Abalone Aquaculture and Nutritional Physiology

Abalone farming has emerged as a high-value segment of global aquaculture, driven by rising demand for premium seafood and advances in hatchery and grow-out technologies. Success in culture relies on understanding the interplay between feed composition, environmental parameters and the animal’s physiological capacity to ingest, digest and assimilate nutrients. Key factors include the formulation of diets that meet energy and amino acid requirements, the management of temperature regimes to support optimal metabolic rates and the mitigation of stressors such as heat and oxygen limitation. Research in nutritional physiology encompasses studies on digestive enzyme activities, protein and lipid metabolism, micronutrient uptake and the shifts between aerobic and anaerobic pathways under varied rearing conditions. Improved insights into these processes underpin strategies to enhance growth performance, feed efficiency and product quality while reducing environmental impacts and promoting climate resilience in abalone aquaculture.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have elucidated the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which abalone respond to thermal stress. One investigation compared abalones exposed to fluctuating versus stable summer temperatures, revealing that semidiurnal temperature swings modulate respiration, excretion rates and protein expression, thereby buffering against thermal extremes. Fluctuating conditions downregulated key enzyme activities while upregulating structural proteins, enhancing survival under episodic heat. Another work applied untargeted metabolomics to juveniles acclimated to different temperatures, showing that heat stress induces mitochondrial dysfunction and accumulation of intermediate metabolites, with warmer acclimation fostering metabolic homeostasis. These findings advance understanding of abalone thermal tolerance and inform strategies to optimise culture conditions under climate change.

Abalone Aquaculture and Nutritional Physiology publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in abalone aquaculture and nutritional physiology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Aquaculture: Cultivation of aquatic organisms under controlled conditions for food production or conservation.

Bioavailability: Proportion of a nutrient that is absorbed and utilised by an organism following ingestion.

Metabolomics: Comprehensive analysis of metabolites within a biological sample to reveal metabolic responses.

Feed conversion ratio (FCR): Measure of feed efficiency, calculated as feed intake divided by weight gain.

Semidiurnal thermal fluctuation: Twice-daily temperature variations experienced in marine environments.

References

1. Total Iodine Quantification and In Vitro Bioavailability Study in Abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Foods (2024).
2. Physiological responses of the abalone Haliotis discus hannai to daily and seasonal temperature variations. Scientific Reports (2019).
3. Metabolomics Adaptation of Juvenile Pacific Abalone Haliotis discus hannai to Heat Stress. Scientific Reports (2020).
4. The role of aquafeeds in abalone nutrition and health: A comprehensive review. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society (2022).
5. Optimal Dietary Protein Requirement of Subadult Australian Hybrid Abalone (Haliotis rubra × Haliotis laevigata) at Different Rearing Temperatures. Aquaculture Research (2023).