Burst and coast use, swimming performance and metabolism of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua in sub-lethal hypoxic conditions

2007 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-D. Dutil ◽  
E.-L. Sylvestre ◽  
L. Gamache ◽  
R. Larocque ◽  
H. Guderley
1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (6) ◽  
pp. 1295-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Nelson ◽  
Y Tang ◽  
R Boutilier

The objective of this study was to determine whether differences in exercise physiology between Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) populations from different salinity environments could be changed by acclimating individuals of each population to the natural salinity of the comparison population. The exercise-associated blood chemistry of cod from the brackish Bras d'Or lakes, which had previously been shown to be quite different from that of 'open-ocean' cod, changed to resemble the blood chemistry of their oceanic relatives after only 2 months of acclimation to full-strength salinity. In contrast, the blood chemistry of cod from the Scotian Shelf of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean showed little change after 2 months of acclimation to brackish water. These results demonstrate that the degree of osmoconformity to changes in environmental salinity is a population-specific not a species-specific trait. The blood chemistry differences between populations and salinities did not translate into differences in exercise performance: i.e. critical swimming speeds were statistically uniform across all combinations of population and salinity, although performance was more varied in fish swimming in 'non-native' waters. Other 'whole-animal' physiological characteristics, such as metabolic rate and the aerobic cost of transport, were dependent upon both population origin and the environmental salinity. Vigorous swimming was more energetically expensive at full-strength salinity than at 20 salinity, yet estimates of standard (i.e. resting) metabolic rate were lower for full-strength salinity. Environmental salinity also influenced the relative appearance of lactate and metabolic acid in the extracellular fluid compartment, with full-strength salinity favouring the relative appearance of lactate in the blood. Multivariate statistical analyses of this data set showed that, in contrast to other fish species and studies, differences in blood oxygen transport appear to account for some of the swimming performance differences seen in Atlantic cod at 2 °C. The two experimental populations were cleanly separated by a principal components analysis, regardless of the salinity to which they were acclimated, confirming our earlier contention that these cod populations are physiologically distinct. A key feature of that distinctness is the greater phenotypic plasticity exhibited by the population from the more euryhaline, more eurythermal environment.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Norin ◽  
Paula Canada ◽  
Jason A. Bailey ◽  
A. Kurt Gamperl

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) are two commercially important marine fishes impacted by both overfishing and climate change. Increasing ocean temperatures are affecting the physiology of these species and causing changes in distribution, growth, and maturity. While the physiology of cod has been well investigated, that of haddock has received very little attention. Here, we measured the metabolic response to increasing temperatures, as well as the critical thermal maximum (CTmax), of cod acclimated to 8 and 12 °C and haddock acclimated to 12 °C. We also compared the swimming performance (critical swimming speed, Ucrit) of cod and haddock at 12 °C, as well as the Ucrit of 12 °C-acclimated cod acutely exposed to a higher-than-optimal temperature (16 °C). The CTmax for cod was 21.4 and 23.0 °C for 8- and 12 °C-acclimated fish, respectively, whereas that for the 12 °C-acclimated haddock was 23.9 °C. These values were all significantly different and show that haddock are more tolerant of high temperatures. The aerobic maximum metabolic rate (MMR) of swimming cod remained high at 16 °C, suggesting that maximum oxygen transport capacity was not limited at a temperature above optimal in this species. However, signs of impaired swimming (struggling) were becoming evident at 16 °C. Haddock were found to reach a higher Ucrit than cod at 12 °C (3.02 vs. 2.62 body lengths s−1, respectively), and at a lower MMR. Taken together, these results suggest that haddock perform better than cod in warmer conditions, and that haddock are the superior swimmer amongst the two species.


