Fco Javier MoyanoUniversidad de Almería | UAL · Department of Biology and Geology
Fco Javier Moyano
Professor in Zoology
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207
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Introduction
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October 1989 - present
Publications
Publications (207)
We investigated how microbial decomposition in headwater streams is influenced by environmental factors and litter quality, including the potential adaptation of microbes to decompose more efficiently leaf‐litter species from their native range (HFA, ‘home‐field advantage’ hypothesis).
We conducted a leaf‐litter decomposition experiment in streams...
Probiotics face harsh conditions during their transit through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of fish because of low-pH environments and intestine fluid. Therefore, the evaluation of probiotic viability under simulated gastrointestinal conditions is an important step to consider for probiotic supplementation in fish feed prior to in vivo trials. T...
In the context of modern aquaculture, the effort to reduce the reliance on fishmeal/marine ingredients in fish diets has led to the exploration of plant-based protein sources as potential substitutes, a dietary shift that disrupts the bile acid profile in fish. Therefore, bile salts are being sought as additives. However, artificially increased int...
Demand for organic aquaculture is rising, but its viability will depend on the availability of economically viable
raw materials to formulate organic diets. In the current work, organic diets were formulated based on different
alternative protein sources distinguished by their ecological origin, insect meal (IN), seabass by-products (SB)
and Ibe...
This study evaluated the impact of different feed restriction durations on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) over a five-week trial. It focused on compensatory growth, nutrient utilization, and body composition under production scale conditions. Additionally, the study explored how restriction intensity affected the utilization of dietary protein...
The use of intensive systems in aquaculture causes an increase in environmental stress agents, reducing water quality and facilitating the appearance of pathologies in individuals. In this context, the selection of ingredients is a key strategy in managing the quality of aquafeed and the cultivation of aquaculture species. Considering this, wine by...
The growth of cultured juvenile fish is usually quantified by two indexes, the specific growth rate or SGR, and the thermal-unit growth coefficient or TGC. The SGR is a relative growth index based on logarithms of body weights, and it decreases with body weight. The classical TGC is based on one-third powers of body weights and the summation of tem...
Simple Summary
This study explores the use of organic ingredients as protein sources in the diet of juvenile organic seabass. Various diets, including organic options like insect meal, Iberian pig byproduct, and rainbow trout meal byproduct, were compared to a control diet using conventional fishmeal. The research found that the control diet produc...
In fish diets, soybean meal (SBM) is still positioned as the most widely used alternative to replace fishmeal. Red vetchling (Lathyrus cicera), a crop locally produced in Europe, is here evaluated as a substitute for SBM. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) juveniles (10.34 ± 0.04 g) were fed for 90 days. Six experimental diets replacing the SBM co...
Simple Summary
Peroxidase (PO) is effective at mitigating or eliminating mycotoxins in fish feeds. However, the literature does not describe how the free radicals produced during oxidation by PO can interact with other nutrients and active compounds present in such feeds, affecting their bioavailability and modifying both the metabolism of the spec...
The search of bioactive compounds obtained from natural sources with beneficial effects in growth and health is an increasing trend in aquaculture. Wine by-products are an excellent source of such compounds, mostly phe-nolics, with demonstrated antioxidant and immunostimulant activities in vertebrates. The present study evaluated the effects of die...
Increasing attention is currently being paid to the protective role of polyphenols in health and oxidative status in fish. For this reason, the potential use of different natural sources of such compounds, like wine by products, is under study. One key step required to gain a better understanding on the biological roles of polyphenols for a given s...
Mullets (Mugilidae) present significant potential for sustainable aquaculture diversification due to their eurythermal, euryhaline, and low-trophic nature. However, the physiological differences and optimal cultured conditions among the diverse mullet species are quite unknown. For these reasons, the present study aimed to address two main objectiv...
The identification and implementation of raw materials to replace fish meal (FM) or its major alternative, soybean meal (SBM), among other factors, is crucial for the sustainable growth of aquaculture. Narbonne vetch (Vicia narbonensis) meal (NVM) has previously been identified as a promising alternative raw material locally produced in Europe to r...
Potential of the enzyme peroxidase (PO) from soybean meal to mitigate aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in fish feed was evaluated. Reaction parameters studied in the wet stage of the feed production process were enzyme activity (0.01–0.1 U/g), temperature (20–36 °C), time (0–8 h) and humidity content (40–70%). Feed was produced in conformity with the National R...
Bioaccessibility of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) found in contaminated peanut meal was assessed by an in vitro system that simulated conditions of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) intestine. Peanut meal containing 17.1 µg kg⁻¹ AFB1 was used as substrate. Reference assays were carried out with intestinal enzyme extracts from adult tilapia under realistic...
