Plasma Corticosteroid Stress Response of Fourteen Species of Warmwater Fish to Transportation

Abstract

Plasma corticosteroid concentrations were measured in 14 species of fish immediately after they were electrofished from reservoirs on the Alabama River and after they had been transported for 2 h. There was no corticosteroid response in spotted gars Lepisosteus oculatus. Bowfins Amia calva, longnose gars Lepisosteus osseus, and freshwater drums Aplodinotus grunniens had only small corticosteroid increases (14–39 ng/mL) during transportation. Corticosteroids increased by intermediate amounts (59–184 ng/mL) during transportation in blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus, paddlefish Polyodon spathula, largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, river carpsuckers Carpiodes carpio, white bass Morone chrysops, striped bass Morone saxatilis, and crappies Pomoxis sp. The greatest increases were 223 ng/mL in gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum and 286 ng/mL in common carp Cyprinus carpio. Spotted and longnose gars, largemouth bass, and common carp also were held in tanks for about 2 months at 21°C and then stressed by confinement in a dip net for 30 min. The confinement caused significant increases (P < 0.01) of plasma corticosteroid concentration in all four species. Dip-net confinement appears to be a useful method for comparing corticosteroid responses among species of warmwater fish.