Salinity effects on oxygen consumption, gill Na+, K+‐ATPase and ion regulation in juvenile coho salmon

Abstract

The metabolic response of juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch to different salinities was examined, using whole‐animal oxygen consumption rates and gill Na+, K+‐ATPase activities as indicators of osmoregulatory energetics. Coho salmon smolts were acclimated to fresh water (FW), isosmotic salinity (ISO, 10‰) and sea water (SW, 28‰) and were sampled for up to 6 weeks for plasma levels of cortisol, glucose and ions (Na+, K+, Cl−), gill Na+, K+‐ATPase activity and oxygen consumption rates. Following an initial adjustment period, plasma constituents in SW fish returned to near‐FW values, indicating that the fish were acclimated to SW by day 21. Gill Na+, K+‐ATPase activities on days 21 and 42 were lowest in ISO, higher in FW and highest in SW. This result is consistent with the idea that less energy would be required to maintain ion balance in an isosmotic environment, where the ionic gradients between extracellular fluid and water would be minimal. Oxygen consumption rates of swimming fish (1 body length s−1), however, did not differ significantly between the three test salinities after 6 weeks. The results of this study suggest that the metabolic response of juvenile salmonids to changes in salinity is dependent on life‐history stage (e.g. fry v. smolt), and that oxygen consumption rates do not necessarily reflect osmoregulatory costs.