Research project to benefit marine hatcheries

摘要

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded scientists at Oregon State University two aquaculture grants, one that will help hatcheries feed certain marine fish more efficiently and the other intended to make oysters safer to eat.The first, worth $629,000, aims to improve the nutritional value of live prey such as rotifers and brine shrimp fed to California halibut {Paralichthys californicus), California yellowtail (Seriola lalandi dorsalis) and southern flounder {Paralichthys lethostigma) when they're in their larval stage. Owing to the fact that these organisms are less nutritious than copepods, the natural prey of many marine fish in the wild, the researchers plan to feed rotifers and brine shrimp vitamin C and taurine, an amino acid. To make sure these nutrients don't dissolve in the seawater, the researchers will encapsulate them in bubble-like liposomes, which can have impermeable membranes.