Abstract Studying shrimp feeding behavior is challenging and, traditionally, studies have been using direct visual observation or video recordings with image analysis under laboratory conditions. Passive acoustics monitoring (PAM) is a non-invasive approach to study feeding behavior of penaeids, as their mandibles emit clicking sounds during feed ingestion. Considering the wide variation available in shrimp diet lengths, our knowledge is still limited about their effects on feeding behavior. The present study was designed to use acoustics to evaluate the feeding behavior of Litopenaeus vannamei fed different diet lengths. A commercial pelleted diet with similar diameter (2.4 mm) and three different lengths was used as treatments “small” (2.35 mm), “medium” (4.26 mm) and “large” (8.42 mm). Three separate trials were performed with fastened shrimp (20 g), using omnidirectional hydrophones and external audio recorders. Our approach started with the characterization of the click acoustic parameters produced by three shrimps when fed the different diet lengths in anechoic chambers (15 L). We then analyze the number of clicks produced per pellet and duration of the clicking activity when shrimp fed a single pellet in individual tanks (1 L). Finally, the acoustic energy of feeding activity and feed consumption, as well as theirs relationship to predict feed intake was evaluated in aquaria (70 L) with five shrimps. The acoustic parameters of isolated clicks were not affected by the different diet lengths, however, doubling the length of the pellet resulted in doubling the number of clicks emitted during feeding activity. The duration of clicking activity per pellet indicated that small pellets are consumed 2.9 and 4.7 times faster than medium and large pellets, respectively. Furthermore, feeding acoustic energy of small pellets decreased rapidly after feed offer, as their faster consumption probably contributed to shrimps achieved satiety earlier than larger diets. Feed consumption was similar among diets length, but significantly correlated with the feeding acoustic energy emitted by L. vannamei, which is a breakthrough in feeding behavioral research. The results highlight the potential and possibilities of an acoustic approach to estimate feed consumption, as well as an alternative to traditional methods in feeding behavioral studies to improve efficiency of feed management.

中文翻译：

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一种基于声学的方法来评估不同饮食长度对南美白对虾摄食行为的影响

摘要 研究虾的摄食行为具有挑战性，传统上，研究一直使用直接视觉观察或在实验室条件下进行图像分析的视频记录。被动声学监测 (PAM) 是一种研究对虾摄食行为的非侵入性方法，因为它们的下颌骨在摄食过程中会发出咔哒声。考虑到虾的饮食长度存在很大差异，我们对它们对摄食行为的影响的了解仍然有限。本研究旨在利用声学来评估南美白对虾饲喂不同日粮长度的摄食行为。使用具有相似直径（2.4 毫米）和三种不同长度的商业颗粒饲料作为“小”（2.35 毫米）、“中”（4.26 毫米）和“大”（8.42 毫米）处理。使用全向水听器和外部录音机对固定的虾（20 克）进行了三项单独的试验。我们的方法首先对三只虾在消声室（15 L）中喂食不同的饮食长度时产生的咔嗒声参数进行表征。然后我们分析了当虾在单个水箱 (1 L) 中喂食单个颗粒时每个颗粒产生的点击次数和点击活动的持续时间。最后，在装有 5 只虾的水族箱 (70 L) 中评估了摄食活动和饲料消耗的声能，以及它们与预测采食量的关系。单独的咔嗒声的声学参数不受不同饮食长度的影响，但是，将颗粒长度加倍会导致喂食活动期间发出的咔嗒声数量加倍。每个颗粒的点击活动持续时间表明，小颗粒的消耗速度分别比中型和大颗粒快 2.9 倍和 4.7 倍。此外，提供饲料后小颗粒的进食声能迅速下降，因为它们更快的消耗可能有助于虾比大饲料更早获得饱腹感。不同日粮长度的饲料消耗量相似，但与南美白对虾的摄食声能显着相关，这是摄食行为研究的一个突破。结果突出了用声学方法估计饲料消耗量的潜力和可能性，以及在饲养行为研究中替代传统方法以提高饲料管理效率的潜力。分别比中型和大型颗粒快 7 倍。此外，提供饲料后小颗粒的进食声能迅速下降，因为它们更快的消耗可能有助于虾比大饲料更早获得饱腹感。不同日粮长度的饲料消耗量相似，但与南美白对虾的摄食声能显着相关，这是摄食行为研究的一个突破。结果突出了用声学方法估算饲料消耗量的潜力和可能性，以及在饲养行为研究中替代传统方法以提高饲料管理效率的潜力。分别比中型和大型颗粒快 7 倍。此外，提供饲料后小颗粒的进食声能迅速下降，因为它们更快的消耗可能有助于虾比大饲料更早获得饱腹感。不同日粮长度的饲料消耗量相似，但与南美白对虾的摄食声能显着相关，这是摄食行为研究的一个突破。结果突出了用声学方法估计饲料消耗量的潜力和可能性，以及在饲养行为研究中替代传统方法以提高饲料管理效率的潜力。因为它们更快的消耗可能有助于虾比更大的饮食更早地获得饱腹感。不同日粮长度的饲料消耗量相似，但与南美白对虾的摄食声能显着相关，这是摄食行为研究的一个突破。结果突出了用声学方法估计饲料消耗量的潜力和可能性，以及在饲养行为研究中替代传统方法以提高饲料管理效率的潜力。因为它们更快的消耗可能有助于虾比更大的饮食更早地获得饱腹感。不同日粮长度的饲料消耗量相似，但与南美白对虾的摄食声能显着相关，这是摄食行为研究的一个突破。结果突出了用声学方法估计饲料消耗量的潜力和可能性，以及在饲养行为研究中替代传统方法以提高饲料管理效率的潜力。