Table Of ContentBiology of European Sea Bass
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Biology of European Sea Bass
Editors
F. Javier Sánchez Vázquez
Department of Physiology
University of Murcia
Murcia
Spain
José A. Muñoz-Cueto
Department of Biology
University of Cadiz
Cadiz
Spain
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A SCIENCE PUBLISHERS BOOK
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Preface
European sea bass, Dicentrachus labrax, has attracted the attention of many
people: scientists, fi sh farmers, fi shermen and other stakeholders. Since
ancient times, this species has been regarded as a highly valuable table
fi sh, and it is considered a delicacy in restaurants today. This fi sh has many
different names. In France, it is called “loup de mer”, while in the Iberian
Peninsula it is known as “lubina” or “robalo”. In Italy sea bass is called
“branzino” or “spigola”, whereas the Greeks refer to this fi sh as “lavraki”
(from its vernacular name) and the Turks as “levrek”.
European sea bass was historically cultured in coastal lagoons and tidal
reservoirs, so it is not surprising that this fi sh species was one of the fi rst
marine fi sh to be farmed in Europe using modern aquaculture techniques.
In fact, in Italy sea bass and seabream are the most consumed fi sh species.
With declining fi sheries, the aquaculture of European sea bass becomes
increasingly important to provide a high quality product to consumers.
In fact, according to FAO predictions, by 2030 over 65% of seafood will be
supplied by aquaculture. Sea bass aquaculture production has been rising
since the early 90s, reaching over 130,000 tonnes per year in the last few
years, while fi sheries catches remain stackled around 10,000 tonnes per year.
Geographically, the main production of sea bass is located in two countries:
Turkey (34.2%) and Greece (34.1%); although this species is also cultured
in many other Mediterranean countries, such as Spain (11.4%), Italy (6.9%),
Egypt (4%), Croatia (2.5%), France (2.4%), Tunisia, Cyprus, Portugal, etc.
In the last few decades, many researchers devoted their investigations to
this species, publishing over 2,200 papers in scientifi c journals. Most of this
research was conducted in three European countries: France (466), Spain (384)
or Italy (361); followed by Portugal (136), Greece (133) and Turkey (99). The
most popular research areas are Fisheries (including Aquaculture), Zoology
and Marine & Freshwater Biology, with many signifi cant contributions in
the specifi c fi elds of (in relevance order) Physiology, Genetics, Immunology,
Ecology, Endocrinology, etc. In this book, we have focused on the general
Biology, Ecology, Physiology, Behavior and Pathology of the European sea
bass. The book is organized in twelve chapters authored by some of the
world’s most renowned scientists in these fi elds.
vi Biology of European Sea Bass
The book starts with a chapter on the “Ecology and Distribution of
Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus 1758)”, written by Ángel Pérez-Ruzafa and
Concepción Marcos, from the Department of Ecology and Hydrology,
University of Murcia (Spain). In this chapter, the authors provide information
on the distribution and genetic structure of sea bass, the main environmental
factors affecting sea bass distribution and behavior and the synergetic effect
of multiple factors on physiological processes, which determines the way in
which this species copes with environmental variability. Other interesting
aspects such as migration, reproduction, fecundity and reproductive efforts,
recruitment, feeding ecology and behavior, life history strategies, response
to pollution, management and conservation of sea bass are also addressed
in this chapter.
Most living organisms have developed a biological clock to keep time
and cope with predictable environmental changes by anticipating the
forthcoming of a recurrent event in their habitat. Fish in general, and sea
bass in particular, are no exception to this rule. The second chapter entitled
“The Biological Clock and Dualism” examines this topic; it has been authored
by Ana del Pozo and F. Javier Sánchez-Vázquez, from the Department
of Physiology, University of Murcia (Spain) and Jack Falcón, from the
Banyuls-sur-Mer Oceanological Observatory, CNRS-UPMC (France). This
chapter focuses on biological rhythms and zeitgebers (food, photoperiod,
temperature), the molecular clock machinery that controls these rhythms, as
well as in dualism (diurnal vs. nocturnal) and the mechanisms controlling
this dualism in feeding and locomotor behavior, digestive physiology, and
seasonal reproductive rhythms in sea bass.
