Environmental variation associated with overwintering elicits marked metabolic plasticity in a temperate salmonid, <i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i>

Middleton, Ella K.; Gilbert, Matthew J. H.; Landry, Thomas; Lamarre, Simon G.; Speers-Roesch, Ben

doi:10.1242/jeb.246743

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 109 publications

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“…As warm summer temperatures drive increased digestive efficiency, the costs of maintaining and operating a large gut are probably no longer necessary given the temperature-dependent increases in digestive capacity [ 36 , 37 ]. Such modulation of the gut and its regions may be a broad mechanism for achieving seasonal metabolic plasticity in northern fishes, from centrarchids to salmonids [ 1 , 38 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consistent seasonal flexibility of the gut and its regions across wild populations of a winter-quiescent fish

Fernandes,

Li,

Shuter

et al. 2024

R. Soc. Open Sci.

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Seasonality in north-temperate environments imposes drastic temperature and resource variations that shape the seasonal ecophysiology of resident organisms. A better understanding of an organism’s capacity to flexibly respond to this drastic seasonal variation may reveal important mechanisms for tolerating or responding to environmental variation introduced by global change. In fishes, the digestive system is both the interface between resource and energy acquisition and one of the most expensive organ systems to maintain. However, little evidence describing the capacity for seasonal flexibility in the digestive tract of wild northern fishes exists. Here, we investigated phenotypic flexibility in the size of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract across three northern populations of a winter-dormant warm-water fish, pumpkinseed sunfish ( Lepomis gibbosus ). In all populations, pumpkinseed exhibited pronounced structural flexibility in the GI tract, aligned with winter and the timing of reproduction. The dry mass of the GI increased by 1.3- to nearly 2.5-fold in the early spring. The pyloric caeca demonstrated the greatest capacity for flexibility, increasing by up to 3.7-fold prior to reproduction. In all populations, minimum dry GI mass was consistently achieved during winter and mid-summer. This capacity for gut flexibility may represent a novel mechanism for facilitating rapid adaptive responses (e.g. metabolic plasticity) to future environmental change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consistent seasonal flexibility of the gut and its regions across wild populations of a winter-quiescent fish

Fernandes,

Li,

Shuter

et al. 2024

R. Soc. Open Sci.

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Is the diel cycle of routine metabolic rate in mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) affected by near‐infrared lighting used for visualizing behavior of fishes at night?

Trembley,

Rowsey,

Speers‐Roesch

2024

Journal of Fish Biology

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The metabolic rate of a freely moving fish (routine metabolic rate) is tightly coupled with volitional movement (spontaneous activity), both of which commonly show strong daily cycles linked to the species‐specific diel activity pattern. Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), an important estuarine fish in the north western Atlantic Ocean, are historically reported as diurnal (i.e., more active during daylight). Our recent laboratory studies on a Bay of Fundy population, however, showed a free‐running (i.e., similarly active daytime and night‐time) or even nocturnal (i.e., more active at night‐time) diel activity pattern. In the laboratory, near‐infrared (NIR) illumination is commonly used with a NIR‐sensitive camera to visualize fish activity across the light–dark periods of the day. Because NIR light is close to the visible light spectrum and certain fishes show sensitivity to NIR, the use of NIR with mummichog possibly could disturb the animals and obscure the identification of their true diel activity pattern. We aimed to determine if NIR illumination (940 nm wavelength) influences the diel activity pattern of mummichog. We used measurements of routine metabolic rate (oxygen consumption rate, MO2) as a proxy for activity, as evaluating the effect of NIR requires treatments where NIR lights are off, which precludes visualization and direct assessment of fish activity at night‐time. We measured routine MO2 of mummichogs over 6 days, exposed to either NIR off–on–off (2 days for each off or on period) or the opposite sequence of NIR on–off–on (to control for time‐dependent effects). NIR lights did not influence the diel cycle of routine MO2, and activity by proxy, in mummichog. Thus, NIR illumination is a suitable method to visualize mummichog during light–dark diel cycles. Routine MO2, and presumably activity, was similar or higher during night‐time periods compared to daytime periods, confirming a free‐running or nocturnal activity pattern for at least certain populations of mummichog.

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Expanding the scope: integrating costs of digestive metabolism and growth into estimates of maximum oxygen uptake in fishes

Fernandes,

Fu,

McKenzie

et al. 2024

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Environmental variation associated with overwintering elicits marked metabolic plasticity in a temperate salmonid, Salvelinus fontinalis

Cited by 3 publications

References 109 publications

Consistent seasonal flexibility of the gut and its regions across wild populations of a winter-quiescent fish

Consistent seasonal flexibility of the gut and its regions across wild populations of a winter-quiescent fish

Is the diel cycle of routine metabolic rate in mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) affected by near‐infrared lighting used for visualizing behavior of fishes at night?

Expanding the scope: integrating costs of digestive metabolism and growth into estimates of maximum oxygen uptake in fishes

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