Bacteria as food in aquaculture: do they make a difference?
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Date
2016-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
Abstract
Bacterioplankton is an important component of marine as well as fresh waters
and accounts for a large fraction of the production of particulate matter in those
ecosystems. The concept of bacteria as providers of essential nutrients in aquatic
food webs has been raised most recently in relation to the utilization of bacteria
as a food source in aquaculture food chains. This article represents a comprehensive
review on the potential role of bacteria as a direct food source for aquaculture
organisms. After studying shortly the analytical tools that can be applied to determine
the uptake and assimilation of bacteria by higher trophic levels, it describes
the bacterial loads that are found in closed and open aquaculture systems and
elaborates on the composition of bacteria from a nutritional point of view. Next
this study elaborates in more detail on the role of bacteria as food for the zooplankton
groups used as live food in aquaculture hatcheries and for various
groups of aquaculture target organisms, such as fish, crustaceans and especially
bivalves. This includes an assessment of the specific uptake mechanisms of the different
taxonomic groups of interest in relation to their efficiency to ingest bacteria.
Finally, future research lines are suggested to elucidate the nutritional impact
of the bacterial community in aquaculture systems and how to steer this in order
to optimize the production.
Description
Keywords
aquaculture, assimilation, bacteria, diet, nutrition, uptake mechanism