Document Type : Original research
Authors
1
Integrated Coastal Zone Management Study Program, Institute of Postgraduate, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia
2
Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia; Marine and Fisheries Research Center, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia
3
Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN), Cibinong, Indonesia
4
Department of Marine Sciences, Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia; Marine and Fisheries Research Center, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia
5
Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia
6
University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
7
Faculty Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
8
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
9
Faculty of Fishery, Munzur University, Turkey
10
Department of Environmental Sciences - Tezpur Central University, Assam, India
Abstract
Barramundi, Lates calcarifer is one of the commercial fish in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. The species inhabits the coastal waters and is vulnerable to changes in the terrestrial environment due to coastal degradation, pollution, and global warming. The increase in temperature as a consequence of global warming affects the distribution and survival of aquatic organisms including fish. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of increasing water temperatures on the physiological conditions and gill histology of barramundi. The fish were exposed to eight levels of water temperature, ranging from 28 to 35 oC, for 15 days. The initial temperature was 28oC, which increased gradually by 1 oC per 12-hour. Blood samples were taken at the end of the experiment for hemoglobin, glucose, cortisol, erythrocytes, leucocytes, and blood abnormality analyses. Gill samples were also taken for histological analysis. The results showed that water temperature significantly affected the level of glucose, cortisol, and erythrocyte cells (P<0.05), but did not influence hemoglobin levels and survival rate (P>0.05). A rapid increase in glucose and cortisol levels was also discovered at a temperature of 31 oC above. The highest erythrocyte cell count was found at 35 oC, gill cell abnormalities were occurred at temperature of 31 oC and above, and the blood abnormalities increased linearly with water temperature. Based on these results, it is concluded that the water temperature did not affect the survival rate but the increase in temperature causes intense physiological stress.
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