Influence of a dynamic rearing environment on development of metabolic phenotypes in age-0 Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens

Abstract

Environment–phenotype interactions are the most pronounced during early life stages and can strongly influence metabolism and ultimately ecological fitness. In the present study, we examined the effect of temperature [ambient river temperature (ART) vs ART+2°C], dissolved oxygen (DO; 100% vs 80%) and substrate (presence vs absence) on standard metabolic rate, forced maximum metabolic rate and metabolic scope with Fulton’s condition factor (K), energy density (ED) and critical thermal maximum (CTmax) in age-0 Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, before and after a simulated overwintering event. We found that all the environmental variables strongly influenced survival, K, ED and CTmax. Fish reared in elevated temperature showed higher mortality and reduced K pre-winter at 127 days post-hatch (dph). Interestingly, we did not find any significant difference in terms of metabolic rate between treatments at both sampling points of pre- and post-winter. Long-term exposure to 80% DO reduced ED in Lake Sturgeon post-winter at 272 dph. Our data suggest that substrate should be removed at the onset of exogenous feeding to enhance the survival rate of age-0 Lake Sturgeon in the first year of life. Effects of early rearing environment during larval development on survival over winter are discussed with respect to successful recruitment of stock enhanced Lake Sturgeon, a species that is at risk throughout its natural range.

Catch‐and‐Release Angling Effects on Lake Sturgeon in Wisconsin, USA

“…Water temperature regulates metabolic function in fish (Brett 1971; Beitinger and Fitzpatrick 1979; Yoon et al. 2019). Thus, temperature and its resultant effects on metabolism influence the physiological processes that are associated with the stress response.…”

“…As we were unable to record specific depth or velocity measurements for each angling event, location was included in the model as a categorical variable to characterize variation due to potential habitat-related differences. Finally, water temperature was included in each model, as water temperatures regulate fish metabolism (Brett 1971;Beitinger and Fitzpatrick 1979;Yoon et al 2019). We used a Tobit regression for censured data (i.e., data with upper and lower limits) to test these hypotheses for both glucose and lactate (Tobin 1958).…”

“…Finally, water temperature was included in each model, as water temperatures regulate fish metabolism (Brett 1971; Beitinger and Fitzpatrick 1979; Yoon et al. 2019). We used a Tobit regression for censured data (i.e., data with upper and lower limits) to test these hypotheses for both glucose and lactate (Tobin 1958).…”

Influence of prey condition and incubation method on mortality, growth and metabolic rate during early life history in lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens

“…Hereafter, 30–34 dpf and 133–134 dpf will be abbreviated as 32 and 133 dpf. Whole body oxygen consumption rate ( ṀO 2 ) was assessed using intermittent flow respirometry (Loligo System, Viborg, Denmark) following previously published protocols (Yoon, Deslauriers, & Anderson, 2019). In larval fish, high developmental demands are known to make it impractical to reliably measure SMR (Chabot et al., 2016; Rosenfeld et al., 2015); thus, we measured routine metabolic rate (RMR) at 32 dpf as a proxy for the minimum energy expenditure to sustain life.…”

Comparison of metabolic rate between two genetically distinct populations of lake sturgeon

“…In addition, our study was focused on two populations in Manitoba, which are in the northern range of the species, while the lake sturgeon range is known to extend as far as south as northern Mississippi and Alabama (Bruch et al, 2016). A previous study showed that thermal tolerance of lake sturgeon in Wisconsin, USA, is similar to that of those from Manitoba, possibly due to their closely related thermal regimes (Wilkes, 2011; Yoon, Deslauriers, & Anderson, 2019). However, a future study would benefit from including samples of populations at more southern latitudes and standardized ages, such as 2 weeks following hatch or 2 weeks after transitioning to a bloodworm diet, to address sources of variation in metabolic rate data.…”