Comparative Growth and Feed Conversion Modeling in Aquatic and Terrestrial Livestock Using von Bertalanffy Dynamics
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Food production is sustainable and requires a full realization of how energy is used and converted to biomass among various livestock systems. The paper contains a comparative analysis of growth process and feed ratio of Oreochromis niloticus (tilapia) and Gallus domesticus (broiler chicken) using von Bertalanffy Growth Function (VBGF). VBGF framework was used to simulate species-specific growth curves, measure scaling parameters of metabolic rate and assess the variation in patterns of energy allocation by animals maintained at controlled feeding and environmental conditions. Findings showed that the growth rate in tilapia was slower and more constant having a lesser asymptotic coefficient (k = 0.013 day -1) than broiler chicken (k = 0.068 day -1) which implies that growth could be sustained over a longer period. Analysis of feed conversion showed that the tilapia had a better feed conversion ratio (FCR = 1.25 ± 0.05) in comparison with the broilers (FCR = 1.55 ± 0.07), especially, given that the tilapia metabolism is poikilothermic and therefore consumption of energy in terms of maintenance is minimised in the presence of moderate temperature regimes (2630oC). On the other hand, broilers, which are endothermic, had a high turnover of energy due to thermoregulation, and thus the overall conversion efficiency was low.The relative use of VBGF among aquatic and terrestrial species highlights the possibility of the consistent growth modelling frameworks to clarify interspecies metabolic efficiencies and energy consumption choices. These are valuable in feed optimization, better allocation of resources, and minimization of the environmental impact of animal production systems. The combination of sustainability aims with physiological modeling makes the study believe that it will contribute to the future of the precision livestock management system and assist in the overall direction of resilient low-impact protein production within integrated agri-food systems.
Authors: K. Geetha, J Krishnamoorthy
Institution: Saveetha University
Language: English
Subfield: Aquatic Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220161684