Effects of Low Environmental pH on Smolting of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1203-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Saunders ◽  
Eugene B. Henderson ◽  
Paul R. Harmon ◽  
C. Edward Johnston ◽  
J. Geoffrey Eales

We reared Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in soft water (hardness 13 mg/L as CaCO3) at two pH levels, 6.4–6.7 and 4.2–4.7, from February to June, to assess the effect of low pH on survival, growth, and the smolting process under rising (4–8.5 °C) or relatively constant (9.5–10.5 °C) temperature. Survival was lower as a result of low pH (4.2–4.7) under both temperature regimes. Neither group exposed to low pH gained weight whereas both control groups gained weight during the experiment. Parr–smolt transformation, as indicated by salinity tolerance and gill Na+, K+ ATPase activity, was impaired as a result of low pH. The large (17–19 cm) parr used in this study were initially salinity tolerant and those at control pH (6.4–6.7) increased tolerance to 35‰ salinity between March and May; those in low pH became intolerant of high salinity. ATPase levels in salmon reared at low pH were significantly lower than those at normal pH levels under both temperature regimes. ATPase activity was significantly greater in fish reared at pH 6.4–6.7 with rising than with constant temperature. Plasma chloride and sodium levels were low in response to low pH, indicating impaired ionic regulation in freshwater. Plasma calcium levels were higher at low pH in both temperature regimes; higher levels were reached under constant temperature. Moisture content rose less sharply under low than under control pH in both temperature regimes. In the rising temperature regime, lipid levels reached similar, low levels under low and control pH conditions. Thyroid hormone (T3 and T4) levels gave no clear indication of effects of low pH on smolting. Smoltification did not proceed normally in our Atlantic salmon subjected to low pH levels.

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Duston ◽  
R. L. Saunders ◽  
D. E. Knox

Two-year-old (2+) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) raised under ambient temperature and simulated natural photoperiod (45°N) completed smolting between February and May, exhibiting significant increases in gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity and salinity tolerance (96 h, 37.5 ppt) but no significant changes in plasma osmolality. On May 2 the smolts were divided into four groups (each n = 80) and subjected to a rapid (2–3 h) increase in temperature from ambient (5 °C) to 10, 13, or 16 °C or remained ambient (control) which rose to 12 °C by the end of the experiment on June 5. In the 10, 13, and 16 °C groups, mean gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity (micromoles inorganic phosphorus per milligram protein per hour) declined significantly from 6.6 units on May 2 to 4.3, 3.6, and 2.3 units, respectively, on May 23. In the control group, Na+, K+-ATPase activity showed no significant changes during the study. Plasma osmolality was maintained in all groups between 290 and 304 mosmol∙kg−1. Salinity tolerance tests revealed a significant decline in survival in the 16 °C group from May 2 and in the 10 °C, 13 °C, and control groups from May 13, but no significant differences were observed among the three groups. The results support the hypothesis that increases in freshwater temperature accelerate the loss of hypoosmoregulatory capacity.


1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 1189-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Johnston ◽  
R. L. Saunders

Six different rearing conditions were used to study the effect of temperature on seasonal changes in growth, condition factor, body silvering, body moisture and lipid content, salinity tolerance, and gill Na–K-ATPase activities of laboratory and pond-reared yearling Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Growth during the winter was greatest at the highest rearing temperature (16 °C) whereas those under simulated natural conditions grew slowest. Increasing temperatures in the spring stimulated growth more than constant temperature. Based on increased salinity tolerance, elevated ATPase activity, and growth in salt water, smolt development proceeded at all temperatures up to 16 °C. More smolts were produced in the high thermal regimes resulting in the best growth and the largest proportion of fish reaching smolt size. Unlike some Pacific salmonids, Atlantic salmon develop smolt status at temperatures as high as 16 °C. Yearling smolts can be produced at elevated temperatures and the use of thermal effluents for this purpose is promising.Key words: smoltification, smolt criteria, salinity tolerance, ATPase activity, rearing temperatures, elevated thermal regimes, thermal effluent, Salmo salar


Aquaculture ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Boeuf ◽  
A. Le Roux ◽  
J.L. Gaignon ◽  
Y. Harache

1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 770-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Peterson ◽  
P. G. Daye ◽  
J. L. Metcalfe

Hatching of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) eggs was delayed or prevented if they were exposed to water of lowered pH (4.0–5.5) after eye pigmentation had developed. Hatching subsequently could be induced by returning eggs to normal pH levels (6.6–6.8). Perivitelline pH fell rapidly to near ambient levels when eggs were exposed to low pH. It is suggested that the observed effects on hatching were due to inhibition of the hatching enzyme, chorionase.Key words: Atlantic salmon, eggs, pH, perivitelline fluid, chorionase


1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 1816-1827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magne Staurnes ◽  
Per Blix ◽  
Ola B. Reite

