Occurrence of skeletal deformities and osteological development in red porgy Pagrus pagrus larvae cultured under different rearing techniques

Abstract

The present study describes the osteological development and the occurrence of skeletal deformities in red porgy Pagrus pagrus larvae in relation to the intensification of the rearing system. Eggs obtained from natural spawning were cultured under two different rearing systems: intensive (100 eggs l⁻¹) in 2000 l and semi-intensive (mesocosm) system (5 eggs l⁻¹) in 40,000 l conico-cylindrical tanks. Fish samples were periodically collected along the development from hatching to juveniles at 95 days post hatching (dph). Osteological development, meristic counts and the presence of skeletal deformities were evaluated. Despite the external appearance of the juveniles being similar to wild standards, X-ray studies revealed a high number of fish (semi-intensive: 37·8%; intensive: 45·5%) with skeletal deformities. Regardless of the rearing system, no significant interaction was found between the per cent of the most common deformities, axial deviations (lordosis and presence of fused vertebrae). Cranial deformities and kyphosis incidences, however, were significantly higher in intensively cultured P. pagrus. Also, the fused vertebrae in these fish were located mainly in the caudal area instead of pre-haemal area for semi-intensively reared P. pagrus. Moreover, a significant interaction was found between the total number of vertebrae and the type of rearing system used; fish from the intensive system showing a higher number of fish with an extra vertebrae (10 abdominal + 15 caudal). Present results suggest a relationship among feeding sequence, osteological development and deformity incidence and location in P. pagrus larvae.

Skeletal development and abnormalities of the vertebral column and fins in larval stage of hatchery-reared American shad,Alosa sapidissima

“…At 2 DAH (before mouth opening), the skull and the pectoral fins began developing, with other fins also being present in the form of finfolds. The early development of the skull and the pectoral fins has also been documented in the Clupeidae, such as Chanos chanos (Kohno, Ordonio‐Aguilar, Ohno, & Taki,), Sardinops melanostictus (Matsuoka, ), In comparison, the development of the skull and fins started well in other species (Faustino & Power, ; Roo, Hernández‐Cruz, Socorro, Fernández‐Palacios, & Izquierdo, ). It seems that the initial development and formation of the skeletal structure ensures that larvae acquire the ability to feed and swim before endogenous reserves are completely depleted (Wagemans & Vandewalle, ; Wang et al., ).…”

“…well in other species (Faustino & Power, 2005;Roo, Hern andez-Cruz, Socorro, Fern andez-Palacios, & Izquierdo, 2010). It seems that the initial development and formation of the skeletal structure ensures that larvae acquire the ability to feed and swim before endogenous reserves are completely depleted (Wagemans & Vandewalle, 1999;Wang et al, 2010).…”

The prevalence of vertebral deformities is increased with higher egg incubation temperatures and triploidy in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L.

“…; Roo et al . ), influence swimming behaviour (Koumoundouros et al . ), another risk factor for spinal deformities in fish (Kihara et al .…”

Skeletal Development and Mineralization Pattern of the Vertebral Column, Dorsal, Anal and Caudal Fin Complex in Seriola Rivoliana (Valenciennes, 1833) Larvae

“…The differences between vertebra centra mineralization timing for S. dumerili could be explained by the different environmental conditions, such as temperature, or rearing protocols applied in those studies [32]. In fact, mineralization pattern is more accurately described when larval growth is used as reference instead of larval age [33].…”

“…Also, the caudal skeleton development of the S. lalandi has been reported [29]. In addition, numerous studies have described the osteological development of other marine finfish species, such as Sparus aurata [30,31], Pagrus pagrus [32,33], Solea senegalensis [34,35], Dentex dentex [36], Argyrosomus regius [37], Epinephelus septemfasciatus [38] or Dicentrarchus labrax [39].…”