Turk J Zool

33 (2009) 413-419
TBTAK
Research Article doi:10.3906/zoo-0806-21

The effect of lordosis severity on juvenile sea bass

(Dicentrarchus labrax L., 1758) swimming performance

Fatih BAARAN1,*, Hseyin ZBLGN2, Yeliz DOANYILMAZ ZBLGN2,

kr enol PARU1, Osman ZDEN1
1
Ege University, Fisheries Faculty, 35440, skele-Urla, zmir - TURKEY
2
Mersin University, Fisheries Faculty, Yeniehir Campus, 33169, Mersin TURKEY

Received: 26.06.2008

Abstract: The relationship between the lordosis severity and swimming performance in sea bass juveniles was
investigated. In total, 149 experimental animals 110-130 days old that ranged from 1.44 to 3.44 g (meanTW SD: 2.41
0.49 g) and 5.4 to 6.5 cm (meanTL SD: 6.03 0.39 cm) were used in experiments to determine critical swimming speed
(Ucrit) in water that was 14 1 C. Vertebral angle in normal healthy fish is 180. The lordosis severity in abnormal fish
is indicated by a reduction in this value. Vertebral angles () of the experimental animals in this study ranged from
115 to 180 on the hemal region, and Ucrit ranged from 32.67 to 44.73 cm s-1. A significant reduction in Ucrit was
observed as lordosis severity increased (decreasing vertebral angle), showing that swimming performance was
influenced by vertebral angle deformity in this species. This information has the potential to improve separation
methods at commercial hatcheries.

Key words: Lordosis severity, swimming performance, Ucrit, sea bass

Lordosis iddetinin levrek (Dicentrarchus labrax L., 1758)

juvenillerinin yzme performansna etkisi
zet: Lordosis iddeti ile levrek juvenillerinin yzme performans arasndaki iliki aratrlmtr. 14 1 C su
scaklndaki kritik yzme hzn (Ucrit) belirlemek iin, 1,44 g ile 3,44 g (ortalamaTA SS: 2,41 0,49 g) aras
arlklarda ve 5,4 cm ile 6,5 cm (ortalamaTB SS: 6,03 0,39 cm) aras boylarda, 110 130 gnlk 149 deney hayvan
kullanlmtr. Normal, salkl balklarda omurga as, 180 olarak llmtr. Anormal balklardaki lordosis iddeti,
bu deerde bir d gstermektedir. Bu almada kullanlan deney hayvanlarnn omurga alar (), 115 ile 180 ve
kritik yzme hz deerleri, 32,67 cm s-1 ile 44,73 cm s-1 arasnda deiiklik gstermitir. Lordosis iddetinin artyla
(azalan omurga as), Ucrit deerinde nemli bir d olduu belirlenmitir. Sonular, bu trdeki yzme
performansnn, omurga alarndan etkilendiini gstermitir ve bu bilgi, ticari kulukahanelerde ayrma
yntemlerinin gelitirilmesi potansiyeline sahiptir.

