ARS | Publication request: TOLERANCE OF JUVENILE BLACK SEA BASS CENTROPRISTIS STRIATA TO ACUTE AMMONIA AND NITRITE EXPOSURE AT VARIOUS SALINITIES

Submitted to: Fisheries Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 3, 2006
Publication Date: October 1, 2006
Citation: Weirich, C.R., Riche, M.A. 2006. Tolerance of juvenile black sea bass centropristis striata to acute ammonia and nitrite exposure at various salinities. Fisheries Sciences. 72(5):915-921.

Interpretive Summary: Due to their excellent flavor and limited supply the market value of black sea bass (Centropristis striata) exceeds that of many marine finfish with ex-vessel prices of whole fish ranging from US $3 to 8/kg. As such, efforts to develop culture methods for this species have intensified in recent years. However, little information exists with respect to the environmental requirements of black sea bass and their tolerance to culture conditions. One problem is the potential development of elevated concentrations of environmental un-ionized ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) and nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N) in aquaculture systems. In the present study the acute tolerance of juvenile black sea bass to un-ionized ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) and nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N) at various salinities was determined via a series of static exposure trials. Median lethal concentrations (LC50 values) of NH3-N and NO2-N at 24, 48, and 96 h of exposure were calculated at salinities of 10, 20, and 30 g L-1 at 22 ºC. With the exception of LC50 values determined at 48 h, median lethal concentrations of NH3-N to black sea bass were not influenced by environmental salinity. In contrast, tolerance of black sea bass to environmental NO2-N was somewhat compromised at reduced salinities. Results indicate that while juvenile black sea bass are relatively sensitive to acute NH3-N exposure they are highly resistant to NO2-N exposure.

Technical Abstract: Experiments were conducted to determine the acute tolerance of juvenile (mean weight ± SE, 9.9 ± 0.9 g) black sea bass (Centropristis striata) to environmental un-ionized ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) and nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N) exposure at various salinities. Specifically, median lethal concentrations (LC50 values) of NH3-N and NO2-N at 24, 48, and 96 h of exposure were determined at salinities of 10, 20, and 30 gL-1 at 22 ºC. With the exception of LC50 values determined at 48 h, median lethal concentrations of NH3-N to black sea bass were not influenced by environmental salinity; 24, 48, and 96 h LC50 values ranged from 0.81-0.85, 0.65-0.77, and 0.46-0.54 mg NH3-N L-1, respectively. In contrast, tolerance of black sea bass to environmental NO2-N was somewhat compromised at reduced salinities. Median lethal concentrations of NO2-N to fish at 24, 48, and 96 h of exposure ranged from 288.3-429.0, 258.4-358.8, and 190.0-241.9 mg NO2-N L-1, respectively. Results indicate that while juvenile black sea bass are relatively sensitive to acute NH3-N exposure they are highly resistant to NO2-N exposure.