Physiological and behavioral responses to hypoxia in the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo: routine swimming and respiratory regulation

We examined the effect of hypoxia on the swimming speed, respiration rate (oxygen uptake), gape and ventilation volume of the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo. We used a sonic flowmeter developed for this study to examine swimming speed changes of sharks held in artificial lagoons during diurnal dissolved oxygen changes. Sharks were observed to swim at about 34 cm s^-1 during the day but increased to about 40 cm s^-1 at night when dissolved oxygen levels fell to < 3 mg l^-1. Using a closed system respirometer we examined changes in swimming speed, respiration rate and gape at four dissolved oxygen levels. Swimming speeds averaged 24 to 25 cm s^-1 under normoxic conditions but increased to 38 to 40 cm s^-1 during hypoxia. Similarly, respiration rate increased with increasing speed and decreasing dissolved oxygen. Gape averaged about 1.0 cm under normoxic conditions and increased to a maximum of about 3.5 cm during hypoxia. Using assumed oxygen extraction efficiencies of 25, 50 and 75% and observed respiration rates, we estimated that ventilation volumes of about 25 to 470 l h^-1, depending upon oxygen concentration, would be necessary for gill ventilation. These experiments suggest that changes in swimming speed and mouth gape are important for respiratory regulation in ram ventilating sharks.     

Dissolved Oxygen and Aeration in Ictalurid Catfish Aquaculture

Feed‐based production of ictalurid catfish in ponds is the largest aquaculture sector in the USA. Feed has an oxygen demand, and increases carbon dioxide, ammonia nitrogen, and phosphate inputs to ponds. Major sources of oxygen in ponds are phytoplankton photosynthesis and mechanical aeration; the major sink for oxygen is respiration by fish and by microorganisms in the water column and sediment. Dissolved oxygen concentrations decline when respiration exceeds photosynthesis, and the most crucial time for low dissolved oxygen concentration is at night. Mechanical aeration is applied to avoid nighttime dissolved oxygen concentrations from falling below the critical level for catfish of 3 mg/L. Electrically powered paddlewheel aerators are used by most catfish producers. The oxygen‐transfer efficiency of these aerators is known, but calculations of aeration requirement from stocking and feeding rates are not reliable because of variation in phytoplankton abundance and in weather conditions. Dissolved oxygen concentrations must be monitored, and when measurements suggest that nighttime dissolved oxygen concentration will be unacceptably low, tractor‐powered emergency aerators must be operated to supplement dedicated aeration. Dissolved oxygen concentration also is important in hatcheries, and small aeration systems have been developed for hatchery application.     

3种滤料生物滤器的挂膜与黑鲷幼鱼循环水养殖效果

采用微生态净水剂作为菌种,对3种生物滤料(陶环、弹性毛刷和爆炸棉)构建的生物滤器进行生物膜培养,并以3种生物滤器为基础构建简易循环水养殖系统,进行黑鲷(Sparus macrocephalus)幼鱼养殖实验。结果表明,陶环生物滤器、弹性毛刷生物滤器和爆炸棉生物滤器的生物膜成熟时间分别为25 d、32 d和28 d。黑鲷幼鱼经过40d的饲喂,3个实验组鱼的体质量与对照组相比,均差异显著(P<0.05),成活率均达到95%以上;实验组鱼血清溶菌酶(LSZ)活性和肝组织总超氧化物歧化酶(T-SOD)活性均显著高于对照组(P<0.05);实验组鱼体消化道内菌群数量及其多样性要明显高于对照组。结果表明,不同滤料在相同工况条件下挂膜成熟时间不同;微生态净水剂作为挂膜菌种效果良好;循环水系统养殖模式不仅可以提高鱼体的生长速度,还能增强鱼体免疫性能。     

