It is important to explore the use of alternative ingredients for soybean and fishmeal in aquaculture feeds because the demand and cost for those ingredients are expected to increase in the near future and long-term. Meanwhile, the food processing industry produces large quantities of wastes that often contain organic solids and nutrients (e.g. nitrogen waste and phosphorus) which can be converted in microbial protein (bioflocs) using suspended growth biological reactors. Bioflocs that were collected from such a reactor that treats confectionary food processing effluent water were dried and in shrimp feed as a replacement for soybean and fishmeal. A control diet (without bioflocs) was compared to three diets that replaced soybean (10, 20, and 30% biofloc inclusion) and two diets that replaced fishmeal (10 and 20% biofloc inclusion). The control and biofloc diets were formulated to be equivalent for levels of crude protein, total fat, crude fiber, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium. Five juvenile shrimp were stocked per tank and each dietary treatment was tested using 8 replicates over a 35day feeding trial. Dietary treatments had some impact on shrimp performance. No differences (P>0.05) in shrimp performance were observed between the control and the diets that included bioflocs for survival (97.5 to 100%), growth (2.16 to 2.40g/wk), harvest biomass (687 to 732g/m2), or food conversion ratio (1.50 to 1.66). These results indicate the bioflocs harvested from a suspended growth biological reactor that treats food effluent water can successfully be used in shrimp diets.Alternative & sustainable protein source for shrimp culture.

Climate variations are considered one of several interacting factors affecting food security. Specifically, in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, increased exposure to droughts and floods are expected. Local traditional knowledge in agriculture (LTKA) is proposed in this article as valid knowledge to ensure food availability under climate change, given its long experience in dealing with climate variability. Focused on water strategies, we have conducted a literature review on LTKA practices in the Indo-Gangetic Plains complemented with a questionnaire of experts to identify LTKA-based practices that might be useful in climate-change driven water scenarios. The practices identified are categorized as a) water harvesting and recycling; b) local irrigation systems; and c) and maintenance, conservation, and water allocation. We found that a) despite acknowledging the potential of LTKA to face floods and droughts, very few studies explicitly make the link between LTKA and climate change; and b) LTKA in water management heavily relays on social norms and local institutions and, thus, any attempts to replicate it need to consider this. We conclude that agroecology can help to promote these practices since it emphasizes the collective management from below as the main approach for the design of sustainable agroecosystems and, thus, include local institutions as an essential strategy for adaptation.

El experimento se llevó a cabo en la Estación Experimental Alfredo Volio Mata de la Universidad de Costa Rica con el objetivo de evaluar el efecto del consumo de agua sobre la ingesta de alimento balanceado y los parámetros de crecimiento en terneras de la raza Jersey desde el nacimiento hasta las ocho semanas de edad. Se utilizaron 20 terneras que se separaron de sus madres desde el nacimiento y se alojaron en cuadras individuales. El tratamiento 1 consistió en permitir que diez terneras tuvieran acceso libre al agua, mientras que los animales del tratamiento 2 no tuvieron acceso. El consumo de agua y alimento se controló minuciosamente a lo largo del experimento. El consumo de agua osciló entre los 0,06 y 2,53 L/d, desde la primer semana hasta la octava. No se encontraron diferencias significativas (P>0,05) entre tratamientos para el consumo de alimento. El consumo promedio de alimento en la semana uno fue de 0,163 kg y 0,101 kg para el tratamiento uno y dos respectivamente, para la semana cuatro el consumo de los animales del tratamiento 1 fue de 1,077 y 1,058 kg para los del tratamiento dos, y en la semana ocho el consumo de alimento fue de 3,824 y 3,999 kg para los animales del tratamiento 1 y 2, respectivamente. Con respecto a al peso y otros parámetros de crecimiento, no se encontraron diferencias significativas (P>0,05) entre tratamientos. El peso promedio de los animales al final de las ocho semanas fue de 52,55 y 56,85 kg para el tratamiento 1 y 2, respectivamente. | An experiment was conducted at the Alfredo Volio Mata Experiment Station of the University of Costa Rica in order to evaluate the effect of water consumption on feed intake and growth parameters in Jersey heifer calves from birth until eight weeks of age. 20 calves were separated from their dams at birth and were housed individually. Treatment 1 consisted of a group of ten calves that were allowed to free access to water, while animals in treatment 2 had no access. Water and feed intake was carefully monitored throughout the experiment. Water consumption ranged from 0.06 to 2.53 L/d, from the first week until the eighth. No significant differences (P>0.05) among treatments for feed intake were found. Average feed intake in week one was 0,163 and 0,101 kg for treatment 1 and 2, respectively, for week four feed intake was 1,077 kg for treatment 1 and 1,058 kg for treatment two, and in week eight feed consumption was 3.824 and 3.999 kg for animals in treatment 1 and 2, respectively. With regards to body weight and other growth parameters, no significant differences (P>0.05) between treatments were found. Average weight of animals at the end of the eight weeks was 52.55 and 56.85 kg for treatment 1 and 2, respectively.

