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Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and...
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Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 32388

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ioannis A. Giantsis

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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 531 00 Florina, Greece
Interests: molecular genetics, population biology, molecular identification; animal pathogens; molecular physiology; symbiotic microbiota; molecular markers; phylogeny; gene expression; animal science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Costas Batargias

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Guest Editor
Associate Professor, Animal Production, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, University of Patras, Nea Ktiria, 30200 Messolonghi, Greece
Interests: quantitative genetics; population genetics; molecular identification and biodiversity; fish breeding programs; QTL; gene mapping; genomic selection
Dr. Konstantinos Feidantsis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture, University of Patras, Mesolonghi, Greece
Interests: animal physiology; cell physiology; comparative physiology; environmental physiology; cell signaling; climate change; bioindicators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The term, climate change, refers to any shift in climatic conditions over a certain time period, either on account of natural causes or due to anthropogenic impacts. Although the climate has never been stable, the ongoing extreme differentiations in meteorological conditions observed during the recent decades, attributed to anthropogenic, industrial and agriculture practices, threaten the different ecosystems at all levels of their organization. Among the various biological systems, marine and freshwater habitats are particularly vulnerable to climate change effects, whereas their inhabitants are influenced by the increased seawater temperature, parallel increase in dissolved CO2, and decreased levels of dissolved oxygen, resulting in heat and oxidative stress, respectively.

Original manuscripts, including both research papers and review articles, that address all biological aspects of marine and freshwater animal species related to climate change are invited to be considered for publication in this Special Issue. Aquatic animals may refer to both wild and cultured invertebrates and vertebrates, such as bivalves, decapods, arthropods, fish, or mammals. More particularly, the aims of this Special Issue include, but are not restricted to, the evaluation of the effects of global warming, seawater temperature increase and ocean acidification on all levels of biological organization of aquatic animals by estimating their molecular, cellular, immunological, physiological and behavioral responses.

Dr. Ioannis A. Giantsis
Dr. Costas Batargias
Dr. Konstantinos Feidantsis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change
  • heat stress
  • oxidative stress
  • population biology
  • gene expression
  • molecular response
  • freshwater animals
  • marine biology
  • aquaculture

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 2902 KiB  
Article
Cross Effects of Diets and Rearing Temperatures on Gastrointestinal Evacuation and Growth Performance in Adult Sabah Groupers (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus × E. lanceolatus)
by Simon Kumar Das, Moumita De, Noorashikin Md Noor, Yosni Bakar, Zaidi Che Cob and Mazlan Abd. Ghaffar
Animals 2022, 12(22), 3172; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12223172 - 16 Nov 2022
Viewed by 2034
Abstract
This study explores the gastrointestinal evacuation time (GET) and gastrointestinal evacuation rate (GER) of the popular Sabah grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus × E. lanceolatus) adults using two established methods (X-radiography and serial slaughter) and square root modeling using different temperatures: 28 [...] Read more.
