Simulation and growth validation of dynamic energy budget model of Mytilus coruscus in Gouqi Island

The dynamic energy budget (DEB) model can quantify the life history and energy allocation process of individuals in various environments, which has guiding significance for fishery production activities. To better understand the energy allocation process and manage the growth dynamics of Mytilus coruscus individuals in Gouqi Island, Zhejiang Province, this study selected five necessary parameters to construct the DEB model of M. coruscus. The shell length and wet weight of soft tissue of M. coruscus were obtained by biological measurement, and the shape coefficient δ_m was obtained by transformation and regression, with the value of 0.256. According to the oxygen consumption rate per unit dry weight of M. coruscus at different experimental temperatures, the Arrhenius temperature T_A was calculated: (7 934.72±250.15) K; According to the values of dry weight and respiratory oxygen consumption rate of M. coruscus in the starvation experiment, three energic parameters of volume-specific maintenance rate P_M, volume-specific costs for structure E_G, and maximum storage density E_M were 75.153 J/(cm³·d), 7298 J/cm³, and 2104.29 J/cm³, respectively. Taking seawater temperature and chlorophyll-a concentration as compulsory functions, the growth data of M. coruscus from August 2021 to September 2022 in Gouqi Island were simulated by Stella software. The results showed that the model could well simulate its growth, and the simulated values of tissue dry weight and shell length had a significant linear correlation with the measured values (P<0.01, R²=0.991). Sensitivity index showed that changes of semi-saturation constant F_H, fraction of catabolic flux to growth and maintenance k, and volume-specific maintenance rate P_M resulted in more influence on the growth of mussels. The growth limiting factors of M. coruscus indicated that water temperature and feed concentration were highly decisive for the growth of M. coruscus, but the food restriction was greater than that of water temperature almost all year round, indicating that it might be hungry for a long time. Therefore, this study successfully constructed the DEB model of M. coruscus using the five key biological parameters obtained from the study. The stimulating results gained from the model can provide theoretical support for the evaluation of M. coruscus culture capacity.