intestine, previouslyperfusedwithaclaycontainingsolution. Eventhoughkaoliniteconsumptionappearedheterogeneous, histologicalobservationsrevealedasignificantincreaseinthe thicknessofthevillicausedbylargevacuolesatthebaseof theabsorptivecells.Othermorphologicalchangesincludea lengtheningoftheapicalmicrovilli andanincreased mitochondrial replication.Furthermore,significantincreases wereobservedintheabsorption ofLCFAsafterintestinal perfusionwithclaysolution,andintheexpressionoffatty acidbindingprotein(FABP) after28daysofkaolinite ingestion.

Theseresultsindicate thatanimalscanbenefitfromclay complementationwhenavailable.Thisingestionstimulatesthe absorption ofLCFAsmostprobablythroughendocytosisand theirrapidbindingbyFABP.Thiscanactasanintracellular buffertopreventfatrefluxintotheintestinallumen.Never-

A12.51

Influenceofwater salinityandaltitude onthetolerance of amphibianearlylifestagestonitrite

C.Shinn,A.Marco,(EstaciónBiológicadeDoñana); L.Serrano,(UniversidaddeSevilla)

Highconcentrationsofnitriteinaquaticenvironmentsaretoxic fora numberofamphibianspecies.Chlorideionsareknownto partiallyinhibitnitrite(NO−)toxicityinsaltwaterfishandare hypothesisedtodothesameinamphibians.Newlyhatched tadpolesofBufocalamita,RanapereziandHylameridionalis fromDoñanaNationalPark(DNP;altitude20m)andRana perezifromGredosMountains(altitude1900m)weresubjected toaseriesofsodiumnitrite(NaNO2)concentrations(0–20mg N-NO2-/L)forupto20days.

theless,bloodaluminumlevelsappearedhigherinclay-eating

Byday8at5mg/LN-NO2

allR.perezilarvaefromDNP

ratscomparedtothecontrolgroup,indicatingthatkaoliniteis

dissociatedinthelumen,andthataluminumpassesdirectly throughtheintestinalbarrier.

weredeadwhilstBufocalamita larvalmortalityrateswere

considerably lower at that concentration after 15 days of exposure.However,atday15nodeathswereregisteredat

5mg/LN-NO−

forH.meridionalisandat20mg/LN-NO−

thisspeciespresentedintermediatemortalityrates.R.perezi

larvae from Gredos Mountains displayed an LC50 below

0.5mgN-NO−/Lafter16daysofexposure.

Eggsandtadpolesofallthreespeciesweresubjectedaseriesof

A12.50

Validation ofthehepaticportal veincannulationtechnique usingAtlantic salmon(SalmosalarL.)

nitriteconcentrationsinbrackishwater.ThepresenceofCl− ionsincreasedsurvival,activityandgrowthoflarvaeexposedto nitrite.

Rana perezi populations living at altitude appear to be

E.Eliason,A.Farrell,(UniversityofBritishColumbia);A.

significantlymore sensitive to NO2

pollution than coastal

Kiessling,A.Karlsson,B.Djordjevic(NorwegianUniversity

ofLifeSciences)

Cannulationofthehepaticportalveininfishispotentially a valuabletechniqueforbothfishnutritionists andphysiolo- gists.Combining dorsalaortaandhepatic portalvein cannulationtechniquesenablestheexamination ofnutrient uptake and hepatic metabolic transformation, as well as

populations, although variation in temperature and initial

developmentalstagemayexplainsomeofthisvariation. Low salinitylevelsappeartoattenuatethetoxicityofnitrite to developingamphibians. Thisfindinghasecological signifi- canceforendangeredspeciesofamphibianslivinginbrackish conditions.

systemicphysiologicalchangesassociatedwithgutfunction(suchasacid–basebalanceandionandosmoticregulation)in

greaterdetailthanpreviouslypossible.Thisstudyassessed thehepaticportalveincannulationtechniqueandsubsequent recoveryfromsurgeryinAtlanticsalmon(Salmo salarL). Withinthe1-to3-daypost-surgeryperiod,hematocritlevels weremaintainedandbloodvariables, includingcortisol, returnedtobaselinelevels,indicating thatthistechniqueisa viableandusefulmethodtostudythedigestive physiologyof fish. We also report on the appearanceprofilesfor amino acidsinbloodsampledsimultaneouslyfromthehepaticportal veinanddorsalaortafollowingamealtoillustrate the differential effectsoflivermetabolismontheaminoacid profilesforpre-andpost-hepaticbloodsamples.Supported byNSERCCanadaandtheNorwegian ResearchCouncil centerofexcellence,AquacultureProteinCentre(APC).

A12.52

Sexualdimorphism ofmusclegrowthinalargeflatfish,the

Atlantic halibut (HippoglossushippoglossusL.)

Ø.Hagen,V.Vieira,I.Johnston,(UniversityofSt.Andrews); C.Solberg,(BodøUniversity College)

Atlantichalibut(HippoglossushippoglossusL.)isanimportant foodfishthatcanreach100kginthewild.Itiscurrentlybeing farmedonasmallscaleinseveralcountriesincludingScotland, NorwayandIceland.For largeflatfishspecies,suchashalibut, thelargenumberofmuscle fibrespresent andpotential differencesinmusclecellularitybetweendorsalandventral andleftandrightsidesofthetrunkcomplicate studiesofmuscle growth.Inthepresentstudy,22wildandfarmedhalibutwere studiedranging from2to97.000g.Statisticalmethods forthe

determinationofmaximumfibrenumber(FNmax)aredescribed,