Identification of bacteria from the normal flora of perch, Perca fluviatilis L., and evaluation of their inhibitory potential towards Aeromonas species

Pathogenic Aeromonas sobria has been identified as a causative agent of ulcerative disease in farmed European perch, Perca fluviatilis L. To study the effect of the normal intestinal bacterial flora of perch against A. sobria, we sampled 193 bacterial isolates from the perch digestive tract. The isolates were identified by sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and their inhibitory potential against A. sobria was evaluated in vitro. Nineteen of the strains isolated showed inhibition and were also tested against other aeromonad and non-aeromonad fish pathogens including Yersinia ruckeri and Vibrio anguillarum. Isolates showing inhibition were primarily Pseudomonas spp.; however, inhibitory Shewanella spp., and Delftia sp. were also identified. A Pseudomonas chlororaphis isolate showed inhibition against all fish pathogens tested.     

Aeromonas sobria, a causative agent of disease in farmed perch, Perca fluviatilis L

Significant numbers of perch, Perca fluviatilis, raised on a pilot fish farm in Switzerland presented focal skin lesions on the lateral sides and fin rot. Mortality rates reached levels of up to 1% of the total fish on the farm per day. Virtually pure cultures of Aeromonas sobria were isolated from the liver, kidney, spleen and skin lesions of affected fish. Aeromonas sobria isolated from the farmed perch had a haemolytic effect on sheep and trout erythrocytes, autoaggregated, was cytotoxic for cultured fish cells and possessed genes involved in type III protein secretion. Experimental infection of naive perch with a single colony isolate of A. sobria from an affected farm fish resulted in the development of clinical signs identical to those seen on the farm. The results indicate that A. sobria can act as a primary pathogen of perch.     

The occurrence of Henneguya psorospermica Thelohan, 1895 (Myxosporida) on perch, Perca fluviatilis L., from Llyn Tegid, Wales

Abstract. The occurrence of cysts of Henneguya psomspermica on a population of perch was studied over a periot of 19 months. Cysts were restricted to the gill filaments although no attempt was made to assess the occurrence of earlier developnental stages of the parasite. Cysts were not recorded from a small sample of perch fry (aged 4–6 weeks). There was a peak of prevalence, and intensity of the infection in juvenile perch (aged 8–9 months), while the prevalence and intensity in adult perch (aged 1–1 and over) was low. In adult perch there was a seasonal November-February.     

Habitat use by age-0 yellow perch in two South Dakota glacial lakes

Abstract– We determined the habitat use of age-0 yellow perch ( Perca flavescens ) in two South Dakota (USA) lakes. Larval perch abundance was based on trawl catches and related to environmental variables on two late spring dates. Juvenile perch abundance was based on late July shoreline seine and bottom trawl catches. Day and night juvenile abundance relations to environmental variables were examined. Larval abundance appeared to be related to biological environmental variables, and no significant (P≥0.05) correlations with physical habitat variables were found. Juvenile yellow perch abundance was related to physical variables, particularly substrate, water temperature and water depth. The only biological variable that could be related to juvenile abundance was chironomid abundance. Finally, juvenile perch abundance was positively associated with abundance of other juvenile fishes and minnows, but these associations varied by lake, time of day and habitat type. Understanding age 0 perch habitat use will allow fishery biologists to better assess sampling designs and recruitment processes.     

Arginine and phenylalanine requirement of juvenile silver perch Bidyanus bidyanus and validation of the use of body amino acid composition for estimating individual amino acid requirements

An experiment was conducted in a closed system to quantify the arginine requirement of juvenile silver perch Bidyanus bidyanus . Five experimental diets were formulated to contain 40% crude protein with five graded levels of arginine. The diets contained casein and gelatine as protein sources supplemented with crystalline L -amino acids to simulate the reference amino acid profile (except for arginine) of silver perch tissue protein. The experiment lasted 12 weeks and, based on growth data using broken-line analysis, the arginine requirement of juvenile silver perch was found to be 2.7 g 100 g⁻¹ dry diet (or 6.8% of protein).
Based on whole-body amino acid composition, A/E ratios (essential amino acid/total essential amino acids + (cystine + tyrosine) × 1000) were estimated. Using the experimentally determined requirement for arginine and A/E ratios, the phenylalanine requirement of silver perch was predicted to be 5.5 g 100 g⁻¹ protein. Another feeding trial was conducted to determine the phenylalanine require-ment of silver perch using a series of diets with various amounts of phenylalanine and a protocol similar to the previous one. It was found that the experimentally determined phenylalanine requirement of juvenile perch was similar to that predicted. The A/E ratios have been hitherto utilized for the estimation of essential amino acid requirements in three salmonids, common carp and channel catfish: the present findings extend the validity of the method to other fish species.     

