A quantitative analysis of gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata, juvenile dentition as a tool to assess the effect of diet

Gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758 (Perciformes, Sparidae), is an important aquaculture species in the Mediterranean Sea basin. Yet, quantitative data on its dentition under standard farming conditions are currently lacking. It is furthermore unknown if the dentition can adapt to food of different sizes. Here, we describe the lower jaw dentition of juvenile S. aurata fed a standard pellet size (4 mm), and present a detailed analysis of eleven representative teeth. Overall, the number of teeth showed large individual variation, yet not significantly related to fish length. Considerable left-right differences were observed, without clear side dominance. We also assessed the influence of feeding S. aurata a smaller (2 mm) or larger (6 mm) pellet size. Four months of feeding with different pellet sizes did not cause detectable differences in total tooth number on the dentaries at the time of harvest, nor in size of the teeth assumed to be most relevant in food processing. If and how different pellet sizes may nevertheless affect digestion, and eventually fish health, is subject for further studies.

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Morphological identification and DNA barcoding used for diet analysis of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) in its expanding northerly range

Aquatic Living Resources ◽

10.1051/alr/2016034 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

S. Avignon ◽

E. Tastard ◽

S. Weston ◽

G. Duhamel ◽

F. Denis

Keyword(s):

Dna Barcoding ◽

Sparus Aurata ◽

Atlantic Coast ◽

Relative Proportion ◽

Diet Analysis ◽

Gilthead Seabream ◽

Morphological Identification ◽

Fish Length ◽

Preliminary Evaluation ◽

English Channel

The gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata, is common in the Mediterranean Sea and along the Atlantic coasts of Portugal, Spain and France. Abundance of S. aurata has recently increased along the Brittany coast, showing good adaptation and acclimatisation to northern waters away from its original distribution range. The physiological adaptations (diet, reproduction, growth) of this fish to colder water could even lead to its colonisation of the English Channel. The ability to eat and digest hard prey makes this fish an important consumer of bivalves. The aim of this study was to make a preliminary evaluation of the diet of the gilthead seabream in its northern range of distribution. Prey items from stomach contents of wild adults from various sites along the East Atlantic coast of France to the English Channel were identified morphologically when it was possible, e.g. in presence of decapod appendices, shells of bivalves, or using DNA barcoding. Diet composition was analysed against sites, fish length and month of sampling using the frequency of occurrence (%F) and weight relative proportion (%W). Results showed that the diet of S. aurata was mainly composed of bivalves, malacostracans and gastropods with a huge dominance of Mytilus sp. (%F = 51.5 and %W = 40.2). This first diet analysis of individuals from the northern range of the species distribution showed its ability, as an opportunistic feeder, to find prey in newly colonised ecosystems and its preference for some organisms, especially mussels.

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Effect of Feed Delivery Rate and Pellet Size on Rearing Performance, Feed Wastage and Economic Profitability in Gilthead Seabream (Sparus Aurata) Ongrowing

Water ◽

10.3390/w12040954 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 954 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Felipe Aguado-Giménez

Keyword(s):

Feeding Rate ◽

Sparus Aurata ◽

Eating Behaviour ◽

Delivery Rate ◽

Production Cycle ◽

Gilthead Seabream ◽

Pellet Size ◽

Full Production ◽

Feeding Process ◽

Feed Costs

Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) displays a particular eating behaviour that involves considerable oral manipulation and feed waste. We assess the influence of feed delivery rate and pellet size on seabream growth and size variability, feed wastage and economic profitability for a full production cycle. Batches of seabream were fed twice a day according to three different treatments (T1, T2, T3). T1 and T2 fish were fed with the same regime of pellet sizes: 2 mm pellets until the fish reached 0.1 kg, and 4 mm pellets from then on; the feeding rate in T1 was twice that of T2 (20 and 10 g min−1, respectively). T3 fish were fed with pellets of 2 mm until they reached 0.07 kg, with pellets of 4 mm until the fish reached 0.22 kg, and with 6 mm pellets from then on, with a feeding rate of 10 g min−1. T2 showed increased growth, low variability in fish size during the ongrowing and at harvest, less feed wastage both related to the delivery and the chewing behaviour, lower feed costs and improved profitability. Seabream wasted more feed during the second meal. Controlling the feeding process is essential to reduce wastage and increase profitability, which can be achieved by process monitoring and suitable feed pellet management.

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Genetic parameters for quality traits by non-invasive methods and their G x E interactions in ocean cages and estuaries on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

Aquaculture ◽

10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.736462 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 537 ◽

pp. 736462

Author(s):

I. Elalfy ◽

H.S. Shin ◽

D. Negrín-Báez ◽

A. Navarro ◽

M.J. Zamorano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Parameters ◽

Sparus Aurata ◽

Gilthead Seabream ◽

Quality Traits ◽

Non Invasive

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Genetic parameters for Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida resistance, immunological markers and body weight in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

Aquaculture ◽

10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.736892 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 736892

Author(s):

Antonio Vallecillos ◽

Rubén Perez ◽

Elena Chaves-Pozo ◽

Marta Arizcun ◽

Juan M. Afonso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Genetic Parameters ◽

Sparus Aurata ◽

Gilthead Seabream ◽

Immunological Markers ◽

Photobacterium Damselae

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Effects of subcutaneous injection of λ/κ‐carrageenin on the immune and liver antioxidant status of gilthead seabream ( Sparus aurata )

Journal of Fish Diseases ◽

10.1111/jfd.13452 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

José Carlos Campos‐Sánchez ◽

Francisco A. Guardiola ◽

José María García Beltrán ◽

Diana Ceballos‐Francisco ◽

María Ángeles Esteban

Keyword(s):

Subcutaneous Injection ◽

Antioxidant Status ◽

Sparus Aurata ◽

Gilthead Seabream

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Aflatoxicosis Dysregulates the Physiological Responses to Crowding Densities in the Marine Teleost Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata)

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11030753 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 753

Author(s):

Andre Barany ◽

Juan Fuentes ◽

Gonzalo Martínez-Rodríguez ◽

Juan Miguel Mancera

Keyword(s):

Mrna Expression ◽

Sparus Aurata ◽

Stocking Density ◽

Head Kidney ◽

Dietary Exposure ◽

Experimental Period ◽

Gilthead Seabream ◽

Marine Teleost ◽

Lipid Metabolites ◽

Period Duration

Several studies in fish have shown that aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) causes a disparity of species-dependent physiological disorders without compromising survival. We studied the effect of dietary administration of AFB1 (2 mg AFB1 kg−1 diet) in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) juveniles in combination with a challenge by stocking density (4 vs. 40 g L−1). The experimental period duration was ten days, and the diet with AFB1 was administered to the fish for 85 days prior to the stocking density challenge. Our results indicated an alteration in the carbohydrate and lipid metabolites mobilization in the AFB1 fed group, which was intensified at high stocking density (HSD). The CT group at HSD increased plasma cortisol levels, as expected, whereas the AFB1-HSD group did not. The star mRNA expression, an enzyme involved in cortisol synthesis in the head kidney, presented a ninefold increase in the AFB1 group at low stocking density (LSD) compared to the CT-LSD group. Adenohypophyseal gh mRNA expression increased in the AFB1-HSD but not in the CT-HSD group. Overall, these results confirmed that chronic AFB1 dietary exposure alters the adequate endocrinological physiological cascade response in S. aurata, compromising the expected stress response to an additional stressor, such as overcrowding.

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Influence of Genetic Selection for Growth and Broodstock Diet n-3 LC-PUFA Levels on Reproductive Performance of Gilthead Seabream, Sparus aurata

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11020519 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 519

Author(s):

Shajahan Ferosekhan ◽

Serhat Turkmen ◽

Cathaysa Pérez-García ◽

Hanlin Xu ◽

Ana Gómez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Performance ◽

Egg Quality ◽

Sparus Aurata ◽

Genetic Selection ◽

Growth Trait ◽

High Growth ◽

Gilthead Seabream ◽

Commercial Diet ◽

Selection For ◽

Broodstock Diet

Genetic selection in gilthead seabream (GSB), Sparus aurata, has been undertaken to improve the growth, feed efficiency, fillet quality, skeletal deformities and disease resistance, but no study is available to delineate the effect of genetic selection for growth trait on GSB reproductive performance under mass spawning condition. In this study, high growth (HG) or low growth (LG) GSB broodstock were selected to evaluate the sex steroid hormones, sperm, egg quality and reproductive performance under different feeding regime of commercial diet or experimental broodstock diet containing either fish oil (FO) or vegetable oil (VO) based diet. Under commercial diet feeding phase, broodstock selected for either high growth or low growth did not show any significant changes in the egg production per kg female whereas egg viability percentage was positively (p = 0.014) improved by the high growth trait broodstock group. The experimental diet feeding results revealed that both growth trait and dietary fatty acid composition influenced the reproductive performance of GSB broodstock. In the experimental diet feeding phase, we observed high growth trait GSB males produced a higher number of sperm cells (p < 0.001) and also showed a higher sperm motility (p = 0.048) percentage. The viable egg and larval production per spawn per kg female were significantly improved by the broodstock selected for high growth trait and fed with fish oil-based diet. This present study results signifies that gilthead seabream broodstock selected on growth trait could have positive role in improvement of sperm and egg quality to produce viable progeny.

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Functionalized Nanoplastics (NPs) Increase the Toxicity of Metals in Fish Cell Lines

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22137141 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (13) ◽

pp. 7141

Author(s):

Carmen González-Fernández ◽

Francisco Guillermo Díaz Baños ◽

María Ángeles Esteban ◽

Alberto Cuesta

Keyword(s):

Sparus Aurata ◽

Gilthead Seabream ◽

Fish Cell ◽

Test Model ◽

Fish Cell Lines ◽

Polystyrene Nanoparticles ◽

Commercial Fish ◽

Cellular Protection ◽

Marine Life

Nanoplastics (NPs) are one of the most abundant environment-threatening nanomaterials on the market. The objective of this study was to determine in vitro if functionalized NPs are cytotoxic by themselves or increase the toxicity of metals. For that, we used 50 nm polystyrene nanoparticles with distinct surface functionalization (pristine, PS-Plain; carboxylic, PS-COOH; and amino PS-NH2) alone or combined with the metals arsenic (As) and methylmercury (MeHg), which possess an environmental risk to marine life. As test model, we chose a brain-derived cell line (SaB-1) from gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), one of the most commercial fish species in the Mediterranean. First, only the PS-NH2 NPs were toxic to SaB-1 cells. NPs seem to be internalized into the cells but they showed little alteration in the transcription of genes related to oxidative stress (nrf2, cat, gr, gsta), cellular protection against metals (mta) or apoptosis (bcl2, bax). However, NPs, mainly PS-COOH and PS-NH2, significantly increased the toxicity of both metals. Since the coexistence of NPs and other pollutants in the aquatic environment is inevitable, our results reveal that the combined effect of NPs with the rest of pollutants deserves more attention.

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