Effects of dual stressors on Pugnose shiner, Notropis anogenus

Session: 09. - Modeling, Detecting, and Managing Rarity

Lindsay Potts, McGill University, [email protected]
Lauren Chapman, McGill University, [email protected]
Nicholas Mandrak, Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, [email protected]

Abstract

Hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen) and climate warming have both been identified as significant threats to freshwater fishes, which may limit fitness and performance traits. Furthermore, climate change is likely to exacerbate impacts of hypoxia on fishes, because oxygen solubility decreases with rising temperature while fish metabolism increases. The objective of this research is to examine the independent and interactive effects of hypoxia and elevated water temperatures on Pugnose shiner, Notropis anogenus, an endangered fish under the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA). We reared juvenile Pugnose shiner live-captured from SUNY Cobleskill, NY to six ecologically relevant temperatures. We explored the effects of elevated water temperature on aerobically expensive behaviours (activity, aggression) and quantified aerobic performance by estimating aerobic scope (AS, the difference between the maximum and standard metabolic rate) and critical thermal maximum (CTmax) under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions (acute exposure). This research is in progress; however, we predict that fish reared under elevated water temperature may show thermal compensation, a high critical thermal maximum, and a higher aerobic scope with increased water temperature under normoxic conditions, but hypoxia exposure is expected to decrease AS and CTmax.  

1. Keyword
climate change

2. Keyword
metabolism

3. Keyword
conservation

4. Additional Keyword
hypoxia

5. Additional Keyword
species at risk