The pineal organ of fish is a photosensory and neuroendocrine
epithalamic structure that plays a key role in the temporal organisation of
physiological and behavioral processes. In the chapter “The Pineal Organ
of the European Sea Bass: A Neuroanatomical Approach”, the authors present
a review of their studies on the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy
of the pineal organ in the European sea bass and the characterization of
pineal photoreceptive and melatonin-synthesizing cells. Moreover, they
summarise the bidirectional connections of the pineal with the brain through
pinealofugal (efferent) and pinealopetal (afferent) projections, as well as
the targets of the neuroendocrine message of the pineal organ (melatonin)
by describing the tissue-specifi c distribution and localization melatonin
receptors in the retina, the brain and somatic tissues of sea bass. This
chapter has been written by Patricia Herrera-Pérez, M. Carmen Rendón-
Unceta and José Antonio Muñoz-Cueto, from the Department of Biology
of the University of Cadiz (Spain), Arianna Servili, from the Department
of Functional Physiology of Marine Organisms, IFREMER (France) and
Jack Falcón, from the Banyuls-sur-Mer Oceanological Observatory, CNRS-
UPMC (France).
Preface vii
The following chapter is entitled “Melatonin Rhythms” and is authored
by Luisa M. Vera and Hervé Migaud, from the Institute of Aquaculture,
University of Stirling (UK). In the European sea bass, several studies have
focused on the description, regulation and physiological role of melatonin
rhythms. Current knowledge covers issues regarding photoreception,
infl uence of light intensity and spectrum on melatonin production, circadian
and seasonal rhythmicity, extrapineal sources of melatonin, distribution, and
daily and seasonal rhythms of melatonin receptors, among others. Many of
these fi ndings are reviewed and discussed throughout this chapter.
Fish integrate environmental cues using specifi c sensory systems such
as the pineal organ, and transduce them into a cascade of hormones along
the brain-pituitary-gonadal axis, which control the timing of seasonal
reproduction. The purpose of this sequence of events is to ensure that
reproduction takes place at the time of year most favourable for the
survival of progeny. In the next chapter, entitled “Neuroendocrine Regulation
of Reproduction in Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus Labrax)”, the authors focus on the
extraordinary complexity of the neuroendocrine control of reproductive axis
of sea bass and they detail the factors modulating this reproductive axis,
with both positive and negative effects, including the relevant knowledge
acquired very recently in their laboratories. This chapter is authored by
Arianna Servili, from the Department of Functional Physiology of Marine
Organisms, IFREMER (France), Olivier Kah, from INSERM, Université de
Rennes 1-CNRS (France) and Patricia Herrera-Pérez, José Antonio Paullada
Salmerón and José Antonio Muñoz-Cueto, from the Department of Biology
of the University of Cadiz (Spain).
During the fi rst weeks of life, marine fi sh larvae undergo signifi cant
morphological and physiological modifi cations to acquire all the adult
features by the end of the larval period. This phase is certainly the most
critical in the life cycle of fi sh, not only in natural environments, but also
under controlled aquaculture conditions. The chapter “European Sea Bass
Larval Culture” represents the contribution of Enric Gisbert and Alicia
Estévez, from IRTA Centre de Sant Carles de la Ràpita (Spain), Ignacio
Fernández, from CCMAR/CIMAR, Universidade do Algarve (Portugal),
Natalia Villamizar, from the Department of Physiology, University of Murcia
(Spain), Maria J. Darias, from IRD-Université Montpellier II (France) and
Jose L. Zambonino-Infante, from the Department of Functional Physiology
of Marine Organisms, IFREMER (France). To begin, the authors focus
on the embryonic and larval development of European sea bass with a
comprehensive analysis of the ontogenetic changes during the early life
stages of fi sh. Later, a description of the current larval production systems
at an industrial and laboratory scale is presented with special emphasis
on the optimal rearing factors affecting fry production. Finally, the authors
viii Biology of European Sea Bass
review how some of the most important abiotic (light and temperature)
and biotic (nutrition) factors affect larval performance.
Feeding by fi sh is dependent upon their sensory capacities to locate
food, their ability to capture, handle and ingest food items, and their
physiological and biochemical capacities to digest and transform ingested
nutrients. In the chapter “Foraging Behavior”, Sandie Millot and Marie-
Laure Begout from the Fishing Resources Laboratory of La Rochelle,
IFREMER (France) and David Benhaïm, from LERMA, INTECHMER/
CNAM, Cherbourg (France), describe the main traits of foraging behavior
both in the wild and in aquaculture for the different life stages of sea bass.
