Diplodus sargus interrenal-pituitary response: chemical communication in stressed fish

In the present study the response of white sea-bream (Diplodus sargus), used as experimental model, to different stocking densities was tested to assess whether the induced stress conditions were able to activate a chemical communication. Once a good recovery was evident, six days after capture and transportation, experiments started to evaluate eventual changes in cortisol plasma levels as well as in both plasma and pituitary alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) levels. These studies demonstrated that a low stocking density (2.5kg/1000L) is not deleterious for this species while a higher one (10kg/1000L) induces the activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal axis (HPI). Thus, in these fish were evident both a significant increase of cortisol plasma levels and a significant decrease of alpha-MSH pituitary levels, while no significant changes were detected in alpha-MSH plasma concentrations. The most relevant result reported in this study, for the first time in marine species, is the presence of a chemical communication among stressed fish. It also should be noted that the data obtained from cortisol and alpha-MSH detections strongly indicate a gender specificity of this chemical signal.