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At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

Myxosoma cerebralis: Detection of circulating antibodies in infected rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Circulating antibody against spores of Myxosoma cerebralis has been detected for the first time in rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) affected with whirling disease. An indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) was employed for detection of trout immunoglobulin. Most sera of fish from an infected experimental group were found to give a positive reaction in the IFAT, while the majority of specific-pathogen-free control sera gave no reaction. Reagent preparation as well as staining and evaluation procedures are given. These results provide additional information for understanding the host/parasite relationship and offer a potential for development of a nondestructive serological test for whirling disease.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Rapid method for determining concentrations of Bayer 73 in water during lampricide treatments

Two simple, rapid, sensitive methods were developed for determining the concentration of the lampricide 2',5-dichloro-4'-nitrosalicylanilide (Bayer 73) in stream water. Bayer 73 was extracted from acidified water samples with chloroform and then hydrolyzed to 2-chloro-4-nitroaniline (CNA) with either acid or base. The CNA was diazotized with sodium nitrite, and an azo dye was formed with either N -( 1-naphthyl) ethylenediamine dihydrochloride (after acid hydrolysis) or 1-naphthol (after base hydrolysis). There was no interference from the lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) in either method. Standard curves were prepared with untreated water to compensate for interfering substances that occurred naturally in some streams. The methods were sensitive to about 0.005 mg/L (ppm). Time required for analysis of a sample ranged from 25 min to 1 h.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Predation by rainbow smelt ( Osmerus mordax ) on lake herring ( Coregonus artedii ) in western Lake Superior

The stock of lake herring (Coregonus artedii) in the Apostle Islands (Wisconsin) region of western Lake Superior has diminished severely during the past 30 yr, and predation by rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) on herring larvae has been considered a possible cause of this decline. In contrast, the herring stock in Black Bay, 160 km to the northeast, has remained nearly stable despite the presence of large numbers of smelt and high commercial production of herring. Predator-prey interactions were studied in both areas during 1974. Herring larvae and smelt were about 120 and 3 times as dense, respectively, in Black Bay as in the Apostle Islands region. Substantial predation by smelt on young herring was evident in Black Bay, where 17% of 1195 smelt stomachs examined contained herring larvae. From calculations of the relative densities of the two species, and of the daily ration of the predators, we estimated that smelt consumed 3.3-11% of the herring larvae. Nevertheless, the herring stocks have sustained average historical levels of commercial production. In contrast, no herring larvae were found in the stomachs of 1711 smelt collected in the Apostle Islands region. We conclude that predation by smelt on herring larvae is not the major factor controlling or suppressing herring stocks in either region.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

A von Bertalanffy growth model with a seasonally varying coefficient

The von Bertalanffy model of body growth is inappropriate for organisms whose growth is restricted to a seasonal period because it assumes that growth rate is invariant with time. Incorporation of a time-varying coefficient significantly improves the capability of the von Bertalanffy equation to describe changing body size of both the bivalve mollusc Macoma balthica in San Francisco Bay and the flathead sole, Hippoglossoides elassodon , in Washington state. This simple modification of the von Bertalanffy model should offer improved predictions of body growth for a variety of other aquatic animals.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Effect of capture stress on plasma enzyme activities in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Four capture methods were used to collect domesticated rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ): angling, electroshocking, seining, and direct netting (control). Blood was sampled rapidly upon capture, usually within 2 min. No significant differences were noted within the time frame of the experiment between the four capture groups for plasma protein concentration, lactate dehydrogenase activity, or leucine aminonaphthylamidase activity. Creatine phosphokinase activity was elevated among electroshocked fish. Acid phosphatase activity was too low for accurate measurement. Hematocrits were significantly elevated by capture struggles. These results indicate that these capture methods do not preclude the use of plasma enzyme levels for investigating the health of wild fish. Key words : plasma enzyme, capture stress, physiology, plasma protein, rainbow trout, lactate dehydrogenase, leucine aminonaphthylamidase, creatine phosphokinase

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Myxosoma cerebralis: A method for staining spores and other stages with silver nitrate

Eleven dye substances were tested for their ability to stain Myxosoma cerebralis and to be retained through either the pepsin-trypsin-dextrose or the plankton centrifuge method of releasing and concentrating spores. Silver nitrate proved to be the best; it produced a distinctive brown color that has been retained by spores through 2.5 yr of storage. The method has applications in histologic studies of whirling disease, in quantifying the efficiency of spore detection procedures, and in teaching.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Immersion vaccination of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) with two pathogenic strains of Vibrio anguillarum

Sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) were immersion-vaccinated in suspensions containing 5 × 10 7 , 5 × 10 6 , 5 × 10 5 , or 5 × 10 4 bacteria/mL of bivalent or monovalent, formalin-killed Vibrio anguillarum , Types I and II. The fish were split into two lots and held for 54 d. At that time one lot was challenged with living, virulent V . anguillarum , Type I, and one with living, virulent V . anguillarum , Type II. Immunization with bivalent bacterin effectively protected the fish from vibriosis, but monovalent vaccine was effective only against the homologous challenge. Immunization with the highest concentration of Type I monovalent bacterin resulted in 0% Type I and 58% Type II challenge mortality. Immunization with the highest concentration of Type II monovalent bacterin resulted in 41% Type I and 0% Type II challenge mortality. Immunization with the highest concentration of bivalent Type I/Type II bacterin resulted in 2% mortality in both challenges. Protective bacterins were effective at concentrations down to 5 × 10 5 bacteria/mL. Key words : immersion vaccination, bivalent vaccines, Vibrio anguillarum , vibriosis.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Physiological and biochemical aspects of ozone toxicity to rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri )

An acute toxicity curve for dissolved ozone (O 3 ) in soft water at 10 °C, using 10–13-cm rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) as the test species was calculated. The 96-h LC50 (95%, confidence interval) was 9.3 (8.1–10.6) μg/L. The lethal threshold level was about 8 μg/L mandating that a conservative margin of safety be used if ozone is employed as a fish disease control agent. Death apparently results from massive destruction of the gill lamellar epithelium together with a severe hydromineral imbalance. In partial chronic (3-mo) testing, 2 μg/L caused no significant biological damage while 5 μg/L caused some gill pathological changes and reduced feeding behavior. Accordingly, 2 μg/L is suggested as a provisional maximum safe exposure level, pending completion of life cycle studies. Thus, if ozone-treated water is discharged into the environment, dissolved O 3 should be reduced to at least the 2 μg/L level to minimize adverse impacts on salmonids in receiving waters.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Plaque-forming cells and humoral antibody in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) induced by immersion in a Yersinia ruckeri O-antigen preparation

Rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) were exposed to the O-antigen of Yersinia ruckeri by various immunization regimens. The passive hemolytic plaque assay was used to show specific splenic plaque-forming cells (PFC) and passive hemagglutination demonstrated humoral antibody titers in fish injected with or immersed in the antigen preparations. Preceding antigen immersion with a 2-min immersion in either a 5.2 or a 2.6% NaCl solution did not affect the numbers of PFC or levels of antibody. Fish held for 2 min in ethyl m -aminobenzoate methanesulfonate (MS-222 ® ) before antigen immersion showed no significant difference from the control fish. Dosage studies showed that the minimal concentration of antigen for induction of PFC by immersion was 5.0 μg/mL.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Exploitation of marine mammals: r-selection of K-strategists?

The importance of marine mammals as predators to the organization of marine communities is poorly known, although in several structurally analogous systems the ecological and evolutionary roles of predators are known to be of considerable importance. Occupation of the marine environment by mammals probably carried physiological constraints for single-young pregnancies thereby limiting all species to low intrinsic rates of population increase. As such, species subjected to high mortality rates from predation or other natural disturbances became extinct; those that survived probably were largely resource limited. In view of this scenario it is suggested that stable populations of marine mammals can be maintained at high levels without being manipulated in most communities. Exploitation probably constitutes a rather dramatic environmental change to marine mammals consequently subjecting them to selective forces fundamentally different from many of those under the influence of which they evolved.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Artificial transmission to and susceptibility of Puget Sound fish to viral erythrocytic necrosis (VEN)

In Puget Sound, Wash., the incidence of viral erythrocytic necrosis (VEN) varied geographically from 0 to 17% in chum salmon ( Oncorhynchus keta ) and from 4 to 59% in Pacific herring ( Clupea harengus pallasi ). The disease was experimentally transmitted by intraperitoneal injection to chum, pink ( O . gorbuscha ), coho ( O . kisutch ), chinook ( O . tshawytscha ), sockeye ( O . nerka ), and Atlantic ( Salmo salar ) salmon, and rainbow ( S . gairdneri ), brown ( S . trutta ), and brook ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) trout. The disease was transmitted to chum salmon and brook trout by waterborne virus. Virus obtained from herring was experimentally transmitted into chum salmon by intraperitoneal injection. Key words : viral erythrocytic necrosis, fish disease, transmission

Washington↗

Chloride inhibition of nitrite-induced methemoglobinemia in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