Anahtar szckler: Lordosis iddeti, yzme performans, Ucrit, levrek

* E-mail: fatih.basaran@ege.edu.tr

413
The effect of lordosis severity on juvenile sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L., 1758) swimming performance
Introduction
Deformity of the vertebral column in reared fish
is a major factor related to economic loss, as it
decreases the quality of the produced fish by
negatively affecting their external morphology,
growth, and survival (Andrades et al., 1996;
Koumoundouros et al., 1997a; Favaloro and
Mazzola, 2000; Kihara et al., 2002; Kranenbarg et al.,
2005; Sfakianakis et al., 2006a, 2006b). Sea bass
(Dicentrarchus labrax L.) from different
Mediterranean hatcheries have a consistent number
of skeletal anomalies, mainly in the hemal and caudal
body regions (Loy et al., 1999; Afonso et al., 2000),
and production of sea bass and sea bream (Sparus
aurata L.) is greatly impaired by the high incidence
of skeletal malformation (Balebona et al., 1993;
Chatain, 1994; Koumoundourous et al., 1997a;
Boglione et al., 2001). Lordosis is one of the most
severe deformities observed in Mediterranean
aquaculture; it develops at the pre-hemal vertebrae
due to non-inflation of the swimbladder (Chatain
and Dewavrin, 1989) or at the hemal vertebrae as a
result of the intense water-current velocity in larval
rearing tanks (Divanach et al., 1997; Kihara et al.,
2002). The degree of hemal lordosis ranges from
slight axial modification to acute lordosis angles
(Divanach et al., 1997) and, therefore, study of the
effects of deformity on body shape is of primary
importance for standardization of a scale for precise
quality assessment at hatcheries (Sfakianakis et al.,
2006a, 2006b).
The relationship between lordosis severity and
swimming performance in sea bass juveniles was
investigated in the present study. Swimming
performance is a crucial factor that affects the
survival of most fish species (Plaut, 2001). There are
3 levels of swimming activity (sustained, prolonged,
and burst) and several methodologies for measuring
swimming performance. Critical swimming speed
(Ucrit) is a special category of prolonged swimming
(Peake, 2004). It was first introduced by Brett (1964)
as a measure of the sub-maximum and mainly
aerobic swimming performance of fish. The Ucrit
method is an easy means of measuring swimming
performance and involves having fish swim at
incrementally increasing speeds until exhaustion
(Plaut, 2001). It is assumed that swimming speed
414
limits and endurance are directly related to the
ability to escape from predators, capture food,
reproduce, and avoid dangerous conditions, and,
therefore, are subjected to strong selection pressure
that enhances evolutionary fitness (Videler, 1993;
Plaut, 2001).
Fish living in aquaculture conditions were shown
to have similar characteristics to those in natural
aquatic environments (Andrew et al., 2002; zbilgin
and Baaran, 2005; Baaran, 2006; Baaran et al.,
2007a). For example, feeding competition is the main
component for survival in both wild and culture
environments. Swimming capacity is important for
catching food and sustaining life (Andrew et al.,
2002; Baaran, 2006). The relationship between
vertebral angle and swimming performance might
be important in the aquaculture industry. Baaran et
al. (2007b) reported that there were significant
differences between the swimming performance of
normal fish and fish with skeletal deformities.
Normal sea bass juveniles were significantly better
swimmers than abnormal specimens with lordosis;
however, Baaran et al. (2007b) did not investigate
the influence of lordosis severity on swimming
performance. They concluded that such information
has the potential to improve methods for separating
deformed fish from normal fish during the sorting
process. Presently, abnormal fish are separated from
normal fish manually. For example, separation of
juveniles with and without a swimbladder is based
on differences in floatability in high salinity
conditions (Chapman et al., 1988; Chatain and
Corrao, 1992) and is widely used at hatcheries.
Skeletal abnormalities are manually sorted on a
semitransparent glass table illuminated from below
with the fish anesthetized. The present study aimed
to investigate the relationship between lordosis
severity and swimming performance in sea bass
juveniles using the Ucrit test and radiographic image
analysis.
Materials and methods
Experiments were carried out in the current
channel of the fish behavior laboratory at Ege
University, Fisheries Faculty Urla Research Station in
February and March 2007.
 F. BAARAN, H. ZBLGN, Y. DOANYILMAZ ZBLGN, . . PARU, O. ZDEN
Experimental animals
Spontaneously spawned eggs were obtained from
the same broodstock reared in an indoor 20-m3
cylindrical tank in the hatchery. The eggs were
incubated, hatched, and reared using traditional
techniques in closed recirculation systems in 3-m
3 containing 10% formalin and was X-rayed on the
fiberglass tanks (Baaran, 2004). Larvae were fed
Artemia nauplii I-II instars enriched with Selco
(INVE, Belgium). Weaning was accomplished with a
commercial feed, adjusting the feed particle size in
relation to fish growth (NRD, 300-800, INVE,
Belgium).
For the experiments, 149 sea bass juveniles
ranging from 1.44 to 3.44 g (meanTW SD: 2.41
0.49 g) and from 5.4 to 6.5 cm (meanTL SD: 6.03
0.39 cm) were obtained from the same broodstock,
and were randomly taken from the same tank during
the sorting process in the hatchery. The fish were
110-130 days old. About 33% of the experimental
animals did not have any visually detectable
deformation, whereas the others had lordosis of
varying severity. Experimental animals were
transported from the Akva-Tek production hatchery
in Aliaa to the laboratory in 18 0.5 C water and
they adapted to the natural water temperature of 14
3
1 C in a 12-m circular tank over the course of 7
days. After the seventh day of adaptation the fish
were used for the experiments aimed to determine
their Ucrit.
Experimental device
Experiments were carried out in an open current
channel (technical drawings and detailed
descriptions are given in Baaran et al., 2007a,
2007b). Swimming was performed in a 40-cm
diameter 100-cm long PVC pipe mounted in the
channel. To keep the fish in the pipe, its front and
rear ends were rigged with 6-mm bar length netting.
Ucrit Test protocol
Ucrit tests were performed in 8 trials. The number
of experimental animals in each trial varied between
15 and 25. Prior to the experiment, fish were allowed
to adapt to the swimming pipe for 5 min. First, the
-1
current speed was set to 5 cm s and a stopwatch was
started. Then, every 5 min the speed was increased
-1
by 5 cm s . Once a fish was exhausted and had fallen
onto the rear pipe netting, the time was recorded and
the fish was euthanized with 2-phenoxyethanol 0.4-
0.5 ml l-1 for 30 min (Baaran et al., 2007c). Each fish
was weighed to the nearest 0.1 g and total length was
measured to the nearest 0.1 cm. Then, each fish was
placed in an individually numbered plastic bag
same day (Koumoundouros et al., 2000).
Ucrit was calculated according to the formula
given by Brett (1964):
Ucrit = Ui + (ti / tii Uii)
where Ui is the highest speed that the fish is able to
maintain for the prescribed period (cm s-1), Uii is the
velocity increment (5 cm s-1), ti is the time (min) fish
swim at the fatigue velocity (until falling onto the
rear pipe netting), and tii is the time interval (5 min).
Measurement of vertebral angle
X-ray radiographs were digitally obtained (Sony
DCR-TRV 33E). On these photographs the angle of
vertebral deformation was measured from the center
of the deformity, which in these experiments was
located in the hemal region comprising vertebrae 11-
21, by means of a computer program (Screen
Protractor v.4.0) (Figure 1). The center of the
software outline was superimposed on the center of
the deformity on the digital X-ray image, and the
angle between the lines passing through the vertebral
column in the cranial and caudal regions was
measured.
Figure 1. Measurement of the angle of deformation in a fish with
lordosis, as in Koumoundouros et al. (2000) and
Sfakianakis et al. (2006a, 2006b).
Statistical analysis
Regression analysis was used to determine the
relationship between the vertebral angle and Ucrit of
each fish. The F-test was used to verify whether data
points represented the linear regression line. The
degree of the relationship was determined by the
415
The effect of lordosis severity on juvenile sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L., 1758) swimming performance

