Ecological responses to elevated water temperatures across invasive populations of the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in the Great Lakes basin

Abstract

Climate warming is expected to alter the distribution, abundance, and impact of non-native species in aquatic ecosystems. In laboratory experiments, we measured the maximum feeding rate and critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of an invasive Eurasian fish, the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), acclimated to a range of temperatures (18–28°C) reflecting current and projected future thermal conditions for the nearshore Great Lakes. Fish were collected from four distinct populations along a latitudinal gradient from the western basin of Lake Erie to Hamilton Harbour (Lake Ontario) and the upper St. Lawrence River. Thermal tolerance increased with acclimation temperature for populations in lakes Erie and Ontario. However, the St. Lawrence River populations had lower acclimation capacity and exhibited an unexpected decline in CTmax at the highest acclimation temperature. Maximum feeding rates peaked at 18–24°C and declined with temperatures above 24°C. Northern populations in the basin appear poorly adapted to elevated temperatures such that their performance and impact could be reduced by climate warming. Thermal response data from latitudinally distributed populations are needed to inform invasive species risk assessment.

Effects of elevated temperature and microplastic exposure on growth and predatory performance of a freshwater fish

“…Furthermore, Lee and Johnson (2005) used fish from Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, which are located ~ 3° south from our sampling location in the St. Lawrence River. A previous study testing the critical thermal maximum of adult round gobies from the St Lawrence River populations, including our Lake St. Louis population, found that (1) these fish had significantly lower thermal tolerances than goby populations from the lower Great Lakes, and (2) feeding rates of Lake St. Louis gobies peaked at 24°C, rather than 26°C (Reid and Ricciardi 2022). This same study recorded variable summer temperatures experienced by round gobies at different locations within the Great Lakes Basin, which could result in population‐level differences in thermal responses because recent thermal history could impact a population's ability to acclimate to novel conditions (Somero 2010; Reid and Ricciardi 2022).…”

“…This decline may have been exacerbated by the limited amount of food offered in our experiment. Reid and Ricciardi (2022) observed reduced feeding in adults of the same population at higher temperatures, and juveniles might be even more susceptible to thermal stress. Under low food availability and warmer conditions, juvenile round gobies likely could not meet the energy demands to maintain growth.…”

“…Shallower rivers, streams, and shoreline habitats are more likely to experience periodically extreme temperatures (Drouillard et al 2018). Nearshore sites along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in 2020 were already experiencing mean summer temperatures near or above 25°C for 59 d in Toledo (Ohio, USA) and 32 d in Hamilton Harbor (Ontario, Canada) (Reid and Ricciardi, 2022). In summer 2020, there were only 9 d where the mean temperature at our sampling site in Lake St. Louis (Melocheville) was at or above 25°C (Reid and Ricciardi, 2022), but daily maxima reached or exceeded 25°C for 32 d across July and August (H.B.…”

The impacts of diel thermal variability on growth, development and performance of wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from two thermally distinct rivers

“…The CT max of Restigouche and Miramichi salmon increased by ~0.5 and 1.2°C, respectively, for the +3°C warmer acclimation cycle, which is about the typical expected increase in CT max for every 3°C found in other fishes (0.9–1.2; Beitinger et al, 2000 ; Comte and Olden 2016 ; Morley et al, 2019 ). For some fishes under warm temperatures, CT max increased only slightly with warm acclimation ( Morrison et al, 2020 ; Reid and Riccairdi 2021 ), which could indicate that the fish is approaching its thermal ceiling and is unable to adjust CT max . Our data indicate that our temperature cycles were within the thermal breadth of performance for Atlantic salmon in both tested populations.…”

Interactive effects of temperature and velocity on the feeding behavior of competing native and invasive stream fishes

“…Following the acclimation period, a fixed number of prey (225 thawed chironomid larvae, Chironomus sp., previously kept frozen, mean total thawed mass 1.60 g ± 0.04SE). This prey abundance was chosen to ensure oversaturation of prey items in the tank by Round Goby and White Sucker [preliminary experiments unpublished, (Reid and Ricciardi, 2021)]. Once chironomids were introduced, feeding behaviour was recorded for 2 hours.…”