The chapter also presents foraging behavior in the natural environment,
then details foraging in the aquaculture environment in relation with
environmental factors and fi nally describes other related behavior and
illustrates the infl uence of domestication and selection processes on sea
bass behavioral traits.
Feeding is a key function in evolution since metabolic energy obtainment
and storage make an important contribution to survival rates. The following
chapter entitled “Food Intake Regulation”, is aimed at reviewing all the central
and peripheral regulators of food intake that have been studied in sea bass.
In addition, the author also reviews the relationship of food intake with
some physiological processes (such as reproduction and stress response)
and environmental factors (temperature, salinity, oxygen and ammonia)
which are known to modulate food intake in sea bass. The author of this
chapter is José Miguel Cerdá-Reverter, from the Institute of Aquaculture
of Torre de la Sal, CSIC (Spain).
In fi sh farming, the cost of feed is the largest factor of production, and,
therefore, it is important to minimize the cost of the feed while maintaining
high growth rate of the fi sh. In this context, the chapter “Nutrition and
Dietary Selection” represents the contribution of Rodrigo Fortes da Silva,
Francisco Javier Sánchez-Vázquez and Francisco Javier Martínez-López,
from the Department of Physiology of the University of Murcia (Spain).
The fi rst section of this chapter deals with basic and practical aspects,
comprising protein, energy, lipid and carbohydrate nutrition in sea bass. The
requirements of each macronutrient and its replacement with sustainable
food sources, micronutrient requirements and the use of probiotics are
also reviewed. The second section of the chapter covers dietary selection
and the ability of sea bass to detect and self-select different food types.
Both macro- and micro-nutrient selection are considered, as well the basic
mechanisms responsible for the control of food intake and dietary selection
in sea bass.
Farming practices alter the natural equilibrium between the host and
the pathogen found in the wild, favoring the emergence of diseases and
posing a major problem for the aquaculture industry. Farmed fi sh are also
Preface ix
constantly exposed to different types of stressors such as bad or poor culture
conditions, inadequate diets and other anthropogenic factors that might
compromise their performance and survival. In the chapter “Pathology”,
Ariadna Sitjà-Bobadilla, from the Institute of Aquaculture of Torre de la
Sal, CSIC (Spain), Carlos Zarza, from Tassal Group Limited, Tasmania
(Australia) and Belén Fouz, from the Department of Microbiology and
Ecology, University of Valencia (Spain), review the main pathologies due
to bacteria, virus, protozoan and metazoan parasites in the European sea
bass. In addition, they also discuss other pathologies induced by aquaculture
practices, disorders provoked by harmful algae blooms and jellyfi sh and
tumors reported in sea bass populations.
The fish immune system is characterized by a multi-layered
organization that provides immunity to infectious organisms, and each layer
can be considered to have an increasing complexity. In this way the central
challenge of fi sh immunology, which includes the sea bass model, is now
to fully characterize the occurring immune responses. The next chapter is
entitled “Current Knowledge on the Development and Functionality of Immune
Responses in the European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)” and is authored
by Jorge Galindo-Villegas and Victoriano Mulero, from the Department of
Cell Biology and Histology, University of Murcia (Spain). In this chapter,
the authors briefl y summarize and update the emergence, phylogenetic
distribution and functionality of D. labrax innate and adaptive immunity, as
well as the most relevant interactions between them towards host defense
against pathogens.
The book ends with a chapter on “The Response to Stressors in the Sea
Bass”. Stress is an important physiological response that all animals,
including fi sh, experience when they are subjected to alarming situations.
The stress impact in fi sh has been assessed in aquaculture in relation to
fi sh transport, environmental factors, and factors related to husbandry
practices, including social stressors. The issue of stress in aquaculture is
highly signifi cant, because a number of consequences often undesired but
always relevant for fi sh performance such as growth, disease resistance,
behavior and energy balance are clearly observed. Many of the fi ndings
obtained by authors in relation to the stress response in the European sea
bass are reviewed and discussed in this chapter. The authors contributing to
this chapter are Lluis Tort, from the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology
and Immunology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, (Spain), Josep
Rotllant, from the Vigo Marine Research Institute, CSIC (Spain), Michalis
Pavlidis, from the Department of Biology, University of Crete (Greece),
Daniel Montero, from the Aquaculture Research Group, University of Las
Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain) and Genciana Terova, from the Department
of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria (Italy).
