Effects of juvenile thermal preconditioning on the heat-shock, immune, and stress responses of rainbow trout upon a secondary thermal challenge.

Higher water temperatures and pathogens are both significant factors that negatively affect the welfare of teleost fish. In aquaculture, compared to natural populations, these problems are especially exacerbated, as the animals have relatively limited mobility, and the higher density promotes faster spread of infectious diseases. Because of the potential harm these stressors can inflict, methods that can limit the damage of these stressors are particularly valuable.

Understanding acute stress-mediated immunity in teleost fish.

The abilities and ways in which organisms respond to stress have long been demonstrated to affect the immune response of the organism. In mammalian studies, researchers have observed that chronic/long-term stress has a pronounced immunosuppressive effect, while studies in acute stress have demonstrated some immunoenhansive properties. These dynamics have been somewhat conserved in fish, as the effects of cortisol and chronic stress on the fish immune system are distinctly immunosuppressive, however, acute stress mediated immunomodulation is still poorly understood.