Bozidar Raskovic

University of Belgrade · Faculty of Agriculture

Nitrate pollution is a pervasive threat to aquatic species worldwide. • We assessed interactions among nitrate, hypoxia, and elevated temperatures in fish. • Nitrate-exposed fish were more susceptible to both hypoxia and heat stress. • Nitrate pollution heightens fish susceptibility to a changing world. Species persistence in a changing world will...

Five reservoirs (Vlasina, Medjuvršje, Zaovine, Perućac, and Garaši) in Serbia were chosen as study sites, which differ by their position, purpose, stages of eutrophication, management policies, and levels of anthropogenic pressure. The objectives of this research were to: determine the concentrations of 26 elements in muscle, gills, and liver of th...

Aquaponics is a food production system that combines aquaculture with hydroponics. The simultaneous existence of fish, beneficial bacteria and plants in the same water loop predisposes the fish and bacteria to a possible detrimental effect of plant protection products. Additionally, there is an inadequate exploration of scientific studies on the im...

A 12-week feeding trial with common carp (Cyprinus carpio) was conducted to test the hypothesis that compound diets formulated on the basis of different soybean cultivars will have effects on growth parameters, feed utilization, and digestive system histology. Soybean grains were from the following cultivars: Alisa (SB-A), Balkan (SB-B), and Galeb...

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of sex isolation on the off-season gamete quality in pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) upon the transport of fish from outdoor to indoor conditions and the shift of their cycle for six months in comparison to natural. In total 128 three-year-old fish (1.4 ± 0.3 kg) were transferred from an in-pond raceway...

This study aimed to determine concentrations of 29 elements in the gills and liver as well as biomarker response in gills, liver, and blood of European chub from Pek River (exposed to long-term mining activities), and to compare these findings with individuals from Ibar River (influenced by emission of treated municipal wastewater) and Kruščica res...

Ichthyophonosis is a disease caused by the Mesomycetozoean parasite Ichthyophonus hoferi that affects a variety of fish species, including rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum. This disease is characterized by granulomatous lesions and necrosis in various organs, which can have severe impacts on the health and welfare of the fish. Ichthyophono...

Fishmeal is used as one of the main protein sources in intensive common carp production. The use of this component makes the production of fish food more expensive, due to the decline of the population of wild fish used for its production, so there is an urgent need to find new sources of protein. Worms and other invertebrates are easy to grow and...

S-metolachlor is one of the most frequently used herbicides worldwide. However, toxicity studies of this herbicide to aquatic organisms are scarce. In the present study, two experiments were conducted to test the effects of S-metolachlor on common carp, one of the most economically important fish species, with a distribution throughout the world: (...

Pikeperch of age classes 3+ and 4+ were collected from the Garaši reservoir (Serbia) to analyze their bioindicator potential and compare their possible differences. Concentrations of 26 elements were determined in gills, muscles, and liver by inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and of 17 organochlorine pesticides (OCP...

In this study a battery of bioassays, both in vivo (metals and metalloids concentrations, erythrocyte morphometry, comet assay, micronucleus assay, and histopathological analyses) on vimba bream Vimba vimba (L., 1758) and white bream Blicca bjoerkna (L., 1758), and in vitro (treatment of HepG2 cells with native water samples) was applied to assess...

Atmospheric pollution remains one of the growing concerns in the twenty-first century, with particular focus on metal trace elements (MTE) from anthropogenic sources, due to their adverse effects on biota. The concentration and type of MTE in the atmosphere and in the soil are diverse, depending on the origin of pollutants, which can cause diverse...

Histopathology is the study of changes in any tissue associated with a disease or disorder [...]

This study aimed to find the optimal strategy for the application of salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (sGnRHa) in outdoor-cultured pikeperch males in an exceptionally early term in early November. According to the histological examination, on the day of hormonal treatment, pikeperch testes were in the late stadium of spermatogenesis,...

This study aimed to find the optimal strategy for the application of salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (sGnRHa) in outdoor-cultured pikeperch males in an exceptionally early term in early November. According to the histological examination, on the day of hormonal treatment, pikeperch testes were in the late stadium of spermatogenesis,...

Accumulation of 26 elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Se, Si, Sr, and Zn) was analyzed in the gills, liver, and muscle of pikeperch males and females from Garaši reservoir using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Histopathological (HP) changes in the gills a...

