Relationship between uninflated swim bladder and skeletal anomalies in reared gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

Abstract

The higher mortalities and lower morphological quality of juveniles with a non-inflated swim bladder still remain a major problem in intensive farming. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible relationship between the presence of an abortive swim bladder and skeleton anomalies in gilthead seabream juveniles. A batch of 109 DAH (LS range: 16-47 mm) gilthead seabream was split into two groups on the basis of the presence (group SB)/absence (WSB group) of a normally inflated swim bladder, and processed for skeletal anomaly and meristic count analysis. The presence of pectoral fin anomalies and the absence of any clear-cut and sound relationship between abortive swim bladder and axis deviations characterize the WSB group. Rarer anomalies, such as scoliosis and lordosis in the pre-haemal vertebrae, kyphosis in the haemal vertebrae, pre-haemal and haemal vertebrae body anomalies, exclusively affected the WSB seabream. This result contradicts what is observed in other species, where abortive swim bladder is shown to cause axis deviation. The authors hypothesize that when gilthead seabream larvae with uninflated swim bladder encounter difficulty in maintaining the level in the water column, they have to overuse flapping of the pectoral fins (which appear more deformed in the seabream without swim bladder of this study). This determines a hyper-activity of the pectoral muscles, which then exerts an intense mechanical load on pre-haemal muscles and ossifying vertebrae. Vertebrae and axis anomalies in the pre-haemal and in haemal (in this study still rare in the WSB lot) regions may be later effects, as postural consequences due to the uninflated swim bladder. According to the reviewers' comments, the paper has been revised By Prof. Ian Mc Gilvray.We'll be waiting for any further instruction from your Editorial Office, Sincerely yours, Best regardsOn behalf of all co-authors, Dr. Clara Boglione "Tor Vergata" University of Rome -Biology Department Via della Ricerca Scientifica s.n.c., 00133 Rome (Italy) Cover LetterAccording to the reviewers' comments, the paper has been revised By Prof. Ian Mc Gilvray. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Relationship between uninflated swim bladder and skeletal anomalies in reared gilthead Response to Reviewers HIGHLIGHTS seabream (Sparus aurata)Loredana Prestinicola, Clara Boglione*, Stefano Cataudella.Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133Rome, Italy. *Corresponding author email: boglione@uniroma2.it AbstractThe higher mortalities and lower morphological quality of juveniles with a non-inflated swim bladder still remain a major problem in intensive farming. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible relationship between the presence of an abortive swim bladder and skeleton anomalies in The authors hypothesize that...

Maximum entropy modelling to identify optimal locations for an IMTA system comprising Sparus aurata, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Ulva rigida on Europe’s Atlantic coastline

“…The culture cages for S. aurata should allow for surface access to refill their swim bladder. In aquaculture, the inability of S. aurata to fill their swim bladders has been shown to lead to higher mortality and deformities in juvenile fish (Prestinicola et al, 2014). If this is not possible then one solution could be to integrate a dome filled with air inside the cage, an approach that was shown to be successful when used with Atlantic salmon Salmo salar (Korsøen et al, 2012).…”

The role of phototaxis in the initial swim bladder inflation of larval yellow perch (Perca flavescens)

“…Yellow perch larvae without inflated swim bladders have been shown to capture prey less effectively and exhibit an abnormal swimming pattern (Czesny et al 2005). Other fish species reported to suffer SBI failure exhibit difficulties with balance, locomotion, and regulating their position within the water column (Jacquemond 2004;Peruzzi et al 2007;Prestinicola et al 2014). Additionally, failed SBI regularly leads to malformations of the skeletal system often seen in the lower jaw and spine (Czesny et al 2005;Kurata et al 2014;Tsuji et al 2016).…”

Understanding and Optimizing Growth and Development of California Yellowtail (Seriola dorsalis) in Aquaculture Using Physiological Tools

“…A significant challenge to the aquaculture of many finfish species is the failure of fish to inflate their swim bladder during larval development. This deformity can affect large portions of post-larval fish and is a significant problem with many cultured species including Gilthead Seabream (Sparus auratus (Prestinicola et al, 2014)), European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax (Chatain, 1989)), Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum (Marty et al, 1995)), Striped Trumpeter (Latris lineata (Trotter et al, 2001)), Southern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus maccoyii ), and Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi (Woolley et al, 2014)). Current larval rearing methods for S. dorsalis can result in up to 80% of a given spawn with uninflated swim bladders (Kevin Stuart, personal communication), which is similar to what has been seen in other species (see Woolley and Qin, 2010 for review).…”