ARS | Publication request: Is there a correspondence between growth and post-handling stress: A respirometry approach

Submitted to: Book of Abstracts Aquaculture America
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 30, 2010
Publication Date: February 28, 2011
Citation: Barkowski, N.A., Lochmann, S.E., Fuller, S.A., Haukenes, A.H. 2011. Is there a correspondence between growth and post-handling stress: A respirometry approach [abstract]. Book of Abstracts Aquaculture America. p.36.

Technical Abstract: Examinations into the linkage between aquaculture performance parameters (e.g. growth, survival) and the physiological stress response has led to the consideration of selecting stress response phenotypes in breeding programs. Methodologies for examining the stress response typically require blood sampling or in the case of small fish, sacrifice of animals. Elevation in oxygen consumption rates following a stressful event is another measureable index associated with the stress response. Analyses of the variation in these rates following stress may provide more insight into this linkage between stress and aquaculture performance and provide a less-invasive and repeatable monitoring procedure. We measured the oxygen consumption rates of groups of fingerlings from 16 families of hybrid striped bass following a standardized handling stressor. Groups of ten fish were netted, held out of water for 30 s, and then placed into an intermittent flow respirometer for 90 min. Each family was assessed in this fashion on four separate occasions and individual weights and lengths were recorded. Mean (SD) water temperature for all four runs was 24.5ºC (0.54). Preliminary examinations of the data revealed variation in both growth (Fig. 1) and oxygen consumption rates (Fig. 2) among families. Characteristics of the change in oxygen consumption rates over the 90 min period following the handling stressor will be assessed to determine any correlations between growth rates and recovery from the standardized stressor.