In the last 60 years, pond farming of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Europe has gradually intensified, which has increased the stocking density and amount of supplementary feed, resulting in higher yields. Additionally, compound feed has been introduced to semi-intensive farming to increase the growth of farmed fish. Feed quality affects growth d...

This study was conducted on the Danube River locality Višnjica, exposed to the discharge of the largest wastewater collector in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. Concentrations of metals and metalloids (Al, Fe, Cr, As, Sr, Mn, Cd, Zn, Mo, Cu, Li, Ni, B, Co, Pb, and Ba) and histopathological alterations were investigated in different tissues of common bre...

In a natural ecosystem, fish are subjected to a multitude of variable environmental factors. It is important to analyze the impact of combined factors to obtain a realistic understanding of the mixed stress occurring in nature. In this study, the physiological performance of juvenile common carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed for one week to an environm...

Even though aquaponics is the production system that is increasingly gaining focus, there is an absence of publications studying the use of pesticides in the aquaponics. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess negative effects of one synthetic (chlorpyrifos) and two botanical insecticides (azadirachtin and pyrethrin) to matured biofilter in...

This study evaluated the effects of first feeding regime on growth performance, survival rate, and development of digestive organs (intestine, liver and pancreas) in pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) larvae. The fish larvae at 5 days post-hatch (DPH), were initially fed with rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) for 3 days and from 8 to 17 DPH were fed with...

Metal contamination of the aquatic environment is problematic due to the bioaccumulative, non-biodegradable and toxic proprieties of these elements. Several studies have demonstrated the impact of single metal exposures on the physiological performance of fish but their results are sometimes contradictory, with metals showing different effects acco...

The individual toxicity and bioaccumulation of cadmium, copper and zinc for common carp juveniles was evaluated in a direct comparison in two experimental setups. First, fish were exposed for 10 days to different metal concentrations in order to link metal bioaccumulation to LC50 values (concentration lethal to 50% of the animals) and incipient let...

This study was conducted on individuals of European perch from six reservoirs in Serbia with different properties, used for different purposes, and situated at different altitudes. Samples of muscle, gills, and liver, as well as water samples, were used for analysis of elemental accumulation. Histopathological (HP) analysis of gills and liver, and...

Due to the ecological concerns and preservation of genetic resources, the characterization of genetic structure of the brown trout (Salmo trutta) was carried out on the "Braduljica" fish farm. DNA was isolated from fin clips of 10 individuals, and after that molecular PCR-RFLP methods were used for distinguishing between Atlantic and Danubian linea...

The aim of the present study was to compare the weight, specific growth rate, length, Fulton’s condition factor, survival, mortality, cannibalism and gill histopathology (HP) of pikeperch Sander lucioperca (L. 1758) larvae (12 days post-hatch larvae; weight 2.8 ± 0.9 mg) that were cultured in either clear (10 NTU) or clay-turbid water (35 NTU) duri...

The individual toxicity and bioaccumulation of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) towards common carp juveniles was evaluated in a direct comparison in two experimental setups. First, the fish were exposed for 10 days to different metal concentrations. Accumulated metals were quantified and showed a positive dose dependent uptake for cadmium a...

Early aquaculture studies were mainly engaged in practising different culturing systems, primarily focusing on the improvement of fish growth and feed type. The significant advances in molecular biology during the last century greatly influenced the development of genetic research and application of molecular methods in aquaculture and fishery. The...

Aim: To characterize stem cells originating from different dental tissues (apical papilla [SCAP], dental follicle [DFSC], and pulp [DPSC]) and test the capacity of Raman microspectroscopy to distinguish between the three dental stem cell types. Methods: SCAP, DFSC, and DPSC cultures were generated from three immature wisdom teeth originating fro...

Assessing fish liver status is common in aquaculture nutrition assays. This often implies determining hepatocytes profile areas in routine thin (5–7 μm) histological sections. However, there are theoretical problems using planar morphometry in thin sections: inherent sampling cells biases, too small numbers of sampled cells, under/overestimation of...

It has been suggested that induced swimming has the potential to improve the growth performance of fish. We tested this hypothesis by measuring growth, metabolic efficiency and physiological capacity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Fish were swum at different exercise regimes: 0.0 (control), 1.5 and 2.5 body lengths per second (BL/s) in 1600 L re...

