Effects of starvation on the biochemical composition of blood and body tissue in the Antarctic fish Notothenia coriiceps (Richardson, 1844) and excreted metabolic products

• Main Authors: Stepanowska,Katarzyna, Nedzarek,Arkadiusz, Rakusa-Suszczewski,Stanislaw
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Department of Antarctic Biology, PAS/Department of Antarctic Biology, PAS/Department of Antarctic Biology, PAS 2006
• Subjects: Antarctic fish; Notothenia coriiceps; starving; blood and body biochemical composition; biogenic; Admiralty Bay; Antarctic; Arctowski; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Polar bioscience
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=6258; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00006258/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=6258&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

The study was carried out at the Polish Academy of Science H. Arctowski Polar Station during the 29th Antarctic Expedition in 2005. The experiment involved 18 individual Notothenia coriiceps caught in Admiralty Bay. Prior to experimentation, blood was sampled from 12 individuals (six females and six males) and assayed for protein, glucose, triacylglycerol, cholesterol plus cholesterol-HDL fraction levels. Body tissue was also analysed for approximate biochemical composition. Six individuals (four females and two males) were placed in a 400-dm3 aquarium of constantly aerated seawater at 0.0±0.5℃ and starved for 52 days, from mid-April to early June. At the end of the experimental period, blood and body were re-assayed. Starving resulted in body weight reduction and a decrease in blood crude protein content of both males and females. Both males and females showed a significant (P<=0.05) increase in glucose levels. Triacylglycerol content was reduced-significantly (P<=0.05) in females and highly significantly (P<=0.01) (and it is I<=0.01) in males-and was accompanied by a reduction in total cholesterol. On the other hand, HDL-cholesterol levels increased significantly (P<=0.05) both in males and females. The seawater in which the fish were maintained was also assayed for various chemicals. Nitrogen and phosphorus levels were elevated relative to those in clean seawater.