2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.P. Reidy ◽  
S.R. Kerr ◽  
J.A. Nelson

Individual Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were exercised using three different measures of swimming performance. (1) An endurance test (critical swimming speed, U(crit), protocol) designed to assess predominantly aerobic endurance swimming (duration hours). (2) An acceleration test (U(burst)), in which the fish were required to swim against a rapidly increasing current until exhausted (duration minutes). This test was designed to assess predominantly glycolytic-based swimming capacity. (3) A sprint test that examined the animals' ability to swim away from a sudden stimulus (duration seconds). Rates of oxygen consumption (mdot (O2)) during the endurance test and various morphological variables of the individual fish were also measured. Both aerobic and anaerobic swimming performance of individual cod were found to be significantly repeatable over a 3 month period. mdot (O2) during the U(crit) protocol was also significantly repeatable at intermediate to high swimming speeds, but not at low speeds. Our results support extrapolation from metabolic rates at incremented swimming speeds to zero activity as the best way to measure standard metabolic rate in cod. While performance in the U(crit) test and the sprint test were positively correlated, there was a negative correlation between performance in the U(crit) test and performance in the U(burst) test. This implies a potential trade-off in individual cod between stamina and the ability to use glycolytic-based locomotion. Inter-individual variation in swimming performance during these protocols, while substantial, was not correlated with individual variation in fin surface areas, age or morphology. However, U(burst) performance was dependent upon the sex of the animals, while performance during the U(crit) protocol was significantly correlated with their aerobic scope for activity.


1989 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
pp. 377-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. BUTLER ◽  
M. AXELSSON ◽  
F. EHRENSTROM ◽  
J. D. METCALFE ◽  
S. NILSSON

Sectioning the first four pairs of spinal nerves prevents the large increase in circulating catecholamine concentrations seen in Atlantic cod swimming at their critical velocity (Ucrit). There is also a significant reduction in the swimming performance of the fish. To test whether this reduced performance results from the lack of increase in plasma catecholamine levels or from the fact that other organs are also denervated by the operative procedure, a mixture of adrenaline and noradrenaline was infused into swimming, denervated fish. This caused a significant increase in their Ucrit. It is concluded, therefore, that the rise in plasma catecholamine levels seen in Atlantic cod swimming at their maximum sustainable velocity enhances the swimming performance of these fish.


2009 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Melzner ◽  
Sandra Göbel ◽  
Martina Langenbuch ◽  
Magdalena A. Gutowska ◽  
Hans-O. Pörtner ◽  
...  

1992 ◽  
Vol 163 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
GUY CLAIREAUX ◽  
JEAN-DENIS DUTIL

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) acclimated to water salinities ranging from 28 ‰ to 7 ‰ were exposed to mild (8.0 kPa) or severe (4.0 kPa) hypoxic conditions for 6h. In each experiment, respiratory, acid-base, ionic, haematological and metabolic disturbances were analyzed. During mild hypoxia, a strong hyperventilatory response was observed, resulting in a respiratory alkalosis that persisted throughout the 6-h trial. Plasma Cl− and pyruvate levels were the only other variables to display significant changes: they both increased. In more severe hypoxic conditions, although the ventilatory response was the same, a weak metabolic acidosis was superimposed. The haematological response (increased haematocrit and decreased mean cellular haemoglobin content) suggested that catecholamines were released into the blood. Both Na+ and Cl− concentrations increased significantly. Metabolic perturbations occurred: plasma lactate, pyruvate and glucose concentrations increased markedly. Though lactate concentrations in liver, heart and white muscle increased, the concentrations of pyruvate, glucose and glycogen did not change significantly. Water salinity affected the amplitude of the ionic responses during hypoxia: the amplitude decreased with decreasing salinity. Irrespective of water salinity, 23 of 29 fish survived the severe hypoxic conditions. This relatively good tolerance of low water oxygenation, as compared with other marine bottom-feeders, suggests that this species may face poorly oxygenated waters in the wild. Together with temperature and salinity, ater oxygen content may thus be an important variable to take into account in the study of the distribution and migration patterns of Atlantic cod.


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