In a previous study, it was shown that dietary supplementation with a carbohydrases and antioxidant-enriched extract (BSG-extract) produced by solid-state fermentation of brewer’s spent grain (BSG) improved nutrients digestibility, feed, and protein utilization of European seabass juveniles. This work aims to investigate the effect of this BSG-extr...
The present study investigates the effects of different feeding regimes with rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) and Artemia salina on the gene expression and digestive enzymes in pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) larvae at 17 days post-hatch (DPH) over a period of 13 days. Five experimental feeding protocols were performed in four replicates. At 4 DPH, t...
Aquaculture growth and sustainability mainly rely on the identification and implementation of alternative raw materials to replace fish meal (FM) and fish oil (FO) and/or its major substitute, the soybean meal (SBM). A five-step screening tool has been designed to identify and improve the use of promising alternative raw materials. To validate it,...
Spiny lobster aquaculture has increased during the past decades, attended to the lobster high demand and commercial value. However, the absence of cost-effective and nutritionally adequate formulated feeds remains as one of the drawbacks for the sustainable expansion of this activity. Despite lipids are important nutrients and energy sources for th...
This work aimed to evaluate the potential of a carbohydrases-rich extract produced by SSF of BSG to enhance the nutritional value of plant-based diets for European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles. BSG was fermented by A. ibericus (MUM 03.49) to obtain an aqueous enzymatic extract (1178 and 8317 U g⁻¹ cellulase and xylanase activity, respec...
The possibility of improving the nutritional quality of plant byproducts (brewers’ spent grain and rice bran) through an enzyme treatment was tested in a formulated feed for grey mullet (Mugil cephalus). The enzyme treatment was carried out by Solid-State Hydrolysis (SSH) using a commercial preparation including carbohydrases and phytase. A feed pr...
Brewer’s spent grain (BSG) is the largest by-product originated from the brewery industry with a high potential for producing carbohydrases by solid-state fermentation. This work aimed to test the efficacy of a carbohydrases-rich extract produced from solid-state fermentation of BSG, to enhance the digestibility of a plant-based diet for European s...
Mounting evidence points to a linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (B‐EF). Global drivers, such as warming and nutrient enrichment, can alter species richness and composition of aquatic fungal assemblages associated with leaf‐litter decomposition, a key ecosystem process in headwater streams. However, effects of biodiversity chang...
Understanding the daily digestive function could lead to more efficient feeding practices in the farmed fish species. In this work, the effect of several daily feeding protocols was assessed on the daily expression of the genes related to the circadian system (arntl1, clock, per1, and cry1), appetite (cck), nutrients hydrolysis (try1, ctrb1, pga, a...
This study evaluated the use of Ulva ohnoi as an ingredient in feeds for aquaculture in three different experiments. Experiment 1 was oriented to confirm the negative effect of U. ohnoi on fish digestion. Experiment 2 assessed the effect on growth, feed efficiency, and immune status of juvenile sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fed on diets including...
A 121-day feeding trial was undertaken to test the effects of two dietary lipid levels (16 and 21% L16, L21) in triplicated gilthead sea bream groups (initial weight: 67.5 g) reared at two different water temperatures (high, H 23°C and low, L 17°C) in the same recirculation system but exposed to a switch in temperature after 58 days. Fish kept at H...
The linkage between leaf‐litter and macroinvertebrate shredders is pivotal for stream food webs. Global change is predicted to decrease the nutritional quality of litter inputs to streams. However, little is known about shredder's ability to develop local interpopulation adaptations to face nutrient‐depleted leaf‐litter. We hypothesized that this a...
The objective of the present study was to assess if trypsin, a key enzyme involved in protein digestion, presents some kind of functional adaptations to seasonal changes in water temperature in freshwater fish. In order to test this hypothesis, individuals of two fish species Carassius gibelio (agastric) and Perca fluviatilis (gastric) were sampled...
The influence of diurnal and nocturnal feeding on daily rhythms of gut levels of cholecystokinin (CCK) and the activity of two key pancreatic proteases, trypsin and chymotrypsin, were examined in juveniles of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis), a species with nocturnal habits. Four feeding protocols were performed: P1) One morning meal; P2) Six m...
This study aimed to verify the possible positive effects of feeding the commercial probiotic Bioplus 2BC® [Bacillus subtilis (1.6 × 10¹⁰ CFU/g) and Bacillus licheniformis (1.6 × 10¹⁰ CFU/g)] to Nile tilapia on its growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gut microbiology, haematology (hematimetric index, erythrocyte, leucocyte and thrombocyte co...