Chub (Squalius cephalus) specimens were collected in Korenita River seven months after spillover from the waste water of antimony mine tailing pond and compared with chub living in Kruščica reservoir (intended for water supply) and Međuvršje reservoir (influenced by intense emission of industrial, urban and rural wastewater). Concentrations of 15 e...

Biomarkers attract increasing attention in environmental studies, as a tool for detection of exposure and effects of pollution, from both natural and anthropogenic sources. This study aims to assess the impact of multiple stressors during distinctive seasons, covering also extreme hydrological events (extensive flooding in the mid May 2014), on dif...

Fish are regarded as valuable organisms in monitoring aquatic ecosystems. They are established as indicator organisms and widely used in both laboratory studies and ecotoxicology. A range of biomarkers are developed for monitoring effects of xenobiotics on fish. Histopathology is classified as an important biomarker in terms of toxicological signif...

The semi-intensive system of carp farming is dominant in inland aquaculture. Although it appears to be simple, this system has a whole range of options, from those based on traditional rearing methods with use of plants from the region where the fish are reared to production based on the use of high-quality concentrated feeds. In this paper, we con...

The semi-intensive system of common carp monoculture in earthen ponds is currently the most practiced fish rearing system in several countries in Eastern Europe. This system is based on the addition of supplemented feed to ponds to achieve faster growth. In this study, the general state of the fish health was monitored when three different types of...

The antibacterial activity of methanol extract obtained from fruiting body of industrially grown basidiomycete Coriolus versicolor was examined. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values against various bacteria ranged from 0.625 to 20 mg mL⁻¹. C. versicolor expressed bactericidal activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacter...

Since fishery products represent an important and globally growing food resource, there is also an increased incidence rate of intentional mislabelling of fish products and restaurant frauds globally. In the present study, Raman spectroscopy, as a fast and non-invasive technique, was applied using a laser at a wavelength of 532 nm for the classific...

In order to determine effects of different types of supplementary feed on the histology of liver and intestine of carp reared in a semi-intensive system, a six-month field experiment was carried out. Carp yearlings were fed different supplemental feeds: cereals (CF), pelleted (PF) and extruded (EF) compound feeds. Hepatocytes histomorphometry revea...

POVREDE I DEFORMITETI KOD ŠARANSKE MLAĐI GAJENE U RAZLIČITIM GUSTINAMA NASADA-PRELIMINARNI REZULTATI Apstrakt Povrede i deformiteti predstavljaju pokazatelj narušene dobrobiti jer ukazuju na neod-govarajuće uslove gajenja i utiču na ponašanje, zdravstveno stanje i životni vek riba. Ove promene kod potrošača izazivaju odbojnost i mogu da smanje isko...

For decades, histopathological parameters (HP) were used as a pollution marker in ecotoxicology. The method is cheap, reliable and provides good insight into morphology of vital organs. The results obtained usually correlate with the pollution state of investigated ecosystem. We used HP changes of the gills of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) in or...

Freshwater bodies receive high levels of different toxicants. Since fish are typically situated at the top of aquatic food chains, they have a good potential to be used as indicators of water pollution. Assessment of the presence of pollutants and their toxicity can be efficiently performed by the combined use of analytical chemistry, bioassays and...

Introduction The lamina epithelialis in carp`s distal intestine is comprised of mainly three types of cells: epithelial, goblet cells and intraepithelial macrophages (IM). IM are part of the innate immune system in fish and their main role is first line of defense, as well as phagocytosis, like in all vertebrates (Magnadóttir, 2006). In contrast to...

The study evaluated the effects of waterborne pollutants from the Tamiš River on gill histology and possible differences in gill reaction patterns between three freshwater fish species, pike Esox lucius L. 1758, pike-perch Sander lucioperca (L. 1758) and wels catfish Silurus glanis L. 1758 from the Tamiš River. Gills from analysed fish species show...

The bottom feeding fish species have a good potential to be used for assessments of pollution, as they are under pressure from pollutants from both water and sediments. In this study, the level of similarity of histopathological responses to pollution in gills and liver between barbel (Barbus barbus) and sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) from the Danube...

The study was carried out to examine morphological and physiological effects of different levels of fat in compound extruded feed for carp. A 90 days experiment was performed in tanks with water flow 0.34 L min−1, stocked each with 29 specimens of carp, average weight 15.4 ± 4.2 g. The fish was fed 3 diets containing 38 % protein and 8, 12 or 16 %...

