Skeletal Anomalies in Senegalese Sole (<i>Solea senegalensis</i>, Kaup) Fed with Different Commercial Enriched <i>Artemia</i>: A Study in Postlarvae and Juveniles
Ana Manuela de Azevedo,
Ana Paula Losada,
Isabel Ferreiro,
Ana Riaza,
Vanesa Losada,
Tommaso Russo,
Clara Boglione,
Sonia Vázquez,
María Isabel Quiroga
Affiliations
Ana Manuela de Azevedo
Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Campus Universitario S/N, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Ana Paula Losada
Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Campus Universitario S/N, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Isabel Ferreiro
Stolt Sea Farm, Edificio Quercus, C/Letonia n.° 2, 15701 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Ana Riaza
Stolt Sea Farm, Edificio Quercus, C/Letonia n.° 2, 15701 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy
Clara Boglione
Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy
Sonia Vázquez
Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Campus Universitario S/N, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
María Isabel Quiroga
Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Campus Universitario S/N, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
The high incidence of skeletal anomalies in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) still constitutes a bottleneck constraining its production. There are diverse commercially available products for the enrichment of live preys, but few reports of their influence on skeletogenesis in Senegalese sole. This study evaluated the presence of vertebral anomalies in postlarvae and juvenile Senegalese sole fed with Artemia spp. metanauplii enriched with four commercial products (EA, EB, EC, and ED) in a fish farm. The most frequent alterations consisted of deformations of the neural/haemal arches and spines and fusions and deformations of hypurals, epural, or parhypural. The correspondence analysis ordered fish from each age in separated semiaxis, indicating the presence of different anomaly patterns for the two sampled stages. The results showed only very light changes in the frequency of vertebral abnormalities among tested enrichment products, i.e., individuals from EC and EA lots displayed less vertebral body anomalies and/or vertebral column deviations at 31 and 105 days after hatching, respectively. The existence of a large shared malformation pattern in all the experimental groups leads to impute to the rearing conditions as the main driving factor of the onset of such group of anomalies, probably masking some dietary effect.
