87
5 Nutrition as a Key Factor for Cephalopod Aquaculture
different life stages helps to understand the eventual existence of different metabolisms. While the enzyme content of the English Channel population of S� officinalis
has been reported, for several years and by numerous researchers, those of Faro or
Mediterranean populations have never, to the best of our knowledge, been reported.
Regarding the first, Boucaud-Camou (1969, 1947) characterized amylase and protease activities in different digestive organs of juvenile cuttlefish and Yim (1978)
detected amylase activity in mature cuttlefish. According to Koueta et al. (2000),
this activity increases with age, not being present at hatching, which is concomitant
with the maturation of the sepia digestive system (Boucaud-Camou et al. 1985).
Nonetheless, the use of silage as enrichment for shrimp given as prey to cuttlefish
hatchlings promoted an increase of total CH and peptides in the diet and supported
100 % survival plus increased growth, when compared with natural diets, and despite the lower content in total protein (Le Bihan et al. 2006). However, these same
authors reported an inhibition of amylase activity but higher proteolytic activity.
Higher temperatures promote oxygen-efficient adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
production due to limitations in available oxygen (Hochachka 1994; Pörtner 2010).
However, most studies on cephalopod metabolism have been performed in fasting
animals, where the stressful situation of meeting the energy requirements will promote the use of protein reserves (McCue 2010). In addition, one has to consider that
all animals exhibit adaptive biochemical and physiological responses to the lack
of food (Wang et al. 2006). This is particularly true regarding cephalopods, most
of which inhabit environments in which food availability fluctuates or encounters
with appropriate food items might be rare and unpredictable at given geographical
locations or seasons.
Houlihan et al. (1990) studied protein metabolism in O� vulgaris and concluded
that the high growth rates displayed by this species rely on high rates of protein
synthesis and high efficiencies of retention of synthesized protein and little protein degradation. According to Oellermann et al. (2012), the European cuttlefish
has the capability of adjusting its cellular and mitochondrial energetics over shortand long-term changes of temperature and environmental conditions, which is an
evolutionary adaptation of given populations, such as S� officinalis. In addition,
temperature has a significant effect on oxygen consumption (Grigoriou and Richardson 2009) and energy metabolism of cuttlefish (Mark et al. 2008). Furthermore,
temperate cuttlefish (English Channel populations) display a predominant oxidation
of proline in systemic heart, while subtropical cuttlefish (Mediterranean populations) exhibit enhanced pyruvate oxidation. The latter is supported by the findings
of Ballantyne et al. (1981) on octopine dehydrogenase linking amino acid (arginine)
and CH (pyruvate) metabolism, which are said to occur during hypoxic conditions,
burst activity or both.
In this sense, cold-adapted metabolism in cuttlefish will show a suppressed CH
metabolism, favoring the use of lipids (e.g. results of Koueta et al. (2002); Perrin
et al. (2004) and Koueta et al. (2006)) and proline, which are less oxygen efficient
(Hochachka 1994). At lower temperatures, amino acids such as glutamate, ornithine
or arginine may sustain the supply of succinate (Ballantyne et al. 1981; Hochachka
et al. 1983). Cephalopods should have developed an aerobic CH–amino acid metabo-
5 Nutrition as a Key Factor for Cephalopod Aquaculture
different life stages helps to understand the eventual existence of different metabolisms. While the enzyme content of the English Channel population of S� officinalis
has been reported, for several years and by numerous researchers, those of Faro or
Mediterranean populations have never, to the best of our knowledge, been reported.
Regarding the first, Boucaud-Camou (1969, 1947) characterized amylase and protease activities in different digestive organs of juvenile cuttlefish and Yim (1978)
detected amylase activity in mature cuttlefish. According to Koueta et al. (2000),
this activity increases with age, not being present at hatching, which is concomitant
with the maturation of the sepia digestive system (Boucaud-Camou et al. 1985).
Nonetheless, the use of silage as enrichment for shrimp given as prey to cuttlefish
hatchlings promoted an increase of total CH and peptides in the diet and supported
100 % survival plus increased growth, when compared with natural diets, and despite the lower content in total protein (Le Bihan et al. 2006). However, these same
authors reported an inhibition of amylase activity but higher proteolytic activity.
Higher temperatures promote oxygen-efficient adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
production due to limitations in available oxygen (Hochachka 1994; Pörtner 2010).
However, most studies on cephalopod metabolism have been performed in fasting
animals, where the stressful situation of meeting the energy requirements will promote the use of protein reserves (McCue 2010). In addition, one has to consider that
all animals exhibit adaptive biochemical and physiological responses to the lack
of food (Wang et al. 2006). This is particularly true regarding cephalopods, most
of which inhabit environments in which food availability fluctuates or encounters
with appropriate food items might be rare and unpredictable at given geographical
locations or seasons.
Houlihan et al. (1990) studied protein metabolism in O� vulgaris and concluded
that the high growth rates displayed by this species rely on high rates of protein
synthesis and high efficiencies of retention of synthesized protein and little protein degradation. According to Oellermann et al. (2012), the European cuttlefish
has the capability of adjusting its cellular and mitochondrial energetics over shortand long-term changes of temperature and environmental conditions, which is an
evolutionary adaptation of given populations, such as S� officinalis. In addition,
temperature has a significant effect on oxygen consumption (Grigoriou and Richardson 2009) and energy metabolism of cuttlefish (Mark et al. 2008). Furthermore,
temperate cuttlefish (English Channel populations) display a predominant oxidation
of proline in systemic heart, while subtropical cuttlefish (Mediterranean populations) exhibit enhanced pyruvate oxidation. The latter is supported by the findings
of Ballantyne et al. (1981) on octopine dehydrogenase linking amino acid (arginine)
and CH (pyruvate) metabolism, which are said to occur during hypoxic conditions,
burst activity or both.
In this sense, cold-adapted metabolism in cuttlefish will show a suppressed CH
metabolism, favoring the use of lipids (e.g. results of Koueta et al. (2002); Perrin
et al. (2004) and Koueta et al. (2006)) and proline, which are less oxygen efficient
(Hochachka 1994). At lower temperatures, amino acids such as glutamate, ornithine
or arginine may sustain the supply of succinate (Ballantyne et al. 1981; Hochachka
et al. 1983). Cephalopods should have developed an aerobic CH–amino acid metabo-