Comparative susceptibility among three stocks of yellow perch,Perca flavescens (Mitchill), to viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus strain IVb from the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes strain of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus IVb (VHSV‐IVb) is capable of infecting a wide number of naive species and has been associated with large fish kills in the Midwestern United States since its discovery in 2005. The yellow perch, Perca flavescens (Mitchill), a freshwater species commonly found throughout inland waters of the United States and prized for its high value in sport and commercial fisheries, is a species documented in several fish kills affiliated with VHS. In the present study, differences in survival after infection with VHSV IVb were observed among juvenile fish from three yellow perch broodstocks that were originally derived from distinct wild populations, suggesting innate differences in susceptibility due to genetic variance. While all three stocks were susceptible upon waterborne exposure to VHS virus infection, fish derived from the Midwest (Lake Winnebago, WI) showed significantly lower cumulative % survival compared with two perch stocks derived from the East Coast (Perquimans River, NC and Choptank River, MD) of the United States. However, despite differences in apparent susceptibility, clinical signs did not vary between stocks and included moderate‐to‐severe haemorrhages at the pelvic and pectoral fin bases and exophthalmia. After the 28‐day challenge was complete, VHS virus was analysed in subsets of whole fish that had either survived or succumbed to the infection using both plaque assay and quantitative PCR methodologies. A direct correlation was identified between the two methods, suggesting the potential for both methods to be used to detect virus in a research setting.     

斑点叉尾(鮰)"腹水症"病原的分离鉴定及体外芽孢杆菌拮抗试验

为了解斑点叉尾(鮰)(Ictalurus punctatus)"腹水症"的发病原因,提高防控技术,试验在佛山市某渔场患典型"腹水症"的病(鮰)上分离出优势菌落,通过形态学观察、生化及分子生物学鉴定确定该细菌为温和气单胞菌(Aeromonas sobria).通过对健康斑点叉尾(鮰)的回归感染实验发现,与原感染鱼发病症状相似,且分离鉴定得到相同病原菌.体外药敏试验结果显示:该温和气单胞菌菌株对恩诺沙星、氟苯尼考等7种药物敏感,而对四环素、强力霉素耐药.本研究还探讨了4种芽孢杆菌对分离的温和气单胞菌的拮抗作用,结果表明地衣芽孢杆菌对该病原的拮抗作用最好.     

被动转移免疫在鲫感染温和气单胞菌中的作用

实验用鲫平均体重100g，采用免疫物质被动转移试验，探讨体液免疫在鲫感染温和气单胞菌（Aeromonas sobria)中的保护作用。结果表明，无论免疫物质是来自异源还是自源，是由相关的嗜水气单胞菌（A.hydrophia)诱导产生还是由攻毒的温和气单胞直接刺激，均具有良好的免疫保护作用。实验还发现，再次攻毒时，在所有抗体组的鲫存活率为100%时，全血被动转移组的死亡率高达55.6%；免疫前后免疫复合物发生明显变化。说明抗体在保护鲫免疫受温和气单胞菌的致死性感染中发挥决定性的作用。     

盐度胁迫对高体革鯻幼鱼消化酶活力的影响

研究了盐度对高体革（Scortum barcoo）幼鱼消化酶活力的影响。在温度25±2℃下,将平均体质量为2.50±0.23 g的高体革幼鱼分别饲养在盐度0,5,8,11,13和16条件下20 d,检测幼鱼胃蛋白酶、淀粉酶和脂肪酶活性的差异。结果表明：盐度胁迫对高体革幼鱼胃蛋白酶活力有显著影响（P〈0.05）,对脂肪酶和淀粉酶活力有极显著影响（P〈0.01）。随着盐度的升高,胃蛋白酶活力先升后降,当盐度升高到13时又急剧升高;脂肪酶的活力则是随盐度的升高而受到抑制,当盐度升高到13时也急剧升高,盐度16时最高;而淀粉酶活力变化则是盐度升高时显著降低。这说明环境盐度对高体革消化酶比活力的影响比较大,不同消化酶随盐度变化规律有所差异。     

盐度胁迫对高体革鯻幼鱼消化酶活力的影响

研究了盐度对高体革（Scortum barcoo）幼鱼消化酶活力的影响。在温度25±2℃下,将平均体质量为2.50±0.23 g的高体革幼鱼分别饲养在盐度0,5,8,11,13和16条件下20 d,检测幼鱼胃蛋白酶、淀粉酶和脂肪酶活性的差异。结果表明：盐度胁迫对高体革幼鱼胃蛋白酶活力有显著影响（P〈0.05）,对脂肪酶...     