correlation coefficient (r). Then, fish were sorted 44

into 6 groups (G0 to G5) according to vertebral

Critical swimming speced (cm s-1)

43
angle; GO being normal fish or those with very
minor lordosis, and G5 representing very severe 42

lordosis, as in Sfakianakis et al. (2006b). 41

The significance of the normal distribution of 40

total length in each group was tested using the one- 39
sample Kolmogorov Smirnovs test, and
homogeneity tests were performed using Levenes 38

statistical analysis. The same analyses were also 37

conducted for the Ucrit data in each group. Then, the 36
data were tested with ANOVA, followed by Tukeys N= 30 18 15 19 18 49
G0 G1 G2 G3 G4 G5
HSD test, or they were tested with the Kruskal-Wallis Vertebral classification groups
test, followed by the Mann-Whitney U test to
Figure 2. Changes in mean Ucrit (cm s-1) values of sea bass
determine the level of significance of the differences
juveniles according to 6 vertebral angle classes.
in Ucrit between the groups. SPSS v.9.05 and
Microsoft Excel (version 2003) software were used
for the statistical analyses. For all tests the level of 180 y = 360.66x + 11.852
175
significance was set at P = 0.05. Vertebral angle ()
170
165
160
155
Results 150
145
The angle of the vertebral column at the hemal 140
135
region (; indicating the severity of lordosis) ranged 130
125
from 115 to 180 and Ucrit increased as the vertical 120
angle decreased (Figure 2). 115
0.32 0.34 0.36 0.38 0.4 0.42 0.44 0.46
A significant relationship was observed between Critical Swimming Speed (m s-1)
the vertebral angle and Ucrit
Figure 3. Relationship between vertebral angle and Ucrit (m s-1).
(n = 149, F = 74.77, P < 0.05), with a correlation
coefficient of r = 0.58, indicating a strong positive Length and weight data in each group were
correlation between swimming capacity (x) and normally distributed, their variances were
vertebral angle (y) (Figure 3). homogeneous, and their means were not
Table 1 shows fish mean length, weight, and Ucrit significantly different (ANOVA, P > 0.05). Mean Ucrit
-1
values according to the 6 vertebral angle classes in G0 (42.26 1.78 cm s ) was significantly higher
based on Sfakianakis et al. (2006b). than that of all the other groups (n = 149, F =16.701,

Table 1. Sample grouping into classes of mean vertebral angle according to Sfakianakis et al. (2006b) mean total weight, mean total
length, and mean Ucrit.

n Angle classes Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD

-1
() Total Weight (g) Total Length (cm) Ucrit (cm s )
a
G0 30 173.0-180.0 2.53 0.53 6.14 0.40a 42.26 1.78a
G1 18 166.0-172.9 2.33 0.60a 5.96 0.41a 40.65 1.90b
G2 15 159.0-165.9 2.31 0.55a 5.91 0.43a 39.66 2.38bc
G3 19 152.0-158.9 2.15 0.38a 5.91 0.37a 38.51 2.86cd
G4 18 145.0-151.9 2.35 0.39a 5.98 0.39a 38.20 3.00cd
G5 49 < 144.9 2.52 0.43a 6.09 0.35a 37.77 2.19d
Mean values in the same column with the same superscript letter are not significantly different (ANOVA, P > 0.05).

