Abstract
Members of wolf fish family Anarhichadidae have emerged as potential cold-water marine aquaculture species. This study examined growth performance and osmoregulation in juvenile wolf eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) held in a series of dilute salinities (30, 14, 9, and 6 ‰) over an 8-week trial. At the conclusion of the growth study, fish were sampled for analysis of gill and intestine enzyme activity, plasma ion content, and muscle moisture. Growth rate remained positive in all salinities throughout the 8-week trial. Specific growth rate was maintained above 3.0% mass day−1 at salinities of 30 and 14 ‰, but was significantly reduced at 9 (2.9% mass day−1) and 6 ‰ (2.0% mass day−1). Muscle water content increased with increasing salinity dilution (77.9% water in 30 ‰; 79.8% water in 6 ‰), and plasma osmolality (~ 320 mOsm kg−1) was maintained in salinities as dilute as 9 ‰ but was significantly lower (~ 280 mOsm kg−1) in the most dilute salinity of 6 ‰. Segmental linear regression analyses revealed that the calculated isosmotic point for wolf eel of ~ 10.6 ‰ was a critical limit for maintaining growth performance and osmoregulatory homeostasis. It is an important finding that fish considered to be a typical marine stenohaline organism could maintain ion and water balance as low as the isosmotic point, and exhibit survival and positive growth rates in salinities as dilute as 6 ‰. This work delivers a fundamental step in the empirical examination of this emerging aquaculture species and provides a model for evaluating osmoregulatory performance of marine stenohaline fishes in low-salinity aquaculture.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the technical support of VAMSC research technicians, J. Radloff, L. Garcia, D. Carlson, and B. Hung, as well as DePaul University students K.-M. Dam and B. Sukhera.
Funding
This study received funding support from the Fisheries and Oceans, Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (S.K.B.) and Island Scallops Ltd, as well as a University Research Council Research Grant and a College of Science and Health Faculty Summer Research Grant from DePaul University (J.S.B.).
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CS performed the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the original draft of the manuscript. SB conceived and performed the experiments, facilitated the research, and contributed to the final draft of the manuscript. JB performed the experiments, facilitated the research, and contributed to the final draft of the manuscript. All authors approved the final draft of this manuscript.
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This study was approved by and performed in accordance with the DFO Pacific Region Animal Care Committee (Protocol No: 12–002).
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Shaughnessy, C.A., Balfry, S.K. & Bystriansky, J.S. The isosmotic point as critical salinity limit for growth and osmoregulation, but not survival, in the wolf eel Anarrhichthys ocellatus. Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 471–480 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01064-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01064-6