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Fishes
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Physiological and Behavioral Studies in Aquaculture
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Physiological and Behavioral Studies in Aquaculture

A special issue of Fishes (ISSN 2410-3888).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 1387

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Zhishuai Hou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
Interests: aquaculture; physiology; behavior; GPCRs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainable development of aquaculture relies on a deep understanding of the physiological and behavioral mechanisms that underlie growth, coping with stress, reproduction, and welfare in cultured aquatic species. This Special Issue aims to spotlight recent advances in the physiological responses, metabolic regulation, neuroendocrine mechanisms, and behavioral endpoints of teleost and other aquaculture organisms under various environmental and culture conditions. We welcome original research and review articles that explore how nutrition, genetics, environmental stressors, and management practices influence animal growth, health, welfare, and productivity, with a particular interest in studies that integrate molecular, biochemical, physiological, behavioral and multi-omics approaches to reveal physiological responses, behavior alteration and adaptive mechanisms. Through this Special Issue, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of how physiological and behavioral research can contribute to improving aquaculture sustainability and animal well-being.

Prof. Dr. Zhishuai Hou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fishes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aquaculture
  • physiology
  • behavior
  • stress response
  • metabolism
  • neuroendocrine regulation
  • nutrition
  • welfare
  • environmental adaptation
  • sustainable aquaculture

