Effect of temperature on the metabolism, behaviour and oxygen requirements of Sparus aurata

Abstract

There is currently little information on the sea cage O 2 levels in S. aurata aquaculture, but variation in the above mentioned factors is expected to cause variable levels of O 2 in S. aurata production systems as well. In order to develop production strategies ABSTRACT: We investigated the effect of temperature on the limiting oxygen saturation (LOS) of gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata. This threshold was defined as the % O 2 saturation where fish no longer upheld their routine metabolic rate (RMR, the metabolic rate of fed and active fish) during a progressive decline in oxygen saturation. S. aurata (398 ± 10 g, mean ± SE) were kept in 3 replicate tanks and subjected to 3 changes in temperature: 16 to 20°C, 20 to 16°C and 16 to 12°C. At each temperature, fish were left to acclimatize for 8 to 10 d, before daily feed intake (DFI), the routine oxygen consumption rate (routine MO 2 , mg kg −1 min −1) and the LOS were measured. In addition, at 20°C the swimming speed was measured in fish subjected to a decline in O 2 from full air saturation to levels below the LOS (minimum of 8−10% O 2 ). For the temperature range tested (12−20°C), DFI, MO 2 and LOS increased exponentially with temperature (7.5-, 3.6-and 2.2-fold, respectively) with mean (± SE) LOS being 17 ± 1, 21 ± 0 and 35 ± 5% O 2 at 12, 16 and 20°C, respectively. A gradual decline in swimming activity was observed as O 2 declined below the LOS, indicating increasing metabolic stress and/or a 'sit-out' coping strategy which may prolong survival time in severe hypoxia. The results show the importance of temperature as an influential variable over the environmental O 2 requirements of S. aurata.

A novel emotional and cognitive approach to welfare phenotyping in rainbow trout exposed to poor water quality

“…The overall focal observations indicate that the chronic stress protocol dramatically reduced fish group activity. This is in accordance with various previous studies, which also demonstrated a decrease in locomotor activity in different fish species exposed to hypoxic conditions (goldfish ( Carassius auratus ): Israeli and Kimmel, 1996; Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ): Herbert and Steffensen, 2005; rainbow trout: Steffensen and Farrell, 1998; sea bream ( Sparus aurata ): Remen et al, 2015). If locomotor activity represents a complex and situation-specific pattern, any visual increase or decrease of the swimming activity in tanks can be easily observed by fish farmers and thus would represent a relevant indicator of impaired welfare.…”

“…This inhibited human avoidance in the chronically stressed fish possibly reflects global apathy, a common expression of poor welfare as described above (Boissy et al, 2001). This might also be linked to the decrease in swimming activity previously observed in various fish species exposed to hypoxia conditions (Steffensen and Farrell, 1998; Remen et al, 2015).…”

The effect of temperature on the physiological condition and growth performance of freshwater eel elver Anguilla bicolor bicolor McClelland, 1844

“…The oxygen consumption level is one parameter to understand the fish metabolism rate and the oxygen consumption level is affected by the water temperature (Remen et al, 2015). Table 2 showed that the increasing of water temperature (22-30°C) was followed by the increasing of oxygen consumption level in elver.…”

Dynamic occupancy modeling of temperate marine fish in area‐based closures

“…Additionally, if these covariates are not collected at the time of survey as is often the case, they need to be found as records elsewhere, or modeled using an appropriate method. Temperature, for example, is known to affect the metabolism and behavior of marine fish (Biro, Beckmann, & Stamps, ; Remen et al., ), which can affect the detection probability. Including temperature in the hydrodynamic model used in the current study can only be achieved by specifying water densities as a function of temperature and salinity.…”

“…Additionally, if these covariates are not collected at the time of survey as is often the case, they need to be found as records elsewhere, or modeled using an appropriate method. Temperature, for example, is known to affect the metabolism and behavior of marine fish (Biro, Beckmann, & Stamps, 2010;Remen et al, 2015), which can affect the detection probability. Including temperature in the hy- forecasting these types of data may not be a viable option for many researchers planning future studies, it is a recommendation of this study that an effort be made to consider the fine-scale variability of any feature of the environment that may impede detection of their target species.…”