不同氨氮和溶解氧条件下循环海水养殖系统生物滤池对氨氮、化学耗氧量及颗粒悬浮物的处理效果

为了建立优化的循环海水养殖系统,采用水质国标检测方法分析了珊瑚石生物滤池在不同氨氮和溶解氧(DO)负荷实验条件下对养殖废水中氨氮、化学耗氧量(COD)及颗粒悬浮物(SS)的处理效果。结果显示,进水氨氮浓度对出水氨氮(正相关)、COD(正相关)均有极显著的影响(P0.01),对SS处理效果影响不显著。当进水氨氮浓度为0.45~0.65 mg/L时,滤池对水体处理效果最优(氨氮平均清除率为82.1%±3.3%;COD平均清除率为7.1%±1.5%;SS平均清除率为5.8%±1.6%)。DO浓度对水体氨氮(负相关)和COD(负相关)处理效果的影响显著(P0.05),对SS处理效果影响不显著。DO浓度为5.0~7.0 mg/L时,水体处理效果最优(氨氮平均清除率为78.7%±3.5%;COD平均清除率为23.0%±5.3%;SS平均清除率为7.1%±2.0%)。因此,本实验环境下的循环海水养殖系统珊瑚石生物滤池在氨氮浓度为0.45~0.65 mg/L,DO浓度为5.0~7.0 mg/L时,对水体中的氨氮、COD、SS的综合处理效果最优。     

Acute Effect of Ammonia and Nitrite on Respiration of Penaeus setiferus Postlarvae under Different Oxygen Levels

The white shrimp Penaeus setiferus is a potential species for culture in the Gulf of Mexico. It has been demonstrated that postlarval P. setiferus is a species sensitive to ammonia and nitrite. In this study, the effect of ammonia and nitrite on the oxygen consumption of Penaeus setiferus postlarvae subjected to different dissolved oxygen concentrations was investigated. Un-ionized ammonia tended to reduce the oxygen consumption of P. setiferus postlarvae. The addition of 0.4 mg/L un-ionized ammonia-N modified the response of the postlarvae to lower dissolved oxygen levels. Exposure to 0.7 mg/L un-ionized ammonia-N caused severe effects on the respiratory rate and it was lethal at low dissolved oxygen concentrations. Nitrite exposure decreased the respiratory rate of post-larvae in high dissolved oxygen concentrations, whereas postlarvae exposed to nitrite under hypoxic conditions showed higher oxygen consumption than unexposed animals. The decreases of the oxygen consumption induced by the interactive effect of ammonia or nitrite and low dissolved oxygen concentration indicate a harmful condition. The results indicate that P. setiferus postlarvae is a sensitive organism to the combined effect of un-ionized ammonia or nitrite and low dissolved oxygen concentrations.     

Seasonal dynamics of habitat use by an airbrathing catfish (Claris liocephalus) in a papyrus swamp

I examined the effects of extreme hypoxia and water level fluctuations on the distribution and movement of an air-breathing clariid catfish, Clarias liocephalus, in a papyrus swamp in western Uganda. Monthly records of the distribution and relative abundance of C. liocephalus across 28 swamp stations were used to examine seasonal trends in habitat use and movement. My results suggest that dissolved oxygen did not directly limit use of, or dispersal through, the papyrus swamp. C. liocephalus were found at most stations in the dry season, and there was no significant relationship between the number of stations used per month and mean monthly dissolved oxygen levels. In addition, there was no evidence for a significant effect of oxygen on the relative abundance of fish among stations during the driest months, or during peak flood conditions. However, relative abundance was positively correlated with water depth during the dry season. Fish from deeper habitats exhibited fewer injuries and lower rates of disappearance than fish from shallower waters. This may reflect the risk of aerial predation for surfacing fish. A comparison of habitat use and movements of C. liocephalus with the only other fish species found in the papyrus swamp, Barbus neumayeri, supports the idea that respiratory mode can affect the use of hypoxic papyrus swamps. B. neumayeri, is a small water-breathing cyprinid that uses aquatic surface respiration in response to severe hypoxia. The air-breathing capabilities of C. liocephalus permitted more widespread use of swamp waters than B. neumayeri. This study demonstrates that an understanding of the respiratory mode of fish species may be useful in predicting patterns of habitat use.     

Effect of dietary protein level on growth, survival and ammonia efflux rate of Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone) raised in a zero water exchange culture system

Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae (1.96±0.07 g) were reared in a zero water exchange system for 25 days at 28°C. They were fed four commercial diets containing 25%, 30%, 35% or 40% crude protein in three replicate aquaria per dietary treatment. Total ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH were monitored weekly and total ammonia levels were additionally measured every 3 days using the flow injection analysis method. Total ammonia efflux rates were measured at days 0, 14 and 21, and survival and growth rates were recorded at the end of the experiment. No significant differences between water quality parameters such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH were found. Nitrite concentration remained low in all dietary treatments up to the second week increasing considerably from day 14 onwards suggesting the initiation of the nitrification process. Water total ammonia of all experimental groups exhibited a gradual increase up to day 13; however, following this time ammonia levels of all experimental groups decreased, probably due to either the action of bacterial nitrification or ammonia‐N uptake by the animals. High ammonia efflux rates were recorded at day 14, especially after the first hour of immersion in the 25% protein group, but no significant changes occurred in any experimental group after 3 h. No significant differences in weight gain, final weight or survival of shrimp were observed under these experimental conditions. The importance of zero water exchange systems and their effects on the nitrogen metabolism of crustaceans are discussed.     

