Abstract: By using  Laminaria japonica  as the diet, a feeding and growth experiment was conducted to study the energy budget of  Haliotis diversicolor aquatilis (initial body weight 25.96±0.13 g) at  salinity 21, 25, 29, 33, 37, and 41. The consumption energy, feces energy, excretion energy, mucus energy, metabolism energy, shell energy, soft tissue growth energy, proportions of these components to consumption energy, total growth efficiency (K₁), and net growth efficiency (K₂) of test abalones were determined, with the equations of energy budgets established. The proportions of the consumption energy allocated to the feces, excretion, mucus, and metabolism at salinity 21 were significantly higher than those at the salinity 25, 29, 33, 37, and 41 ( P<0.05). The proportion of the consumption energy allocated to soft tissue growth, the total growth efficiency (K₁), and the net growth efficiency (K₂) were the greatest at salinity 37 and the smallest at salinity 21, being significantly different with those at other salinities, while no significant differences were observed between salinity 25, 29, 33 and 41 ( P >0.05). From the viewpoints of feeding, metabolism, and growth, the appropriate  salinity for  H. diversicolor  aquatilis was 25-37.

Key words: Upland red soil, Planting system, Material cycling, Regulation technology