Meeting Abstract
The practice of mitigating cannibalism in aquaculture is an important focus for hatcheries seeking to maximize yield and has been maintained in hatcheries focusing on wild stock restoration. We hypothesize, however, that a cannibal feeding strategy may confer performance advantages over a non-cannibal feeding strategy. This study examined metabolic performance differences between cannibal and non-cannibal burbot, Lota lota, at the Twin River’s Hatchery in Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho, USA. After habitat alteration led to a functional extinction of burbot in the region, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho’s Twin River’s Hatchery has played a leading role in the reestablishment and conservation of burbot in the Kootenai River, Idaho. We examined morphometric data (weight, length, and condition factor), whole animal resting metabolic rate (RMR), and the enzyme activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), citrate synthase (CS), and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HOAD) to describe the baseline metabolic performance of cannibal and non-cannibal burbot. Taken together, our results demonstrated significant differences in the metabolic strategies of the feeding strategies, where cannibal burbot relied more heavily on carbohydrate metabolism and non-cannibal burbot relied more heavily on glycolytic and lipid metabolism. This study demonstrates the need to reevaluate the traditional practice of removing cannibal fish in conservation hatcheries, as it may not be the ideal strategy of raising the most robust individuals for release. When natural habitat conditions cannot be restored due to permanent habitat alteration, prioritizing release of higher performing individuals could help achieve conservation goals.