This study explores the gastrointestinal evacuation time (GET) and gastrointestinal evacuation rate (GER) of the popular Sabah grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus × E. lanceolatus) adults using two established methods (X-radiography and serial slaughter) and square root modeling using different temperatures: 28 °C, 30 °C, 32 °C, and 34 °C and different diets: pellet (ash: 11.4 ± 0.08; moisture: 29.0 ± 0.01; protein 37.5 ± 0.80; lipid 15.0 ± 0.13) and trash fish: Sardinella sp. (ash: 2.3 ± 0.15; moisture: 78.5 ± 0.33; protein 55.4 ± 0.62; lipid 7.3 ± 0.25) and the impact on growth indices. The results indicate that the GET shortened as temperature increased from 28 °C to 30 °C; however, it was prolonged when it surged to 32 °C and 34 °C. The groupers fed with trash fish at a temperature of 30 °C had the shortest GER (0.41 ± 0.10 g hr−1) whereas groupers fed with pellet at 34 °C had the longest GER (0.95 ± 0.02 g hr−1). Likewise, the highest SGR (16.25 ± 2.11% day−1) was observed at 30 °C for groupers fed with a trash fish diet. The condition (K) value was lowest at 34 °C for groupers fed with a pellet diet (1.01 ± 0.04) and highest at 30 °C for groupers fed with trash fish (1.45 ± 0.04). Our results suggest that temperature and diet influence growth indices and GE of adult Sabah groupers. Incorporation of this information will allow better management of this commercially important grouper species when reared in a controlled aquaculture environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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14 pages, 1250 KiB  
Article
Virulence Genes and In Vitro Antibiotic Profile of Photobacterium damselae Strains, Isolated from Fish Reared in Greek Aquaculture Facilities
by Athanasios Lattos, Ioannis A. Giantsis, Eleni Tsavea, Markos Kolygas, Fotini Athanassopoulou and Konstantina Bitchava
Animals 2022, 12(22), 3133; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12223133 - 14 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2461
Abstract
Bacteria belonging to the species Photobacterium damselae are pathogens of cultured marine fish, causing diseases of high importance, such as Pasteurellosis. Thus, they are considered a major threat to the aquaculture sector. Despite the great importance of fish mariculture for the Greek economy, [...] Read more.
Bacteria belonging to the species Photobacterium damselae are pathogens of cultured marine fish, causing diseases of high importance, such as Pasteurellosis. Thus, they are considered a major threat to the aquaculture sector. Despite the great importance of fish mariculture for the Greek economy, the distribution and abundance of these bacteria are not well documented in aquaculture units in Greece. Keeping this in mind, the scope of the present study was to investigate the presence, antibiotic profile, and virulence of Photobacterium bacteria originating from a representative sample of mariculture units throughout Greece. Samples were collected from diseased fish belonging to three different cultured fish species, namely Sparus aurata, Dicentrarchus labrax, and Pagrus pagrus, from both the Aegean and the Ionian Sea. Tissue samples were cultured in agar media, and bacteria were molecularly identified using both bacterial universal and species-specific primer pairs for Photobacterium spp. Additionally, the identified strains were characterized for the presence of virulence genes as well as antibiotic profiles. According to the results, the aforementioned bacteria are distributed in the Greek aquaculture units and are characterized by high pathogenicity based on the abundance of virulence genes. Furthermore, the majority of the detected strains exhibit some level of antibiotic resistance. In summary, our results indicate the need for systematic surveillance and study of their antibiotic profiles in Greek aquaculture since these bacteria constitute a major threat to the sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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11 pages, 957 KiB  
Article
Socioeconomic Appraisal of an Early Prevention System against Toxic Conditions in Mussel Aquaculture
by Athanasios Ragkos, Dimitrios Skordos, Georgia Koutouzidou, Ioannis A. Giantsis, Georgios Delis and Alexandros Theodoridis
Animals 2022, 12(20), 2832; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202832 - 19 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1475
Abstract
This paper examines the financial viability and potential socioeconomic effects of introducing and operating an automated, remote-controlled management system for mussel farms which uses probes of temperature, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity associated with prediction software to demonstrate the potential need for mussel movement [...] Read more.
