Extension of a nutrient demand model for shrimp to include the ideal protein concept to predict amino acid demands
Brett Glencross
Abstract
This study reports a nutrient demand model for the Black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) based on a factorial approach of describing the growth potential, composition of growth, utilization and maintenance demands of nutrients, with an emphasis on protein and amino acids. Growth potential was defined using data from several farm-scale trials to determine the size-specific mass-gain of the animal across its production cycle. This was then matched with algorithms of the composition of dry matter, protein, lipid, ash, carbohydrate and amino acids across the production size ranges for this species. Re-analysis of data from several publications allowed the derivation of the utilization efficiencies and maintenance demands for protein, energy and individual amino acids. These factors were then assembled into a model that allow the iterative estimation of macronutrient specifications of diets for shrimp, including the demands for individual essential amino acids, and how these demands change with animal size. The predicted essential amino acid demands compared well against existing empirical estimations (R2 = .9169). Modelled estimations of essential amino acid demands were typically all slightly higher than most of the empirical data, with the model suggesting that a higher dietary inclusion level of several amino acids as potentially being beneficial.