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David Huyben


Position/Title: Assistant Professor
email: huybend@uoguelph.ca
Phone: 519-824-4120 ext.54293
Office: ANNU 135

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Dr. David Huyben is from a farm in Southwestern Ontario and completed his BSc and MSc degrees at the University of Guelph. He went abroad to complete his PhD at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden with a focus on the yeast protein and gut microbiome of farmed rainbow trout. Since then he pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Stirling within the Institute of Aquaculture where he investigated hypoxic stress and omega-3 fatty acids requirements of farmed Atlantic salmon. He has also collaborated on aquaculture projects in Norway, Finland, France and across Canada with a range of research on fish physiology, aqua-feeds and pathogen control.

Since 2020, Dr. Huyben started as the Assistant Professor of Aquaculture at the University of Guelph. His research program focuses on the nutrition, microbiome and health of farmed salmonid fishes, especially rainbow trout, lake whitefish and Atlantic salmon. Specifically, his studies involve feeding omega-3 fatty acids, yeast, insects and probiotics to fish and investigating their effects on the growth performance, immune response and gut microbiome using nutritional analyses, mass spectrometry, quantitative PCR and 16S rDNA next-generation sequencing. 

The aquaculture industry is faced with many challenges, such as using quality feed and mitigating disease outbreaks, in Canada and around the globe. Dr. Huyben's research aims to replace fishmeal and fish oil with sustainable ingredients (e.g. insects and plant oils) while meeting nutritional requirements of fish and improving immune defence and disease resistance. He routinely collaborates with feed and fish farming companies as well as government agencies, Indigenous groups and universities, both nationally and internationally with the aim to improve the sustainabillity, growth and resilience of the aquaculture industry.

For more info, please email me at huybend@uoguelph.ca or click the links above to see my profiles on Google Scholar, Research Gate, LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter @DavidHuyben

Academic History

  • Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology, University of Guelph (2010)
  • Master of Science in Animal Biosciences (Aquaculture), University of Guelph (2013)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Nutrition (Aquaculture), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (2017)

Teaching at UoG

Dr. Huyben is the lead instructor for Aquaculture: Advanced Issues (ANSC*3050), Advanced Animal Nutrition II (ANSC*6480) and supervises students in Research in Animal Biology I & II (ANSC*4700/4710). He also guest lectures in several courses including Nutrition of Fish and Crustacea (ANSC*3170) and is developing a microbiome course. More about undergrad opportunities at ABSc: here.

Affiliations and Partnerships

  • Co-Chair of the UoG Aquaculture Centre (see here)
  • Ontario Aquaculture Association (OAA) Member
  • Aquaculture Association of Canada (AAC) Member
  • Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) Member
  • European Aquaculture Society (EAS) Member
  • Swedish FRESH Fish Welfare Group Member
  • Microbiomes at Guelph (MAG) Member
  • Aquaculture Research Collaborative Hub UK
  • Aquaculture UK Member

Aquaculture Centre

Dr. Huyben is the co-chair of the Aquaculture Centre along with Prof. Rich Moccia. The Aquaculture Centre is a centre for excellence at the University of Guelph and was established in 1988. It has been dedicated to integrating research and extension programs to contribute to the economic and environmental sustainability of the aquaculture sector.  

Graduate Students

He mentors a handful of grad students in aquaculture projects that involve nutritional, molecular and data analysis skills and Dr. Huyben plans to train more students to become future aquaculture scientists and professionals. More about grad studies: here. More about opportunities at ABSc: here.

MSc: Rebecca Lawson, Carmi Riesenbach, Junyu Zhang, Maddie Borland, Cody Anderson

PhD: Shuowen Cao (visiting)

Alumni: Yubing Chen

Current Research Projects

  • Improving fish health with insects, prebiotics and probiotics
  • In vitro method to simulate the fish gut microbiome of Atlantic salmon
    • Collaborators:
      • Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe (Molecular & Cellular Biology Dept)
      • Dr. Torbjorn Lundh (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; SLU)
      • Dr. Aleks Vidakovic (SLU)
      • Dr. Parissa Norouzitallab (SLU)
      • Dr. Johan Diksved (SLU)
    • Undergrad and Grad Students:
      • Shuowen Cao (PhD)
      • Cody Anderson (BSc & MSc)
  • Antimicrobial resistance survey of aquaculture activities across Canada
    • Collaborators:
      • Dr. Marcia Chiasson (Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre)
      • Dr. Dounia Hamoutene (DFO)
      • Dr. Derek Smith (ECCC)
    • Undergrad and Grad Students:
      • Madeline Borland (MSc)