The effects of grains, pelleted and extruded feed on the fatty acid content in carp meat has not been examined yet. In this work, we present evidence that the high carbohydrate content in all three types of feed causes oleic acid to predominate in all meat samples. A higher PUFA content in the meat of fish fed with granulated feed was detected. The...

In order to evaluate the relationship between water quality in ponds and indices of histopathological changes occurring in the vital organs of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio L., 1758), two six-month field experiments were carried out using two different water supplies: from the nearby stream and a tube well. The fish were fed supplemental feed: r...

Center for Fisheries and Applied Hydrobiology (CEFAH) of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, is the only Serbian research institution holding a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS ) used for production of quality carp fry for selective breeding, feeding experiments, and for growth. Water quality, fish growth and health status of f...

Cormorants cause damage to fish in aquaculture not only by consuming large number of fish but also by wounding them. Quantification of the actual damage in fish induced by wounding is important for reliable estimations of the overall loss in aquaculture caused by cormorants. In this study, specimens of mirror and scaly carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) inj...

One of the most common chemicals used in carp aquaculture is copper sulfate. It is regularly employed as a bath treatment against parasites as well as a fungicide and a herbicide. When used as a pesticide in plant treatment it can reach streams and rivers by surface runoff. It is known that copper sulfate is toxic, even in small quantities, and its...

Growth and histology of intestine and liver of carp fed diets with or devoid of fish meal (FM) was studied. Carp were fed four experimental diets formulated to contain 38% protein for 90 days. FM was incorporated at 30% in feed A, 15% in feed B and C, and was completely replaced with a mixture of plant proteins in feed D. Feed C and D were suppleme...

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum, 1792) was grown in cages (water reservoirs "Bočac", Bosnia and Herzegovina) in two separate experiments for a period of 90 days (autumn -winter and spring -summer). Trout were fed six different feed formulations and studied their influence on rainbow trout intestine histology. Normal histological structu...

This manuscript describes the importance of using histological methods to assess the effects of feed on the liver and intestine of fish. Due to the constantly increasing world production of fish and other aquatic organisms, it is necessary to replace fishmeal and fish oil in diets with less expensive raw materials of plant origin. Due to the increa...

Gills of carp from ponds of the "Vrsacki ritovi" fish farm were studied, and the results discussed with reference to the results of physical and chemical properties of pond water. Subepithelial edema and gill hyperemia that are classified as mild and reparable were found the most frequently. High ammonia level that occurred periodically and increas...

The success of production in aquaculture depends on the water quality, the fish fry but also on the skillfulness of the producers in achieving a profitable production while applying the most optimal technology. One of the producer's dilemmas, when applying feed, is the dynamics of supplemental feeding of fish. This was the reason for carrying out a...

The sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus L.) is a bottom-feeding fish species with a direct exposure to contaminants from water and sediments. Although heavy metal pollution is believed to be one of the main threats to the sterlet population in the Danube River basin, there is a lack of knowledge of the exact impact of heavy metals on their survival. In the...

The aim of this study was to estimate heritability and genetic correlations between weight, length and height of common carp in Serbia (Cyprinus carpio L.) during 3-year growth period. The 50 families of common carp were produced in 2007 and used for the estimation of genetic parameters. The fish were measured at tagging for weight, length and heig...

Assessment of water quality at Radmilovac estate near Belgrade that is used for irrigation of cultures and as a water supply for experimental fish farm and hatchery was performed by using aquatic invertebrates (zooplankton and macrozoobenthos) and fish gill histology as bioindicators. Two open wells and a stream were monitored during a three year i...

In order to investigate effects of different feed mixtures in extruded feed for carp two 90 days feeding experiments on common carp yearlings (Cyprinus carpio, Linnaeus, 1758) were carried out. Effects on digestive tract morphology were studied. The study was performed in the Laboratory for fish nutrition at the Faculty of Agriculture, University o...

Fishery in Serbia comprises of aquaculture and fishery. Aquaculture in Serbia concerns fish culturing. For production of other aquatic animals, mainly ornamental plants and crayfish, only occasional interest and small scale production in aquarium type of units exists. Fish are produced in carp and trout fish farms (over 95%), to a smaller extent in...

Most frequently found lesion of the gills was proliferation of cells from the primary epithelium together with lifting of the secondary, respiratory epithelium. Gill parasites were found in all samples. Two morphometric parameters were measured on gill secondary lamellae — diffusion distance and lamellar thickness. Due to variability of measurement...