Thermal acclimation in rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax, leads to faster myotomal muscle contractile properties and improved swimming performance

Monitoring post-spawning movement, habitat use, and survival of adult anadromous rainbow smelt using acoustic telemetry in a New Hampshire estuary

Anadromous rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax, [Mitchill 1814]) are found along the northeast Atlantic coastline of North America, with their range now limited to north of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Although their anadromous life cycles are described broadly, gaps remain regarding how adult rainbow smelt use estuaries post-spawning, including movement behaviors, habitats used, and specific timing of emigration to coastal waters. In spring 2021, we used acoustic telemetry to characterize movements during and after the spawning season of rainbow smelt captured in tributaries to Great Bay, New Hampshire, USA, a large estuarine system near the southern edge of their range. Forty-four adult rainbow smelt (n = 35 male, n = 9 female) were tagged with Innovasea V5 180-kHz transmitters and an array of 22,180 kHz VR2W receivers were deployed throughout Great Bay to detect movements of tagged fish from March to October 2021. Rainbow smelt were detected 14,186 times on acoustic telemetry receivers, with 41 (93%) of the tagged individuals being detected at least once post-tagging. Individuals were detected moving between tributaries, revealing that rainbow smelt can use multiple rivers during the spawning season (March-April). Mark-recapture Cormack-Jolly-Seber models estimated 83% (95% confidence interval 66%-92%) of rainbow smelt survived to the mainstem Piscataqua River, and a minimum of 50% (22 of 44) reached the seaward-most receivers and were presumed to have survived emigration. Most individuals that survived remained in the estuary for multiple weeks (average = 19.47 ± 1.99 standard error days), displaying extended use of estuarine environments. Downstream movements occurred more frequently during ebb tides and upstream movements with flood tides, possibly a mechanism to reduce energy expenditures. Fish emigrated from the estuary by mid-May to the coastal Gulf of Maine. Our results underscore that rainbow smelt need access to a variety of habitats, including multiple tributaries and high-quality estuarine habitat, to complete their life cycle.

Can animals tune tissue mechanics in response to changing environments caused by anthropogenic impacts?

Anthropogenic climate change and pollution are impacting environments across the globe. This Review summarises the potential impact of such anthropogenic effects on animal tissue mechanics, given the consequences for animal locomotor performance and behaviour. More specifically, in light of current literature, this Review focuses on evaluating the acute and chronic effects of temperature on the mechanical function of muscle tissues. For ectotherms, maximal muscle performance typically occurs at temperatures approximating the natural environment of the species. However, species vary in their ability to acclimate to chronic changes in temperature, which is likely to have longer-term effects on species range. Some species undergo periods of dormancy to avoid extreme temperature or drought. Whilst the skeletal muscle of such species generally appears to be adapted to minimise muscle atrophy and maintain performance for emergence from dormancy, the increased occurrence of extreme climatic conditions may reduce the survival of individuals in such environments. This Review also considers the likely impact of anthropogenic pollutants, such as hormones and heavy metals, on animal tissue mechanics, noting the relative paucity of literature directly investigating this key area. Future work needs to determine the direct effects of anthropogenic environmental changes on animal tissues and related changes in locomotor performance and behaviour, including accounting for currently unknown interactions between environmental factors, e.g. temperature and pollutants.

Impacts of thermal acclimatization on fish skeletal muscle

Thermal acclimation allows ectotherms to maintain physiological homeostasis while occupying habitats with constantly changing temperatures. This process is especially important in skeletal muscle which powers most movements necessary for life. We aimed to understand how fish skeletal muscle is impacted by acclimatization in the laboratory. To accomplish this, we compared muscle contraction kinetics of four-week lab acclimatized fish (at 20 °C) to fish taken directly from the field when sea surface temperatures were similar to lab treatment temperature (ocean temperature ranged from 17.7 to 19.9 °C in the four weeks prior to collection at 20 °C). To examine these effects, we chose to study tautog (Tautoga onitis) and cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus) from Long Island Sound. We found that timing of contraction kinetics in cunner and tautog did not differ from the lab acclimatized and field acclimatized groups. However, lab acclimatized cunner produced greater contraction force than fish taken directly from the field. This increased force production allowed lab acclimatized cunner to produce greater power when compared to cunner from the field treatment. Furthermore, laboratory acclimatized cunner did not express any slow myosin heavy chain, suggesting that their muscle had transitioned to mostly fast twitch fibers after being held at a constant temperature in the lab. None of these effects were seen in tautog. In this work we highlight the importance of considering the impacts laboratory conditions have on experimental conditions.

