Suspended Sediment Particles Inside Gills and Spleens of Juvenile Pacific Salmon ( Oncorhynchus spp.)

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Main Authors: Martens, Dennis W., Servizi, James A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1993
• Subjects: Fraser River; Pacific; Sockeye; Pink salmon
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f93-067; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f93-067

Intracellular sediment particles were observed in the gills of underyearling coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) following laboratory exposure to Fraser River sediment. Gills of underyearling sockeye salmon (O. nerka), chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and coho exposed to a natural suspended sediment in Cultus Lake hatchery water also contained intracellular mineral particles. Mineral particles were seen in both epithelial and underlying gill filamental cells, and it is believed that these particles were phagocytosed by the former. Intracellular sediment particles were also observed in spleens of some sediment-exposed fish. Electron microscopy was used to measure gill particle sizes and X-ray diffraction analysis to identify eight minerals and one metal in the gills of sockeye previously exposed to suspended sediment.