Research in Aquaculture Nutrition: What Makes an Experimental Feeding Trial Successful?

Abstract

Experimental feeding trials are the foundation of research to advance aquaculture nutrition science and the aquafeed industry. In vivo feeding trials are resource-intensive activities and therefore must be carefully designed to ensure that results are scientifically valid and contribute to the overall body of knowledge in the aquaculture nutrition field. Nevertheless, many fish nutrition studies published in recent years lack the central element that defines a scientifically valid study–careful and concise articulation of a scientific question followed by development of a testable hypothesis and a study design appropriate to test it. Graduate student education is producing students with highly developed laboratory skills using technology that was inconceivable just a few decades ago. Nonetheless, researchers must couple their analytical skills and capacity with study designs that make these skills work for a solid hypothesis rather than developing a hypothesis that is dictated by analytical capacity. In this opinion article the authors review the steps that make experimental feeding trials successful and describe the pitfalls and traps that must be avoided to ensure that resources devoted to experimental feeding trials yield information that justifies their investment.