Best poster award (Environmental Sciences)
A better knowledge of daily digestive function may help to improve the feeding efficiency in farmed fish species. In this study, daily expression profiles of key genes related to the circadian system (arntl1, clock, per3 and cry1), nutrients hydrolysis (pga, atp4a, try, ctrb, cel1b, pla2, and amy2a), appetite control and food intake (ghrl and cck),...
In the context of Mediterranean aquaculture little attention has been paid to the manipulation of feeding frequency at the on-growing phase. The effects of different feeding frequencies: one meal per day, two meals per day, three meals per day on growth, digestive enzyme activity, feed digestibility and plasma biochemistry were studied in gilthead...
Global warming and changes in nutrient supply can alter the functioning of headwater stream ecosystems, where leaf-shredding invertebrates are pivotal for the transfer of nutrients through the food web. However, little is known about how warming and nutrient-depleted leaf litter interact and potentially exacerbate the already large elemental imbala...
In the context of Mediterranean aquaculture many efforts have been made in terms of reducing marine-derived ingredients in aquafeed formulation. On the other hand, little attention has been paid to the manipulation of feeding frequency at the on-growing phase, where the high costs related to feeding procedures and the optimisation of feed efficienc...
Thick-lipped grey mullet (Chelon labrosus) is a candidate for sustainable aquaculture due to its omnivorous/detritivorous feeding habit. This work aimed to evaluate its digestive and growth potentials from larval to early juvenile stages. To attain these objectives the activity of key digestive enzymes was measured from three until 90 days post hat...
The Mugilidae are a group of fish with a great interest for aquaculture due to their omnivorous profile, rapid growth, and resistance to environmental variations. The selection of feed ingredients for these species is currently focused on an extensive use of plant by-products, with this being limited by their content in anti-nutritive factors (main...
The activity of fish acid proteases is strongly dependent on the pH, and many basic and applied works had focused on researching the pH profile of digestive proteases using different buffered media. Nevertheless, enzymatic activity is also known to be affected by the ionic strength (IS) of the medium. The present work is aimed at researching the co...
Melanoidins, a product of advanced browning reactions due to the thermal treatment of the diet, has been previously demonstrated to inhibit the activity of trypsins from mammalian origin, but no data exists in relation to fish trypsins. The present work is devoted to the investigation of the effects of glucose-glycine melanoidins on the trypsin-lik...
Fishmeal (FM) possesses one of the highest buffering capacities in comparison to most alternative vegetable aquafeed ingredients and its decreasing content in current formulations might affect the ideal gastrointestinal environment for digestive enzyme action and gut bacterial community of carnivorous fish species. A study was undertaken, therefore...
The present study is focused to elucidate the main characteristics of the digestive function of this carnivorous fast-growing fish living at high temperatures. With this aim, we have examined the effects of an increased temperature from 30 to 34 °C on the daily pattern of gastrointestinal pH, enzymatic proteolytic digestive activity and the feed tr...
Models simulating the in vitro digestive hydrolysis of nutrients by different animal species are frequently used to obtain a better understanding of factors affecting this process. Optimization algorithm of a model may be used to prospect the more favourable combination of selected factors resulting in the higher performance. This study was conduct...
Maintenance of the activities of amylase and total alkaline protease in the intestinal extract of gilthead seabream over time.
The extract was maintained at pH 7.5 (100 mM Tris-maleate buffer) and 25°C under continuous agitation during 4 hours. Values not sharing a common letter are significantly different with p < 0.05 (One-way ANOVA—Tukey's Multi...
Rendered terrestrial animal by-product meals (ABPM) are commonly used in aquafeeds for fish and shrimp. However, the nutrient composition and digestibility of these products is often variable due to differing processing conditions. As such, the aquafeed industry could benefit from technologies that rapidly assess the nutritional quality of ABPM pri...
Larvae and early juveniles of fast-growing fish species show tremendous growth potential, leading to higher requirements for protein, high-unsaturated fatty acids, and other nutrients. Several commercial weaning diets with relatively high success have been developed for low/moderate-growing species; however, additional challenges are outlined to me...
Lipases are very important enzymes having a role in fat digestion and lipid metabolism in marine animals, plants, and microorganisms. The methods for measuring lipase and phospholipase activity have been applied in several studies; however, considering that lipases are water-soluble molecules and their substrates are generally water-insoluble molec...
Riparian areas have experienced long term anthropogenic impacts including the effects of plant introductions. The giant reed (Arundo donax) is one of the most common invasive species in the riparian areas of the Iberian Peninsula (Aguiar & Ferreira, 2013). Arundo displaces native vegetation causing an impoverishment of the native flora and fauna (M...
