TY - JOUR
T1 - Stress Response to Entrainment Flow Speed near Pump Inlet Fish Screens in Two Model Teleost Species, Anguilla anguilla and Oncorhynchus mykiss
AU - Miccoli, Andrea
AU - De Luca, Antonio
AU - Bricker, Jeremy
AU - Vriese, Frederik Tijmen
AU - Moll, Roelof
AU - Scapigliati, Giuseppe
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Fish screens are structures associated with pump stations and power plants, that prevent entrainment of fish, but may also be a source of physiological stress, if placed in locations of strong flow speeds that fish are unable to sustain swimming against over time. Herein, the acute response of Anguilla anguilla and Oncorhynchus mykiss to a 30-minute exposure to two water flow regimes was evaluated at the lowest level of the hypothalamus–pituitary–interrenal axis, from blood serum and skin mucus, in a controlled setup presenting a 45° vertically-angled fish screen. Cortisol response was species specific, regardless of the matrix employed. While the flow velocity factor did not describe any variance of eel data, and no statistically significant differences in cortisol concentrations were observed among eel groups, cortisol release in response to flume hydraulics followed a dose-dependent pattern in trout, with a large proportion of the variance described by the model. Mucus cortisol was highly and strongly correlated to serum levels of trout specimens subjected to the strongest flow. Given the established neuromodulatory and molecular roles of cortisol on major fitness-relevant processes, animal welfare implications may be severe, especially considering ever increasing exposure to chronic anthropogenic stressors, resulting in repeated and/or prolonged elevation of circulating glucocorticoids.
AB - Fish screens are structures associated with pump stations and power plants, that prevent entrainment of fish, but may also be a source of physiological stress, if placed in locations of strong flow speeds that fish are unable to sustain swimming against over time. Herein, the acute response of Anguilla anguilla and Oncorhynchus mykiss to a 30-minute exposure to two water flow regimes was evaluated at the lowest level of the hypothalamus–pituitary–interrenal axis, from blood serum and skin mucus, in a controlled setup presenting a 45° vertically-angled fish screen. Cortisol response was species specific, regardless of the matrix employed. While the flow velocity factor did not describe any variance of eel data, and no statistically significant differences in cortisol concentrations were observed among eel groups, cortisol release in response to flume hydraulics followed a dose-dependent pattern in trout, with a large proportion of the variance described by the model. Mucus cortisol was highly and strongly correlated to serum levels of trout specimens subjected to the strongest flow. Given the established neuromodulatory and molecular roles of cortisol on major fitness-relevant processes, animal welfare implications may be severe, especially considering ever increasing exposure to chronic anthropogenic stressors, resulting in repeated and/or prolonged elevation of circulating glucocorticoids.
KW - acute stress
KW - Anguilla anguilla
KW - anthropogenic impacts
KW - cortisol
KW - fish physiology
KW - HPI axis
KW - hydropower
KW - Oncorhynchus mykiss
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150989762&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/fishes8030139
DO - 10.3390/fishes8030139
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85150989762
SN - 2410-3888
VL - 8
JO - Fishes
JF - Fishes
IS - 3
M1 - 139
ER -