Thermal acclimation in brook trout myotomal muscle varies with fiber type and age

As climate change alters the thermal environment of the planet, interest has grown in how animals may mitigate the impact of a changing environment on physiological function. Thermal acclimation to a warm environment may, for instance, blunt the impact of a warming environment on metabolism by allowing a fish to shift to slower isoforms of functionally significant proteins such as myosin heavy chain. The thermal acclimation of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) was examined by comparing swimming performance, myotomal muscle contraction kinetics and muscle histology in groups of fish acclimated to 4, 10 and 20 °C. Brook trout show a significant acclimation response in their maximum aerobic swimming performance (U_crit), with acclimation to warm water leading to lower U_crit values. Maximum muscle shortening velocity (V_max) decreased significantly with warm acclimation for both red or slow-twitch and white or fast-twitch muscle. Immunohistochemical analysis of myotomal muscle suggests changes in myosin expression underly the thermal acclimation of swimming performance and contraction kinetics. Physiological and histological data suggest a robust acclimation response to a warming environment, one that would reduce the added metabolic costs incurred by an ectotherm when environmental temperature rises for sustained periods of time.

Intermittent propulsion in largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, increases power production at low swimming speeds

Locomotion dominates animal energy budgets, and selection should favour behaviours that minimize transportation costs. Recent fieldwork has altered our understanding of the preferred modes of locomotion in fishes. For instance, bluegill employ a sustainable intermittent swimming form with 2-3 tail beats alternating with short glides. Volitional swimming studies in the laboratory with bluegill suggest that the propulsive phase reflects a fixed-gear constraint on body-caudal-fin activity. Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) also reportedly display intermittent swimming in the field. We examined swimming by bass in a static tank to quantify the parameters of volitional locomotion, including tailbeat frequency and glide duration, across a range of swimming speeds. We found that tailbeat frequency was not related to speed at low swimming speeds. Instead, speed was a function of glide duration between propulsive events, with glide duration decreasing as speed increased. The propulsive Strouhal number remained within the range that maximizes propulsive efficiency. We used muscle mechanics experiments to simulate power production by muscle operating under intermittent versus steady conditions. Workloop data suggest that intermittent activity allows fish to swim efficiently and avoid the drag-induced greater energetic cost of continuous swimming. The results offer support for a new perspective on fish locomotion: intermittent swimming is crucial to aerobic swimming energetics.

Ocean Warming Leads to Increases in Aerobic Demand and Changes to Gene Expression in the Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides)

Anthropogenic climate change is causing increases in the frequency, intensity, and duration of marine heatwaves (MHWs). These short-term warming events can last for days to weeks and can produce severe disruptions in marine ecosystems, as many aquatic species are poikilotherms that depend on the conditions of the environment for physiological processes. It is crucial to investigate the effects of these thermal fluctuations on species that play a disproportionate ecological role in marine ecosystems, such as the pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic. In this study, we exposed pinfish to a simulated MHW in aquaria and examined the impacts of acute warming on two life stages (juvenile and adult), measuring oxygen consumption and gene expression in two relevant tissue types (liver and muscle). We saw significant increases in routine metabolic rate with increasing temperature in both juveniles (24.58 mgO2/kg/h increase per 1°C of warming) and adults (10.01 mgO2/kg/h increase per 1°C of warming). These results indicate that exposure to increased temperatures was more metabolically costly for juveniles than for adults, on a mass-specific basis. This was also observed in the molecular analyses, where the largest number of differentially expressed genes were observed in the juvenile pinfish. The analyses of gene expression suggest warming produces changes to immune function, cell proliferation, muscle contraction, nervous system function, and oxygen transport. These results indicate that this ecologically relevant species will be significantly impacted by projected increases in frequency and magnitude of MHWs, particularly in the juvenile stage.

Climate change and anadromous fish: How does thermal acclimation affect the mechanics of the myotomal muscle of the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar?