Exposure of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fingerlings for 24?h to 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0?mg/L nitrite (pH?=?7; hardness?=?40?mg/L; temperature?=?22–25 °C) produced methemoglobin levels of 20.7?±?1.9%, 59.8?±?1.9%, and 77.4?±?1.4% (SE), respectively. However, methemoglobin levels were not elevated when fish were simultaneously exposed to 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0?mg/L nitrite and 25, 50, and 100?mg/L sodium chloride, respectively. Acclimation to sodium chloride for 24?h before exposure to nitrite did not enhance the inhibitory action of sodium chloride. Fish exposed to 5?mg/L nitrite for 5?h developed 42.5?±?3.8% methemoglobin. When transferred to water containing 5?mg/L nitrite and 250?mg/L sodium chloride, methemoglobin levels returned to normal within 24?h. Environmental chloride probably inhibits methemoglobin formation by competing with nitrite for entrance into the gills of the fish. An ionic ratio of 16 Cl - to 1 NO 2 - is capable of complete suppression of nitrite-induced methemoglobin formation. Bicarbonate ion present in the test water (1?meq/L) may also have contributed to the inhibitive action of chloride.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Fish viruses: A double-stranded RNA icosahedral virus from a North American cyprinid

A previously unreported virus disease of cultured golden shiners ( Notemigonus crysoleucas ) is described. The condition is called golden shiner virus (GSV) disease. The virus is icosahedral, measures approximately 70 nm, is ether and heat resistant, stable at pH 3, 7, and 10, and appears to have a double stranded RNA core. It was not neutralized by infectious pancreatic necrosis virus specific antiserum. GSV causes syncytial like cytopathic effect in fathead minnow cells but not brown bullhead, rainbow trout gonad (RTG-2) or channel catfish ovary cells. Severe mortalities in golden shiner culture ponds do not appear to be associated with GSV infections.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗

Describing historical habitat use of a native fish-Cisco (Coregonus artedi)-In Lake Michigan between 1930 and 1932

With the global-scale loss of biodiversity, current restoration programs have been often required as part of conservation plans for species richness and ecosystem integrity. The restoration of pelagic-oriented cisco ( Coregonus artedi ) has been an interest of Lake Michigan managers because it may increase the diversity and resilience of the fish assemblages and conserve the integrity of the ecosystems in a changing environment. To inform restoration, we described historical habitat use of cisco by analyzing a unique fishery-independent dataset collected in 1930–1932 by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries’ first research vessel Fulmar and a commercial catch dataset reported by the State of Michigan in the same period, both based on gear fished on the bottom. Our results confirmed that the two major embayments, Green Bay and Grand Traverse Bay, were important habitats for cisco and suggest that cisco could complete the entire lifecycle within either of the Bays as there was no lack of summer feeding and fall spawning habitats. Seasonally, our results showed that cisco stayed in nearshore waters in spring, migrated to offshore waters in summer, and then migrated back to nearshore waters in fall for spawning. The results also suggest that in summer, most ciscoes were in waters with bottom depths of 20–70 m, but the highest cisco density occurred in waters with a bottom depth around 40 m. We highlight the importance of embayment habitats to cisco restoration and the seasonal migration pattern of cisco identified in this study, which suggests that a restored cisco population can diversify the food web by occupying different habitats from the exotic fishes that now dominate the pelagic waters of Lake Michigan.

Lake Michigan↗

Juvenile groundfish habitat in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, during late summer

We investigated the habitat of juvenile groundfishes in relation to depth, water temperature, and salinity in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Stations ranging in depth from 10 to 70 m and with sand or mud-sand substrates were sampled with a small-meshed beam trawl in August-September of 1994 to 1999. A total of 8,201 fishes were captured, comprising at least 52 species. Most fishes (91%) had a total length < 150 mm and were in their juvenile stage. Overall, the most abundant fishes were the rock soles Lepidopsetta spp. and Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus. Other common species (>5% of the total catch) were flathead sole Hippoglossoides elassodon, slim sculpin Radulinus asprellus, Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis, and arrowtooth flounder Atheresthes stomias. Depth accounted for most of the spatial variability in juvenile groundfish abundance, and neither temperature nor salinity was correlated with fish abundance. Juvenile groundfishes concentrated in either shallow (less than or equal to 20 m) or deep (50-70 m) water, with co-occurrence of some species between 30-40 m. Shallow fishes were the rock soles, Pacific halibut, and great sculpin Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus. Deep species were flathead sole, slim sculpin, spinycheek starsnout Bathyagonus infraspinatus, rex sole Glyptocephalus zachirus, tadpole sculpin Psychrolutes paradoxus, and whitebarred prickleback Poroclinus rothrocki. This 6-year study provides baseline data on relative abundance and distribution of juvenile groundfishes in Kachemak Bay and may provide a useful tool for predicting the presence of species in similar habitats in other areas of Alaska.

