Role of Olfaction in the Behavioral and Neuronal Responses of Atlantic Salmon, Salmo salar, to Hydrographic Stratification

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 1658-1667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell B. Døving ◽  
Håkan Westerberg ◽  
Peter B. Johnsen

The behavior of sham-operated and anosmic Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, was studied in a fjord system with close reference to the fine-scale hydrographic features. Control fish made small-amplitude vertical movements, with sudden large-amplitude excursions. The anosmic fish made large continuous searches up and down in the water column, descended below the sill depth of the fjord, and followed the bottom contours. None of these three behaviors was seen in the control fish. The trauma caused by the surgical incision did not prevent the fish from active swimming, and a fish with unilateral sectioning of the olfactory nerve returned to the river of release. Activity of single olfactory bulb neurons was recorded during stimulation of salmon olfactory epithelium with water samples taken from different depths of the fjord. These water samples had been taken from regions that showed layering and to which migrating salmon demonstrated behavioral preferences in ultrasonic tracking experiments. Ninety percent of responding neurons showed differencial responses to the water samples, indicating the capacity of the olfactory system to discriminate among stratified water layers found in the ocean. We conclude that olfactory discrimination of fine-scale hydrographic features may provide a necessary reference system for successful orientation in nearshore regions by salmon.

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 531-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Komourdjian ◽  
R. L. Saunders ◽  
J. C. Fenwick

The effects of porcine growth hormone on growth and salinity tolerance were studied in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr. Fish were held in freshwater at 11.5 °C during June and July under a photoperiod with light to dark periods opposite to the prevailing natural conditions. Fish treated with 1.0 μg/g body weight of growth hormone preparation on alternate days were significantly longer (P <.05), after 4 weeks, than placebo-injected controls. All hormone-injected fish survived transfer to seawater, 30‰ salinity. But under the same conditions, placebo-injected control fish showed a high mortality rate. Growth-hormone treatment caused a darkening of fin margins and a yellowing of the operculae and fin surfaces. The silvering which normally accompanies smoltification was not observed. The role of growth hormone in eliciting these actions and its possible role in the parr–smolt transformation are discussed.


1990 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 2422-2430 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Sangalang ◽  
H. C. Freeman ◽  
J. F. Uthe ◽  
L. S. Sperry

Attempts to avert the impacts of an acidic river environment on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were carried out in 1985 and 1986. Salmon were held in the Westfield River (pH 4.7–5.2) and the nearby Medway River (pH 5.3–5.6) during their sexual maturation. A diet containing 3% NaCl was fed to the Westfield salmon in 1985. Marble chips were used to elevate the pH of Westfield River water in 1986. Fish fed the salt diet had higher peak levels of plasma sex hormones, higher fecundity, greater incidence of spawners, lower egg mortality, and less weight loss than fish fed a commercial trout diet. The reproductive performance of fish held in limed water (pH 5.1–5.9) almost attained the level observed in the Medway (control) fish. Limestone treatment stimulated early peaking of blood androgen levels, testosterone, and 11-ketotestosterone in Westfield males, and 17α, 20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one, a follicular mediator of gonadotropin, in a few Westfield females. The head kidneys produced more cortisol and corticosterone in all Westfield fish in both years compared to Medway fish. The results suggest that neither dietary salt nor liming completely prevented the decline of reproductive performance and the alteration of steroid hormone metabolism in salmon.


2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 1830-1840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Bloomer ◽  
David Sear ◽  
Peter Dutey-Magni ◽  
Paul Kemp

The conditions experienced by incubating Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) eggs are strongly influenced by hyporheic exchange. In some rivers, periods of intense groundwater upwelling can reduce oxygen levels in the incubation zone to 0% saturation. The present study investigated the effect of oxygen sags on the posthatch fitness of Atlantic salmon. A laboratory experiment allowed fine-scale control of oxygen concentrations to replicate those induced by low oxygen groundwater in rivers. Extreme oxygen sags in the earlier stages of embryo development resulted in a developmental lag with alevin hatching later and at an underdeveloped state. At the latest stages of development, oxygen sags caused premature hatching of severely underdeveloped alevin. These findings combined with a review of the literature suggest posthatch survival of embryos exposed to groundwater-induced hypoxia will be lower because of predation and poor competitiveness.


2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ove T. Skilbrei ◽  
Jens Christian Holst ◽  
Lars Asplin ◽  
Marianne Holm

Abstract Skilbrei, O. T., Holst, J. C., Asplin, L., and Holm, M. 2009. Vertical movements of “escaped” farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)—a simulation study in a western Norwegian fjord. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 278–288. To study the vertical distribution of fish that had been allowed to escape, farmed Atlantic salmon were tagged with acoustic tags equipped with depth sensors, and then released on five different dates in the course of a year from two fish farms in the Hardanger Fjord in western Norway. Release stimulated the fish to dive to deeper than 15 m during the first hours or days post-release, often down to 50–80 m. However, during the following 4 weeks, most of the escapees spent most of their time above the pycnocline at depths of 0–4 m. The fish were more widely distributed in the water column after release during winter, but still spent most of the time in the cold surface layers. There was a wide range in the vertical distribution of individual fish, and the proportion of detections below 14-m depth ranged from 0 to 90%. There was a significant diurnal cycle in all seasons except midsummer, when the fish were less abundant in the upper layer during daylight, especially on brighter days. The results suggest that salmon diving activity following escape may complicate the recapture of escaped fish at the farm site but that the subsequent tendency of most fish to stay near the surface, virtually irrespective of the time of year, may facilitate recapture.


