E (Elisa) Ciavoni

I started as a PhD-candidate at the University of Wageningen on the 1st of September 2019. I am, currently working on the two prime salmonid species of aquaculture importance, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). My PhD project is a collaboration between the Aquaculture and Fisheries group (AFI) of Wageningen University (The Netherlands) and the institute of Marine Research (IMR) of Bergen (Norway). Our project aims at enhancing knowledge on the interaction between osmoregulation and digestive physiology of rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon during both, freshwater and saltwater conditions. This should contribute to improve the overall growth and welfare of these fish through improved feed formulation. Improved diet formulation should lead to reduced feed and water treatment costs (less waste output), thus increasing salmonids farmers’ income and resilience. Improved resource-use efficiency of salmonids aquaculture production is part of the developments required to enable the growth of aquaculture production in a sustainable manner.

I hold a MSc degree in Marine Biology from the University of Tuscia (Italy). During my master I have developed a strong interest on Nutrition in Aquaculture and I did my thesis at the University of Udine within a project focused on formulated protein and lipid sources alternative to fish meal and fish oil by experimenting new ingredients with reduced environmental impact (e.g. microalgae biomass, insect meal). Afterwards, I moved to Wageningen University & Research for an internship with the aim of becoming more familiar with the topics Nutrition and Physiology in aquaculture. Here, I participated to some PhD experiments within the AFI group (department of Animal Science) before staring my own project.

My direct supervisors are Dr. Johan Schrama, Dr. Antony Prabhu and Dr. Øystein Sæle.