This paper examines the financial viability and potential socioeconomic effects of introducing and operating an automated, remote-controlled management system for mussel farms which uses probes of temperature, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity associated with prediction software to demonstrate the potential need for mussel movement between marine areas. This system provides an early warning to farmers regarding the presence of toxins in aquatic ecosystems, thus contributing to saving mussel production and avoidikng significant economic losses. The analysis combines two established methodological tools in agricultural economics (linear programming and cost-benefit analysis) and provides estimates of the Net Present Value of the investment under two scenarios—one reflecting the existing situation and one a possible future situation where the mussel production system is expanded. The results of the analysis reveal the mid- and long-term effects of using the automated system, both of which demonstrate that the system is economically viable even if it contributes to saving mussel production from toxicity occurrence for only one year during its period of operation. The annual gross margin in the first scenario was €386,069 but almost tripled in the second scenario (€1,154,649). In addition, the future development and expansion of the mussel sector will likely be based on larger farms with an entrepreneurial and exporting orientation where risk mitigation systems, such as the one appraised in this paper, can play an important role. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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18 pages, 3024 KiB  
Article
Are Marine Heatwaves Responsible for Mortalities of Farmed Mytilus galloprovincialis? A Pathophysiological Analysis of Marteilia Infected Mussels from Thermaikos Gulf, Greece
by Athanasios Lattos, Dimitrios K. Papadopoulos, Konstantinos Feidantsis, Dimitrios Karagiannis, Ioannis A. Giantsis and Basile Michaelidis
Animals 2022, 12(20), 2805; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202805 - 17 Oct 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2144
Abstract
Marine heatwaves (excessive seawater temperature increases) pose high risk to bivalves’ health and farming. The seawater temperature increase is responsible for various pathogen population expansions causing intense stress to marine organisms. Since the majority of knowledge so far derives from laboratory experiments, it [...] Read more.
Marine heatwaves (excessive seawater temperature increases) pose high risk to bivalves’ health and farming. The seawater temperature increase is responsible for various pathogen population expansions causing intense stress to marine organisms. Since the majority of knowledge so far derives from laboratory experiments, it is crucial to investigate stress responses in field conditions in order to understand the mechanisms leading to bivalves’ mortality events after exposure to temperature extremes. Thus, we evaluated the pathophysiological response of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis originating from mortality events enhanced by intense heatwaves in Thermaikos Gulf, north Greece, along with Marteilia refrigens infection. Mussels that have been exposed to high environmental stressors such as high temperature were examined for various molecular and biochemical markers, such as hsp70, bax, bcl-2, irak4 and traf6 gene expression, as well as the enzymatic activity of the hsp70, hsp90, bax, bcl-2, cleaved caspases, TNFa and ll-6 proteins. Furthermore, histopathology and molecular positivity to Marteilia sp. were addressed and correlated with the gene expression results. Our findings elucidate the molecular and biochemical pathways leading to mortality in farmed mussels in the context of Marteilia infection, which according to the results is multiplied by heatwaves causing a significant increase in pathophysiological markers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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17 pages, 5002 KiB  
Article
Mitochondria Dysfunction and Cell Apoptosis Limit Resistance of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to Lethal Cold Stress
by Ran Liu, Renyan Liu, Guili Song, Qing Li, Zongbin Cui and Yong Long
Animals 2022, 12(18), 2382; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12182382 - 12 Sep 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2305
Abstract
Inability of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to withstand cold stress represents a major economic concern, which restricts the culture area, limits the growing period and even results in mass mortality in cold seasons. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms determining cold [...] Read more.
Inability of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to withstand cold stress represents a major economic concern, which restricts the culture area, limits the growing period and even results in mass mortality in cold seasons. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms determining cold susceptibility of Nile tilapia remain largely unknown. In this study, we characterized the ability of juvenile Nile tilapia to survive lethal cold stress (12 °C) and the median survival time (LT50) of the experimental fish under exposure to 12 °C cold stress was estimated as 3.14 d. After being exposed to 12 °C for 3 d, the survivors that lost equilibrium (LE) and those that swam normally (NO) were regarded as cold-sensitive and cold-tolerant, respectively. The untreated (Ctrl), NO and LE fish were subjected to histological, biochemical and gene expression analyses to explore the cellular and molecular events underlying cold susceptibility of Nile tilapia. Exposure of Nile tilapia to lethal cold stress caused systemic tissue structure changes, mitochondrial swelling and dysfunction, induction of apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related genes and cell apoptosis. The extent of these adverse cellular and molecular events determines an individual’s ability to survive cold stress. Our data indicate that mitochondria dysfunction and mitochondria-mediated cell apoptosis are the main factors limiting Nile tilapia’s cold resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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10 pages, 1467 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Responses of the Sea Anemone Heteractis crispa to the Interaction of Acidification and Global Warming
by Yangyang Wu, Wenfei Tian, Chunxing Chen, Quanqing Ye, Liu Yang and Jiaoyun Jiang
Animals 2022, 12(17), 2259; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12172259 - 31 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3178
Abstract
Ocean acidification and warming are two of the most important threats to the existence of marine organisms and are predicted to co-occur in oceans. The present work evaluated the effects of acidification (AC: 24 ± 0.1 °C and 900 μatm CO2), [...] Read more.