Smolting Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, were kept from 11 April to 24 May in soft water of pH 5 or in soft water of pH 5 and 50 μg aluminum (Al)∙L−1. Control fish were kept in soft water of pH 6.3–6.5. Water temperature was 8–14 °C. In mid-May, some of the control smolts were transferred to the test conditions for 8 d. Exposure to acid water resulted in osmoregulatory failure and high mortality rate. Al strongly enhanced toxicity. Sensitivity to low pH or low pH/Al exposure greatly increased when fish had developed to seawater tolerant smolts. In control and acid-exposed fish, gill carbonic anhydrase activity remained unchanged throughout the experiment whereas in Al-exposed fish, carbonic anhydrase activity decreased. Gill Na+K+-ATPase activity in control fish peaked in mid-May simulanteously with development of seawater tolerance. Fish from both acid-exposed groups had low seawater tolerance. Na+,K+-ATPase activity declined to 60% of start value in acid-exposed fish and to parr level in Al-exposed fish. Hypoosmoregulatory ability was linearly correlated with gill Na+K+-ATPase activity. Reduction in plasma Na+ concentration in acid-exposed fish was linearly correlated with the reduction in gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity.


1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Zitko ◽  
W. G. Carson

The incipient lethal level (ILL) of zinc to juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in fresh water at a water hardness of 14 mg/ℓ varies from 150 to 1000 μg/ℓ as a function of season and developmental stage of the fish. The ILL increases from 500 to 1000 μg/ℓ during the 1st yr and decreases to 150 μg/ℓ in the following spring. The more sensitive stage in the salmon's life history, evidenced by decrease of ILL coincides with and is probably related to initial stages of the parr–smolt transformation.


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1462-1468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. McCormick ◽  
Richard L. Saunders ◽  
Eugene B. Henderson ◽  
Paul R. Harmon

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were subjected to artificial photoperiods to determine the manner and extent of photoperiod control of the parr–smolt transformation. Exposure to continuous light (L24) at first feeding and maintained throughout the rearing period inhibited increases in salinity tolerance and gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity that occurred in spring in fish raised under simulated natural photoperiod (SNP). Fish reared under continuous light and returned to SNP in October (L24OCT) underwent normal increases in salinity tolerance and gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity, whereas those returned in December (L24DEC) underwent delayed and intermediate increases. Plasma thyroxine peaks occurred simultaneously in all groups but were diminished in the L24 and L24DEC groups. Plasma 3,5,3′-triiodo-L-thyronine levels were not affected by any photoperiod treatment. Inhibition of the parr–smolt transformation decreased the potential for growth in seawater. In spite of changes in the timing of the transformation induced by photoperiod treatment, salinity tolerance and gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity were strongly correlated; correlation between changes in salinity tolerance and plasma thyroid hormones were, by comparison, weak. The results demonstrate that continuous light applied early in ontogeny and maintained throughout the rearing period inhibits osmoregulatory changes associated with parr–smolt transformation, whereas increasing day length during winter–spring stimulates transformation.


1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Åse I. Berge ◽  
Arne Berg ◽  
Trygg Barnung ◽  
Tom Hansen ◽  
Hans Jørgen Fyhn ◽  
...  

Groups of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), first fed in mid-February 1989, were reared under continuous light (LL) at 12–15 °C until late June. One group remained on LL, while the FEB, MAR, and MAY groups were subjected to segments of a simulated naturally increasing photoperiod (61°N), with initial daylength corresponding to February 1, March 15, and May 1, respectively. The MAR and FEB groups developed important smolt characters (increase in gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity, hypoosmoregulatory ability, and salinity tolerance) during the experiment whereas LL and MAY groups showed only incomplete changes in smolt status. The combination of continuous light during first feeding and early parr stages with a subsequent reduction to short daylength followed by a segment of simulated natural photoperiod allow important parts of the parr–smolt transformation to be completed. The period of exposure to short photoperiod is critical for the synchronization of smolt characters in underyearling Atlantic salmon.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 1306-1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Oligny-Hébert ◽  
Caroline Senay ◽  
Eva C. Enders ◽  
Daniel Boisclair

We assessed the metabolic response of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar; JAS) originating from two rivers with different natural thermal regimes to different acclimation temperature (15 or 20 °C) and diel temperature fluctuation (constant: ±0.5 °C; fluctuating: ±2.5 °C). Diel temperature fluctuation (15 ± 2.5 °C) near the thermal optimum (16 °C) for the species did not influence standard metabolic rate (SMR) compared with JAS acclimated to a constant temperature of 15 °C. Diel temperature fluctuation at 20 ± 2.5 °C increased SMR of JAS from the warmer river by 33.7% compared with the same fish acclimated to a constant temperature of 20 °C. SMR of JAS from the cooler river held at fluctuating conditions had SMR that were 8% lower than SMR at constant conditions. The results suggest that the mean temperature to which JAS is exposed may affect their responses to diel temperature fluctuation and that this response may vary between populations originating from rivers with different natural thermal regimes. Results were used to develop the first empirical SMR model for JAS subjected to diel temperature fluctuation using fish mass (3–36 g wet) and temperature (12.5–22.5 °C) as explanatory variables.


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