Morphometric Changes in Gill Secondary Lamellae of Brook Trou (Salvelinus fontinalis) After Long-Term Exposure to Acid and Aluminum

1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1643-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Tietge ◽  
R. D. Johnson ◽  
H. L Bergman

Adult brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were exposed for 147 d to three different combinations of acid and Al in soft water (2 mg Ca/L). Samples of gill tissue from each of the three exposure conditions (pH 6.64 + 0 μg Al/L, pH 4.91 + 4.3 μg Al/L, and pH 4.45 + 393 μg Al/L) were examined by light microscopy using high-resolution techniques and morphometric analysis. As compared with fish in control conditions (pH 6.64 + 0 μg Al/L), exposure to pH 4.91 without Al significantly increased volume density of lamellar chloride cells. Low pH and elevated Al (pH 4.45 + 393 μg Al/L) resulted in increased diffusion distance, white blood cell infiltration of the lymphatic space of the gill tissue (an indicator of tissue damage), and a dramatic increase in lamellar dense cells. These results are consistent with the physiological data that show ionoregulatory stress and decreased respiratory efficiency as typical responses of brook trout exposed to low pH and combinations of low pH and elevated Al.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 2062-2070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaston Chevalier ◽  
Laurent Gauthier ◽  
Guy Moreau

Histopathological and electron microscopic studies of gill tissue were carried out in brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, from wild populations inhabiting three acidified lakes and in others from three nonacidified lakes located in the Canadian Shield (Québec). The acidified lakes were characterized by low pH (5.5), poor buffering capacity, and low conductivity. By comparison with trout from nonacidified lakes, gills of trout from acidified lakes showed extensive epithelial damage, mainly separation of the epithelial layer from underlying tissue, deformation of secondary lamellae, and degeneration of chloride cells, which was accompanied by pronounced hyperplasia of undifferentiated epithelial cells in the primary lamellae. Histopathological changes were quantified by morphometry. Most damaged gills were also shown to contain a higher concentration of aluminum. The observed changes in gill cells and tissues are interpreted as reactions to sublethal environmental conditions adverse to the osmoregulatory balance of the fish, specifically chronic exposure to low pH and low calcium concentrations, possibly combined with a high level of aluminum.



1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1270-1280 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Lacroix ◽  
D. J. Hood ◽  
C. S. Belfry ◽  
T. G. Rand

Plasma electrolytes and gill [Al] were determined and gill morphology and histology were examined in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from feral populations in acidic streams of southwest Nova Scotia. Plasma [Na+] and [Cl−] were lowest in fish from streams with the lowest pH levels, but there were no correlations between plasma [Na+] or [Cl−] and exchangeable [Al] in streams for both species. Gill [Al] increased exponentially with increasing exchangeable [Al] in water, but was less than 100 μg/g dry weight in both species. There were no correlations between plasma [Na+] or [Cl−] and gill [Al] for both species, and plasma [Na+] and [Cl−] were ultimately linked to low pH. Scanning electron microscopy of gills showed normal primary and secondary lamellae, with few signs of fusion or hyperplasia, only a slight amount of mucus, regular chloride cell crypts, and epithelial cells with distinct microridges. Histology of gill sections showed few lesions in the primary lamellae but some focal histologic lesions in the secondary lamellae of greater than 50% of fish, regardless of ambient pH or [Al]. The histopathology included hypertrophy of individual epithelial, mucous, and chloride cells, clubbing of tips of secondary lamellae, and localized epithelial hyperplasia. These features were focal and not comparable to the extensive morphological changes or histologic lesions usually attributed to high [Al] at low pH. Dissolved organic carbon concentrations greater than 5 mg/L in the acidic streams apparently afforded protection against Al effects at concentrations of at least 360 μg total Al/L.



1990 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 1641-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
C G. Ingersoll ◽  
D. D. Gulley ◽  
D. R. Mount ◽  
M. E. Mueller ◽  
J. D. Fernandez ◽  
...  