In response to accelerated temperature shifts due to climate change, the survival of many species will require forms of thermal acclimation to their changing environment. We were interested in how climate change will impact a commercially and recreationally important species of fish, Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). As climate change alters the thermal environment of their natal streams, we asked how their muscle function will be altered by extended exposure to both warm and cold temperatures. We performed a thermal acclimation study of S. salar muscle mechanics of both fast-twitch, or white, and slow-twitch, or red, myotomal muscle bundles to investigate how temperature acclimated Atlantic salmon would respond across a range of different temperatures. Isometric contraction properties, maximum shortening velocity, and oscillatory power output were measured and compared amongst three groups of salmon-warm acclimated (20°C), cold-acclimated (2°C), and those at their rearing temperature (12°C). The Atlantic salmon showed limited thermal acclimation in their contraction kinetics, and some of the shifts in contractile properties that were observed would not be predicted to mitigate the impact of a warming environment. For instance, the maximum shortening velocity at a common test temperature was higher in the warm acclimated group and lower in the cold-acclimated group. In addition, critical swimming speed did not vary with temperature of acclimation when tested at a common temperature (12°C). Our results suggest that Atlantic salmon populations will continue to struggle in response to a warming environment.

Thermal acclimation leads to variable muscle responses in two temperate labrid fishes

Temperature can be a key abiotic factor in fish distribution, as it affects most physiological processes. Specifically, temperature can affect locomotor capabilities, especially as species are exposed to temperatures nearing their thermal limits. In this study, we aimed to understand the effects of temperature on muscle in two labrids that occupy the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. When exposed to cold temperatures in autumn, cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus) and tautog (Tautoga onitis) go into a state of winter dormancy. Transitions into dormancy vary slightly, where tautog will make short migrations to overwintering habitats while cunner overwinter in year-round habitats. To understand how muscle function changes with temperature, we held fish for 4 weeks at either 5 or 20°C and then ran muscle kinetic and workloop experiments at 5, 10 and 20°C. Following experiments, we used immunohistochemistry staining to identify acclimation effects on myosin isoform expression. Muscle taken from warm-acclimated cunner performed the best, whereas there were relatively few differences among the other three groups. Cunner acclimated at both temperatures downregulated the myosin heavy chain, suggesting a transition in fiber type from slow-oxidative to fast-glycolytic. This change did not amount to a detectable difference in muscle power production and kinetics. However, overall poor performance at cold temperatures could force these fishes into torpor to overwinter. Tautog, alternatively, retained myosin heavy chains, which likely increases locomotor capabilities when making short migrations to overwintering habitats.

Thermal acclimation of rainbow trout myotomal muscle, can trout acclimate to a warming environment?

Climate change is a looming threat to the planet. Cold-water aquatic species will face significant physiological challenges due to elevated summer temperatures. Salmonids, such as rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) maintain fidelity to native streams, limiting their ability to mitigate the impact of climate change through migration. We examined how rainbow trout swimming performance and muscle function were shaped by the thermal environment. We hypothesized that trout would show slower muscle contractile properties and slower swimming performance with long-term exposure to warmer water. For fish held at either 10 °C or 20 °C, maximum steady swimming speed (U_crit) was determined, and contractile properties of both fast-twitch (white) and slow-twitch (red) myotomal muscle were examined. In addition, immunohistochemistry and quantitative PCR were used to assess changes in myosin content of the myotomal muscle in response to holding temperature. Rainbow trout exposed to warm water for six weeks displayed relatively limited thermal acclimation response. When tested at a common temperature (10 °C), 20 °C acclimated fish had modestly slower muscle performance compared to 10 °C acclimated fish. Significant differences in swimming performance and muscle contractile properties were primarily at colder test temperatures (e.g. 2 °C for muscle mechanics). Shifts in myosin heavy chain protein composition and myosin heavy chain gene expression in the swimming muscle were observed in white but not red muscle. Our results suggest that rainbow trout will have a limited ability to mitigate elevated environmental temperature through thermal acclimation of their myotomal or swimming muscle.

Conductive Self-Healing Nanocomposite Hydrogel Skin Sensors with Antifreezing and Thermoresponsive Properties

With growing interest in flexible and wearable devices, the demand for nature-inspired soft smart materials, especially intelligent hydrogels with multiple perceptions toward external strain and temperatures to mimic the human skin, is on the rise. However, simultaneous achievement of intelligent hydrogels with skin-compatible performances, including good transparency, appropriate mechanical properties, autonomous self-healing ability, multiple mechanical/thermoresponsiveness, and retaining flexibility at subzero temperatures, is still challenging and thus limits their application as skinlike devices. Here, conductive nanocomposite hydrogels (NC gels) were delicately designed and prepared via gelation of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA)-based monomers in a glycerol-water cosolvent, where inorganic clay served as the physical cross-linker and provided conductive ions. The resultant NC gels exhibited good conductivity (∼3.32 × 10^-4 S cm^-1, akin to biological muscle tissue) and an autonomously self-healing capacity (healing efficiency reached 84.8%). Additionally, such NC gels displayed excellent flexibility and responded well to multiple strain/temperature external stimuli and subtle human motions in a wide temperature range (from -20 to 45 °C). These distinguished properties would endow such NC gels significant applications in fields of biosensors, human-machine interfaces, and soft robotics.

