Plasma concentrations of cortisol, a glucocorticoid hormone that
is immunosuppressive in mammals, increase during stress and
smoltification of salmonids. There was a reduction in the ability of
lymphocytes to generate antibody producing cells (APC) in vivo
concurrent with increased plasma cortisol titers during smoltification
of coho salmon (Oncorhvnchus kisutch). Cortisol...
Electrofishing is a sampling tool commonly used by fisheries researchers. While much is known about the effects of electroshock on fish physiology, consequences to the immune system and disease progression have not received attention. To understand the effects of electroshock on immune function we undertook a comparison of electroshock and...
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...
Stress, including extreme or rapidly changing temperatures, are known to have deleterious effects on fish health and physiology. This thesis examines the combined effects of elevated acclimation temperature and acute handling stress on the number of antibody producing cells, plasma lysozyme concentrations, and the number of pronephric leukocytes in juvenile...
Genetic, ontogenetic, and environmental factors modified characteristic interrenal and glycemic responses to stress in juvenile salmonid fishes. During continuous confinement stress, plasma cortisol rose more quickly in chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, acclimated to high rather than medium or low temperatures; hyperglycemia following either acute or chronic stress was also highest...