Fish are exposed to biological and abiotic
stressors in the wild, as well as in captivity.
Environmental pollutants, disease, and various
aspects of intensive aquaculture are
some examples of those stressors. Fish also
can become physiologically stressed from
psychological stressors such as exposure to
predators and crowding. Like other vertebrates,
stressed fish exhibit a generalized
stress response, that is characterized by an
increase in stress hormones and the consequent
changes at the physiological, organismal
and population levels (see Wendelaar
Bonga, 1997; Barton, 1997). Such a generalized
stress response also occurs at the
cellular level and has been called the cellular
stress response (see Hightower, 1991).
This paper reviews the generalized stress
response in fish from the cellular to the organismal
levels. It focuses on the question