Red muscle function and thermal acclimation to cold in rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax, and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Climate change affects the thermal environment of aquatic organisms. Changes in the thermal environment may affect muscle function in the eurythermal rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax, and relatively more stenothermal rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Literature suggests that the trout will be more sensitive to changes in environmental temperature, as they experience a more limited range of environmental temperatures. To examine the effects of thermal environment on red muscle function, both the smelt and trout were thermally acclimated to either a warm (12-15°C) or cold (4-5°C) temperature, after which studies of swimming performance and muscle mechanics were performed. The data on swimming performance and maximum muscle shortening velocity in rainbow smelt were previously published. In both species, cold-acclimated (CA) fish swam with a significantly faster maximum aerobic swimming speed than warm-acclimated fish, when tested at a common temperature of 10°C. Similarly, CA smelt and trout had faster red muscle contraction kinetics. However, smelt displayed a greater shift in contractile properties, such as having a significant shift in maximum muscle shortening velocity that was not observed in trout. The smelt red muscle outperformed trout, with twitch and tetanic times of relaxation being significantly faster for CA smelt compared with CA trout, especially when contraction kinetics were tested at 2°C. The smelt shows a greater thermal acclimation response compared with trout, with more robust increases in maximum swimming speed and faster muscle contractile properties. These differences in acclimation response may contribute to understanding how smelt and trout cope with climate change.

Copy number increases of transposable elements and protein-coding genes in an invasive fish of hybrid origin

Evolutionary dynamics of structural genetic variation in lineages of hybrid origin is not well explored, although structural mutations may increase in controlled hybrid crosses. We therefore tested whether structural variants accumulate in a fish of recent hybrid origin, invasive Cottus, relative to both parental species Cottus rhenanus and Cottus perifretum. Copy-number variation in exons of 10,979 genes was assessed using comparative genome hybridization arrays. Twelve genes showed significantly higher copy numbers in invasive Cottus compared to both parents. This coincided with increased expression for three genes related to vision, detoxification and muscle development, suggesting possible gene dosage effects. Copy number increases of putative transposons were assessed by comparative mapping of genomic DNA reads against a de novo assembly of 1,005 repetitive elements. In contrast to exons, copy number increases of repetitive elements were common (20.7%) in invasive Cottus, whereas decrease was very rare (0.01%). Among the increased repetitive elements, 53.8% occurred at higher numbers in C. perifretum compared to C. rhenanus, while only 1.4% were more abundant in C. rhenanus. This implies a biased mutational process that amplifies genetic material from one ancestor. To assess the frequency of de novo mutations through hybridization, we screened 64 laboratory-bred F2 offspring between the parental species for copy-number changes at five candidate loci. We found no evidence for new structural variants, indicating that they are too rare to be detected given our sampling scheme. Instead, they must have accumulated over more generations than we observed in a controlled cross.

Elevated osmolytes in rainbow smelt: the effects of urea, glycerol and trimethylamine oxide on muscle contractile properties

Rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax, experience a wide range of temperatures in their native habitat. In response to cold, smelt express anti-freeze proteins and the osmolytes glycerol, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and urea to avoid freezing. The physiological influences of these osmolytes are not well understood. Urea destabilizes proteins, while TMAO counteracts the protein-destabilizing forces of urea. The influence of glycerol on muscle function has not been explored. We examined the effects of urea, glycerol and TMAO through muscle mechanics experiments with treatments of the three osmolytes at physiological concentrations. Experiments were carried out at 10°C. The contractile properties of fast-twitch muscle bundles were determined in physiological saline and in the presence of 50 mmol l(-1)urea, 50 mmol l(-1)TMAO and/or 200 mmol l(-1)glycerol in saline. Muscle exposed to urea and glycerol produced less force and displayed slower contractile properties. However, treatment with TMAO led to higher force and faster relaxation by muscle bundles. TMAO increased power production during cyclical activity, while urea and glycerol led to reduced oscillatory power output. When muscle bundles were exposed to a combination of the three osmolytes, they displayed little change in contraction kinetics relative to control, although power output under lower oscillatory conditions was enhanced while maximum power output was reduced. The results suggest that maintenance of muscle function in winter smelt requires a balanced combination of urea, glycerol and TMAO.

