Effect of nutritional status on the osmoregulation of green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris).

Anthropogenic climate change is linked to food web and salinity fluctuations in estuarine environments. Both decreased nutritional status and environmental salinity influence the physiological tolerance and health of fish populations; however, limited information on the interaction of these two factors and their physiological consequences is available. The green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) is a species of special concern in California, and the southern distinct population segment is listed as threatened. To test the hypothesis that poor nutrition negatively affects osmoregulation, juvenile green sturgeon (222 d posthatch) were randomly assigned to four feed restriction groups (12.5%, 25%, 50%, and 100% of the optimal feeding rate for 4 wk). Fish were then acutely exposed to 0-, 8-, 16-, or 32-ppt salinities and sampled at three time points (12, 72, or 120 h). Feed restriction significantly (P < 0.05) decreased specific growth rate, feed efficiency, condition factor, whole-body lipids, and protein content as well as plasma glucose, triglycerides, and proteins. Furthermore, feed restriction, salinity concentration, and salinity exposure time had significant effects on hematological indexes (hematocrit, hemoglobin), plasma values (osmolality, Na(+), K(+), Cl(-), glucose, lactate, cortisol), enzymatic activity (gill and pyloric ceca Na(+)/K(+) ATPase), and morphology of gill mitochondria-rich cells. The largest disturbances were observed at the highest salinity treatments across all feeding regimes. In addition, the interaction between feed restriction and acute salinity exposure at the highest salinity treatment resulted in high mortality rates during the first 72 h of salinity exposure. Evaluating the interactions of these environmental stressors and their implications on green sturgeon physiological tolerance will inform restoration and management efforts in rapidly changing estuarine environments.

Ontogeny of salinity tolerance and evidence for seawater-entry preparation in juvenile green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris.

We measured the ontogeny of salinity tolerance and the preparatory hypo-osmoregulatory physiological changes for seawater entry in green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), an anadromous species occurring along the Pacific Coast of North America. Salinity tolerance was measured every 2 weeks starting in 40-day post-hatch (dph) juveniles and was repeated until 100% survival at 34‰ was achieved. Fish were subjected to step increases in salinity (5‰ 12 h(-1)) that culminated in a 72-h exposure to a target salinity, and treatment groups (0, 15, 20, 25, 30, 34‰; and abrupt exposure to 34‰) were adjusted as fish developed. After 100% survival was achieved (134 dph), a second experiment tested two sizes of fish for 28-day seawater (33‰) tolerance, and gill and gastrointestinal tract tissues were sampled. Their salinity tolerance increased and plasma osmolality decreased with increasing size and age, and electron microscopy revealed three types of mitochondria-rich cells: one in fresh water and two in seawater. In addition, fish held on a natural photoperiod in fresh water at 19°C showed peaks in cortisol, thyroid hormones and gill and pyloric ceca Na(+), K(+)-ATPase activities at body sizes associated with seawater tolerance. Therefore, salinity tolerance in green sturgeon increases during ontogeny (e.g., as these juveniles may move down estuaries to the ocean) with increases in body size. Also, physiological and morphological changes associated with seawater readiness increased in freshwater-reared juveniles and peaked at their seawater-tolerant ages and body sizes. Their seawater-ready body size also matched that described for swimming performance decreases, presumably associated with downstream movements. Therefore, juvenile green sturgeon develop structures and physiological changes appropriate for seawater entry while growing in fresh water, indicating that hypo-osmoregulatory changes may proceed by multiple routes in sturgeons.