Effects of acute temperature decreases on turbot fry and juveniles

Turbot fry (10–20 mm) and juveniles (85–110 mm) were transferred directly from 16.0–16.5 C to 1.0 C, 2.5 C, 5.5 C or 8.0 C seawater. The fry were more sensitive to cold water than juveniles. The fry survived for 1 week at 8.0 C but not at 5.5 C, whereas juveniles survived at 5.5 C but not at 2.5 C. Transfer of juveniles to 1.0 C and 2.5 C seawater caused a high mortality, a marked increase in plasma Cl^- concentration, decrease in muscle water content, and hyperglycaemia. Acclimation to 5.5 C (juveniles) or 8.0 C (fry and juveniles) markedly reduced the sensitivity to 1.0 C exposure.     

Studies on the use of hydrogen peroxide as a method for the control of sea lice on Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) post-smolts exposed to 1.23 hydrogen peroxide for 20 min at 13.5 C suffered an acute toxicity resulting in a 35% mortality within 2 h. Under similar conditions at 10 C no mortalities were observed with Atlantic salmon or goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris). No histological changes were noted in tissues from exposed fish. Thirty-three per cent of adult and pre-adult sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) were immobilized or killed following exposure to 0.5 hydrogen peroxide at 10 C, rising to 98% at 2. Some lice were able to recover and regained normal swimming movements. Gas bubbles within the haemolymph caused affected lice to float on the water surface. A delay in the toxicity of hydrogen peroxide to copepodites occurred, with a 10% mortality following a 20 min exposure to 1.25 at 10 C rising to 100% mortality at 19 h post treatment.Dilute hydrogen peroxide was stable over the 20 min treatment period. Aeration and higher temperatures increased the long-term breakdown of a working concentration of hydrogen peroxide in seawater.     

Effects of steroid hormones on in vitro oocyte maturation in white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

The in vitro effects of several steroids on the maturation of intact white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) ovarian follicles were investigated. At the highest concentration (1024 ng ml^–1 for the C21 steroids and 1139 ng ml^–1 for the C19 steroids), all of the C21 steroids tested, progesterone (P4), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP), 17,20-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20-P), 17,(20,21-trihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one 20-S), 11-deoxycortisol (S) and cortisol (F), as well as testosterone (T) induced germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) at 14 and 22 h. At 6 h, only P4 and 17,20-P induced maturation at the highest concentration (1024 ng ml^–1). At 14 and 22 h, 11-deoxycortisol was the most potent steroid inducer of GVBD followed by P4, 17OHP, 17,20-P, and 20-S. The steroid 11-hydroxytestosterone (11OHT) was completely ineffective at all concentrations and exposure times. The C21 steroids induced oocyte maturation at concentrations ranging from 4 to 1024 ng ml^–1, whereas T induced GVBD at 225 to 1139 ng ml^–1. Calculation of the mean effective concentration that induced 50% GVBD (EC50) from the 22 h incubations revealed the following order of potencies: S > P4 > 17OHP > 17,20-P > 20-S >> F > T. These bioassay results, together with previous findings on the endogenous production of steroids by ovarian follicles from gonadotropin-primed females, indicate that more than one steroid has a biological role in the resumption of meiosis in sturgeon oocytes and provides empirical evidence for P4, 17OHP, S, 20-S, and 17,20-P as maturation-inducing steroids in white sturgeon.     

Oocyte maturation inClarias batrachus. III. Purification and characterization of maturation-inducing steroid

Maturation-inducing steroid (MIS) in the Indian female catfish,Clarias batrachus, was purified and characterized from the incubation medium in which fully grown but immature folliculated oocytes were incubated with salmon gonadotropin (SG-G100) for 36 h. Maturation-inducing (MI) activity of residues obtained at various steps of extraction and purification was assessed byin vitro germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) assay using folliculated oocytes ofC. batrachus. The post incubation medium was extracted with diethyl ether. The ether phase was partitioned using 50% methanol plus n-hexane. The methanol phase which had MI activity was fractionated into 7 fractions using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Of these 7 fractions, fraction 3 was found to be active in having MI ability and identified as 17 ,20-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20-diOHprog). The authenticity of 17,20-diOHprog as the major follicular mediator of gonadotropin-induced oocyte maturation was further confirmed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) in which fraction 3 was run along with authentic 17,20-diOHprog standard. This investigation gives a direct evidence that 17,20-diOHprog is the major naturally occurring MIS in Indian female catfish,C. batrachus.     

