Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-q6k6v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T15:48:07.943Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The skin surface ecosystem of teleost fishes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

Ronald J. Roberts
Affiliation:
Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling
Alistair M. Bullock
Affiliation:
Dunstaffnage Marine Research Laboratory, Oban, Argyll
Get access

Synopsis

The skin surface of teleost fish dififers from that of higher vertebrates in that it is a living vital substrate at the margin between the water and the tissues. Its surface is continually sloughing into the water, to be replaced from the mucoid and formed elements of the epidermis. The surface, or cuticle, is altered by cyclical physiological changes in the animal, and also by pathological conditions. These, and the nature of the external medium, affect the range and the ecology of the biota of the surface. The secretions on the skin surface may also have a protective capacity. Fish epidermis is delicate and easily traumatized and there is great mobility of the Malpighian cells which allows rapid sealing of any breaches.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aschehough, V., and Vesterhus, R., 1943. Investigations of the bacterial flora of fresh herring. Zentbl. Bakt. ParasitKde (Abt. 2), 106, 527.Google Scholar
Bullock, A. M., Marks, R., and Roberts, R. J., 1978a. The cell kinetics of teleost fish epidermis: Mitotic activity of the normal epidermis at varying temperatures in plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). J. Zool., Lond., 184, 423428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, A. M., 1978b. The cell kinetics of teleost fish epidermis: Epidermal mitotic activity in relation to wound healing at varying temperatures in plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). J. Zool., Lond., 185, 197204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, A. M., and Roberts, R. J., 1975. The dermatology of marine teleost fish 1. The normal integument. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev., 13, 383411.Google Scholar
Fletcher, T. C., and White, A., 1973. Lysozyme activity in the plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). Experientia, 29, 12831285.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henrickson, R. C., 1967. Incorporation of tritiated thymidine by teleost epidermal cells. Experientia, 23, 357358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henrickson, R. C., and Matoltey, A. G., 1968. The fine structure of teleost epidermis. 1. Introduction and filament-containing cells. J. Ultrastruct. Res., 21, 194212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horsley, R. W., 1973. The bacterial flora of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in relation to its environment. J. Appl. Bad., 36, 377386.Google ScholarPubMed
Pickering, A. D., 1974. The distribution of mucous cells in the epidermis of the brown trout Salmo trutta (L.) and the char Salvelinus alpinus (L.). J. Fish. Biol., 6, 111118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reay, G. A., and Shewan, J. M., 1949. The care of the trawler's fish. Adv. Fd Res., 2, 343398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, R. H., and Pickering, A. D., 1978. Frequency and distribution patterns of Saprolegnia infection in wild and hatchery-reared brown trout Salmo trutta L. and char Salvelinus alpinus (L.). J. Fish.Dis., 1, 6982.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, R. H., and Roberts, R. J., 1978. The bacteriology of teleosts. In Fish Pathology. Ed. Roberts, R. J.. London: Baillière Tindall.Google Scholar
Roberts, R. J., and Bullock, A. M., 1976. The dermatology of marine teleost fish. II. Dematopathology of the integument. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. A. Rev., 14, 227246.Google Scholar
Rosen, M. W., and Cornford, N. E., 1971. Fluid friction offish slimes. Nature, Lond., 234, 4951.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shewan, J. M., and Hobbs, G., 1967. In Progress in Industrial Microbiology. Ed. Hockenhull, D. J. D., pp. 169208. London: Iliffe Books.Google Scholar
Thomson, D. A., 1969. Toxic stress secretions of the boxfish Ostracion meleagris. Copeia, 2, 335352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Von Frisch, K., 1941. A substance from fish skin that causes the alarm reaction and its biological significance. Z. Vergl. Physiol., 29, 46145.Google Scholar
Whitear, M., 1970. The skin surface of bony fishes. J. Zool., Lond., 160, 437454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitear, M., 1971. Cell specialization and sensory function in fish epidermis. J. Zool., Lond., 163, 237264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar