Occurrence of Gas-Bubble Disease in Three Species of Bivalve Molluscs

1972 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 588-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Malouf ◽  
Richard Keck ◽  
Don Maurer ◽  
Charles Epifanio

Gas-bubble disease was observed in adult oysters and hard clams held in heated running sea water during the winter. Heating the cold sea water in closed heat exchangers caused it to become supersaturated with atmospheric gases. Exposure of the animals to this water caused the formation of gas-filled conchiolin blisters on the valves of the oysters. Bubbles of gas were observed in the gill filaments of the oysters and clams and in the mantle tissue of the oysters. Any method, such as the use of baffles or an aerated head tank, that reduces the dissolved gas concentration in the water will help prevent the disease.

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Machado ◽  
T. G. Bell ◽  
A. L. Trapp ◽  
D. L. Garling Jr. ◽  
N. R. Kevern

Cumulative mortalities of 100, 50, 20, and 0% due to gas bubble disease (GBD) occurred on exposure of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) for 180 min to supersaturated water at 136, 130, 124, and 116% total dissolved gas saturation (TDGS), respectively. At 130% TDGS, a prior exposure to carbon monoxide (CO), which converted 80% of the hemoglobin to carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), significantly prolonged survival time, but cumulative mortality was insignificantly reduced in the same group. Histologically, all supersaturation mortalities had branchial lesions for GBD (characterized by gas displacement of blood from the afferent arterioles of the gill filaments), while 70% had gas emboli in the retinal choroid gland. At a TDGS of 100%, these histological lesions were not observed and the CO 80% COHb conversion did not induce mortality within 120 min. Breathing movements of both control and CO-exposed fish slowed greatly when a TDGS of 130% was imposed; however, the COHb conversion initiated tachypnea and the CO-treated fish maintained a relatively higher respiratory rate when exposed to supersaturation conditions for a period which was proportional to their prolonged survival time. We concluded that the initial formation of gas emboli preceding fatal GBD was delayed as a result of a CO-inhibited function of hemoglobin.


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1985-1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Machado ◽  
D. L. Garling Jr. ◽  
N. R. Kevern ◽  
A. L. Trapp ◽  
T. G. Bell

Rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) affected with gas bubble disease (GBD) were examined histologically to determine the pathogenesis of the early stages of gas emboli formation. Lesions preserved by a rapid fixation method were located in tissues associated with acid-secreting glands or with high metabolic requirements. Following the development of small gas emboli formed in the retinal chorio-capillaries, a progressive development of unilateral exophthalmia was detected. A lesion found in every treated moribund fish but never in controls was gas displacement of the blood from the afferent arteriole within the gill filaments. The exposure of fish to well water containing graded levels of atmospheric gases from 114 to 118% nitrogen and 103 to 110% oxygen saturation resulted in high mortality. However, fish held in nitrogen varying between 103 and 117% and oxygen from 50 to 94% saturation experienced insignificant mortality. We suggest that hatchery oxygen levels should be maintained below 100% if nitrogen supersaturation is present to reduce mortality from GBD.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 231-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Machova ◽  
R. Faina ◽  
T. Randak ◽  
O. Valentova ◽  
C. Steibach ◽  
...  

This work summarises the findings of an investigation on a local trout farm (Czech Republic), which was carried out in connection with the repeated deaths of salmonids (brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss). These fishes were reared in newly installed tanks that were supplied with water from the same source as the original outdoor nature pond where the fishes had been reared without problems. The skin of dead fish was pale and covered with a thin layer of mucus. The gills had lighter colour, and microscopically, gas bubbles were visible both on the surface of gills and inside the gill filaments. No changes were found in the body cavity and parasitological examination was negative. The water in the tank was of very good quality but its oxygen saturation reached 136%. Based on the results of fish examinations and water analysis, gas bubble disease was identified as the ultimate cause of fish deaths. After making technical adjustments (technical changes to the pumping of water from the spring and ventilation of the storage tank in the building) oxygen saturation in water remained below 100% and no further cases of gas bubble disease (or fish deaths) were recorded.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yun Qing ◽  
Qian Ma ◽  
Ran Li ◽  
Xia Shen ◽  
XuJin Zhang ◽  
...  

Bubble dissolution during the flood discharge creates high total dissolved gas (TDG) concentration zones downstream of the dams. The dissipation of supersaturated TDG is a very slow process. Thus, the elevated TDG may remain through the water body for hundreds of kilometers downstream and lead to gas bubble disease (GBD) and even mortality in fish. To improve the navigation conditions of waterways, dikes (i.e., a solid structure) of varied sizes and shapes are commonly constructed. However, this would affect the dissipation and transportation of the supersaturated TDG. It would significantly change the turbulence intensity and hydropressure of the flow, which dominates the dissipation of TDG. Therefore, TDG distribution in the waterway differs from that in the natural river. In this study, a numerical simulation of the TDG at the Yangtze River’s upper reaches (one of the inland waterways in China) was conducted with the establishment of a two-dimensional TDG dissipation model. The effect of the dikes’ size and shape was analyzed to assess the influence of the regulation structures on the dissipation and transportation of the supersaturated TDG. Meanwhile, simulation in the study area with the natural topography was also set as blank control. Based on that, impact evaluation of TDG supersaturation on fish under different simulation scenarios was made. This study can provide a scientific basis for reducing the adverse effect of supersaturated TDG in fish and the construction of ecological waterway therefore.


