The effects of season and exposure to reduced pH (abrupt and gradual) on some physiological parameters in brown trout (Salmo trutta)

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Abstract
Body ions and compartments were measured in brown trout (S. trutta) maintained at ambient pH 7.0 throughout the year. The effects of abrupt and gradual transfer to reduced ambient pH were also studied. Seasonal variations occurred in blood hematocrit and in plasma and muscle Na+ and K+ concentrations at ambient pH 7.0. Similar trends were seen with reduced ambient pH. Fish seemed to be more susceptibile to acid pHs during the summer months, with the majority of body Na+ loss occurring from the extracellular fluid and K+ loss from the intracellular fluid. Effects of reduced pH were more severe in fish directly transferred to reduced pH than in those which had previously encountered a reduced pH, suggesting that in the latter, some degree of physiological adaptation had taken place.