低氧胁迫和恢复对长吻鮠脑组织低氧应答基因、生理生化指标和食欲的影响

为了解长吻鮠脑组织应对低氧胁迫的调控机制，实验运用酶活性测定、H.E染色、qRT-PCR和TUNEL检测等方法，分析比较了低氧胁迫[(0.8±0.1) mg/L] 0、2、4、6 h(标示为H0、H2、H4和H6)和恢复[(7.3±0.5) mg/L]2、4、6 h (标示为R2、R4和R6)下长吻鮠脑组织低氧应答基因、生理生化指标和食欲基因的变化。结果显示，在低氧胁迫和恢复下，长吻鮠脑组织氧传感蛋白相关基因(HIFs、PHDs和Vhl)表达量整体呈现出先上升后下降趋势；呼吸代谢酶(HK、PK和LDH)活性在H0时显著升高，SDH和MDH活性在H6时显著降低，恢复溶解氧后，代谢模式由无氧呼吸逐渐转变为有氧呼吸；抗氧化酶(GSH-Px、CAT和SOD)和应激指标(MDA和LPO)在低氧2 h后逐渐升高，恢复溶解氧后氧化应激现象仍然存在。观察脑组织形态发现，在低氧胁迫下长吻鮠脑组织出现了神经细胞肿胀、空泡等受损现象，恢复溶解氧6 h后脑组织受损并未得到有效改善。随着低氧时间延长，脑组织细胞凋亡程度不断增加，凋亡相关基因(Bax、Caspase-3和p53)表达量显著升高，而Bcl-2基因表...     

耗氧率及溶氧胁迫对长蛸体内酶活力的影响

采用Winkler法测定水中溶氧含量,通过比较对照呼吸室与试验呼吸室水中溶解氧含量之差,测定长蛸(Octopus variabilisSasaki)耗氧率及窒息点,并在不同程度的溶氧胁迫下测定长蛸体内多种酶的活力变化。结果表明,长蛸耗氧率在一个昼夜内呈现低-高-低-高的趋势;耗氧率与水温(10~30℃)呈正相关,与pH值(6.40~9.20)呈负相关;随着盐度的升高(14~31),长蛸耗氧率表现为两头高、中间平稳,曲线呈凹状分布;雌性长蛸耗氧率高于雄性。窒息点随长蛸体重的增加而降低,平均体重为(30.50±6.03)g的长蛸窒息点为0.4179mg/L;平均体重为(54.50±4.65)g的长蛸窒息点为0.3902mg/L;平均体重为(97.00±11.36)g的长蛸窒息点为0.2738mg/L。随着溶氧胁迫程度的增加,LDH活力呈先升后降趋势,脂肪酶活力下降,SOD、POD、CAT、ACP、AKP和蛋白酶活力均呈降-升-降的趋势。     

Fuzzy-logic-based feeder system for intensive tilapia production (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oreochromis niloticus</Emphasis>)

In high-fish-density aquaculture systems, tilapia producers are compelled to provide 100% of food required to obtain profitable growth rates. It is well known that fish have a low food conversion rate and feeding represents the most important expenditure, approximately 40% of total production cost. Therefore, precise quantities of food should be provided to avoid water pollution and economic losses due to food waste when water conditions are inadequate for fish feeding. A way to control food provisions in this work was determined by the conditions of temperature, dissolved oxygen, fish age, and body weight, since these variables have a direct effect on fish metabolism and growth. Thus, a change in metabolism is reflected in a modification of energy requirements and, as a consequence, in variations of food consumption. In this work, a new feeder with fuzzy-logic control algorithms is proposed for fish feeding; this technique allows farmer knowledge to be taken into account in a series of if–then-type rules. To define these rules the temperature and dissolve oxygen were considered in order to provide precise food quantities. The results show minimal differences in growth (P > 0.05) between treatments, important food saving of 29.12% (equivalent to 105.3 kg), and lower water pollution (reduced water dissolved solids and ammonium components) compared with timed feeders. This system provides an important contribution to sustainability of intensive aquaculture systems, increasing productivity and profitability, and optimizing water use.