dc.description.abstract | Background: Feed composition has a large impact on the growth of animals, particularly marine
fish. We have developed a quantitative dynamic model that can predict the growth and body
composition of marine fish for a given feed composition over a timespan of several months. The
model takes into consideration the effects of environmental factors, particularly temperature, on
growth, and it incorporates detailed kinetics describing the main metabolic processes (protein,
lipid, and central metabolism) known to play major roles in growth and body composition.
Results: For validation, we compared our model's predictions with the results of several
experimental studies. We showed that the model gives reliable predictions of growth, nutrient
utilization (including amino acid retention), and body composition over a timespan of several
months, longer than most of the previously developed predictive models.
Conclusion: We demonstrate that, despite the difficulties involved, multiscale models in biology
can yield reasonable and useful results. The model predictions are reliable over several timescales
and in the presence of strong temperature fluctuations, which are crucial factors for modeling
marine organism growth. The model provides important improvements over existing models. | nb_NO |