Spinal curvatures and an encephalotropic myxosporean, Triangula percae sp. nov. (Myxozoa: Ortholineidae), enzootic in redfin perch, Perca fluviatilis L., in Australia

Abstract. A new myxosporean, Triangula percae sp. nov., (Myxozoa: Ortholineidae) from the brain of redfin perch, Perca fluviatilis L., is described. Spinal curvatures are prevalent in many perch populations in Victoria, Australia, Triangula percae infection was detected in all perch displaying spinal curvatures and in 67% of normal perch from Lake Nillahcootie in north east Victoria. Perch populations exhibiting spinal curvatures in several other waterways were also infected with Triangula percae but the infection was absent in one population which was apparently normal. Triangula percae infection is, thus, considered to be the cause of a proportion of the spinal curvatures. Certain fish surviving outbreaks of epizootic haematopoietic necrosis virus (EHNV) also developed spinal curvatures, which may have been due to viral infection of the central nervous system.     

Distribution and feeding of juvenile fish on invertebrates in littoral reed (Phragmites) stands

Abstract – Complex interactions between fish predators and their prey have been found in structurally complex habitats built by submerged macrophytes. In contrast, the role of comparably structured littoral reed stands in shaping biotic interactions has not been investigated. We hypothesised that reed stands may be a valuable feeding habitat for juvenile fish, and that perch and roach may segregate along the spatial and dietary niche dimensions between reed and open water habitats. In contrast, the protection effect of reed against predators was assumed to be rather low because of the lower plant volume infested in reed when compared with submerged macrophytes. We analysed biomass and growth of juvenile (age 0 and age 1) perch and roach in littoral reed habitats and in open water habitats in front of the reed in the shallow Lake Müggelsee over 4 months in 2000. Sampling was conducted by point-abundance electrofishing over the full diel cycle (day, dusk, night, dawn). Zooplankton and benthos biomasses were determined in both habitats as well, and habitat-specific diet of fish was assessed during day and night. Roach were more frequent than perch in both habitats. Food of roach included a higher proportion of zooplankton, whereas perch fed more on macroinvertebrates. Overall, diet overlap between the fish groups was high. Diel distribution of fish did not follow the expectations of habitat segregation between perch and roach. Instead, the function of reed as refuge habitat against littoral piscivores (mainly birds) may have caused the strong daytime preference for reed in almost all fish groups, which was partly upset by roach at night. The higher behavioural plasticity of roach may explain their good performance even under the conditions of high structural complexity.     

Effects of predator-induced visual and olfactory cues on 0+ perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) foraging behaviour

Abstract –  Foraging juvenile fish with relatively high food demands are usually vulnerable to various aquatic and avian predators. To compromise between foraging and antipredator activity, they need exact and reliable information about current predation risk. Among direct predator-induced cues, visual and olfactory signals are considered to be most important. Food intake rates and prey-size selectivity of laboratory-reared, naive young-of-the-year (YOY) perch, Perca fluviatilis , were studied in experiments with Daphnia magna of two size classes: 2.8 and 1.3 mm as prey and northern pike, Esox lucius , as predator. Neither total intake rate nor prey-size selectivity was modified by predator kairomones alone (water from an aquarium with a pike was pumped into the test aquaria) under daylight conditions. Visual presentation of pike reduced total food intake by perch. This effect was significantly more pronounced (synergistic) when visual and olfactory cues were presented simultaneously to foraging perch. Moreover, the combination of cues caused a significant shift in prey-size selection, expressed as a reduced proportion of large prey in the diet. Our observations demonstrate that predator-induced olfactory cues alone are less important modifiers of the feeding behaviour of naive YOY perch than visual cues under daylight conditions. However, pike odour acts as a modulatory stimulus enhancing the effects of visual cues, which trigger an innate response in perch.     

