Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture

Faculty of Agriculture

Dr. Stephanie Collins

Associate Professor, Monogastric Nutrition

S_Collins
Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture

Email: s.collins@dal.ca

Education

  • B.S.A. Animal Science (University of Saskatchewan)
  • M.Sc. Animal Science (University of Saskatchewan)
  • Ph.D. Animal Science (University of Saskatchewan)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow (Dalhousie University, Faculty of Agriculture)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow (Cape Breton University, Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment)

Teaching

  • NUTR 3000: Introduction to Nutrition

Main Research Interests

  • Animal nutrition
  • Poultry nutrition (broilers, layers, turkeys)
  • Carnivore nutrition (mink, bears, fish)
  • Domestic animal nutrition (cats, dogs, horses)
  • Novel feed ingredients
  • Insects as food and feed
  • Antinutrients
  • Nutritional modeling
  • Waste reduction and redirection

My interests lie in investigating animal feed and feed ingredients in order to reduce metabolic disturbances, thus achieving optimal health and performance. Ensuring a nutritious, sustainable source of food for present and future generations of humans and animals is important to me. To do this, readily available and affordable feed ingredients in conjunction with sound scientific information on how these feed ingredients affect animal health and performance are required.

All of my research and teaching is conducted with an ultimate goal of Feeding the World, which, to me, includes:

Feeding our People, Feeding our Resources, Feeding our Food, Feeding our Clothing, and Feeding Those who Cannot Feed Themselves.

Publications

Anderson, D.M., MacPherson, M.J., Collins, S.A.* 2017. MacIsaac, P.F. Feeding full-fat oilseeds as a source of protein and lipid in practical diets for rainbow trout fingerlings. J. Appl. Aquaculture. Accepted manuscript.

Collins, S.A., Xie, S., Hall, J.R., White, M.B., Rise, M., Anderson, D.M. Evaluation of enzyme- and Rhizopus oligosporus-treated high oil residue camelina (Camelina sativa) meal on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) growth performance and distal intestine histology and inflammatory biomarker gene expression. Aquaculture. Accepted manuscript.

Walker, E., Collins, S.A.* 2017. The effect of varying intensities of exercise and use of an electrolyte supplement on blood sodium, potassium and chloride concentrations in the Standardbred horse. CJAS. doi:10.1139/CJAS-2016-0189.

Fu, M., Collins, S.A., Anderson, D.A. 2017. Maxi-GenTM Plus: A nucleotide-containing product that reduces stress indicators and improves growth performance during smoltification in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Aquaculture. 473, 20-30.

Ejike, C.E.C.C, Collins, S.A., Balasuriya, N., Swanson, A.K., Mason, B., Udenigwe, C.C. 2017. Prospects of microalgae proteins in producing peptide-based functional foods for promoting cardiovascular health. Trends Food Sci. Tech. 59, 39-36.  

Hixson, S.M., Parrish, C.C., Xue, X., Wells, J.S., Collins, S.A., Anderson, D.M., Rise, M.L. 2017. Growth performance, tissue composition and gene expression responses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed varying levels of different lipid sources. Aquaculture. 467C, 76-88.

Udechukwu, M.C., Collins, S.A. Udenigwe, C.C. 2016. Prospects of enhancing dietary zinc bioavailability with food-derived zinc-chelating peptides. Food and Function. 7, 4137-4144.

Fraser, J.M., Collins, S.A., Chen, A., Tibbetts, S.M., Lall, S.P., Anderson, D.M. 2016. Effects of dietary Camelina sativa products on digestible nutrient compositions for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquacult. Nutr. Article in Press. doi: 10.1111/anu.12465.

Bullerwell, C.N., Collins, S.A., Lall, S.P., Anderson, D.M. 2016. Growth performance and intestinal histology of rainbow trout fed diets containing Camelina sativa seeds, meal and oil. Aquaculture 452, 342-350.

Morales, G.A., Denstadli, V., Collins, S.A., Mydland, L.T., Moyano, F.J., Øverland, M. 2016. Phytase and sodium diformate supplementation in a plant-based diet improves protein and minerals utilization in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquacult. Nutr. 22, 1301-1311.

Collins, S.A., Mansfield, G.S., Desai, A.R., Hill, J.E., Van Kessel, A.G, Drew, M.D. 2013. Structural equation modeling of antinutrients in rainbow trout diets and their impact on feed intake and growth. Aquaculture 416-417, 219-227.

Collins, S.A., Øverland, M., Skrede, A., Drew, M.D. 2013. Effect of plant protein sources on growth rate in salmonids: meta-analysis of dietary inclusion of soybean, pea and canola/rapeseed meals and protein concentrates. Aquaculture 400-401, 85-100.

Desai, A., Links, M.G., Collins, S.A., Mansfield, G.S., Drew, M.D., Van Kessel, A.G., Hill, J.E. 2012. Effects of plant-based diets on the distal gut microbiome of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquaculture 350-353, 134-142.

Collins, S.A., Desai, A.R., Mansfield, G.S., Hill, J.E., Van Kessel, A.G, Drew, M.D. 2012. The effect of increasing inclusion rates of soybean, pea and canola meals and their protein concentrates on the growth performance of rainbow trout: Concepts in diet formulation and experimental design for ingredient evaluation. Aquaculture 344-349, 90-99.

Reveco, F.E., Collins, S.A., Randall, K.M., Drew, M.D. 2012. Aqueous fractionation improves the nutritional values of wheat distillers grains for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquacult. Nutr. 18, 202-210.

Collins, S.A., Shand, P.J., Drew, M.D. 2011. Stabilization of linseed oil with vitamin E, butylated hydroxytoluene and lipid encapsulation affects fillet lipid composition and sensory characteristics when fed to rainbow trout. Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 170, 53-62

Mansfield, G.S., Desai, A.R., Nilson, S.A., Van Kessel, A.G., Hill, J.E., Drew, M.D. 2010. Characterization of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) intestinal microbiota and inflammatory marker gene expression in a recirculating aquaculture system. Aquaculture 307, 95-104.

Nilson, S.A., Drew, M.D. (2007) Opportunities for Western Canadian pulse crops in aquafeeds. Proceedings of the Canadian Freshwater Symposium. Aquaculture Canada. AAC Spec. Publ. No.13, 87-93.