Con el objetivo de determinar el efecto de dos alimentos balanceados comerciales sobre el factor de conversión alimenticia de Oreochromis aureus; así como también, sobre el crecimiento en peso y longitud, supervivencia e incremento de biomasa de la tilapia, se probaron los alimentos A y B que presentaron32 % y 28 %de proteína, respectivamente. El experimento se llevó a cabo en tanques de madera revestidos de plástico. Se realizaron tres repeticiones por tratamiento.Los alevines de tilapia fueron previamente aclimatados durante 16 días hasta la salinidad de 35 ‰. La densidad de siembra fue de 30 alevines/m3 con un peso promedio de 1,39 g y una longitud promedio de 4,41 cm. La dosis diaria fue suministrada de acuerdo a su consumo y distribuida en dos raciones. En 63 días de cultivo, con los alimentos balanceados comerciales A y B, se obtuvieron factores de conversión alimenticia promedios de 2,23 y 2,50, respectivamente, siendo similares;el crecimiento en peso de27,6 g y 20,6 g, respectivamente; el crecimiento en longitud de 12,2 cm y 13,9 cm, respectivamente, no siendo significativa la diferencia;la supervivencia final promedio fue de 56,7 % y 31,3 %, respectivamente; siendo significativa la diferencia; el incremento de biomasa promedio fue de 1010,95 g y 692,47 g, respectivamente y la temperatura del agua de cultivo estuvo dentro del rango de 27 °C a 29 °C. | Tesis

According to the latest OECD Global Forum on Environment “Water, food and energy are crucial for sustainable long term economic growth and human wellbeing” and crucial is the identification of the strong linkages between all three. As the UN has spotted out agriculture is currently the largest user of water at the global level, accounting for 70% of total withdrawal while the food production and supply chain accounts for about 30% of total global energy consumption. Besides, according to the global population dynamic, projected to increase by 2050 up to 9 billion people along with a 70% increase in food production, the resource competition is turning out to become a fundamental issue. To this extent the inter-linkages analysis within the nexus and the role-played by institutions and policies to handle effectively this resources competition is a challenging food for thought. In addition currently discussion on SDGs is taking in consideration all the three dimensions and wellbeing of people.To this purpose the aim of this work is to deal with the nexus through the lens of the Italian BES (Benessere Equo e Sostenibile) modeling framework. In particular focusing on food, considered as the primary need more strictly related to the wellbeing achievement, all the linkages available with water and energy would be investigated. The analysis will rely on the existing BES domains and indicators and on other possible measures, which can fit the nexus within the BES model.

Climate change mitigation, in the context of growing population and ever increasing economic activity, will require a transformation of energy and agricultural systems, posing significant challenges to global water resources. We use an integrated modelling framework of the water-energy-land-climate systems to assess how changes in electricity and land use, induced by climate change mitigation, impact on water demand under alternative socioeconomic (Shared Socioeconomic Pathways) and water policy assumptions (irrigation of bioenergy crops, cooling technologies for electricity generation). The impacts of climate change mitigation on cumulated global water demand across the century are highly uncertain, and depending on socioeconomic and water policy conditions, they range from a reduction of 15,000km³ to an increase of more than 160,000km³. The impact of irrigation of bioenergy crops is the most prominent factor, leading to significantly higher water requirements under climate change mitigation if bioenergy crops are irrigated. Differences in socioeconomic drivers and fossil fuel availability result in significant differences in electricity and bioenergy demands, in the associated electricity and primary energy mixes, and consequently in water demand. Economic affluence and abundance of fossil fuels aggravate pressures on water resources due to higher energy demand and greater deployment of water intensive technologies such as bioenergy and nuclear power. The evolution of future cooling systems is also identified as an important determinant of electricity water demand. Climate policy can result in a reduction of water demand if combined with policies on irrigation of bioenergy, and the deployment of non-water-intensive electricity sources and cooling types.