Alternative use of food resources causes intra-cohort variation in the size distribution of young-of-the-year perch (Perca fluviatilis)

Abstract –  Body sizes of young-of-the-year (YOY) perch ( Perca fluviatilis ) at the end of their first summer are extremely variable and range in different studies between 4 and 15 cm. To analyse whether size divergences in YOY perch may be attributed to alternative use of food resources, adult perch were stocked into two previously fishless ponds and growth, size distribution and food intake of the YOY perch were recorded. In addition to perch, adult bream ( Abramis brama ) were introduced to produce juvenile bream that could serve as a food resource for YOY perch. The body sizes of YOY perch at the end of the experiment ranged from 32 to 168 mm with a bimodal size distribution. The combination of stomach content analyses and stable isotope signatures revealed that the small size cohort were planctivorous/benthivorous while the large size cohort was piscivorous/cannibalistic. Results implicated that different feeding behaviour contributed to the size divergences in YOY perch and that the extreme growth of the large size cohort was induced by piscivory.     

Susceptibility of a number of Australian freshwater fishes to dwarf gourami iridovirus (Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus)

Megalocytiviruses cause high mortality diseases that have seriously impacted aquaculture, with the most frequent outbreaks occurring in East and South‐East Asia. The international trade of juvenile fish for food and ornamental aquaculture has aided the spread of these viruses, which have spread to Europe and Australia and other regions. Australian freshwater fishes were examined for susceptibility to infection with the exotic megalocytivirus, dwarf gourami iridovirus (DGIV), which belongs to a group with the type species, Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV). Fish were held at 23 ± 1 °C and challenged by intraperitoneal (IP) injection or by cohabitation with Murray cod, Maccullochella peelii (Mitchell) infected with DGIV. A species was deemed to be susceptible to DGIV based on evidence of viral replication, as determined by qPCR, and megalocytic inclusion bodies observed histologically. Horizontal transmission occurred between infected Murray cod and golden perch, Macquaria ambigua (Richardson), Macquarie perch, Macquaria australasica (Cuvier) and Murray cod. This indicated that DGIV shed from infected fish held at 23 °C can survive in fresh water and subsequently infect these naïve fish. Further, DGIV administered IP was highly pathogenic to golden perch, Macquarie perch and Murray cod. Compared to these species, the susceptibility of southern pygmy perch, Nannoperca australis (Gunther) was lower. Freshwater catfish (dewfish), Tandanus tandanus (Mitchell), were not susceptible under the experimental conditions based on the absence of clinical disease, mortality and virus replication. This study showed the potential risks associated with naïve and DGIV‐infected fish sharing a common water source.     

Association of Aeromonas sobria with mortalities of adult gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum Lesueur

Abstract. This report describes an epizootic in a natural population of spawning females of gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum Lesueur, which occurred in the Potomac River (Maryland, USA). Microbiological analysis of moribund shad revealed the presence in pure culture in all the organs examined of one bacterium which was identified as Aeromonas sobria by conventional tube and plate tests. The different API-systems used to attempt for a rapid diagnosis of the disease yielded false negative and positive reactions in important differential tests such as ornithine decarboxylase, arabinose fermentation, gelatinase, urease, indole and production of H₂S which gave an erroneous identification of the shad isolate. The virulence assays in rainbow trout revealed that A. sobria was pathogenic with a mean LD₅₀ of 2 × 10⁵. Bacterial extracellular products also displayed fish lethality and were cytotoxic for poikilothermic and homeothermic cell-lines. Although the source of shad infection is unknown, the physico-chemical conditions of the river, together with the stress associated with the spawning could have been contributing factors in the proliferation of A. sobria inducing this epizootic.     

Early development and allometric growth in hatchery‐reared Eurasian perch,Perca fluviatilis L.

