Effect of hypoxia on the blood of large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea)

Large areas of hypoxic water have recently been reported in the East China Sea. It is hypothesized that hypoxia may be partially responsible for the decline of some fish stocks. We evaluated the effect of hypoxia on large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea). The fish were exposed to three concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO; 1.5 mg/L and 2.0 mg/L, and 6.5 mg/L control). We collected blood after 6, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h exposure. There was a significant increase in red blood count, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin in the group exposed to 1.5 mg/L DO after 6 h or 12 h, and a delayed increase (only elevated after 48 h and 96 h) in these indices in the group exposed to 2.0 mg/L DO. Plasma glucose concentrations increased significantly in both hypoxic groups after 24 h. Furthermore, plasma lactate and lactate dehydrogenase activity increased significantly after the first 6 h exposure in both hypoxic groups. Our results suggest that large yellow croakers could not maintain the aerobic pathway and instead use anaerobic metabolism for survival when DO levels fall below 2.0 mg/L. We conclude that the occurrence of hypoxia (<2 mg/L DO) in the East China Sea could cause metabolic stress for large yellow croakers and may be partially responsible for the population decline of this species.