Onset and rate of drinking in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) following transfer to dilute seawater

Abstract

Seawater-adapted teleosts drink to offset water loss by osmosis. A direct method of monitoring drinking by implanting a fistula to drain the stomach indicated that rainbow trout began drinking from about 9 to 12 (range 1 to 22) h after being placed in 15‰ sea water. Unlike the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica). in which the onset of drinking has been shown to be immediate and reflex-like, the onset of drinking in trout appears to occur only after appreciable water has been lost to the medium. The trout resembles the eel in that the capacity to shallow water in the absence of postingestional negative feedback exceeds the rate of drinking required to maintain normal water balance.