Effects of Ammonia Concentration on Histological and Physiological Status in Black Seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegeli)

The histological changes of gill, liver, spleen and muscle, and respiration and blood variables and liver glycogen content were examined in black seabream, Acanthopagrus schlegeli. Fish were exposed to a high level of total ammonia nitrogen (10.4 mg/l) and recovered from exposure $(0.4{\pm}0.2mg/l)$ in a closed recirculating seawater system. In the process of exposure, mortality was $9\%$, and hyperplasia, necrosis or inflammation appeared in all tissues except for muscle. Oxygen consumption was decreased by $49\%$, and red blood cell (RBC) number, hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration were significantly decreased, while plasma glucose contents, activities of glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) increased. Liver glycogen content significantly increased from $6.6\%\;to\;10.4\%$. A large amount of hemosiderin was observed in the splenic tissue. During the recovery period, RBC number, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, GOT and GPT activities were returned to the normal status. Histological status of liver tissue was returned to the normal, but liver glycogen content was not recovered. During the recovery period, spleen melanin-macrophages temporarily increased, but subsequently decreased to the normal status.