Salinity tolerance of fishes: Experimental approaches and implications for aquaculture production

Abstract

The life history, distribution and diversity of fishes are largely influenced by environmental salinity. Changes in salinity affect a range of physiological processes including metabolism, nutrition, reproduction and growth. Therefore, fish can be conditioned to environmental parameters most suitable for production, where distinct traits are optimised through species‐specific manipulation of salinities. The primary purpose of this review is to summarise the existing literature on the salinity tolerance of aquacultured fish. The various experimental approaches for determining salinity tolerance are compared, along with summarised information for key species employed in aquaculture, including their native distributions, life history stage and optimal salinity for survival and growth. The implications for production were assessed by considering the effects of salinity on growth, reproduction, management, disease mitigation and marketability.

Myers' divisions revisited: Contemporary evidence for distinct trait differences among global inland fishes

“…Myers based his classification on frequent observations of secondary species in coastal habitats or in hyperhaline waters, or the fact that they had been able to cross the sea and reach islands such as Madagascar, the Seychelles, or the West Indies, in contrast to primary species (Myers, 1949). Recent reviews of existing experimental studies have demonstrated that in general, primary species such as cyprinids, characids and most siluriforms demonstrate lower salinity tolerance compared with secondary and peripheral species Seale et al, 2024). In fact, some secondary fish species from diverse phylogenetic origins (e.g.…”