The Three-spined Stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus 1758, plays a minor role as a host of Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer 1837) in the Gulf of Maine

The sea louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer 1837), is a significant parasite of farmed salmon throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Management of on-farm louse populations can be improved by understanding the role that wild fish play in sustaining and providing refuge for the local population of sea lice. In this study, 1,064 sticklebacks were captured. Of these animals, 176 individuals were carrying a total of 238 sea lice, yielding a prevalence and intensity of 16.5% and 1.4 lice per fish, respectively. Detailed examination of the sea lice on the three-spined sticklebacks captured in Cobscook Bay found two L. salmonis individuals using three-spined sticklebacks as hosts. A 2012 survey of wild fish in Cobscook Bay, Maine, found multiple wild hosts for Caligus elongatus (von Nordmann 1832), including three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.), but no L. salmonis were found in this earlier study.

Factors affecting post-capture survivability of lobster Homarus americanus

Technological advances in gear and fishing practices have driven the global expansion of the American lobster live seafood market. These changes have had a positive effect on the lobster industry by increasing capture efficiency. However, it is unknown what effect these improved methods will have on the post-capture fitness and survival of lobsters. This project utilized a repeated measures design to compare the physiological changes that occur in lobsters over time as the result of differences in depth, hauling rate, and storage methodology. The results indicate that lobsters destined for long distance transport or temporary storage in pounds undergo physiological disturbance as part of the capture process. These changes are significant over time for total hemocyte counts, crustacean hyperglycemic hormone, L-lactate, ammonia, and glucose. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for glucose indicates a significant interaction between depth and storage methodology over time for non-survivors. A Gram-negative bacterium, Photobacterium indicum, was identified in pure culture from hemolymph samples of 100% of weak lobsters. Histopathology revealed the presence of Gram-negative bacteria throughout the tissues with evidence of antemortem edema and necrosis suggestive of septicemia. On the basis of these findings, we recommend to the lobster industry that if a reduction in depth and hauling rate is not economically feasible, fishermen should take particular care in handling lobsters and provide them with a recovery period in recirculating seawater prior to land transport. The ecological role of P. indicum is not fully defined at this time. However, it may be an emerging opportunistic pathogen of stressed lobsters. Judicious preemptive antibiotic therapy may be necessary to reduce mortality in susceptible lobsters destined for high-density holding facilities.

Red vent syndrome in wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in Scotland is associated with Anisakis simplex sensu stricto (Nematoda: Anisakidae)

Simultaneous reports were received between June and July 2007 of wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar with red, swollen, bloody vents returning to geographically diverse rivers in Scotland. By the end of September the condition, colloquially known as 'red vent syndrome' (RVS), was reported from >50 rivers across Scotland. Fish were generally in good overall condition but the vent area showed mild to severe lesions. External characteristics of the syndrome included a swollen, raised, haemorrhagic vent and surrounding tissues, with erosion of the skin, scale loss and moderate to severe bleeding in more advanced cases. Predominantly, the fish affected were 1-sea-winter grilse; however, RVS was also recorded in 2-sea-winter salmon and sea trout S. trutta. High numbers of the nematode Anisakis Type I larvae were found infesting the discrete region of the vent, a localisation that is reported as novel for the parasite. The hypothesis that this is a different species than that commonly found in the body cavity and viscera was investigated through molecular studies. These studies failed to show evidence that the parasites infesting the vent were different from those in the body cavity, i.e. all were identified as A. simplex sensu stricto. No other disease agent was found associated with the lesions or was isolated systemically, and no mortality or prevention of spawning was recorded during the 2007 season. Possible causes, including warming environments in the North Atlantic, are hypothesised as playing a role in the development of RVS in Atlantic salmon.

Immunostimulation of larvae and juveniles of cod, Gadus morhua L

Cod larval culture is currently hampered by high mortalities in the first 2-3 weeks after hatching, often due to infectious diseases. The immune system of cod is not fully competent until 2-3 months after hatching. Conventional vaccination is, therefore, not of value before this time, and the larvae are wholly reliant on non-specific parameters for their defence against infection. A range of substances, generally derived from bacterial, fungal or plant origin, can activate these non-specific parameters. During three hatching seasons, 2001-2003, at the Marine Institute's Experimental Station, Stadur, Grindavik, Iceland, the effects of several immunostimulants on survival and disease resistance of cod larvae and juveniles were examined. Both bathing treatments and administration in the feed were used. One of these substances, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), isolated from the bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida (ssp. salmonicida or achromogenes), appeared in some instances to improve survival and have a beneficial effect on disease resistance. Other substances tested had limited effects. The results emphasize the need for further work in this field.

Complement component C3 transcription in Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.) larvae

The complement systems of fish are well developed and play an important role in the innate immune response. Complement C3 is the central protein of all three activation pathways and is the major opsonin of the complement system and essential for the generation of the membrane attack complex. A 1548 bp part of complement component C3 was isolated from a halibut liver cDNA library by immunoscreening. The deduced amino acid sequence showed that this part of halibut C3 contained key amino acids for factor H, I and properdin binding as well as two N-glycosylation sites. Digoxigenine labelled mRNA probes were synthesised and the transcription of C3 was monitored in three larval stages at 206, 430 and 1000 degrees d (30, 50 and 99 days post hatching), by in situ hybridisation. C3 mRNA was detected in muscle, liver, brain, chondrocytes, spinal cord, eye, intestines, oesophagus and kidney. These findings are in accordance with a former immunohistochemical study on halibut C3 protein ontogeny, indicating that C3 is indeed locally expressed in many organs from the youngest stages on. Complement may thus be linked to the formation and generation of different organs during development and play an important role in the early immune response of halibut larvae.

The use of immunostimulants in fish larval aquaculture

The production of fish larvae is often hampered by high mortality rates, and it is believed that most of this economic loss due to infectious diseases is ca. 10% in Western European aquaculture sector. The development of strategies to control the pathogen load and immuno-prophylactic measures must be addressed further to realise the economic "potential" production of marine fish larvae and thus improve the overall production of adult fish. The innate defence includes both humoral and cellular defence mechanisms such as the complement system and the processes played by granulocytes and macrophages. A set of different substances such as beta-glucans, bacterial products, and plant constituents may directly initiate activation of the innate defence mechanisms acting on receptors and triggering intracellular gene activation that may result in production of anti-microbial molecules. These immunostimulants are often obtained from bacterial sources, brown or red algae and terrestrial fungi are also exploited as source of novel potentiating substances. The use of immunostimulants, as dietary supplements, can improve the innate defence of animals providing resistance to pathogens during periods of high stress, such as grading, reproduction, sea transfer and vaccination. The immunomodulation of larval fish has been proposed as a potential method for improving larval survival by increasing the innate responses of the developing animals until its adaptive immune response is sufficiently developed to mount an effective response to the pathogen. To this end it has been proposed that the delivery of immunostimulants as a dietary supplement to larval fish could be of considerable benefit in boosting the animals innate defences with little detriment to the developing animal. Conversely, there is a school of thought that raises the concern of immunomodulating a neotanous animal before its immune system is fully formed as this may adversely affect the development of a normal immune response.