Melanoidins are complex molecules usually found within dietary matrixes suffering heating steps during the production process. These compounds are known to exert a number of negative effects on the digestibility of nutrients and digestive enzymes in mammals, but also determines an increase in the antioxidant capacity of the diet with potential effe...
The impact of deoxynivalenol (DON) on rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is mainly characterised by impaired growth performance and reduced feed intake, usually with the total absence of any visible clinical signs. Despite the high concentrations of DON in the present study (up to 11,412 ± 1141 μg kg⁻¹), no clinical signs (except anorexia at the h...
The effects of different environmental salinities (0, 12, 40, and 55 ppt) on pepsinogen 2 (pga2), trypsinogen 2 (try2), chymotrypsinogen (ctr), and pancreatic alpha-amylase (amy2a) gene expression, and on the total activities of their corresponding enzymes, were assessed in Chelon labrosus juveniles, after their corresponding full-complementary DNA...
There is a large amount of scientific literature on digestive enzymes activity during fish larval development. Nevertheless, most of this information refers to descriptive aspects of the ontogeny of hydrolyzing capacities, and only few studies looked into functional aspects and its relation with feeds and feeding activity. A comparison of published...
The objective of the present study was to test the application of an in vitro assay simulating the digestive hydrolysis of leaf litter by the freshwater snail M. praemorsa, as well as to determine the possible influence of different factors in the efficiency of such process to release biologically available C and N under the forms of reducing sugar...
Increasing aridity in the Mediterranean region has the potential to deplete the nutritional value of leaf litter inputs to shredders in headwater streams. We hypothesized that shredders from streams in arid zones should have compensatory feeding mechanisms to cope with diets of low nutritional quality. We evaluated the performance of four shredders...
The present work uses a novel approach to develop a mathematical model explaining the effect of three main factors - temperature, total reaction time and enzyme:substrate ratio - in the hydrolysis of protein by the intestinal enzymes of the Senegalese sole. The methodology combines a factorial design based in the Response Surface Methodology and in...
In a global context of a fast growing aquaculture, the reduction of the aquatic pollution through the optimisation of aquafeeds and their nutritional value is a major concern for farmers, researchers and governments. More than 50% of phosphorus (P) reserves in seeds of most legumes are stored as phytate-bound P which is not bioavailable for monogas...
Cholecystokinin (CCK) is an important regulator of pancreatic enzyme secretion in adult mammals and teleosteans. Although some studies have focused on the interaction between CCK and trypsin in marine fish larvae, little is known about the circadian patterns of the regulatory mechanism involving these two digestive components. In this study, we too...
Abiotic factors, substrate chemistry and decomposers community composition are primary drivers of leaf litter decomposition. In soil, much of the variation in litter decomposition is explained by climate and substrate chemistry, but with a significant contribution of the specialization of decomposer communities to degrade specific substrates (home-...
The morphological and functional development of the digestive system in meagre (Argyrosomus regius, Asso, 1801) was described by means of histological and enzymatic approaches in order to provide insight into the digestive physiology of the species at early life stages of development and evaluate whether the acquisition of digestive capacities matc...
The products resulting from the non-enzymatic browning in processed diets are known to exert negative effects on the digestive enzymes of vertebrates. In addition, browning heavy products (BHP’s) are known to co-precipitate with proteins depending on the pH and ionic strength of the medium and on the isoelectric point of the protein. As the manufac...
Activities of pepsin, trypsin, chymotrypsin, alpha-amylase and lipase, as well as their optima and stability to pH and temperature, were determined in digestive extracts of thick-lipped grey mullet, Chelon labrosus, of three different sizes: Group 1 (45.2 ± 3.0 g), Group 2 (180.9 ± 4.2 g), and Group 3 (328.5 ± 43.3 g). SDS-PAGE zymograms were also...
The effect of partial or total dietary substitution of fishmeal (FM) by vegetal protein sources on growth and feed efficiency was carried out in on-growing gilthead sea bream (mean initial weight 131 g). The Control diet (FM 100) contained FM as the primary protein source, while in Diets FM 25 and FM 0 the FM protein was replaced at 75% and 100%, r...
In order to identify daily changes in digestive physiology in developing gilthead seabream larvae, the enzyme activity (trypsin, lipases and α–amylase) and gene expression (trypsinogen-try, chymotrypsinogen-ctrb, bile salt-activated lipase-cel1b, phospholipase A2-pla2 and α-amylase-amy2a) were measured during a 24 h cycle in larvae reared under a 1...
Abiotic factors, substrate chemistry and decomposers community composition are primary drivers of leaf litter decomposition. In soil, much of the variation in litter decomposition is explained by climate and substrate chemistry, but with a significant contribution of the specialisation of decomposer communities to degrade specific substrates (home-...