Ocean acidification and warming are two of the most important threats to the existence of marine organisms and are predicted to co-occur in oceans. The present work evaluated the effects of acidification (AC: 24 ± 0.1 °C and 900 μatm CO2), warming (WC: 30 ± 0.1 °C and 450 μatm CO2), and their combination (CC: 30 ± 0.1 °C and 900 μatm CO2) on the sea anemone, Heteractis crispa, from the aspects of photosynthetic apparatus (maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (PS II), chlorophyll level, and Symbiodiniaceae density) and sterol metabolism (cholesterol content and total sterol content). In a 15-day experiment, acidification alone had no apparent effect on the photosynthetic apparatus, but did affect sterol levels. Upregulation of their chlorophyll level is an important strategy for symbionts to adapt to high partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). However, after warming stress, the benefits of high pCO2 had little effect on stress tolerance in H. crispa. Indeed, thermal stress was the dominant driver of the deteriorating health of H. crispa. Cholesterol and total sterol contents were significantly affected by all three stress conditions, although there was no significant change in the AC group on day 3. Thus, cholesterol or sterol levels could be used as important indicators to evaluate the impact of climate change on cnidarians. Our findings suggest that H. crispa might be relatively insensitive to the impact of ocean acidification, whereas increased temperature in the future ocean might impair viability of H. crispa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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12 pages, 5509 KiB  
Article
A Potential Role of the Translation Elongation Factor eef1a1 in Gonadal High-Temperature Perception in Chinese Tongue Sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)
by Qian Wang, Qian Liu, Wenxiu Ma, Rui Wang, Shuo Li, Zhongdian Dong and Changwei Shao
Animals 2022, 12(13), 1603; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12131603 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1948
Abstract
The eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha (eef1a) gene has a well-defined role in protein synthesis. However, its role in external temperature perception and internal sex differentiation and development is still unclear. In this study, eef1a1 was identified and functionally analyzed [...] Read more.
The eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha (eef1a) gene has a well-defined role in protein synthesis. However, its role in external temperature perception and internal sex differentiation and development is still unclear. In this study, eef1a1 was identified and functionally analyzed in Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). The eef1a1 cDNA, 1809 bp in length, had a 1386 bp open reading frame (ORF) that encoded a 461 amino acid polypeptide containing one EF-1_alpha domain. eef1a1 expression levels were investigated across different tissues and during gonadal development. In the gonad, eef1a1 showed a sexually dimorphic expression pattern with a statistically higher expression level in the ovary than in the testis from 6 months postfertilization to 3 years postfertilization. Under high temperature (28 °C) treatment during C. semilaevis sex differentiation (from 30 days postfertilization to 3 months postfertilization), eef1a1 was statistically down-regulated in males, while the difference was not detected in females. In addition, the dual-luciferase assay exhibited that eef1a1 can respond to high temperature rapidly. Based on these results, C. semilaevis eef1a1 might have a dual role in the perception of external temperature changes and sex differentiation regulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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15 pages, 19613 KiB  
Article
Environmental Drivers of an Intertidal Bryozoan Community in the Barents Sea: A Case Study
by Olga Yu. Evseeva, Tatyana G. Ishkulova and Alexander G. Dvoretsky
Animals 2022, 12(5), 552; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050552 - 23 Feb 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2398
Abstract
There is a lack of knowledge regarding the modern status of intertidal bryozoan communities in the coastal Barents Sea. Here, we studied species composition, richness, and biomass of bryozoans in Yarnyshnaya and Dalnezelenetskaya Bays, both located in the eastern part of the Kola [...] Read more.
