Research Project
Full description Australian Atlantic salmon are farmed at some of the warmest water temperatures for salmon culture globally, and ongoing global warming is predicted to significantly impact Australia's capacity to farm salmon. In addition, rising sea temperatures are also likely to reduce aquatic oxygen levels, compounding the effects of warming waters on fish health and productivity. Together, hypoxia and elevated temperature may reduce aerobic capacity and limit oxygen supply to aerobic activities such as digestion, leading to poor growth and physiological performance. Diet manipulation and the consequent alteration in the cost of digestion is an emerging approach to mitigate stress and improve performance. Thus, my research will aim to determine how increasing environmental temperature and reduced aquatic oxygen levels impact the energetics of digestion relative to aerobic capacity in Atlantic salmon. With that knowledge, I will assess how novel dietary components affect the cost of digestion to enhance growth under stressful conditions.