The capture efficiency and feeding behaviour of the cold-water coral (CWC) Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758) were investigated considering: (1) different food types, (2) different food sizes and (3) different current speeds and temperatures. This study used two different multifactorial experimental approaches: (1) Corals were subjected to three different flow speeds (2, 5 and 10 cm s− 1) in 5 l volume tanks, and three different food types (alive zooplankton, alive algae, and dry particulate organic carbon) were offered to the corals under each current regime, analysing the capture rates of the corals under these different flow velocities. (2) In a flume, the feeding behaviour of the coral polyps was studied under different current speed regimes (1, 7, 15 and 27 cm s− 1) and a temperature change over a range of 8–12 °C. The obtained results confirm that low flow speeds (below 7 cm s− 1) appear optimal for a successful prey capture, and temperature did not have an effect on polyp expansion behaviour for L. pertusa. In conclusion, flow speeds clearly impact food capture efficiency in L. pertusa, with zooplankton predominantly captured prey at low flow velocities (2 cm s− 1) and phytoplankton captured at higher flow velocities of 5 cm s− 1. This split in capture efficiency may allow corals to exploit different food sources under different tidal and flow conditions | Versión del editor | 2,2630

Although standardized sediment toxicity testing methods have been developed for the amphipod Hyalella azteca, no standardized chronic water‐only toxicity testing methods have been established. Furthermore, optimal feeding and water quality conditions for culturing and toxicity testing with this species remained unclear. The objective of the present study was to determine the food or combination of foods that best promotes survival, growth, and reproduction of the US Lab strain of Hyalella azteca under 42‐d, water‐only, static‐renewal testing conditions. The authors conducted 7 42‐d control (no toxicant) tests with various combinations of food (including Tetramin, yeast–cereal leaves–trout chow, diatoms, wheatgrass, alfalfa, and maple leaves) and substrate types (clean “unconditioned” Nitex screens vs “conditioned” Nitex screens that were colonized by live biofilms). Over all treatments, survival ranged from 18% to 96%, dry weight per individual from 0.084 mg to 1.101 mg, and reproduction from 0 young/female to 28.4 young/female. Treatments that included Tetramin tended to result in better performance than those that did not. In particular, treatments that included Tetramin and either conditioned screens or diatoms consistently had high survival, weight, and reproduction values as well as low variability among replicates (measured as coefficient of variation). A ramped Tetramin plus diatom suspension feeding regime appears to have the greatest potential to produce consistently good performance across laboratories using static‐renewal systems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2407–2415. © 2016 SETAC

To understand whether soluble fiber (SF) with high water-binding capacity (WBC), swelling capacity (SC) and fermentability reduces food intake and whether it does so by promoting satiety or satiation or both, we investigated the effects of different SFs with these properties on the food intake in rats. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to four equal groups and fed the control diet or diet containing 2% konjac flour (KF), pregelatinized waxy maize starch (PWMS) plus guar gum (PG), and PWMS starch plus xanthan gum (PX) for three weeks, with the measured values of SF, WBC, and SC in the four diets following the order of PG > KF > PX > control. Food intake, body weight, meal pattern, behavioral satiety sequence, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in cecal content were evaluated. KF and PG groups reduced the food intake, mainly due to the decreased feeding behavior and increased satiety, as indicated by decreased meal numbers and increased inter-meal intervals. Additionally, KF and PG groups increased concentrations of acetate acid, propionate acid, and SCFAs in the cecal contents. Our results indicate that SF with high WBC, SC, and fermentability reduces food intake—probably by promoting a feeling of satiety in rats to decrease their feeding behavior.