Molecular responses of fishes to elevated carbon dioxide

Development of Carbon Dioxide Barriers to Deter Invasive Fishes: Insights and Lessons Learned from Bigheaded Carp

Invasive species are a threat to biodiversity in freshwater. Removing an aquatic invasive species following arrival is almost impossible, and preventing introduction is a more viable management option. Bigheaded carp are an invasive fish spreading throughout the Midwestern United States and are threatening to enter the Great Lakes. This review outlines the development of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) as a non-physical barrier that can be used to deter the movement of fish and prevent further spread. Carbon dioxide gas could be used as a deterrent either to cause avoidance (i.e., fish swim away from zones of high CO2), or by inducing equilibrium loss due to the anesthetic properties of CO2 (i.e., tolerance). The development of CO2 as a fish deterrent started with controlled laboratory experiments demonstrating stress and avoidance, and then progressed to larger field applications demonstrating avoidance at scales that approach real-world scenarios. In addition, factors that influence the effectiveness of CO2 as a fish barrier are discussed, outlining conditions that could make CO2 less effective in the field; these factors that influence efficacy would be of interest to managers using CO2 to target other fish species, or those using other non-physical barriers for fish.

Divergent gene expression in the gills of juvenile turbot (Psetta maxima) exposed to chronic severe hypercapnia indicates dose-dependent increase in intracellular oxidative stress and hypoxia

Elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide are a common stressor for fish and other aquatic animals. In particular, intensive aquaculture can impose prolonged periods of severe environmental hypercapnia, manifold exceeding CO₂ concentrations of natural habitats. In order to cope with this stressor, gills are essential and constitute the primary organ in the acclimatization process. Yet, despite a general understanding of changes in ion regulation, not much is known with regard to other cellular mechanisms. In this study, we apply RT-qPCR to investigate changes in the expression of several genes associated with metabolism, stress and immunity within gills of juvenile turbot (Psetta maxima) after an eight-week exposure to different concentrations of CO₂ (low = ∼3000 μatm, medium = ∼15,000 μatm and high = ∼25,000 μatm CO₂). Histological examination of the gill tissue only found a significant increase of hypertrophied secondary lamella in the highest tested treatment level. gene expression results, on the other hand, implied both, mutual and dose-dependent transcriptional adjustments. Comparable up-regulation of IL-1ß, LMP7 and Grim19 at medium and high hypercapnia indicated an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within gill cells. Simultaneous increase in Akirin and PRDX transcripts at medium CO₂ indicated enhanced anti-oxidant activity and regulation of transcription, while reduced mRNA concentrations of COX, EF1α and STAT2 at high CO₂ denoted suppressed protein synthesis and reduced metabolic capacity. In addition to upregulated DFAD and ApoE expression, implying compensating repair measures, gills exposed to the highest tested treatment level seemed to operate close to or even beyond their maximum capacity. Thus, fitting the model of capacity limitation, our results provide evidence for accretive intracellular hypoxia and oxidative stress in the gills of turbot, dependent on the level of environmental hypercapnia. Further, genes, such as COX, may be valuable biomarkers when attempting to discriminate between a successful and an overpowered stress response.

Molecular, behavioral, and performance responses of juvenile largemouth bass acclimated to an elevated carbon dioxide environment

Aquatic hypercarbia, either naturally occurring or anthropogenically induced, can have extensive impacts on aquatic environments and resident organisms. While the impact of acute hypercarbia exposure on the behavior and physiology of fishes has been well studied, relatively little work has examined the physiological impact and acclimation capacity of fishes to chronic hypercarbia. To better understand the impacts of prolonged hypercarbia exposure, largemouth bass were held at ambient CO2 (13 mg L(-1)) and elevated CO2 (31 mg L(-1); ≈ 21,000 µatm) for 58 days. Following this acclimation period, fish were subjected to three separate, yet complementary, experiments: (1) acute hypercarbia challenge of 120 mg L(-1) CO2 for 1 h to quantify physiological and molecular responses; (2) hypercarbia avoidance challenge to compare CO2 agitation and avoidance responses; and (3) swim performance challenge to quantify burst swimming performance. Acclimation to 31 mg L(-1) CO2 resulted in a significant constitutive upregulation of c-fos expression in erythrocytes, combined with significant constitutive expression of hsp70 in both gill and erythrocytes, relative to controls. Largemouth bass acclimated to elevated CO2 also had a reduced glucose response (relative to controls) following an acute CO2 exposure, indicating a reduced stress response to CO2 stressors. In addition, largemouth bass acclimated to elevated CO2 conditions required 50 % higher CO2 concentrations to illicit agitation behaviors and displayed prolonged burst swimming abilities in high CO2 environments relative to controls. Together, results demonstrate that largemouth bass exposed to chronic hypercarbia may possess a physiological advantage during periods of elevated CO2 relative to naïve fish, which may permit increased performance in hypercarbia.