Influence of Incision Location on Transmitter Loss, Healing, Survival, Growth, and Suture Retention of Juvenile Chinook Salmon

Fisheries research involving surgical implantation of transmitters necessitates the use of methods that minimize transmitter loss and fish mortality and optimize healing of the incision. We evaluated the effects of three incision locations on transmitter loss, healing, survival, growth, and suture r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (1900) 2011-11, Vol.140 (6), p.1492-1503
Main Authors: Panther, Jennifer L., Brown, Richard S., Gaulke, Greg L., Deters, Katherine A., Woodley, Christa M., Eppard, M. Brad
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ACOUSTICS
AIR
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FISHERIES
HEALING
JUVENILES
MORTALITY
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
RETENTION
SALMON
SURVIVAL TIME
TELEMETRY
WOUNDS
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Summary:Fisheries research involving surgical implantation of transmitters necessitates the use of methods that minimize transmitter loss and fish mortality and optimize healing of the incision. We evaluated the effects of three incision locations on transmitter loss, healing, survival, growth, and suture retention in juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. The three incision locations were (1) on the linea alba (LA incision), (2) adjacent and parallel to the LA (muscle‐cutting [MC] incision), and (3) extending from the LA towards the dorsum at a 45° angle, between the parallel lines of myomeres (muscle‐sparing [MS] incision). A Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System acoustic transmitter (0.44 g in air) and a passive integrated transponder tag (0.10 g in air) were implanted into each fish (total N = 936 fish). The fish were held at 12°C or 20°C and were examined weekly for 98 d. The progression of healing among incision locations and the variability in transmitter loss made it difficult to identify one incision location as the best choice. The LA incisions had a much smaller wound extent (area of visible subepidermal tissue) than MC and MS incisions during the first 28 d of the study. In both temperature treatments, apposition of incisions through day 14 was better for LA incisions than for MC and MS incisions. However, MC and MS incisions were less likely than LA incisions to reopen over time and thus were less likely to allow transmitter loss through the incision.
ISSN:0002-8487
1548-8659
DOI:10.1080/00028487.2011.637003