The morphological development and allometric growth patterns of Eurasian perch, Perca fluviatilis L., a highly valued commercial species, were studied under intensive rearing conditions from hatching up to 50 DPH (Days Post Hatch). Based on the external morphology, four different phases during early development of Eurasian perch were identified: pre‐flexion larva 0–20 DPH (5.70–10.16 mm TL); flexion larva 22–30 DPH (11.09–15.14 mm TL) and post‐flexion larva/juvenile 32–50 DPH (18.00–24.75 mm TL). The results indicate that growth period when final replacement of all temporary (larval) structures and most important changes in the shape of P. fluviatilis occurred (between 13.95 and 24.06 mm TL, during flexion and post‐flexion phase) can be considered as a transitional period between the larva and juvenile. All body segments, except trunk length and tail length showed fast growth (positive allometry) throughout the entire studied period or up to the respective inflexion point with a common tendency to isometry. In addition, the specific behaviours (e.g. pelagic way of life) of Eurasian perch larvae resulted in some characteristic allometric growth patterns in the posterior region, different from the majority of other teleosts. The results are discussed with respect to the ontogeny of the functional morphology under both ecological and aquaculture considerations.     

Interactions between juvenile roach or perch and their invertebrate prey in littoral reed versus open water enclosures

Abstract – Structural complexity offered by submerged macrophytes was shown to have fundamental effects on interactions between fish and their prey. However, less information is available for littoral reed (Phragmites spp.) stands. A previous field study found juvenile roach and perch to coexist within the reed stands. It was suggested that reed serves mainly as refuge against littoral piscivores, such that coexistence of perch and roach in the reed was externally forced. Several hypotheses were raised to explain why roach nevertheless showed good growth performance. Three of the hypotheses were tested experimentally. In particular, we were interested in how the confinement of fish to one of the reed or open water habitats alters feeding and growth patterns of juvenile age‐1 perch and roach. Fish were stocked separately into littoral enclosures for a 3‐week period in densities which had been found in the surrounding lake. Development of zooplankton and macroinvertebrate biomasses was observed by sampling the enclosures three times over the experimental period. Individual consumption of prey groups by the fish was calculated with a bioenergetics model, and was compared with prey group biomass in the enclosure treatments. The confinement of fish to one littoral habitat had clear effects on diet composition and growth rates. Roach fed less zooplankton and partially switched to macroinvertebrates in the reed enclosures when compared with the open water treatments, and consequently their growth rates were lower in the reed. Perch preferred macroinvertebrates in both habitats, without any difference in growth rates between the habitats. Effects of fish predation on both zooplankton and macroinvertebrate biomass were low in open water and reed enclosures. Daily consumption rates were only in a few cases higher than 40% of the available biomass of the respective prey group, but mainly were below 10% of available biomass. Therefore, we argue that both the diel horizontal migrations of roach and the relatively low consumption rate of fish when compared with the available resource biomass allow the coexistence of juvenile roach and perch in littoral reed stands.     

甲鱼爆发性传染病病原体分离及抗血清制备

从患病甲鱼的肝脏中分离到9株细菌,其中7株为温和气单胞菌,2株为豚鼠气单胞菌。两种菌JA—1和JA—2对鲫鱼的半数致死量(LD_(50))各为4.3×10~5和5.5×10~7,在两种菌培养的上清液中均有一种具有溶血活性的毒素。研究表明:甲鱼的爆发性传染病是由温和气单胞菌和豚鼠气单胞菌引起,用两种菌为菌种做成菌苗,结合免疫增效剂免疫家兔制得血清,效价可达1:512,治愈率达100％。     

The shift to smaller zooplankton in Lake Victoria cannot be attributed to the ‘sardine’ Rastrineobola argentea (Cyprinidae)

After the population increase of introduced Nile perch (Lates niloticus) in Lake Victoria, a decrease in the relative abundance of herbivorous cladocerans and calanoids was reported for the pelagic zone. The shift from large herbivores to small-bodied predatory cyclopoids has been attributed to the increase of the zooplanktivorous cyprinid dagaa (Rastrineobola argentea), which rose concomitantly with the Nile perch. However, we observed that in the Mwanza Gulf of the lake cyclopoids dominated the zooplankton community already before the rise of dagaa. Furthermore, there are indications that dagaa takes fewer calanoids than expected from their representation in the environment, although a slight preference for cladocerans may exist. Calanoids dominated the diet of small Nile perch of about 4 cm length, but juvenile Nile perch did not occur in the study area until after the size shift in zooplankton. The lumped biomass of dagaa and small Nile perch is lower than the biomass of the original haplochromine-dominated community of zooplanktivorous fish. Thus, the decline of large zooplankters in the lake cannot be explained by intensified predation after the replacement of zooplanktivorous haplochromines by dagaa and Nile perch. Increased eutrophication, resulting in a shift in predominance from diatoms to cyanophytes, is suggested as an alternative explanation for the shift in zooplankton composition.