The proposed research explored the possible relationships between chemical composition of soybean meals and digestibility coefficients and the biological response of the shrimp to various sources. It was hoped that a descriptive matric of composition will correspond to nutrient profiles and digestible nutrients to allow for a better evaluation of the quality of soybean meals for the shrimp feed industry. Albeit this research did not produce as robust of result as previous trials it does contribute to our understanding of variation on soybean meal and corresponding effects on growth.

Updated December 3, 2019:

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Two growth trials were completed that compared the biological value (growth response) of L. vannamei offered high soy feed formulations. The growth response was not as different as expected; however, there were clear difference. As in previous project we used principle component analysis and standardization techniques to correlate a response of growth to characteristics of the meals. In this case the strongest correlation was to phosphorus and phytate. As both are correlated it is probably the level of phytate that is the driver as this will effect both mineral and protein availability. Raffinos was also weekly correlated with the growth response which is logical and supported by other research. One theory for the limited response is that the meals were source with to similar a composition. Using both cluster analysis and principle component analysis we looked at how related the meals were and identified two major groups and three sources that acted differently. There is no clear association of one group or the other with performance. Although, the data on digestibility is not reliable, there were considerable difference between samples. Hopefully with revised data we may see better trends. A master of science thesis will be developed around the data and we will continue to work with more advanced statistics to help identify drivers of the growth response.