Fluoxetine in the environment may interfere with the neurotransmission or endocrine systems of aquatic animals

The unprecedented growth of aquaculture involves well-documented environmental and public-health costs, but less is understood about global animal welfare risks. Integrating data from multiple sources, we estimated the taxonomic diversity of farmed aquatic animals, the number of individuals killed annually, and the species-specific welfare knowledge (absence of which indicates extreme risk). In 2018, FAO reported 82.12 million metric tons of farmed aquatic animals from six phyla and at least 408 species—20 times the number of species of farmed terrestrial animals. The farmed aquatic animal tonnage represents 250 to 408 billion individuals, of which 59 to 129 billion are vertebrates (e.g., carps, salmonids). Specialized welfare information was available for 84 species, only 30% of individuals; the remaining 70% either had no welfare publications or were of an unknown species. With aquaculture growth outpacing welfare knowledge, immediate efforts are needed to safeguard the welfare of high-production, understudied species and to create policies that minimize welfare risks.

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The Gene Regulatory Roles of Herbal Extracts on the Growth, Immune System, and Reproduction of Fish

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11082167 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 2167

Author(s):

Ehsan Ahmadifar ◽

Hamideh Pourmohammadi Fallah ◽

Morteza Yousefi ◽

Mahmoud A. O. Dawood ◽

Seyed Hossein Hoseinifar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

Mode Of Action ◽

Medicinal Herbs ◽

Environmental Stressors ◽

Fish Diet ◽

Sustainable Aquaculture ◽

Herbal Supplements ◽

Aquatic Animals ◽

Gene Regulatory

The crucial need for safe and healthy aquatic animals obligates researchers in aquaculture to investigate alternative and beneficial additives. Medicinal herbals and their extracts are compromised with diverse effects on the performances of aquatic animals. These compounds can affect growth performance and stimulate the immune system when used in fish diet. In addition, the use of medicinal herbs and their extracts can reduce oxidative stress induced by several stressors during fish culture. Correspondingly, aquatic animals could gain increased resistance against infectious pathogens and environmental stressors. Nevertheless, the exact mode of action where these additives can affect aquatic animals’ performances is still not well documented. Understanding the mechanistic role of herbal supplements and their derivatives is a vital tool to develop further the strategies and application of these additives for feasible and sustainable aquaculture. Gene-related studies have clarified the detailed information on the herbal supplements’ mode of action when administered orally in aquafeed. Several review articles have presented the potential roles of medicinal herbs on the performances of aquatic animals. However, this review article discusses the outputs of studies conducted on aquatic animals fed dietary, medicinal herbs, focusing on the gene expression related to growth and immune performances. Furthermore, a particular focus is directed to the expected influence of herbal supplements on the reproduction of aquatic animals.

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A review of gynogenesis manipulation in aquatic animals

Aquaculture and Fisheries ◽

10.1016/j.aaf.2020.11.006 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hidayah Manan ◽

A.B. Noor Hidayati ◽

Nur Aina Lyana ◽

Adnan Amin-Safwan ◽

Hongyu Ma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aquatic Animals

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One health pathogen surveillance demonstrated the dissemination of gut pathogens within the two coastal regions associated with intensive farming

Gut Pathogens ◽

10.1186/s13099-021-00442-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Qingyao Wang ◽

Yixiang Zhang ◽

Qian Yang ◽

Songzhe Fu ◽

Baocheng Qu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Composition ◽

Foodborne Pathogens ◽

Migratory Birds ◽

Bacterial Community Composition ◽

Hypervariable Region ◽

Shrimp Farming ◽

Clinical Strain ◽

Coastal Regions ◽

Aquatic Animals ◽

Gut Pathogens

Abstract Background Intensive aquaculture farming has caused significant degradation of coastal wetlands and has been proposed as a reservoir for pathogenic Vibrio spp. Results Gut pathogens including Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp., and Klebsiella spp. were isolated from bird feces, shrimp and wetland water in two typical coastal regions of China in 2015 and 2017 and were subsequently subjected to whole-genome sequencing. Meanwhile, local patient isolates were also selected to confirm the epidemiological links. Bacterial community composition analyses of the sediments that were sampled in 2015 and 2017 were conducted by the hypervariable region 4 of the 16S rRNA gene. Together with the local clinical isolates, we observed highly related Vibrio isolates from waterbirds, wetlands and shrimp. Phylogenetic genome comparisons also demonstrated that sequence types ST3 and ST2414 Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates obtained from aquatic animals were clonally related to patient isolates. Likewise, three Salmonella typhimurium isolates were also genomically related to one clinical strain. The results showed that farming activities significantly altered the community composition and resulted in the emergence of several pathogens, including Acinetobacter, Mycobacterium and Legionella. Conclusions In conclusion, our results demonstrated that intensive shrimp farming in wetlands has two devastating impacts: pathogen dissemination from aquatic animals into migratory birds and transmission of foodborne pathogens into local communities.

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Physiology: An Important Tool to Assess the Welfare of Aquatic Animals

Biology ◽

10.3390/biology10010061 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 61

Author(s):

Ismael Jerez-Cepa ◽

Ignacio Ruiz-Jarabo

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Emotional State ◽

Aquatic Species ◽

Natural Behavior ◽

Aquatic Animals ◽

Negative Experiences ◽

Proper Functioning ◽

Analytical Tools

The assessment of welfare in aquatic animals is currently under debate, especially concerning those kept by humans. The classic concept of animal welfare includes three elements: The emotional state of the organism (including the absence of negative experiences), the possibility of expressing normal behaviors, and the proper functioning of the organism. While methods for evaluating their emotions (such as fear, pain, and anguish) are currently being developed for aquatic species and understanding the natural behavior of all aquatic taxa that interact with humans is a task that requires more time, the evaluation of internal responses in the organisms can be carried out using analytical tools. This review aims to show the potential of the physiology of crustaceans, cephalopods, elasmobranchs, teleosts, and dipnoans to serve as indicators of their wellbeing. Since the classical methods of assessing welfare are laborious and time-consuming by evaluation of fear, pain, and anguish, the assessment may be complemented by physiological approaches. This involves the study of stress responses, including the release of hormones and their effects. Therefore, physiology may be of help in improving animal welfare.

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