Date of Award

Summer 8-16-2024

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Marine Biology

Advisor

Matt Hawkyard

Second Committee Member

Michael Habte-Tsion

Third Committee Member

Deborah Bouchard

Abstract

The development of a sustainable marine finfish aquaculture industry will be important for meeting future seafood demands. One of the key challenges with culturing marine finfish is feeding these animals during their early-life stages due to their small size, limited development, and sensitivity to nutritional factors. The small size of fish larvae necessitates the use of very small (< 1mm) formulated diets, typically referred to as microdiets, which have a number of unique challenges associated with nutrient delivery and acceptability by marine fish larvae. This research has been focused on developing novel microparticulate diets, ‘liposome-containing complex particles’ (LCP) and microextruded marumerized (MEM) diets, as food for marine fish larvae. This research has focused on optimization of dietary protein and lipid concentrations, sink rate adjustment, and particle stability. The performance of these microdiets was evaluated and compared in trials with California yellowtail (Seriola dorsalis) larvae. The results of this research have provided us with a better understanding of the strengths and limitations of these microdiets and have opened new pathways for future research.

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