Thermal variation near the thermal optimum does not affect the growth, metabolism or swimming performance in wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

Atlantic salmon Salmo salar do not prioritize digestion when energetic budgets are constrained by warming and hypoxia

During summer, farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) can experience prolonged periods of warming and low aquatic oxygen levels due to climate change. This often results in a drop in feed intake; however, the physiological mechanism behind this behaviour is unclear. Digestion is a metabolically expensive process that can demand a high proportion of an animal's energy budget and might not be sustainable under future warming scenarios. We investigated the effects of elevated temperature and acute hypoxia on specific dynamic action (SDA; the energetic cost of digestion), and how much of the energy budget (i.e. aerobic scope, AS) was occupied by SDA in juvenile Atlantic salmon. AS was 9% lower in 21°C-acclimated fish compared to fish reared at their optimum temperature (15°C) and was reduced by ~50% by acute hypoxia (50% air saturation) at both temperatures. Furthermore, we observed an increase in peak oxygen uptake rate during digestion which occupied ~13% of the AS at 15°C and ~20% of AS at 21°C, and increased the total cost of digestion at 21°C. The minimum oxygen tolerance threshold in digesting fish was ~42% and ~53% at 15 and 21°C, respectively, and when digesting fish were exposed to acute hypoxia, gut transit was delayed. Thus, these stressors result in a greater proportion of the available energy budget being directed away from digestion. Moderate environmental hypoxia under both optimal and high temperatures severely impedes digestion and should be avoided to limit exacerbating temperature effects on fish growth.

Pairing lab and field studies to predict thermal performance of wild fish

In thermally variable ecosystems, temperatures can change extensively on hourly and seasonal timescales requiring ectotherms to possess a broad thermal tolerance (critical thermal minima [CTmin] and maxima [CTmax]). However, whether fish acclimate in the laboratory similarly as they acclimatize in the field under comparable thermal variation is unclear. We used temperature data from a tidal salt marsh to design 21-day lab-acclimation treatments (static: 12, 17, 22, 27 °C; daily variation with mean 22 °C: i) range 17-27 °C, ii) range 17-27 °C with irregular extremes within 12-32 °C). We compared thermal limits in lab-acclimated and field-acclimatized eurythermal arrow goby (Clevelandia ios). Variable temperature-acclimated and acclimatized fish had similar CTmin and CTmax. Notably, arrow gobies showed rapid plasticity in their absolute thermal tolerance within one tidal cycle. The daily mean and max temperatures experienced were positively related to CTmax and CTmin, respectively. This study demonstrates that ecologically informed lab acclimation treatments can yield tolerance results that are applicable to wild fish.

Weak effects on growth and cannibalism under fluctuating temperatures in damselfly larvae

The Earth’s climate is changing with a trend towards higher mean temperatures and increased temperature fluctuations. Little attention has been paid to the effects of thermal variation on competition within species. Understanding the temperature-dependence of competition is important since it might affect dynamics within and between populations. In a laboratory experiment we investigated the effects of thermal variation on growth and cannibalism in larvae of a damselfly. The temperature treatments included three amplitudes between 20 and 26 °C with an average of 23 °C, and a constant control at 23 °C. Larvae were also raised at five constant temperatures for an estimation of the thermal performance curve, which showed that the thermal optimum for growth was 26.9 °C. Cannibalism was significantly positively correlated with initial body size variance. There was neither a difference among the temperature variation treatments, nor between the constant and the variation treatments in growth and cannibalism. Hence, positive and negative effects of temperature variation within the linear range of a species thermal performance curve might cancel each other out. Since our study mimicked natural temperature conditions, we suggest that the increase in temperature variation predicted by climate models will not necessarily differ from the effects without an increase in variation.

Effect of thermal variation on the cardiac thermal limits of a eurythermal marine teleost (Girella nigricans)

Although most animals live in complex, thermally variable environments, the impact of this variability on specific physiological systems is still unresolved. The ectotherm heart is known to change in both structure and function to ensure appropriate oxygen delivery under different thermal regimes, but the plasticity of the upper thermal limits of the heart under stable or variable thermal acclimation conditions remains unknown. To investigate the role of thermal variability on cardiac acclimation potential, we acclimated a eurythermal fish, opaleye (Girella nigricans), to three static temperature treatments (13, 16, and 19 °C) as well as two oscillating treatments which cycled between maximum and minimum temperatures every 12 h (13–19 °C and 16–22 °C). These temperatures and daily thermal ranges were chosen to mimic the conditions observed in the rocky intertidal environments in Santa Barbara, CA, USA where the fish were collected. We hypothesized that increasing temperature would increase upper thermal limits of the heart, and that variable acclimations would result in broader acute thermal performance curves (TPCs) compared to static acclimations. We measured maximum heart rate during acute warming to determine cardiac thermal performance (i.e., the temperature corresponding to the onset of cardiac arrythmia, the temperature at maximum heart rate, absolute maximum heart rate, and the Arrhenius breakpoint temperature) and construct acute TPCs. Rising static acclimation temperatures increased upper thermal limits but had no impact on peak maximum heart rate. The warmest static temperature did, however, cause a narrowing of the acute TPC. Fish acclimated to variable conditions had the same upper thermal limits compared to fish acclimated to static conditions with the same mean temperature in all metrics of thermal performance. Further, there was no significant broadening of the acute TPC. This study suggests that cardiac plasticity is robust to thermal variation in this eurythermal fish.