Salinity influence on the early stages of the African catfish

Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of various incubation salinities on the hatching and survival of eggs and hatched fry respectively of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). The optimal salinity for the hatching of the eggs ranged from 0–5. Above 5, hatching was significantly low and no hatching occurred at 8 incubation salinity. Median lethal times (LT50) for fry hatched in 0, 2 and 4 incubation salinities, when abruptly transferred to 10 were 59, 49.5 and 50 h respectively. Similarly, LT50 for fry hatched in 0, 2 and 4 incubation salinities, and abruptly transferred to 12 salinity were 17, 22 and 12.50 h respectively. Increase in incubation salinity of the eggs did not seem to enhance the salinity tolerance of the hatched fry.The gradual (stepwise) increase in salinity of 1 per day of the catfish fry hatched in various incubation salinities (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) had median lethal salinity values of 8, 8, 8, 10, 10, 11 and 11 respectively. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

Physiological and biochemical parameters for egg quality determination in lake trout,Salmo trutta lacustris

The present study investigated the relationships between egg viability and ovarian fluid composition, egg physiology and egg metabolism in lake trout, Salmo trutta lacustris, to obtain biomarkers for egg quality determination. The ovarian fluid pH, protein levels and activities of aspartate aminotransferase and -d-glucuronidase were significantly correlated with egg viability expressed as the number of eyed stage embryos. Regression models demonstrated that an ovarian fluid pH between 8.44 and 8.57, protein levels below 235.56 mg 100 ml^–1ovarian fluid, aspartate aminotransferase activity below 31.65 m min^–1 l^–1ovarian fluid and -d-glucuronidase activity below 8.62 m min^–1 l^–1 ovarian fluid characterized egg batches with high viability (80%).The increase in the egg wet weight during water hardening was also significantly correlated with the number of eyed stage embryos, and egg batches with high egg viability (80%) increased in wet weight by 13% during water hardening.From the investigated metabolic parameters the number of eyed stage embryos was significantly correlated with activities of NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (egg viability 80% at 2.07 nM min^–1 mg^–1 protein) and NAD-dependent malate dehydrogenase (egg viability 80% at 47.25 nM min^–1 mg^–1 protein), with the respiration rate (egg viability 80% at 8.71 nM min^–1 mg^–1 protein), with the ratio of NADH to NAD levels (egg viability 80% 0.872), with the levels of free, non-esterified fatty acids (egg viability 80% 72.34 g mg^–1 protein), and the ratio of non esterified to esterified fatty acids (egg viability 80% at 0.749). Also, subjective and visual control methods were described to distinguish between batches with viable and non viable eggs.     

Steroidogenesis by ovaries and testes of the European catfish,the wels (Silurus glanis), in vitro

Testosterone, 3,17-dihydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one, 17,20-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20P) and 5-pregnane-3,17,20-triol were identified as the major metabolites of [³H] 17-hydroxyprogesterone in ovarian incubations of the European catfish Silurus glanis. 17,20P and the reduced triol were present only in ovaries from fish primed with carp hypophysial homogenate (chh) while testosterone yields were significantly higher in controls than in treated fish. 11-Ketotestosterone, 11-hydroxytestosterone and 17,20-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20P) were identified as the major metabolites of [³H]17-hydroxyprogesterone in in vitro incubations of testes of a spermiating catfish. There was no significant production of conjugates or other water soluble metabolites by either sex. The stimulation of plasma 17,20P, 17,20P and 11-hydroxytestosterone by chh in primed but not control males suggests that the role of these steroids in spermiation should be further examined.     

