Juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were experimentally infected with Renibacterium salmoninarum (Rs), the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease (BKD), to investigate the effects of BKD on three aspects of juvenile salmonid performance: (1) predator avoidance ability; (2) smoltification; and (3) physiological responses to stress. For these experiments, fish with different Rs-infection profiles (created by using an immersion challenge method) were sampled to assess physiological change and subjected to various performance tests during disease progression.
When equal numbers of Rs-challenged and unchallenged fish were subjected to predation by northern pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) or smallmouth bass
(Micropterus dolomieui), Rs-challenged fish were eaten in significantly greater numbers
than controls by nearly two to one.
A progressively worsening infection with Rs did not alter the normal changes in gill ATPase and condition factor associated with smoltification in juvenile chinook salmon. A dramatic proliferation of BKD was associated with maximal responses of indicators of smoltification, suggesting that the process of smoltification itself can trigger outbreaks of disease.
When Rs-infected fish were subjected to three 60-s bouts of severe handling that were separated by 48-72 h, this experience did not lead to higher infection levels or increased mortality when compared to diseased fish that did not receive the stressors. Furthermore, the kinetics of plasma cortisol, glucose, and lactate over 24-h following each stressor were similar between fish with moderate to high BKD and those that had low or no detectable infection. Fish with moderate to high Rs infections had higher titers of cortisol and lactate prior to each application of the stressor and were also unable to consistently elicit a significant hyperglycemia in response to the stressors when compared to fish with low infection levels.
During all experiments, fish consistently developed decreased hematocrits and blood glucose levels and increased levels of cortisol and lactate as the disease worsened, indicating that BKD is stressful, particularly during the later stages.
Collectively, these results illustrate the impact of BKD on juvenile salmonids and have also ascribed some ecological significance to this disease beyond that of direct pathogen-related mortality. / Graduation date: 1999
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/33298 |
| Date | 28 January 1999 |
| Creators | Mesa, Matthew G. |
| Contributors | Maule, Alec G., Schreck, Carl B. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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