The influence of temperature during early life on phenotypic expression at later ontogenetic stages in sea bass

Abstract

To exam whether the temperature experienced by fishes at early developmental stages can influence their phenotype at subsequent stages, the model species used, European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax was subjected to water temperatures of 15 or 20°C during the half-epiboly stage until the metamorphosis. Meristic and morphometric characters at three different stages, well after the end of the thermal treatments, were explored. Body shape and most of the meristic characters were significantly affected by the environmental temperature during their early life stages. Fish body shape at 15°C tended to be more slender than at 20°C. The dorsal spines and soft rays, the pectoral lepidotrichia and caudal dermatotrichia were significantly affected. Phenotypic differences due to the two thermal regimes are discussed in terms of their functional meaning during the transition from the planktonic to the littoral niche.

Effect of developmental temperature on swimming performance of zebrafish (Danio rerio) juveniles

“…The fact that the examined morphometric characters do not significantly vary among the four temperature groups leads us to conclude that there is no such correlation between these size-related values and the observed differentiation of swimming performance. On the other hand, unpublished results of our team indicate that zebrafish grown in different temperatures tend to differ in both body shape and meristic character count, which is in agreement with the results of Georgakopoulou et al (2007). It is logical to assume therefore that it is a combination of those characters (body shape in general) and it's variation among the different temperature regimes rather than the effect of a single one that eventually influences the swimming ability of a fish.…”

“…Georgakopoulou et al (2007), concluded that European sea bass juveniles reared in 15°C had more slender bodies than the ones reared in 20°C, a fact that could explain the higher swimming performance of the former as observed by Koumoundouros et al (2009).…”

“…The second is that temperature in early life affects body shape (Georgakopoulou et al 2007; personal unpublished results) and meristic count (Blaxter 1991;Georgakopoulou et al 2007; personal unpublished results). Georgakopoulou et al (2007), concluded that European sea bass juveniles reared in 15°C had more slender bodies than the ones reared in 20°C, a fact that could explain the higher swimming performance of the former as observed by Koumoundouros et al (2009).…”

Morphological variations of wild populations of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) living in extreme environmental conditions in the Kenyan Rift-Valley

“…In Zebra fish (Danio rerio) for instances, raising of juveniles under four different developmental temperatures resulted to highly variable phenotypes (Sfakianakis et al 2011). A similar study by Georgakopoulou et al (2007) on European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax, L) showed that samples reared under lower temperatures (15°C) were more slender than those reared under higher temperature (20°C). Even though no studies have been carried out to establish the effect of water pH on fish shape, extreme changes in water pH have been reported to cause fish deaths by altering other aspects of water chemistry, for instance increase in pH increases toxicity of ammonia (Schofield 1976;Wurts and Durborow 1992).…”

Impact of environmental and genetic factors on the scale shape of zebrafish,Danio rerio(Hamilton 1822): A geometric morphometric study

“…Nevertheless, no controlled laboratory experiment has yet been reported on the potential role of environmental factors in formation of scale shape. according to the results on other morphological features [9,20,21], it is very likely, however, that scale shape might also vary along environmental gradients.…”