Effects of Stress on Growth, Behaviour and Physiological Activity in Fish

• DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6039305
• Publication Date: 2022-02-10
• Authors: Asare Derrick; Salifu Ibrahim
• Keywords: Stress, Immunity, Behaviour, Growth, Physiology; 14. Life underwater; 3. Good health

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the stresses that aquatic faunae specifically fish face and how these affect their production. Most animals experience stress, which triggers a variety of reactions involving all three regulating systems: neurological, endocrine, and immunological. Internal and environmental stresses expose fish to aquaculture settings, increasing their vulnerability to mortality and morbidity. The autonomic or limbic system is activated when the brain accumulates stress signals and processes them according to the severity, frequency, duration, and kind of stress. When the stressor is acute and short-term, the fish immune response is stimulatory, with an activation phase that specifically enhances innate responses. When a stressor is chronic, the immune response shows suppressive effects increasing the odds of infection. In general, species living close their environmental tolerance limits proved to be more susceptible to extra chemical stress. Toxicity usually increases by raising the temperature and lowering the food or nutrient levels. However, dealing with the stressor has an allostatic cost that may conflict with the immune response's requirements. The mechanisms underlying these immune regulatory changes are discussed in this paper, as well as the role of the main neuroendocrine mechanisms directly influencing the development of the immune response to stress on growth, behaviour, and physiological activity in aquatic animals, as well as their consequences.