2004- Head of School, School of Aquaculture; 2002-2003 Associate Professor, School of Aquaculture; 1994-2001 Lecturer and Senior Lecturer School of Aquaculture, University of Tasmania; 1989-94 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen, UK.
Aquaculture Program Leader, Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI).
Education and Training Program Co-Leader, Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre.
Education and Training Program Leader, Aquafin Cooperative Research Centre.
Research Interests
Nutritional Physiology
Our current research considers nutrient requirements, protein and energy utilisation under both optimum and more extreme environmental conditions, particularly how fish such as Atlantic salmon and barramundi adapt to elevated and depressed temperature. To answer these questions we integrate a unique combination of techniques including stable isotope labelling, gene expression and endocrinology. Knowing nutrient requirements accurately allows more efficient feeds to be formulated, this reduces environmental load and produces more efficient growth. For example, our research on lysine, a key amino acid, shows how to relate amino acid requirements to growth and explains much of the huge variation found between other studies (Hauler and Carter, 2001). Nutritional physiology helps us to understand possible impacts of major events such as global climate change and has practical outcomes for sustainable aquaculture including managing production under sub-optimum conditions.
Sustainable Aquaculture
The future of intensive aquaculture is largely dependant on economically and environmentally sustainable feeds. Ultimately this will require the replacement of fish meal and fish oil, valuable marine resources, with other ingredients. Our research aims to develop and assess alternative protein and oil ingredients by understanding how fish and other aquatic animals use them. Through collaboration with centres such as West Australian Fisheries and CSIRO Food Futures we are developing exciting science to underpin the use of a wide variety of ingredients. Our research on replacements for fish oil has included oil seeds, a weed (Patterson’s curse) and marine microorganisms (Miller at al. 2006). Soybean, lupin and field peas are potentially excellent protein sources (Carter and Hauler 2000).
Feeding Behaviour
The study and implications of individual variation in feeding by fish is a long term interest, I have worked with many collaborators to include research on several species including Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, flounder and even rock lobsters (Thomas et al. 2001). One technique includes X-ray opaque material in the feed, fish are X-rayed to measure how much they ate (check out our reviews, Carter et al. 2001; McCarthy et al. 1993).
Teaching
I spent a year in Bristol (UK) doing a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) in secondary science before returning to University to study marine biology and fish. As a research fellow I taught some aquaculture at the University of Aberdeen before lecturing at the School of Aquaculture. I was Honours Coordinator for several years and now enjoy teaching Year 1 Aquatic Zoology and Year 3 Nutrition.
UnitsSelected Publications:- Carter, C.G., 2007, 'Sustainable Intensive Aquaculture ', Handbook of Food Products Manufacturing Volume II, Y.H.Yui (Ed). John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey., pgs. 969-981
- Miller, M.R., Nichols, P.D., Barnes, J., Davies, N.W, Peacock, E.J. Carter, C.G. , 2006, 'Regiospecificity profiles of storage and membrane lipids from the gill and muscle tissue of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) grown at elevated temperature. ', Lipids , 41, pgs. 865-876
- Carter, C.G. & Davies, S.J., 2004, 'Changes to feeding and dominance ranks
following the introduction of novel feeds to African catfish.', Journal of Fish Biology, 65, pgs. 1096-1107
- Carter, C.G. & Houlihan, D.F., 2001, 'Protein synthesis.', Nitrogen Excretion, Fish Physiology Volume 19, Academic Press, New York, pgs. 31-75
- Carter, C.G. & Hauler, R.C., 2000, 'Fish meal replacement by plant meals in extruded feeds for Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.', Aquaculture , 185, pgs. 299-311
Full Publication List Current and Supervised Project/s:
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