416
 F. BAARAN, H. ZBLGN, Y. DOANYILMAZ ZBLGN, . . PARU, O. ZDEN
P = 0.00); however, Ucrit in G2, G3, and G4 were the
same.
Table 2 shows the mean Ucrit value, total length,
and weight of all the G0 juvenile sea bass classified
according to their deformity angle (180-173 (n =
30). None of the fish had an angle between 177.0
and 177.9, and no differences were observed in
mean Ucrit between the different groups (P > 0.05).
Discussion
The effects of skeletal deformity on fish body
shape have previously been studied by means of
geometrics and morphometrics (Divanach et al.,
1997; Koumoundouros et al., 1997b; Loy et al., 1999,
2000; Sfakianakis et al., 2006b). To the best of our
knowledge the present study is the first to investigate
the effect of skeletal deformity on Ucrit. Swimming
ability plays a significant role in fish survival and
improving it has the potential to make aquaculture
more profitable. Yet, there are a limited number of
studies on the use of variation in fish swimming
performance in aquaculture (Koumoundouros et al.,
1997a; Baaran et al., 2007a, 2007b). The results of
the present study clearly demonstrate that there was
a significant relationship between the lordosis
severity and swimming performance in sea bass
(Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles; Ucrit increased as the
vertebral angle increased. The negative effects of
lordosis deformities on fish production are well
known (Andrades et al., 1996; Koumoundouros et
al., 1997a, 2000; Favaloro and Mazzola, 2000;
Kranenbarg et al., 2005; Sfakianakis et al., 2006a,
2006b; Peruzzi et al., 2007). Lordosis is caused by
disturbance of a number of internal mechanisms
Table 2. Mean and standard deviations of Ucrit (cm s-1), total length (cm), and total weight (g) of the experimental fish with different
vertebral angles in group G0.
Angle classes () n Total Length (cm)
180.0 6 6.41 0.11
179.0-179.9 2 6.45 0.07
178.0-178.9 3 5.92 0.48
176.0-176.9 3 6.36 0.23
175.0-175.9 5 5.99 0.46
174.0-174.9 9 5.92 0.46
173.0-173.9 2 6.30 0.28
Data in the same column are not significantly different (Kruskal-Wallis test, P > 0.05).
and/or inadequate external environmental factors
during the early life stages of fish (Kihara et al., 2002;
Jacquemond, 2004). This abnormality induces
alterations to external morphology, low survival
rates, and poor growth rates, which affect the entire
life cycle (Divanach et al., 1996; Koumoundouros et
al., 1997a, 1997b). It increases the cost of fingerlings,
but also affects the marketing price of commercial-
sized fish.
In the present study critical swimming speed of
the G0 class fish (42.26 cm s-1) was significantly
higher than that of the other groups; however, within
the G0 group individual larval performance was
similar. In other words, mild lordosis did not have a
significant effect on swimming performance. In a
study of the standardization of quality assessment,
Sfakianakis et al. (2006b) similarly reported that G0
class fish (lordosis angle 173-180) were similar in
final image and shape. According to Baaran et al.
(2007b), differences in fish swimming performance
could be used in hatcheries to separate deformed fish
from normal fish. They performed an endurance test
at a fixed water velocity of 50 cm s-1 with the same
experimental set up used in the present study, and
reported that 28% of the deformed specimens
(including minor deformations) could be separated
within 10 min, without losing any normal fish (180
vertebral angle). In the present study, if all the
deformed specimens in the G0 group (Table 2, n =
24) are assumed to be normal, the number of
deformed specimens would decrease from 143 to
119, and if such change is reflected in a 28%
separation success rate with the methodology used
by Baaran et al. (2007b), the new separation success
rate would be approximately 34% (143/119 34/28).
-1
Total Weight (g) Ucrit (cm s )
2.66 0.22 42.49 1.10
3.00 0.19 43.52 1.39
2.45 0.56 42.22 0.50
2.86 0.54 40.44 2.20
2.45 0.72 42.58 2.08
2.27 0.59 42.09 2.14
2.70 0.46 43.10 1.98
417
The effect of lordosis severity on juvenile sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L., 1758) swimming performance
In conclusion, separation of fish with lordosis
according to swimming performance has the
potential to increase profitable production via
reductions in labor in commercial hatcheries, which
should be tested under commercial hatchery
conditions.
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