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Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Active osmoregulation in the Australian Bass, Macquaria novemaculeata (Steindachner), and the golden perch, Macquaria ambigua (Richardson) (Percichthyidae)

JS Langdon

Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38(6) 771 - 776
Published: 1987

Abstract

The Australian bass, M. novemaculeata, and the golden perch, M. ambigua, differed in the osmoregulatory response of the gills to salinity change. Bass displayed lower gill Na+/K+-transporting ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase activities in salt water than in fresh water, whereas golden perch displayed the opposite pattern. This difference may indicate that the golden perch has evolved further toward a fresh- water life cycle than the bass, with reduced osmoregulatory effort, particularly in the critical juvenile phase, in fresh water. The spawning and initial juvenile residence of bass in hypertonic conditions may similarly represent preference for, or adaptation to, a habitat that requires reduced osmoregulatory effort by the juveniles. It is suggested that artificial rearing conditions known to compromise the development of Na+/K+-transporting ATPase-dependent osmoregulation in other species should be avoided, particularly in bass reared in high salinities for stocking into fresh water.

https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9870771

© CSIRO 1987

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