WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2016 63 alligator by quantifying the amount of compounded diet (expressed as a percentage of body weight per day) that an alligator of a given size would typically consume in one or two daily feedings under a standard set of conditions. This information could be used to calculate a suitable daily feed allotment for alligators of known (or estimated) body weight that would provide optimum daily nutrition and minimize feed waste. Study Methods Procedures for animal care and handling were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Louisiana State University (protocol number A2104-04). The feeding trial was conducted in 24 2.98-m2, flow-through tanks at the alligator research facility of the LSU Aquaculture Research Station. Each tank was equipped with an exterior layer of insulating foam and an insulated (vented) cover to minimize internal temperature fluctuation. Water depth was maintained at 30 cm and water temperature at 30-31 C, which is within the range used for Production of American alligator Alligator mississippiensis is an established aquacultural industry in Louisiana. In 2014, Louisiana farmers produced more than 322,000 captivereared alligators, sold more than 438,000 kg of alligator meat, and supplied more than 380,000 m of alligator skins to luxury leather markets worldwide (La. Summary of Agriculture and Natural Resources www.lsuagcenter. com/agsummary/home). Despite the industry’s long history and high value, however, science-based information on practical nutrition and feeding of farmed alligator is quite limited (Staton et al. 1990a, Staton et al. 1990b, Reigh and Williams 2013, Reigh et al. 2013, Reigh and Williams 2014). Among the practical concerns of alligator farmers is overfeeding, which degrades water quality in production houses and increases production cost. Thus, development of a method to determine appropriate feeding rates for alligators of different sizes could be environmentally and economically useful. With this in mind, a growth trial was conducted to measure effects of body weight on feed consumption of captive-reared American Feed Intake and Length-Weight Relationship of Captive American Alligator Fed a Compounded Diet Robert C. Reigh and Millie B. Williams Temperature-controlled culture tanks in the Alligator Research Facility, Louisiana State University. (Photo: R.C. Reigh) Young-of-year alligator in culture tank. (Photo: R.C. Reigh) Young of year alligators fed a compounded diet. (Photo: R.C. Reigh) (CONTINUED ON PAGE 64)
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