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4921 KB  
Article
Evaluation of Hypoxia Tolerance and Cloning-Expression Analysis of Related Genes in Hybrid Fish Derived from Megalobrama amblycephala × Xenocypris davidi Bleeker
by Zhong Tang, Xinxin Yu, Xin Chen, Junwen Liang, Yangyang Tu, Zhifeng Zhou, Faxian Yu, Chun Zhang, Siyu Fan and Min Tao
Fishes 2026, 11(4), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11040233 - 15 Apr 2026
Viewed by 234
Abstract
The diploid distant hybrid (2nBY) derived from female blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephal, BSB) × male Bleeker’s yellow tail (Xenocypris davidi Bleeker, YT). To investigate the hypoxia tolerance and the regulatory mechanisms of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α/2α (hif-1α/2α) [...] Read more.
The diploid distant hybrid (2nBY) derived from female blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephal, BSB) × male Bleeker’s yellow tail (Xenocypris davidi Bleeker, YT). To investigate the hypoxia tolerance and the regulatory mechanisms of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α/2α (hif-1α/2α) in 2nBY, BSB, and YT, experiments consisting of 24 h of hypoxia treatment (DO = 2.0 ± 0.1 mg/L) followed by 6 h of reoxygenation were conducted. The loss of equilibrium critical oxygen pressure (LOEcrit), gill tissue structure, and antioxidant indices, as well as the full-length sequences and expression of hif-1α/2α in 2nBY, BSB, and YT, were compared. The results showed that the LOEcrit value of 2nBY was significantly lower than that of BSB but higher than that of YT (p < 0.05). After hypoxia treatment, the changes in gill tissue structure and antioxidant indices of 2nBY were less obvious than those of BSB, and the recovery rate was faster after reoxygenation. Sequence analysis revealed high similarity of hif-1α/2α between YT and 2nBY. After hypoxia treatment, hif-1α/2α were upregulated in the liver but showed distinct gill expression among the three groups. Their gill expression differences may contribute to varied hypoxic tolerance. Distant hybridization between BSB and YT successfully generated hybrid offspring with enhanced hypoxia tolerance relative to BSB. These results provide theoretical and technical support for the breeding of a new hypoxia-tolerant germplasm resource of bream. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Behavioral Studies in Aquaculture)
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15 pages, 3098 KB  
Article
Behavioral, Metabolic, and Monoaminergic Responses to Cooked Diets in Southern Catfish (Silurus meridionalis)
by Qiushi Yang, Zhimin Zhang, Tingting Xu, Wenhan Li, Huacheng Li, Rong Tang, Yale Deng, Liqin Yu, Xi Zhang, Li Li and Dapeng Li
Fishes 2026, 11(4), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11040223 - 10 Apr 2026
Viewed by 313
Abstract
Diet form is increasingly recognized as a welfare-relevant factor in intensive aquaculture, yet the effects of feed cooking on fish behavioral and physiological welfare remain poorly characterized. Juvenile southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis; 6.18 ± 0.52 g) were reared for 6 weeks [...] Read more.
Diet form is increasingly recognized as a welfare-relevant factor in intensive aquaculture, yet the effects of feed cooking on fish behavioral and physiological welfare remain poorly characterized. Juvenile southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis; 6.18 ± 0.52 g) were reared for 6 weeks in an indoor recirculating aquaculture system and fed either raw grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) muscle (fish fed raw muscle, FR) or cooked grass carp muscle (fish fed cooked muscle, FC; 15 min ramp to ~100 °C followed by 2–3 min at ~100 °C). Locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior were assessed using the open-field test and an annular light–dark preference assay, respectively. Flow-through respirometry further revealed a significantly lower standard metabolic rate (SMR) in FC fish than in FR fish, decreasing from 10.30 to 6.83, which represents a 33.7% reduction. Endocrine and biochemical analyses showed that cooking significantly decreased serum total triiodothyronine (T3) by 23.8%, whereas routine serum biochemical indices remained unchanged. In brain tissue, dopamine (DA) was significantly reduced by 7.2% in the FC group, and RT-qPCR analysis of dopamine-related genes further showed a significant downregulation of the rate-limiting synthesis gene th. These results indicate that cooking primarily downshifts the activity-energy axis in southern catfish and is accompanied by coordinated thyroid and dopaminergic changes. To our knowledge, this is the first integrated study to evaluate the behavioral, metabolic, and neuroendocrine effects of cooked feed in S. meridionalis, providing a short-term phenotypic baseline for assessing welfare-relevant feeding scenarios in aquaculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Behavioral Studies in Aquaculture)
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17 pages, 4382 KB  
Article
Modulation of Different Salinity Conditions on Transcriptional Signature of Metabotropic Serotonin and Dopamine Receptors in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
by Ming-Yuan Wu, Pichayapa Meekuan, Zhuo-Hang Feng, Zheng-Xiang Zhang, Ya-Xin Wang, Yue-Yan Sun, Zhi-Shuai Hou and Zhen-Fa Qin
Fishes 2026, 11(3), 142; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11030142 - 27 Feb 2026
Viewed by 407
Abstract
As freshwater resources become increasingly limited, exploiting brackish and marine waters for aquaculture is viewed as a promising alternative. Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), although considered euryhaline, shows relatively restricted tolerance to salinity compared with other tilapia species, making it an ideal [...] Read more.
As freshwater resources become increasingly limited, exploiting brackish and marine waters for aquaculture is viewed as a promising alternative. Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), although considered euryhaline, shows relatively restricted tolerance to salinity compared with other tilapia species, making it an ideal model to study adaptive responses to osmotic stress. Serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) are key modulators of stress responses through their activation of metabotropic G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In this study, we investigated the transcriptional profiles of metabotropic serotonin and dopamine receptors across the brain, intestine, and liver of Nile tilapia reared in different salinity conditions (0 ppt, 16 ppt, 30 ppt). The results showed both dopamine and serotonin metabotropic receptors were duplicated with potential neofunctionalization, contributing to osmoregulatory capacity. Nile tilapia showed altered brain drd1, htr1 and htr7 subtypes in response to salt change. Meanwhile, the drd3 subtype showed pronounced alterations in the intestine and liver under elevated salinity. Notable transcriptional alterations in htr4 subtypes were observed in both brain and liver, suggesting their potential involvement in modulating energy balance and stress adaptation. Correlation network analyses further demonstrated coordinated regulation among receptor paralogues in the brain. These findings provide potential targets, such as ligand analog additives or genetic enhancement, for future functional validation and for improving salinity tolerance in Nile tilapia culture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Behavioral Studies in Aquaculture)
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