There is a lack of knowledge regarding the modern status of intertidal bryozoan communities in the coastal Barents Sea. Here, we studied species composition, richness, and biomass of bryozoans in Yarnyshnaya and Dalnezelenetskaya Bays, both located in the eastern part of the Kola Peninsula (Barents Sea), in summer. Species composition and biodiversity were consistent with previous research but the record of the ctenostome bryozoan Walkeriauva is the first for the region indicating eastward range expansion of this species associated with climate forcing in the Arctic. Mean biomass was relatively low accounting for 2.25 ± 0.95 g·m−2. The most common species were Eucratea loricata, Harmeria scutulata, Crisia eburnea, and Cribrilina cryptooecium averaging 96% of the total biomass. Cluster analysis delineated two distinct groups of stations, one with true marine conditions and another with brackish water conditions. Redundancy analysis revealed that bryozoan diversity was strongly associated with salinity fluctuations being extremely low at brackish water sites. In contrast, water temperature was found to be a significant contributor to biomass with the lowest values found at warmer waters probably owing to the predominance of Boreo-Arctic species which prefer lower-temperatures. Other hydrological variables (dissolved organic matter, silicates, and oxygen) were consistent with usual summer values and had no significant effects on the bryozoan assemblages. Our study provides a reference point for further biodiversity studies in changing marine ecosystems of the Arctic region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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13 pages, 3688 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis L.) Essential Oil on the Stress Response, Anti-Oxidative Ability, and Kidney Metabolism of Sea Bass during Live Transport
by Qi Wang, Jun Mei and Jing Xie
Animals 2022, 12(3), 339; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12030339 - 29 Jan 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4093
Abstract
This study was conducted to enhance the viability and alleviate the oxidative stress response using MO for sea bass during live transport. Six experimental groups were designed, and the effects of the physiological responses of MO were evaluated in comparison with MS-222 and [...] Read more.
This study was conducted to enhance the viability and alleviate the oxidative stress response using MO for sea bass during live transport. Six experimental groups were designed, and the effects of the physiological responses of MO were evaluated in comparison with MS-222 and eugenol. The physiological stress levels, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK-9), antioxidant enzyme activities, and kidney parameters of blood serum were determined. It was found that cortisol level, glucose (Glu), lactic acid (LD), heat shock proteins (HSPs), catalase (CAT), myeloperoxidase (MPO), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), uric acid (UA), and urea nitrogen (BUN) in the MO-treated samples were lower than that of the control (133.72 ng/L); however, the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) was higher after 72 h of the simulated live transport. The ability to resist oxidative stress increased along with the increase in the MO concentration in the water during live transport, which was similar to the results of MS-222 and eugenol treatment. In conclusion, MO, acting as a kind of novel sedative and anesthetic, can be used to improve the oxidative system and survival rate during live transport. The results of this study provide a reference for enhancing animal welfare and anti-oxidative stress ability, reducing mortality and the stress response during live fish transport. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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17 pages, 2792 KiB  
Article
RNA Sequencing Analysis Reveals Divergent Adaptive Response to Hypo- and Hyper-Salinity in Greater Amberjack (Seriola dumerili) Juveniles
by Yuhao Peng, Hongjuan Shi, Yuqi Liu, Yang Huang, Renchi Zheng, Dongneng Jiang, Mouyan Jiang, Chunhua Zhu and Guangli Li
Animals 2022, 12(3), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12030327 - 29 Jan 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3672
Abstract
Salinity significantly affects physiological and metabolic activities, breeding, development, survival, and growth of marine fish. The greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) is a fast-growing species that has immensely contributed to global aquaculture diversification. However, the tolerance, adaptation, and molecular responses of greater [...] Read more.