Alaska Fishery Research Bulletin↗

Comparison of catch and lake trout bycatch in commercial trap nets and gill nets targeting lake whitefish in northern Lake Huron

We compared seasonal lake whitefish catch rates, lake trout bycatch, and gearinduced lake trout mortality between commercial trap nets and gill nets in north-central Lake Huron. Onboard monitors recorded catches from 260 gill net and 96 trap net lifts from October 1998 through December 1999. Catch rates for lake whitefish were highest in fall for both gear types, reflecting proximity of spawning sites to the study area. Lake whitefish catch rates were also relatively high in spring but low in both gear types in summer. Lake trout were the principal bycatch species in both gears. The lake trout bycatch was lowest in both gear types in fall, highest in gill nets in spring, and highest in trap nets in summer. The ratio of lake trout to legal whitefish (the target species) was highest in summer and lowest in fall in both gear types. The high lake trout ratio in summer was due principally to low catch rates of lake whitefish. All but 3 of 186 live lake trout removed from trap net pots survived for at least two days of observation in laboratory tanks. Therefore, we estimated that post-release survival of trap netted lake trout that had not been entangled in the mesh was 98.4%. In addition, we accounted for stress-induced mortality for lake trout that were live at capture but entangled in the mesh of either gear type. Resulting estimates of lake trout survival were higher in trap nets (87.8%) than in gill nets (39.6%). The number of lake trout killed per lift was highest during summer in trap nets and during spring in gill nets. In trap nets, 85% of dead lake trout were observed to be entangled in the mesh of the pot or tunnels. Survival rates of lake trout in gill nets were higher in our study than reported by others, probably because our nets were hand lifted in a small boat. Our trap net-induced mortality estimates on lake trout were higher than those reported by others because we adjusted our estimates to account for post-release mortality caused by handling and injury. Studies such as ours should prove useful to managers developing harvest allocation options that are consistent with the need to protect nontarget populations. For example, applying our seasonal lake trout-whitefish catch ratios to a hypothetical small-boat gill net fishery, the lake trout bycatch from harvest of 100,000 kg of whitefish would equal the estimated lake trout production available for harvest in the study area for year 2002. The two trap net fisheries may have incidentally killed half this number of lake trout annually from 1995-99. Bycatch estimates are also important inputs to catch-at-age decision models used in developing rehabilitation and harvest strategies for target and bycatch species.

Fisheries Research Report↗

Identification, movement, growth, mortality, and exploitation of walleye stocks in Lake St. Clair and the western basin of Lake Erie

The harvest of walleye by sport and commercial fisheries in lakes St. Clair and Erie is under a cooperative management program involving several states and two countries. In this report we present the results of a long-term tag-recapture study as well as corroborative evidence of stock discreteness fromstudies of population characteristics such as growth and allelic frequencies of walleye in these waters. Walleye were tagged in the spring from 1975-87 in lakes St. Clair and Erie. Tag-recapture data indicate a general tendency for walleye to move northward after tagging. Walleye tagged in Lake St. Clair had higher recovery rates and lower survival rates than walleye tagged in Lake Erie. A reward-tag study in Lake St. Clair provided an estimate of a non-reporting rate of approximately 33% which is comparable to rates in the literature for other species. Data from the Ontario commercial (gill-net) fishery, Michigan Department of Natural Resources trap-net surveys, and sport fisheries from western Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair were analyzed with a catch-at-age model which permitted estimation of population abundance (12.2 to 34.5 million fish), fishing mortality rate (0.19 to 0.37), and annual survival rate (0.57 to 0.68). It appears that exploitation rates for the sport fishery in the western basin exceeded those of the commercial fishery from 1978-82. In recent years (1983-87), exploitation rates were comparable. Average abundance and catch of walleye in the western basin were 12.2 million and 3.4 million fish in 1978-82; average abundance and catch in 1983-87 were 34.5 and 5.2 million fish. We found good agreement between the estimate of the harvest from creel surveys and that from the catch-at-age model for Lake Erie. Walleye abundance and harvest in Lake St. Clair were 10% of the values for the western basin of Lake Erie. Two discrete stocks were delineated be analysis of allelic frequencies of samples from Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie spawning populations. These two stocks are the western basin of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair stocks. No further subdivision of stocks was possible based on the genetic analysis of 21 loci. These genetically different stocks intermix in the northern waters of this system. Based on a consideration of the results of the genetic analysis, catch-at-age analysis, and tag-recapture study we recommend independent but coordinated management of the walleye populations in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie.

Fisheries Research Report↗