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Rising static acclimation temperatures increased cardiac upper thermal limits.

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Warm acclimation caused the acute thermal performance curve to narrow.

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Acclimation to static and variable thermocycles did not impact upper thermal limits.

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Variable acclimation conditions did not broaden the acute thermal performance curve.

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Cardiac plasticity is robust to thermal variation in some eurythermal fishes.

Thermal performance curves for aerobic scope in a tropical fish (Lates calcarifer): flexible in amplitude but not breadth

Aerobic metabolic scope is a popular metric to estimate the capacity for temperature-dependent performance in aquatic animals. Despite this popularity, little is known of the role of temperature acclimation and variability in shaping the breadth and amplitude of the thermal performance curve for aerobic scope. If daily thermal experience can modify the characteristics of the thermal performance curve, interpretations of aerobic scope data from the literature may be misguided. Here, tropical barramundi (Lates calcarifer) were acclimated for ∼4 months to cold (23°C), optimal (29°C) or warm (35°C) conditions, or to a daily temperature cycle between 23 and 35°C (with a mean of 29°C). Measurements of aerobic scope were conducted every 3-4 weeks at three temperatures (23, 29 and 35°C), and growth rates were monitored. Acclimation to constant temperatures caused some changes in aerobic scope at the three measurement temperatures via adjustments in standard and maximum metabolic rates, and growth rates were lower in the 23°C-acclimated group than in all other groups. The metabolic parameters and growth rates of the thermally variable group remained similar to those of the 29°C-acclimated group. Thus, acclimation to a variable temperature regime did not broaden the thermal performance curve for aerobic scope. We propose that thermal performance curves for aerobic scope are more plastic in amplitude than in breadth, and that the metabolic phenotype of at least some fish may be more dependent on the mean daily temperature than on the daily temperature range.

The physiological ups and downs of thermal variability in temperate freshwater ecosystems

Freshwater fish face a variety of spatiotemporal thermal challenges throughout their life. On a broad scale, temperature is an important driver of physiological, behavioural and ecological patterns and ultimately affects populations and overall distribution. These broad patterns are partly underpinned by the small-scale local effects of temperature on individuals within the population. Climate change is increasing the range of daily thermal variation in most freshwater ecosystems, altering behaviour and performance of resident fishes. The aim of this review is understanding how daily thermal variation in temperate rivers affects individual fish physiology, behaviour and overall performance. The following are highlighted in this study: (a) the physical characteristics of rivers that can either buffer or exacerbate thermal variability, (b) the effects of thermal variability on growth and metabolism, (c) the approaches for quantifying thermal variation and thermal stress and (d) how fish may acclimatize or adapt to our changing climate.

Improved mitochondrial function in salmon (Salmo salar) following high temperature acclimation suggests that there are cracks in the proverbial 'ceiling'

Mitochondrial function can provide key insights into how fish will respond to climate change, due to its important role in heart performance, energy metabolism and oxidative stress. However, whether warm acclimation can maintain or improve the energetic status of the fish heart when exposed to short-term heat stress is not well understood. We acclimated Atlantic salmon, a highly aerobic eurythermal species, to 12 and 20 °C, then measured cardiac mitochondrial functionality and integrity at 20 °C and at 24, 26 and 28 °C (this species' critical thermal maximum ± 2 °C). Acclimation to 20 °C vs. 12 °C enhanced many aspects of mitochondrial respiratory capacity and efficiency up to 24 °C, and preserved outer mitochondrial membrane integrity up to 26 °C. Further, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was dramatically decreased at all temperatures. These data suggest that salmon acclimated to 'normal' maximum summer temperatures are capable of surviving all but the most extreme ocean heat waves, and that there is no 'tradeoff' in heart mitochondrial function when Atlantic salmon are acclimated to high temperatures (i.e., increased oxidative phosphorylation does not result in heightened ROS production). This study suggests that fish species may show quite different acclimatory responses when exposed to prolonged high temperatures, and thus, susceptibility to climate warming.