Waterborne Cu is toxic to Na(+) and Cl(-) regulation in freshwater fish, and Cu is taken up, at least in part, via the Na(+)-transport pathway in the gills. Therefore, we hypothesized that freshwater fish may mitigate the toxic effects of waterborne Cu by selecting a NaCl-enriched diet over a normal diet. We tested this hypothesis in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by offering them...

This project addresses two important issues relevant to the health of Canadians: the risk of waterborne illness and the health impacts of global climate change. The Canadian health burden from waterborne illness is unknown, although it presumably accounts for a significant proportion of enteric illness. Recently, large outbreaks with severe consequences produced by E. coli O157:H7 and Cryptospo...

Alarm substance is a chemical signal released from fish skin epithelial cells after a predator causes skin damage. When other prey fish detect alarm substance by olfaction, they perform stereotypical predator-avoidance behaviours to decrease predation risk. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of sublethal cadmium (Cd) exposure on the behavioural and physiological responses of ...

A suite of respiratory, acid-base, ionoregulatory, hematological, and stress parameters were examined in adult rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) after chronic exposure to a sublethal level of dietary Cd (500 mg/kg diet) for 45 days and during a subsequent challenge to waterborne Cd (10 microg/L) for 72 h. Blood sampling via an indwelling arterial catheter revealed that dietary Cd had no major...

The effects of acute Ni exposure on the marine gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta) were investigated via separate exposures to waterborne nickel (Ni) and arterially infused Ni. Of the plasma electrolytes measured after 72 h of waterborne exposure (215.3 and 606.1 microM Ni in SW (salinity of 34)), only plasma [Ca2+] was significantly impacted (approximately 55% decrease at both exposure concentrations...

Juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were exposed to diets with low (12.6 nmol g(-1)), normal (50.4 nmol g(-1)) or elevated (4437.5 nmol g(-1)) Cu concentrations in combination with either low (5.8 nmol l(-1)) or normal (48.5 nmol l(-1)) waterborne Cu levels over a 50-day period, during which body mass increased up to fivefold. A nutritional requirement for Cu was demonstrated based on gr...