Salinity significantly affects physiological and metabolic activities, breeding, development, survival, and growth of marine fish. The greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) is a fast-growing species that has immensely contributed to global aquaculture diversification. However, the tolerance, adaptation, and molecular responses of greater amberjack to salinity are unclear. This study reared greater amberjack juveniles under different salinity stresses (40, 30, 20, and 10 ppt) for 30 days to assess their tolerance, adaptation, and molecular responses to salinity. RNA sequencing analysis of gill tissue was used to identify genes and biological processes involved in greater amberjack response to salinity stress at 40, 30, and 20 ppt. Eighteen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (nine upregulated and nine downregulated) were identified in the 40 vs. 30 ppt group. Moreover, 417 DEGs (205 up-regulated and 212 down-regulated) were identified in the 20 vs. 30 ppt group. qPCR and transcriptomic analysis indicated that salinity stress affected the expression of genes involved in steroid biosynthesis (ebp, sqle, lss, dhcr7, dhcr24, and cyp51a1), lipid metabolism (msmo1, nsdhl, ogdh, and edar), ion transporters (slc25a48, slc37a4, slc44a4, and apq4), and immune response (wnt4 and tlr5). Furthermore, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs were enriched in steroid biosynthesis, lipids metabolism, cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, tryptophan metabolism, and insulin signaling pathway. Therefore, this study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of marine fish adaptation to salinity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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27 pages, 3404 KiB  
Review
Aquaponics as a Promising Strategy to Mitigate Impacts of Climate Change on Rainbow Trout Culture
by Christos Vasdravanidis, Maria V. Alvanou, Athanasios Lattos, Dimitrios K. Papadopoulos, Ioanna Chatzigeorgiou, Maria Ravani, Georgios Liantas, Ioannis Georgoulis, Konstantinos Feidantsis, Georgios K. Ntinas and Ioannis A. Giantsis
Animals 2022, 12(19), 2523; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192523 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5208
Abstract
The impact of climate change on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems tends to become more progressively pronounced and devastating over the years. The sector of aquaculture is severely affected by natural abiotic factors, on account of climate change, that lead to various undesirable [...] Read more.
The impact of climate change on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems tends to become more progressively pronounced and devastating over the years. The sector of aquaculture is severely affected by natural abiotic factors, on account of climate change, that lead to various undesirable phenomena, including aquatic species mortalities and decreased productivity owing to oxidative and thermal stress of the reared organisms. Novel innovative technologies, such as aquaponics that are based on the co-cultivation of freshwater fish with plants in a sustainable manner under the context of controlled abiotic factors, represent a promising tool for mitigating the effect of climate change on reared fish. The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) constitutes one of the major freshwater-reared fish species, contributing to the national economies of numerous countries, and more specifically, to regional development, supporting mountainous areas of low productivity. However, it is highly vulnerable to climate change effects, mainly due to the concrete raceways, in which it is reared, that are constructed on the flow-through of rivers and are, therefore, dependent on water’s physical properties. The current review study evaluates the suitability, progress, and challenges of developing innovative and sustainable aquaponic systems to rear rainbow trout in combination with the cultivation of plants. Although not commercially developed to a great extent yet, research has shown that the rainbow trout is a valuable experimental model for aquaponics that may be also commercially exploited in the future. In particular, abiotic factors required in rainbow trout farming along, with the high protein proportion required in the ratios due to the strict carnivorous feeding behavior, result in high nitrate production that can be utilized by plants as a source of nitrogen in an aquaponic system. Intensive farming of rainbow trout in aquaponic systems can be controlled using digital monitoring of the system parameters, mitigating the obstacles originating from extreme temperature fluctuations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Animals and Climate Change: Physiological, Genetic, Genomic, Cellular and Immunological Adaptations)
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