: a practical investigation into the effects of Ulva lacinulata on the growth, consumption, health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone Haliotis midae
title_full_unstemmed Ulva as a functional feed: a practical investigation into the effects of Ulva lacinulata on the growth, consumption, health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone Haliotis midae
title_short Ulva as a functional feed: a practical investigation into the effects of Ulva lacinulata on the growth, consumption, health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone Haliotis midae
title_sort ulva as a functional feed a practical investigation into the effects of ulva lacinulata on the growth consumption health and gut microbiota of the farmed abalone haliotis midae
topic Biological Sciences
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39286
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