INTERACTION OF SHORT-TERM TESTOSTERONE TREATMENT WITH OSMOTIC ACCLIMATION IN THE GILTHEAD SEA BREAM SPARUS AURATUS

To assess the interaction between testosterone (T) treatment and acclimation to different salinities, seawater- acclimated gilthead sea bream (Sparus auratus) were implanted with slow-release coconut oil implants alone (control) or containing T (5 ?g/g body mass). After 5 days, eight fish of control and T-treated groups were sampled. The same day, eight fish of each group were transferred to low salinity water (LSW, 6 ppt, hypoosmotic test), seawater (SW, 38 ppt, control test) and high salinity water (HSW, 55 ppt, hyperosmotic test) and sampled 9 days later. Gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity increased in HSW-acclimated fish with respect to SW- and LSW-acclimated fish in both control and T-treated groups. Kidney Na+, K+-ATPase activity was also enhanced in HSW-acclimated fish, but only in T-treated group. From a metabolic point of view, most of the changes observed can be attributed to the action of salinity and T treatment alone, since few interactions between T treatment and osmotic acclimation to different salinities were observed. Those interactions included in treated fish: in the liver, decreased capacity in using glucose in fish acclimated to extreme salinities; in the gills, decreased capacity in using amino acids in HSW; in the kidneys increased capacity in using amino acids in extreme salinities; and in the brain, decreased glycogen and acetoacetate levels of fish in LSW.