1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1787-1790 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-G. Godin ◽  
P. A. Dill ◽  
D. E. Drury

Swimming activity, aggressive behavior, and upstream orientation of yearling Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) treated with 6.43 × 10−11 M thyroxine were significantly lower than those of control fish injected with solvent alone. Two concentrations of triiodothyronine (7.43 × 10−11 M; 7.43 × 10−10 M) caused similar but less pronounced effects.Because similar behavioral modifications accompany smolt migration, we hypothesize that thyroid hormones may play a role in arousing migratory tendencies in Atlantic salmon.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 1087-1098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigurður Guðjónsson ◽  
Sigurður Már Einarsson ◽  
Ingi Rúnar Jónsson ◽  
Jóhannes Guðbrandsson

We released 598 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) hatchery smolts in a river in Iceland in 2005 and 2006 tagged with data storage tags recording temperature and (depth) continuously. Five salmon returned in 2006 and two in 2007, all spending 1 year at sea. The complete temperature and depth profiles of the whole ocean migration were measured. The salmon stayed close to the surface most of the time and showed diurnal behavior, staying at slightly deeper waters during day. The salmon were in temperatures from 6 to 15 °C, with warmer temperatures in the summer. We compared the fish-recorded temperature with sea surface temperature from an available National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database to locate the fish at different times. Utilizing the diurnal behavior of the salmon, we estimated solar noon each day during winter. Sea surface temperatures and diurnal activity were used to estimate daily locations using established Hidden Markov Model for fish geolocation. The salmon in the study stayed southwest of Iceland in the Irminger Sea during the first summer months, but in the fall they moved towards the Faroes Islands and then back to the Irminger Sea where they stayed, until returning to the river. The salmon also took shorter and deeper dives (>100 m) during the latter part of their ocean migration.


1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 352-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garth L. Fletcher ◽  
Margaret A. Shears ◽  
Madonna J. King ◽  
Peter L. Davies ◽  
Choy L. Hew

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) freeze to death if they come into contact with ice at water temperatures below −0.7 °C. Consequently, sea-pen culture of this species in cold water is severely limited. Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) survive in ice-laden seawater by producing a set of antifreeze polypeptides (AFP). We are attempting to make the Atlantic salmon more freeze resistant by transferring antifreeze protein genes from the winter flounder to the genome of the salmon. Salmon eggs were microinjected with linearized DNA after fertilization. Individual fingerlings (1–2 g) were analyzed for flounder AFP genes by genomic Southern blotting. DNA from 2 out of 30 fingerlings showed hybridization to the flounder DNA probe. Hybridization bands following cleavage by restriction enzymes Sst l and Bam HI were identical to those of the injected DNA. Hybridization following Hind III digestion indicated that the flounder AFP gene was linked to the salmon genome. These hybridization signals were absent in the DNA from control fish. The intensity of the hybridization signals indicated that there was on average at least one copy of the AFP gene present per cell.


2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1598-1608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Arge Jacobsen ◽  
Lars P. Hansen ◽  
Vegar Bakkestuen ◽  
Rune Halvorsen ◽  
David G. Reddin ◽  
...  

Abstract Jacobsen, J. A., Hansen, L. P., Bakkestuen, V., Halvorsen, R., Reddin, D. G., White, J., Ó Maoiléidigh, N., Russell, I.C., Potter, E. C. E., Fowler, M., Smith, G. W., Mork, K. A., Isaksson, A., Oskarsson, S., Karlsson, L., and Pedersen, S. 2012. Distribution by origin and sea age of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in the sea around the Faroe Islands based on analysis of historical tag recoveries. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 1598–1608. A database of 2651 tags applied to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts in 13 countries or jurisdictions and recovered in the Faroes longline salmon fishery from 1968 to 2000 was analysed for geographic distribution and origin of the salmon captured with respect to differences in sea age, season of the fishery, and hydrographic features in the Faroes area. The results indicated that salmon were not distributed randomly in the Faroes area by fishing season, sea age, or country of origin. The distribution of salmon in the Faroes zone partly depends on their geographic origin; salmon from countries in the northern European stock complex were distributed significantly farther northeast than those from countries in the southern European stock complex. Furthermore, the proportion of tag recoveries from southern European countries was higher in autumn, and the proportion recovered from northern European countries higher in winter. The apparent temporal and spatial segregation of stocks of different origin suggests that there may have been differential exploitation on these stocks, which provides information that could inform fishery management with regard to temporal and/or spatial fishery options for the Faroes commercial salmon fishery should it recommence in future.


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