An Examination of the Basis for Poor Growth Performance in the Hybrid Grass Carp
The hybrid grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella x Hypopthalmichthys nobilis) was once thought of as a viable alternative to the grass carp for controlling aquatic macrophytes. However, the hybrid proved a disappointment due to its poor growth performance and consumption rate. Investigation of the physiology, morphology, behavior, metabolism, and energy budgets of the hybrid and its parental species shows several traits being responsible for the hybrid's deficiency. Intermediacy of activity behavior, standard metabolism, and swimming efficiency, musculature similarity to the grass carp, and ineffective feeding morphology are the primary causes of the low energy intake and the large metabolic costs that effect the poor growth performance of the hybrid.
Biology, General, Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign