Abstract: By using indoor re-circulating system, this paper studied the compensatory growth, biochemical composition, and energy budget of juvenile Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) starved for various days and re-fed with trash fish and formulated diets at 23.0±1.0 ℃. The experimental groups S1F5 and S5F25 all had complete compensatory growth. The compensatory growth of group S1F5 was primarily attributed to the increase of feeding rate, while that of S5F25 was heavily dependent on the improvement of food conversion efficiency. After compensatory growth, there were no significant differences in the biochemical composition of the fish between treated groups and the control (P>0.05). Under starvation, the proportion of energy intake for growth tended to increase, while the proportion of energy for excretion and metabolism energy tended to decrease.

Key words: Source region of Yellow River, Maduo County, Grassland degradation, Climate change, Overgrazing