​Selected Publications

  1. Zhan, X., Fletcher, L., Huyben, D., Cai, H., Dingle, S., Qi, N., Huber, L.A., Wang, B. and Li, J. (2023). Choline supplementation regulates gut microbiome diversity and gut epithelial activity in gilts. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, 1101519. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1101519
  2. Chiasson, M., Kirk, M., & Huyben, D. (2023). Microbial control during the incubation of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) eggs exposed to humic acid. Frontiers in Aquaculture, 2, 1088072. https://doi.org/10.3389/faquc.2023.1088072  
  3. Huyben D., Cronin T., Bartie K., Matthew C., Sissener N., Hundal B., Homer H., Ruyter B., Glencross B. (2023). Steroidogenic and innate immune responses in Atlantic salmon are influenced by dietary total lipid, long chain PUFA and dissolved oxygen. Aquaculture, 564, 739028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2022.739028
  4. Huyben, D., Grobler, T., Glencross, B. (2021). Digestible nutrient and energy values of corn and wheat glutens fed to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are affected by feed processing method. Aquaculture, 544, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.737133
  5. Huyben, D., Matthew, C., Muñoz-Lopez, P., Ruyter, B., Glencross, B. (2021). Hypoxia does not change responses to dietary omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, but rather reduces dietary energy demand by Atlantic salmon. Aquaculture Nutrition. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/anu.13278
  6. Huyben, D., Grobler, T., Matthew, C., Bou, M., Ruyter, B. and Glencross, B. (2021). Requirement for omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids by Atlantic salmon is relative to the dietary lipid level. Aquaculture, 531, 735-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.735805
  7. Huyben, D, Chiasson, M, Lumsden, JS, Pham, PH & Chowdhury, MAK. (2021). Dietary microencapsulated blend of organic acids and plant essential oils affects intestinal morphology and microbiome of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Microorganisms, 9(2063), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9102063
  8. Glencross, B, Grobler, T & Huyben, D. (2021). Digestible nutrient and energy values of corn and wheat glutens fed to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are affected by feed processing method. Aquaculture, 544, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.737133
  9. Huyben D., Rimoldi S., Ceccotti C., Montero D., Betancor M., Iannini F., Terova G. (2020). Effect of dietary oil from Camelina sativa on the growth performance, fillet fatty acid profile and gut microbiome of gilthead Sea bream (Sparus aurata). PeerJ. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10430
  10. Huyben D., Roehe B.K., Bekaert M., Ruyter B., Glencross, B. (2020). Dietary lipid:protein ratio and n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids alters the gut microbiome of Atlantic salmon under hypoxic and normoxic conditions. Front. Microbiol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.589898
  11. Glencross, B.D., Huyben, D. and Schrama, J.W. (2020). The application of single-cell ingredients in aquaculture feeds—a review. Fishes, 5(3), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes5030022
  12. Boyd, C.E., D'Abramo, L.R., Glencross, B.D., Huyben, D.C., Juarez, L.M., Lockwood, G.S., McNevin, A.A., Tacon, A.G., Teletchea, F., Tomasso Jr, J.R. and Tucker, C.S. (2020). Achieving sustainable aquaculture: Historical and current perspectives and future needs and challenges. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 51(3), 578-633. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12714
  13. Vidakovic, A., Huyben, D., Sundh, H., Nyman, A., Vielma, J., Passoth, V., Lundh, T. (2020). Growth performance, nutrient digestibility and intestinal morphology of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed graded levels of the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Wickerhamomyces anomalus. Aquaculture Nutrition, 26(2), 275-286.
  14. Huyben, D., Vidakovic, A., Sundh, H., Sundell, K., Kiessling, A., Lundh, T. (2019). Haematological and intestinal health parameters of rainbow trout are influenced by dietary live yeast and increased water temperature. Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 89, 525-536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2019.04.047
  15. Huyben, D., Vidaković, A., Hallgren, S. W., Langeland, M. (2019). High-throughput sequencing of gut microbiota in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed larval and pre-pupae stages of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). Aquaculture, 500, 485-491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2018.10.034
  16. Huyben, D., Bevan, D., Stevenson, R., Zhou, H., Moccia, R. (2018). Evaluation of membrane filtration and UV irradiation to control bacterial loads in recirculation aquaculture systems. Aquaculture International, 26(6), 1531-1540. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-018-0301-z
  17. Huyben, D., Boqvist, S., Passoth, V., Renström, L., Bengtsson, U. A., Andréoletti, O., Vågsholm, I. (2018). Screening of intact yeasts and cell extracts to reduce Scrapie prions during biotransformation of food waste. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 60(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-018-0363-y
  18. Brijs, J., Sandblom, E., Axelsson, M., Sundell, K., Sundh, H., Huyben, D., Gräns, A. (2018). The final countdown: Continuous physiological welfare evaluation of farmed fish during common aquaculture practices before and during harvest. Aquaculture, 495, 903-911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2018.06.081
  19. Huyben, D., Sun, L., Moccia, R., Kiessling, A., Dicksved, J., & Lundh, T. (2018). Dietary live yeast and increased water temperature influence the gut microbiota of rainbow trout. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 124(6), 1377-1392. https://doi.org/110.1111/jam.13738
  20. Huyben, D., Vidaković, A., Langeland, M., Nyman, A., Lundh, T., Kiessling, A. (2018). Effects of dietary yeast inclusion and acute stress on postprandial plasma free amino acid profiles of dorsal aorta-cannulated rainbow trout. Aquaculture Nutrition, 24(1), 236-246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-016-0297-0
  21. Huyben, D., Nyman, A., Vidaković, A., Passoth, V., Moccia, R., Kiessling, A., Dicksved, J., Lundh, T. (2017). Effects of dietary inclusion of the yeasts S. cerevisiae and W. anomalus on gut microbiota of rainbow trout. Aquaculture, 473, 528-537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2017.03.024
  22. Nyman, A., Huyben, D., Lundh, T., Dicksved, J. (2017). Effects of microbe-and mussel-based diets on the gut microbiota in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). Aquaculture Reports, 5, 34-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqrep.2016.12.003
  23. Huyben, D., Vidakovic, A., Nyman, A., Langeland, M., Lundh, T., Kiessling, A. (2016). Effects of dietary yeast inclusion and acute stress on post-prandial whole blood profiles of cannulated rainbow trout. Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, 43(2), 421–434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-016-0297-0