Effect of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on the life stages of fish Item Type Article Authors Alves, Ricardo; Agusti, Susana Citation Alves, R. N., & Agustí, S. (2020). Effect of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on the life stages of fish. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. doi:10.1007/s11160-020-09603-1 Eprint version Publisher's Version/PDF DOI 10.1007/s11160-020-09603-1 Publisher Springer Nature Journal Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries Rights This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. Download date 26/09/2021 00:14:33 Item License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10754/662898 Rev Fish Biol Fisheries https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-020-09603-1 (0123456789().,-volV)( 0123456789().,-volV) REVIEWS Effect of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on the life stages of fish Ricardo N. Alves . Susana Agustı´ Received: 31 August 2019 / Accepted: 24 April 2020 Ó The Author(s) 2020 Abstract Current levels of Ultraviolet Radiation with excessive UVR exposure are also revised. (UVR) represent a significant threat to many fish Currently, stratospheric ozone dynamics and climate species. The first studies on the effects of UVR on change interact strongly, enhancing the potential organisms were performed on fish at the beginning of exposure of fish to UVR under water. Due to these the twentieth century, and the topic has been pro- environmental changes, fish are exposed to new and gressing continuously until the present. Here, we complex interactions between UVR and environmen- review the reported harmful effects of ultraviolet B tal stressors, which potentially affects fish growth and (UVB) and A (UVA) radiations in fish at different survival. Understanding the ability of fish to cope and lifecycle stages, including embryo, larvae, juveniles adapt to these environmental changes will be essential and adults. The most evident negative effects during to evaluate the potential impact in fisheries and the early development stages are an increase in mitigate ecological problems. mortality and incidence in developmental malforma- tions, with the skin and gills the most affected tissues Keywords Ultraviolet radiation Á Harmful effects Á in larvae. Growth reduction, a loss in body condition, Fish Á Life stages and behavioral, physiological and metabolic changes in juveniles/adults occur under short- or long-term UVB exposure. The skin in juveniles/adults undergoes profound morphological and functional changes, even Introduction after acute exposure to UVR. Impairment of molecular and cellular processes was evidenced in all develop- Solar energy reaching the earth’s surface includes ment stages by increasing the levels of DNA damage, ultraviolet radiation (UVR) that can be divided into apoptosis and changing tissues’ antioxidant status. three spectral bands: ultraviolet C, highly harmful The different photo-protective mechanisms to cope (UVC, 200–280 nm; mostly absorbed by stratospheric ozone and oxygen; does not reach the earth’s surface); ultraviolet B, highly energetic and moderately harmful R. N. Alves (&) Á S. Agustı´ (UVB, 280–320); and ultraviolet A, mildly energetic Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), King Abdullah and less harmful (UVA, 320–400 nm) (Madronich University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia et al. 1995; McKenzie et al. 2007). e-mail: [email protected] In the aquatic environment, both UVA and UVB S. Agustı´ radiation bands can penetrate the water column, e-mail: [email protected] showing variable attenuation across saltwater and 123 Rev Fish Biol Fisheries freshwater ecosystems both seasonally and geograph- 1938). A few years later, Bell and Hoar (1950) ically. Dissolved organic matter and suspended parti- observed high mortality in sockeye salmon (On- cles are the major components that contribute to the corhynchus nerka) fertilized eggs in the later stages attenuation of light under water. UVR is largely of development and larvae that had been exposed to absorbed by chromophoric dissolved organic matter, UVR. These authors also noticed several skin lesions which consequently reduces the exposure of aquatic in the sockeye salmon larvae after UV exposure organisms to UVR (reviewed by Ha¨der et al. 2007; including the displacement between the epidermis and Williamson et al. 1996; Zagarese and Williamson the basement membrane, loss of scales and disruption 2001). Short UVR wavelengths are strongly absorbed of the mucous producing cells (Bell and Hoar 1950). under water, and UVB radiation is highly attenuated, The early development stages appear to be the penetrating from only a few centimeters below the