The early physiological response (3 days) of greenlip (Haliotis laevigata Leach) and blacklip (H. rubra Leach) abalone to a single abrupt change in salinity was monitored using a multi-channel open-circuit respirometer. The range of salinity tolerance for both species in this trial was 25-40 ppt. Indications from other trials were that a margin of 2 ppt outside this range will cause mortality. Serum volume was increased by reduced salinity as much as 25% in the short term, with equilibration of the concomitant whole body weight increase (9.2±0.5%) occurring within 1h. The serum volume appeared to be decreased at high salinity. There was little underlying change in basal oxygen usage levels, but significant behavioural changes that affected overall oxygen consumption. Both high and low salinity appeared to reduce activity. Animals in low salinity exhibit partial recovery of activity levels after 1 day in a manner similar to other stress responses. Animals at high salinity (40 ppt) did not show recovery of activity levels over 3 days. Overall, these results suggest that greenlip and blacklip abalone will have little trouble tolerating moderately low-salinity environments.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Zoology
Research Field:	Animal physiology - systems
Objective Division:	Animal Production and Animal Primary Products
Objective Group:	Fisheries - aquaculture
Objective Field:	Fisheries - aquaculture not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Edwards, SJ (Dr Steve Edwards)
ID Code:	27281
Year Published:	2003
Web of Science® Times Cited:	7
Deposited By:	Health Sciences A
Deposited On:	2003-08-01
Last Modified:	2004-03-23
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