2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 556-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi K. Pleizier ◽  
Charlotte Nelson ◽  
Steven J. Cooke ◽  
Colin J. Brauner

Hydrostatic pressure is known to protect fish from damage by total dissolved gas (TDG) supersaturation, but empirical relationships are lacking. In this study we demonstrate the relationship between depth, TDG, and gas bubble trauma (GBT). Hydroelectric dams generate TDG supersaturation that causes bubble growth in the tissues of aquatic animals, resulting in sublethal and lethal effects. We exposed fish to 100%, 115%, 120%, and 130% TDG at 16 and 63 cm of depth and recorded time to 50% loss of equilibrium and sublethal symptoms. Our linear model of the log-transformed time to 50% LOE (R2 = 0.94) was improved by including depth. Based on our model, a depth of 47 cm compensated for the effects of 4.1% (±1.3% SE) TDG supersaturation. Our experiment reveals that once the surface threshold for GBT from TDG supersaturation is known, depth protects rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from GBT by 9.7% TDG supersaturation per metre depth. Our results can be used to estimate the impacts of TDG on fish downstream of dams and to develop improved guidelines for TDG.


2002 ◽  
Vol 48 (161) ◽  
pp. 177-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Louis Tison ◽  
Christian Haas ◽  
Marcia M. Gowing ◽  
Suzanne Sleewaegen ◽  
Alain Bernard

AbstractDuring an ice-tank experiment, samples were taken to study the processes of acquisition and alteration of the gas properties in young first-year sea ice during a complete growth–warming–cooling cycle. The goal was to obtain reference levels for total gas content and concentrations of atmospheric gases (O2, N2, CO2) in the absence of significant biological activity. The range of total gas-content values obtained (3.5–18 mL STP kg−1) was similar to previous measurements or estimates. However, major differences occurred between current and quiet basins, showing the role of the water dynamics at the ice–water interface in controlling bubble nucleation processes. Extremely high CO2concentrations were observed in all the experiments (up to 57% in volume parts). It is argued that these could have resulted from two unexpected biases in the experimental settings. Concentrations in bubbles nucleated at the interface are controlled by diffusion both from the ice–water interface towards the well-mixed reservoir and between the interface water and the bubble itself. This double kinetic effect results in a transition of the gas composition in the bubbles from values close to solubility in sea water toward values close to atmospheric, as the ice cover builds up.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Groper ◽  
I. Etsion

Two possible, long standing speculated mechanisms are theoretically investigated in an attempt to understand previous experimental observations of pressure build up in the cavitation zone of a submerged journal bearing. These mechanisms are (1) the shear of the cavity gas bubble by a thin lubricant film dragged through the cavitation zone by the rotating shaft and (2) the mass transfer mechanism which dictates the rate of diffusion of dissolved gas out of and back into the lubricant. A comparison with available experimental results reveals that while the cavitation shape is fairly well predicted by the “shear” mechanism, this mechanism is incapable of generating the level of the experimentally measured pressures, particularly towards the end of the cavitation zone. The “mass transport” mechanism is found inadequate to explain the experimental observations. The effect of this mechanism on the pressure build up in the cavitation zone can be completely ignored.


1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 757-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
M G Mesa ◽  
J J Warren

To assess the effects of gas bubble trauma (GBT) on the predator avoidance ability of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), we created groups of fish that differed in prevalence and severity of gas emboli in their lateral lines, fins, and gills by exposing them to 112% total dissolved gas (TDG) for 13 days, 120% TDG for 8 h, or 130% TDG for 3.5 h. We subjected exposed and unexposed control fish simultaneously to predation by northern squawfish (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) in water of normal gas saturation in 6, 18, and 10 tests using prey exposed to 112, 120, and 130% TDG, respectively. Only fish exposed to 130% TDG showed a significant increase in vulnerability to predation. The signs of GBT exhibited by fish sampled just prior to predator exposure were generally more severe in fish exposed to 130% TDG, which had the most extensive occlusion of the lateral line and gill filaments with gas emboli. Fish exposed to 112% TDG had the most severe signs of GBT in the fins. Our results suggest that fish showing GBT signs similar to those of our fish exposed to 130% TDG, regardless of their precise exposure history, may be more vulnerable to predation.


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