Warm northern river temperatures increase post-exercise fatigue in an Arctic migratory salmonid but not in a temperate relative

The Arctic is warming at twice the global average rate; how native and non‐native anadromous fishes will respond remains largely unknown. Some native Arctic salmonids are already experiencing warm (>21°C), physically challenging migratory river conditions and large diurnal temperature fluctuation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Functional ecology 2018-03, Vol.32 (3), p.687-700
Main Authors: Gilbert, Matthew J. H., Tierney, Keith B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerobic capacity
ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY
Arctic char
Arctic climate change
Composition effects
Diurnal
Exercise
Fatigue
Fish
Lactic acid
Migration
northern range expansion
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Oxygen uptake
Physical training
Polar environments
repeat swimming performance
Rivers
salmonid migration
Salmonidae
Salmonids
Salvelinus alpinus
Swimming
Temperature
Temperature effects
temperature tolerance
Trout
Variation
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Summary:The Arctic is warming at twice the global average rate; how native and non‐native anadromous fishes will respond remains largely unknown. Some native Arctic salmonids are already experiencing warm (>21°C), physically challenging migratory river conditions and large diurnal temperature fluctuations (>10°C). We conducted field and laboratory experiments to determine how these extreme conditions may affect the capacity for migration in Arctic and temperate salmonids. In adult migratory Arctic char, reflex impairment following a handling challenge increased with temperature, indicating more extensive fatigue. In Arctic char smolts, temperature did not affect initial critical swimming performance (Umax1), however, there was a threshold for repeat swimming performance (Umax2) near 20°C, above which recovery was impaired. Following a simulated diurnal warming scenario (11–21°C), Umax1 increased in rainbow trout and remained constant in Arctic char as in the field while Umax2 remained constant in rainbow trout it was drastically reduced in Arctic char. Furthermore, at warm temperatures, Arctic char were unable to recover to routine levels of oxygen uptake after exercise, while rainbow trout were. Warming also had more pronounced effects on blood composition and plasma glucose and lactate concentration in Arctic char than in rainbow trout. In general, rainbow trout, a temperate salmonid, had superior swimming performance, aerobic capacity, and warm tolerance than Arctic char, an Arctic salmonid. The present flow and temperature regimes in some Arctic rivers may restrict migration of native salmonids by limiting their ability to recover from fatiguing exercise. Non‐native, temperate salmonids are likely better suited to overcome these particular physical and thermal challenges. A plain language summary is available for this article. Plain Language Summary
ISSN:0269-8463
1365-2435
DOI:10.1111/1365-2435.13006