Effects of Varying Dietary Fatty Acid Composition on Growth and Survival of Seahorse, Hippocampus Sp., Juveniles

Three commercially available fatty acid enrichment emulsions (DC Selco, DC DHA Selco and DC Super Selco) were used to enrich Artemia nauplii fed to seahorse, Hippocampus sp. fry. The emulsions varied in their n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) composition. Total n-3 HUFA content ranged from 200 to 450mgg^-1 between the three emulsions while levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) ranged between 47–220 and 80–190mgg^-1, respectively. Survival and growth of seahorses at the end of the 30 day growth trial were greater in treatments receiving enriched Artemia. Seahorses receiving Artemia enriched with DC DHA Selco and DC Super Selco showed significantly (p < 0.05) greater mean survival (71.6 ± 6.0% and 78.3 ± 6.0%, respectively) than those receiving unenriched Artemia (48.3 ± 6.0%). Mean standard length was also significantly greater (p < 0.05) in fry fed DC DHA Selco and DC Super Selco enriched Artemia (20.2 ± 0.3 and 19.7 ± 0.3mm, respectively) compared to those fed unenriched Artemia (18.1 ± 0.3mm). The results show that dietary n-3 HUFA are essential for optimal growth and survival of Hippocampus sp. and, based on the fatty acid compositions of the enriched Artemia used in this study, indicate that the level of dietary DHA supporting optimal growth and survival is greater than 9.3mgDHAg^-1 dry weight.     

Seasonal,reproductive, and nutritional influences on muscle “buffering capacity” in yellow perch (Perca flavescens)

Effective non-bicarbonate buffering capacity (or buffer value) was measured in white muscle of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) by titrations with mineral acid and base in a carbon-dioxide free, closed system. Yellow perch were collected at three month intervals throughout 1983 from an acidic lake (pH 4.6) and two alkaline lakes (pH 7.8) in northern Wisconsin. Buffering capacity was also determined for white muscle of perch kept in the laboratory under different regimes of temperature and ration. The mean buffering capacity of white muscle from yellow perch taken directly from natural environments ranged from 40.7 ± 3.1 (SD) slykes in March of 1983 to 53.7 ± 2.8 (SD) slykes in July of that year. These changes in buffering capacity were strongly correlated with water temperature. Egg production and thirty-day laboratory starvation produced significant decreases in buffering capacity and increases in the water content of yellow perch muscle. Fed perch in the laboratory had a temperature dependent buffering capacity similar to field caught fish. Buffering capacity of white muscle did not differ between yellow perch from acidic and alkaline lakes. Investigators using buffering capacity as a gauge of species differences in metabolic potential, should be wary of seasonal and reproductive factors that might alter their conclusions.     

Synthesis and regulation of 17α-hydroxy-20β-dihydroprogesterone in immature males of Oncorhynchus mykiss

Three experimental approaches were chosen to study the question if the progestin 17-hydroxy-20-dihydroprogesterone (1720OHP) is synthesised in testes of young Oncorhynchus mykiss, in which the absence of spermatozoa was verified histologically: first, in order to detect 20-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity (20HSD), testes homogenates were incubated with ³H-labeled 17OHP.Metabolites were analysed by TLC, HPLC, and repeated crystallization to constant isotope ratios. One of the metabolites was identified as 1720OHP-³H, indicating that already immature testes contain 20HSD activity and are able to produce 20-reduced steroids. Second, 1720OHP was quantified by radioimmunoassay in incubates of testes fragments. The sensitivity of the gonads to gonadotropin II (GtH II) became evident when comparing incubations in the absence and presence of GtH II. Third, plasma levels of 1720OHP were significantly higher in animals injected with partially purified salmon gonadotropin, compared to controls. Thus, for the first time, it could be shown that 20HSD is present in testicular cells other than spermatozoa. Furthermore, 1720OHP is indeed secreted at a very early stage of testicular development; 1720OHP secretion is also responsive to GtH II. Future studies will have to show if the functions of this progestin include the stimulation of spermatogenesis.