Effects of Salinity and Dissolved Oxygen Concentration on the Tail-Flip Speed and Physiologic Response of Whiteleg Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Abstract

The swimming ability of shrimp is important for their survival and growth, which directly affects their avoidance of enemies and uncomfortable environment, search and capture of food, reproductive behavior, and distribution. The knowledge concerning the swimming ability of shrimp can be widely used in the conservation of fishery resources, improving capture efficiency and stock enhancement. As one of the edible marine organisms, Litopenaeus vannamei is a traditional fishery resource and an important economic aquaculture species in China. Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and salinity are considered to play crucial roles in the swimming ability of L. vannamei. The tail-flip speed (Stf) of whiteleg shrimp L. vannamei (79.90 ± 0.41 mm, 5.76 ± 0.10 g) that were exposed to various salinities (20‰, 25‰, 30‰, 35‰, and 40‰) and DO concentrations (1.9, 3.8, 6.8, and 13.6 mg/L) was determined under laboratory conditions. Metabolite concentrations in the hemolymph, hepatopancreas, and abdominal muscles were measured before and after tail-flip fatigue to evaluate the physiologic effects of fatigue in L. vannamei. The results showed that salinity and DO significantly affected the Stf of L. vannamei. The Stf increased and subsequently decreased with the increase in salinity from 20‰ to 40‰. The relationship between Stf and salinity (s, ‰) can be expressed by the quadratic model as Stf = −0.2386s2 + 15.528s − 145.12, R2 = 0.9693. The optimum salinity and corresponding maximum Stf were 32.54‰ and 107.52 cm/s, respectively. The Stf increased as the DO concentration increased from 1.9 mg/L to 13.6 mg/L. The relationship between Stf and DO (mg/L) can be expressed by the power model as Stf = 75.621 DO0.1753, R2 = 0.9981. The different salinities and DO concentrations directly affected the physiology of the shrimp, inducing changes in hepatopancreas total protein, plasma total protein, abdominal muscle lactate, plasma lactate, plasma glucose, hepatopancreas glycogen, and abdominal muscle glycogen concentration. Fatigue from tail-flip led to severe loss of hepatopancreas glycogen under 20‰ salinity and plasma glucose under 25‰, 30‰, and 35‰ salinity. The triglyceride and lactate in the plasma concentration increased significantly in a range of salinities. In the DO concentration experiment, fatigue from tail-flip led to a severe loss of plasma glucose under 1.9 mg/L and 3.8 mg/L DO concentrations. The plasma lactate concentration increased significantly in all DO groups. The results suggested that the inappropriate salinity and DO significantly limited the tail-flip speed of shrimp, which was due to the accumulation of metabolites. The proper salinity and DO accelerated the elimination of metabolites, reduced the energy consumption of shrimp, and thus, improved the exercise ability of shrimp. This conclusion is of particular value in evaluating the swimming ability of shrimp and understanding its ecological processes to improve capture and rearing techniques.