lifecycle stages that are most prone to damage (Dahms surface in turbid lakes to more than 20 meters in and Lee 2010); however, the tolerance of juveniles and transparent oceanic waters (Huovinen and Goldman adult fish to UVR exposure has also been studied, and 2000; Huovinen et al. 2003; Michael et al. 2012; many species appear to be highly sensitive to both Tedetti and Sempere 2006). UVA wavelengths are less UVA and UVB radiation at later development stages attenuated than UVB, penetrating deeper into the in their lifecycle (Garcı´a-Huidobro et al. 2017; water column, reaching depths greater than 70 m Jokinen et al. 2008; Kazerouni et al. 2017; Rick (Schlichter et al. 1986; Tedetti and Sempere 2006). et al. 2014; Sayed et al. 2016). Reduction in growth, Nonetheless, the significant depletion of stratospheric impaired development, changes in behavior, develop- ozone due to anthropogenic emissions of atmospheric ment of skin and eye lesions, suppression of the pollutants has enhanced the UVB radiation that immune system, reduction on diseases resistance, reaches the biosphere (Barnes et al. 2019; Crutzen DNA damage and a series of metabolic and physio- and Arnold 1986; Molina and Rowland 1974; Row- logical stress changes are some of the described effects land 2006; Rowland and Molina 1975), causing of UVR exposure in fish (Browman et al. 2003; Hunter detrimental effects to aquatic organisms and ecosys- et al. 1981; Salo et al. 2000a; Sandrini et al. 2009; tems (Ha¨der et al. 1998; Helbling et al. 2003; Llabre´s Sharma et al. 2005). Many fertilized eggs and larvae, and Agustı´ 2006, 2010; Llabre´s et al. 2013). as well as visual predators, herbivores and farmed fish Current levels of UVA and UVB radiation in obligated to live at the photic surface layer, are aquatic ecosystems can cause damage at different potentially exposed to significant UVR radiation. levels to a broad range of organisms, from bacteria to From an economic point of view, several cases of higher vertebrates (reviewed by Ha¨der et al. sunburn due to overexposure to high natural solar 2007, 2011, 2015; Llabre´s et al. 2013; Peng et al. radiation resulted in numerous losses in aquaculture 2017; Williamson et al. 2019; Xiao et al. 2015). UVR fish farms during the 1980–1990s, particularly in those is mutagenic and is considered a strong evolutionary where the fish were grown in outdoor tanks (Bullock selective force in organisms (Rothschild 1999; 1982, 1984, 1988; Bullock and Coutts 1985; Lowe and Rozema et al. 2002). A meta-analysis study observed GoodmanLowe 1996). that aquatic organisms from the Northern Hemisphere Although fish species can develop several strategies tend to be more susceptible to the effects of UVB than to cope with the harmful effects of UVR (e.g., the those from the Southern Hemisphere, due to strong avoidance of UV, production of UV-absorbing com- stratospheric ozone asymmetries between the hemi- pounds and DNA damage repairing mechanisms), spheres (Agustı´ et al. 2015). recent meta-analyses continue to corroborate the In the early 1930s, the harmful effects of exposure negative effects of UVR on aquatic organisms (Braun to UVR during embryonic development were reported et al. 2016; Williamson et al. 2019). During the past for the first time in fish (Hinrichs and Genther 1931). A decade, many reviews have addressed the effects of considerable number of Fundulus heteroclitus fertil- UVR on aquatic ecosystems, mainly on primary ized eggs and early embryos exposed to UVR producers, zooplankton and invertebrates. To the best exhibited severe degrees of axial duplication and of our knowledge, there are still few literature reviews, showed several abnormalities including poor eye specifically compiling the effects of UVR effects. The development (Hinrichs and Genther 1931; Hinrichs effects of UVR on fish has been reviewed briefly as 123 Rev Fish Biol Fisheries part of broader general reviews on the topic (Barnes developmental abnormalities, including caudal (pos- et al. 2019;Ha¨der et al. 2007, 2011, 2015), or has been terior) notochord torsion and bending (Nun˜ez et al. reviewed more specifically such was done by Zagarese 2012). In the same species, embryos during the mid- and Williamson (2001). Recently, Lawrence et al. gastrula stage of development (6–7 hpf) exposed to (2019) revised the impact of UVR exposure in the fish 31.1 kJ m-2 UVB radiation had mortality rates higher immune system and mentioned that UVR exposure than 70% (Dong et al. 2007). Lower hatching rates and could have a negative effect on the immune control of several embryonic malformations, such as enlarged infection by some fish species, especially in the case of pericardial sacs, spinal deformities and minor spinal fish produced by aquaculture.