Two strains of 1 yr-old brook trout were exposed to 14 combinations of pH, aluminum, and calcium during a 28-d experiment. Survival, weight, and gill histology of both strains were affected similarly by pH, aluminum, and calcium exposure. Survival was reduced at inorganic monomeric aluminum concentrations (IA1) of 29 μg/L at pH 5.2 and [Formula: see text] at pH 4.4 and 4.8. Fish weight was reduced with exposure to pH below 4.8 or aluminum concentrations [Formula: see text]. The gills sampled from fish exposed to low pH exhibited lifting of the outer epithelium and hypertrophy (increase in size) of chloride and epithelial cells. The response of gills sampled from fish exposed to low pH and elevated aluminum was more pronounced relative to the low pH exposure alone. In addition to the effects observed in the low pH exposed fish, the gills from fish exposed to both acid and aluminum exhibited vacuolation and degeneration of epithelial and chloride cells and the presence of dense cells. Finally, fish confined in PVC tubes designed to mimic in situ field exposure procedures were more sensitive to the toxic effects of acid and aluminum compared to free-swimming fish. Caution must be taken when extrapolating safe field levels from in situ exposures of caged fish.



1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1633-1642 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Mount ◽  
J. R. Hockett ◽  
W. A. Gern

Adult brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were exposed for 193 d (previtellogenesis to spawning) to six combinations of acid, Al, and low Ca. Survival and growth were reduced by low pH combined with low Ca concentrations. After 41 d of exposure, fish in ail low pH exposures showed depressed plasma osmolality and Na concentrations, but by day 97 this apparent osmoregulatory stress was compensated for in all but the most severe treatment (pH 4.97, 47 μg inorganic Al/L, 0.5 mg Ca/L). At the observed peak of yolking (day 147), fish exposed to this treatment also had mean concentrations of plasma estradiol, vitellogenin, and Ca of only half control values. Fecundity (eggs per female) was significantly reduced as well, but this reduction was due in part to decreased growth. Despite these abnormalities in ionoregulatory and reproductive physiology, fish in all treatment conditions produced mature eggs. Among fish in stressful conditions, individual variation in growth and physiological parameters appeared to be correlated with osmoregulatory status. We hypothesize that the suite of physiological disturbances observed are linked to osmoregulatory impairment.



2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon Andrew Borg ◽  
Louis David Trombetta

This investigation studied the acute effects of copper pyrithione (CuPT) exposure on juvenile brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis. Morphologic changes, copper bioaccumulation, and markers of oxidative stress in gill tissue were studied. Juvenile brook trout were treated with one of six experimental doses of CuPT (2—64 μg/L) for 2 hours. A seventh group served as a control population. Inductively coupled plasma atomic absorbance spectrophotometry (ICPAAS) analysis demonstrates significantly increased levels of copper in gill tissue (p < 0.001). Results from scanning electron microscopy and histological analysis demonstrate the formation of club-shaped lamella, edema, fusion of secondary lamella, loss of microridge structures and epithelial exfoliation. Transmission electron microscopy revealed altered morphology of chloride cells, including the swollen appearance of mitochondria with disruption of internal cristae and lipid membrane disruption. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) assays demonstrated increased levels of lipid peroxidation products in gill tissue. Assays for the total antioxidant capacity of gill tissue revealed significantly lowered antioxidant levels. This data indicates that CuPT is potentially harmful to nontarget aquatic organisms at environmentally relevant doses.



1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 2048-2050 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Tam ◽  
P. D. Payson ◽  
R. J. J. Roy

Brook trout fry (Salvelinus fontinalis) were exposed to pH 4.66 for various durations up to 141 d and then returned to neutral water. Growth of test fish was in general significantly lower than that of control fish for exposures up to days 45–78. In four of six groups of acid-treated fish, growth eventually recovered and the growth rates were not different from that of control fish. The results suggested that growth inhibition was induced early in the exposure to sublethally low pH and that recovery in the latter phase of the experiment occurred whether pH remained acidic or was readjusted to neutral.



