Dominique Bureau Position/Title: Associate Professor, Animal Systems Modelling email: [email protected] Phone: (519) 824-4120 ext. 53668 Office: Animal Science and Nutrition Building, Room 136, Guelph Campus Google Scholar Research Gate LinkedIn Twitter

Dominique P. Bureau became interested in aquaculture when he was an undergraduate student visiting Thailand on an exchange trip. He saw fish thriving in flooded rice field and became intrigued about the possibility of integrating fish production with agriculture production to improve the productivity of agricultural lands and help provide a good source of nutrition to a rural population. Upon completing his degree, he returned to Thailand to work on a MSc research project on this topic. He soon realized that nutrition and feed formulation were key factor in productivity in fish culture. He decided to make this the focus of his academic career and came to the University of Guelph in 1992 to work with Dr. C. Young Cho, one of the world leading experts in this field.  

Over the past 20 years, Dominique developed broad research interests that included studying nutrients requirements and utilization (essential amino acids, phosphorus) by different fish species, the development of cost-effective feed formulation, the evaluation of the nutritive value of economical feedstuffs, the management of environmental impacts of aquaculture operations, and the development of mathematical models of growth and nutrient utilization for fish and shrimp. One of the long-term objectives of his research program is to improve our understanding of nutrients utilization and deposition and, in turn, develop approaches to describe and predict the growth, feed and nutrient requirements, and waste outputs of fish and shrimp.

Academic History

• B.A.Sc.  Bio-Agronomy, Université Laval, Québec, Canada. (1991)
• M.Sc. in Animal Science, Université Laval (1992)
• Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph (1997)

Affiliations and Partnerships

Dominique a very significant proportion of his time working in close collaboration with industry partners to translate the scientific findings into commercial and business opportunities. Some past partnerships include:

• International Aquaculture Feed Formulation Databases Project (2014-present)
• NRC Committee on Nutrient Requirements of Fish and Shrimp (2009-2011)
• Novatech Biometrics (2016-present)

Research Impact

Dominique leads a dynamic research program. He works with industry partners from around the world (Canada, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Chile, Philippines, USA, etc.) to improve the formulation and quality of commercial feeds, work on the development of tools improve the production and economic and environmental sustainability of aquaculture operations farms and train aquaculture and feed industry personnel.

With the support of the United States Soy Export Council (USSEC), Dominique created the International Aquaculture Feed formulation Database, which sets out the nutritional needs of 26 different fish species at six different life stages and participated to eight workshops in Southeast Asia that provided hand-on training to over 150 aquaculture feed formulators in 2015 and 2016.

Current Research Projects

Dominique’s research group leads several projects, notably on the characterization and improvement of the nutritive value of different protein ingredients or on better understanding of protein and amino acid nutrition of aquaculture species.

Some of the recent or current projects include:

• Assessment of digestibility and bio-availability of amino acids in feed ingredients and additives
• Improvement of the digestibility and bio-availability of nutrients of protein-rich ingredients
• Indicators and determinants of digestibility and bio-availability of amino acids
• Dynamic of digestion of protein and amino acids from different protein sources
• International Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database - Feed Ingredient Composition Database (FICD)
• Factorial amino acid requirements models for commercially important species
• Species, live weight and diet composition on efficiency of amino acid utilization and requirements
• Impact of amino acid supply/balance on growth and protein and amino acid utilizations
• Efficiency of feed and protein utilization and waste outputs of commercial aquaculture operation

Graduate Student Information

Dominique has a large research group with graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and research associates coming from Canada and around the world who are interested in working with him. His goal is to create a cohesive research group where each student has their own project and focus but can work side-by-side with others and where students help each other as needed. The tradition of the research group is training competent animal nutritionists who are specialized in aquaculture nutrition but can also work in other animal productions. This generally requires a significant commitment on the part of the students to take a number of courses to ensure that they acquire the necessary knowledge, competence and experience to be solid nutritionists.

Publications

A full listing of Dominique's publications is available on Google Scholar.