Bio-logging has proven to be a unique way to gather information on free ranging animals over short and long periods of time. However, many bio-logging devices required surgical interventions often followed by post-surgical prophylactic treatments. One of the treatments commonly used after surgical procedures in fish is the antibiotic enrofloxacin.

Evaluating the effects of antibiotic treatments
A study performed by researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the University of Gothenburg set out to evaluate whether the use of enrofloxacin reduced systemic inflammation after implantation of Star-Oddi heart rate loggers in Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

After implanting Star-Oddi’s leadless DST milli-HRT, heart rate and temperature loggers, intraperitoneally in 36 fish heart rate was recorded for 21 days. Half of the fish received enrofloxacin treatment while the other half received no treatment.

No clear benefit of using antibiotic treatments
Interestingly, and contrary to the group’s hypothesis, the treated trout took longer to recover than the untreated group. The treated group also displayed elevated resting heart rates and prolonged recovery time post-surgery.

Surgical experience shortens recovery times
Although treatment with enrofloxacin did not seem to benefit the fish post-surgery the results indicated that the more experienced the person performing the surgery, the more likely the fish was to have a quick recovery.

The findings highlight the importance of surgical training as well as providing animals implanted with bio-loggers time to recover post-surgery.

The paper was published in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal and can be accessed here.

Photo: USGS