2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Sweka ◽  
Kyle J. Hartman ◽  
Jonathan M. Niles

Abstract In this study, we resurveyed stream habitat and sampled brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis populations 6 y after large woody debris additions to determine long-term changes in habitat and brook trout populations. In a previous study, we added large woody debris to eight streams in the central Appalachians of West Virginia to determine whether stream habitat could be enhanced and brook trout populations increased following habitat manipulation. The large woody debris additions had no overall effect on stream habitat and brook trout populations by 6 y after the additions. The assumption that a lack of large woody debris is limiting stream habitat and brook trout populations was not supported by our results. In high-gradient streams, habitat complexity may be governed more by the abundance of boulders and large woody debris may have a lesser influence on trout populations.



1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Audet ◽  
Chris M. Wood

Changes in branchial morphology and in plasma Cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline were quantified throughout an 81 -d exposure of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to sublethal acidity (pH 4.8) in artificial soft water and after a 5-h acid challenge (pH 4.0) of naive fish and 81-d acid-preexposed fish. Changes in branchial morphology at pH 4.8 were generally very mild and characterized by slight increases in filamental mucous cells and decreases in lamellar mucous cells. Chloride cell numbers and branchial Na+–K+- and total ATPase activities did not change. The filamental epithelium thickened, but the water–blood diffusion distance in the lamellae decreased during chronic exposure. Cortisol was significantly elevated throughout whereas catecholamines exhibited relatively little response. Response to acute pH 4.0 challenge was similar in naive and 81-d acid-exposed fish: epithelial damage, increase in visible mucous cells, loss of chloride cells by necrosis, and high cortisol levels but no changes in lamellar or filamental epithelial thickness, diffusion distance, ATPase activities, or catecholamine levels. Previously reported physiological data from these same trout demonstrated that sensitization rather than acclimation had occurred. Therefore, these observations support the view that acclimation does not occur in the absence of significant branchial damage and repair.



1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 1774-1780 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Rodgers

Juvenile brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, were maintained in water of pH 5.3 or 6.5 and calcium concentrations of 5 or 40 mg/L to determine the effects of these factors on fish growth and calcium dynamics. Growth rates varied more than twofold and were significantly reduced by both low ambient calcium concentration and low pH. In contrast, calcium dynamics of the fish were significantly affected by calcium concentration but not pH. Brook trout in low-calcium water retained less labeled dietary calcium and deposited less labeled calcium in axial skeleton and visceral tissues than fish in high-calcium water. Calcium concentrations of the skin and fins were slightly but significantly reduced among fish in low-calcium water, but neither pH nor ambient calcium concentration significantly affected ash content or calcium concentration of axial skeleton and visceral tissues of experimental fish.



1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1563-1574 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Booth ◽  
D. G. McDonald ◽  
B. P. Simons ◽  
C. M. Wood

Adult brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were exposed for up to 11 d to one of a matrix of 18 Al, low pH, and Ca2+ combinations, chosen as representive of acidified softwater environments in the wild. Reduction in water pH led to pH-dependent net losses of Na+ and Cl− exacerbated by the presence of Al in the water and reduced by elevating Ca2+. Any animal losing more than 4% of its total body Na+ over the first 24 h of Al exposure had a greater than 90% likelihood of eventual mortality. Na+ losses arose from inhibition of influx and stimulation of efflux. The inhibition was persistent and pH dependent. Addition of Al to acidified water had a slight further inhibitory effect on Na+ influx and a large stimulatory effect on efflux. The latter was dependent on Al concentration, was the main cause of initial ion losses and mortality, and declined with time in surviving animals. All Al-exposed fish accumulated Al on their gills, but this was apparently mainly surface or subsurface bound, since no internal Al (plasma or liver) could be detected. Nonsurviving fish had substantially higher gill Al levels than survivors.



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