Contractile properties of the myotomal muscle of sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus

Swimming in fishes is powered by myotomal red, white and pink skeletal muscle. Slow swimming is powered by the red (slow-twitch muscle), fast speeds are achieved by the white (fast-twitch) muscle and pink muscle apparently serves an intermediate function. In recent years, the physiological properties and molecular composition of red (slow) and white (fast) muscle fibers have been well studied, while the intermediate pink muscle, which falls in a thin sheet between the superficial red muscle and deeper white muscle, has received less attention. The goal of this study is to determine the contractile properties of red, pink, and white muscle and to establish the molecular basis of fiber type variations in contractile properties in a sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus). Isometric and isovelocity muscle mechanics experiments demonstrated a general pattern of increasing contractile speed from red to pink to white muscle, although red and pink muscle did not differ significantly for most contraction kinetics variables. As myosin heavy chain (MyHC) is the most important structural protein found in the muscle fibers, MyHC content was examined through immunohistochemistry. Myosin antibodies suggest a gradient in myosin content corresponding to differences in muscle contraction kinetics.

Thyroid hormone regulates muscle function during cold acclimation in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Thyroid hormone (TH) is a universal regulator of growth, development and metabolism during cold exposure in mammals. In zebrafish (Danio rerio), TH regulates locomotor performance and metabolism during cold acclimation. The influence of TH on locomotor performance may be via its effect on metabolism or, as has been shown in mammals, by modulating muscle phenotypes. Our aim was to determine whether TH influences muscle phenotypes in zebrafish, and whether this could explain changes in swimming capacity in response to thermal acclimation. We used propylthiouracil and iopanoic acid to induce hypothyroidism in zebrafish over a 3-week acclimation period to either 18 or 28°C. To verify that physiological changes following hypothyroid treatment were in fact due to the action of TH, we supplemented hypothyroid fish with 3,5-diiodothryronine (T2) or 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3). Cold-acclimated fish had significantly greater sustained swimming performance (Ucrit) but not burst speed. Greater Ucrit was accompanied by increased tail beat frequency, but there was no change in tail beat amplitude. Hypothyroidism significantly decreased Ucrit and burst performance, as well as tail beat frequency and SERCA activity in cold-acclimated fish. However, myofibrillar ATPase activity increased in cold-acclimated hypothyroid fish. Hypothyroid treatment also decreased mRNA concentrations of myosin heavy chain fast isoforms and SERCA 1 isoform in cold-acclimated fish. SERCA 1 mRNA increased in warm-acclimated hypothyroid fish, and SERCA 3 mRNA decreased in both cold- and warm-acclimated hypothyroid fish. Supplementation with either T2 or T3 restored Ucrit, burst speed, tail beat frequency, SERCA activity and myosin heavy chain and SERCA 1 and 3 mRNA levels of hypothyroid fish back to control levels. We show that in addition to regulating development and metabolism in vertebrates, TH also regulates muscle physiology in ways that affect locomotor performance in fish. We suggest that the role of TH in modulating SERCA1 expression during cold exposure may have predisposed it to regulate endothermic thermogenesis.

Seasonal changes in the behaviour and respiration physiology of the freshwater duck mussel Anodonta anatina

For low-energy organisms like bivalves, the costs of thermal compensation of biological rates (synonymous with acclimation and acclimatization) may be higher than the benefits. In the first experiment, we examined the effects of seasonal temperature changes on the bivalve Anodonta anatina, making measurements each month for a year at the corresponding temperature for that time of year. Only burrowing rate was partially compensated. There was no evidence for compensation of valve closure duration, frequency or locomotory speed. In a second experiment, we compared A. anatina at summer and winter temperatures (24 and 4°C respectively) and found no evidence for compensation of the burrowing rate, valve closure duration, frequency, or oxygen consumption rates during burrowing, immediately after valve closure and at rest. Within the experimental error of this study, the evidence suggests that thermal compensation of biological rates is not a strategy employed by A. anatina. We argue that this is due to a lack of evolutionary pressure to acclimatize, or evolutionary pressure to not acclimatize. Firstly, there is little incentive to increase metabolic rate to enhance predatory ability given that these are filter feeders. Secondly, maintained low energetic demand, enhanced at winter temperatures, is essential for predator avoidance, i.e. valve closure. Thus, we suggest that the costs of acclimatization outweigh the benefits in A. anatina.