Particularities of early life stages in temperate freshwater fish species: comparisons with marine species and implications for aquaculture practices

Wet–dry tropical rivers are characterised by highly predictable, yet highly variable, seasonal flow regimes. The wet season is often regarded as an important period of ecosystem productivity, dispersal and connectivity, and also for freshwater-fish spawning and recruitment. However, few studies have examined fish spawning across hydrological seasons in these rivers. We conducted a pilot study to determine (1) the temporal occurrence (and hence spawning period), and (2) the suitability of standard sampling methods of young fish in the Daly River, Northern Territory, Australia. Fish spawned throughout the year, with spawning phenologies varying substantially among species. The highest diversity and abundance of young fish occurred during the wet season, although early life stages of a high number of species were also present in the dry-season and transition periods. A high number of species spawned all year round, whereas other species had very discrete spawning periods. Three of the four sampling methods tested were successful in catching early life stages and should be employed in future studies. The present study highlighted that all hydrological seasons in the wet–dry tropics are important for fish spawning, and has important implications for future research on the drivers of spawning patterns, and for predicting the effects of flow modifications on freshwater fishes of the wet–dry tropics.

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COMPARATIVE TOXICITY OF 2,3,7,8-TETRACHLORODIBENZO-p-DIOXIN TO SEVEN FRESHWATER FISH SPECIES DURING EARLY LIFE-STAGE DEVELOPMENT

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry ◽

10.1897/1551-5028(1998)017<0472:ctotpd>2.3.co;2 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 472 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Gregory E. Elonen ◽

Robert L. Spehar ◽

Gary W. Holcombe ◽

Rodney D. Johnson ◽

Joseph D. Fernandez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Fish ◽

Fish Species ◽

Early Life ◽

Life Stage ◽

Early Life Stage ◽

Freshwater Fish Species ◽

Comparative Toxicity ◽

Stage Development ◽

Tetrachlorodibenzo P Dioxin ◽

Life Stage Development

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Strong Effects of Temperature on the Early Life Stages of a Cold Stenothermal Fish Species, Brown Trout (Salmo trutta L.)

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0155487 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. e0155487 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Emilie Réalis-Doyelle ◽

Alain Pasquet ◽

Daniel De Charleroy ◽

Pascal Fontaine ◽

Fabrice Teletchea

Keyword(s):

Brown Trout ◽

Fish Species ◽

Early Life ◽

Salmo Trutta ◽

Life Stages ◽

Early Life Stages ◽

Brown Trout Salmo Trutta ◽

Effects Of Temperature

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The early life stages of an estuarine fish, the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), are tolerant to high pCO2

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsw225 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 74 (4) ◽

pp. 1042-1050 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Joshua Lonthair ◽

Rasmus Ern ◽

Andrew J. Esbaugh

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Fish Species ◽

Early Life ◽

Red Drum ◽

Sciaenops Ocellatus ◽

High Pco2 ◽

Estuarine Fish ◽

Life Stages ◽

Early Life Stages ◽

Estuarine Species

Ocean acidification (OA) and other climate change induced environmental alterations are resulting in unprecedented rates of environmental deterioration. This environmental change is generally thought to be too fast for adaptation using typical evolutionary processes, and thus sensitivity may be dependent on the presence of existing tolerant genotypes and species. Estuaries undergo natural pCO2 fluctuations over a variety of time scales, and levels regularly exceed the predicted end of the century values. Interestingly, estuarine fish species have been overlooked in reference to the impacts of OA. Here, we use the estuarine red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) as a model to explore the hypothesis that early life stages of estuarine species have intrinsic tolerance to elevated pCO2. Our sensitivity endpoints included: survival, growth, yolk consumption, heart rate, and scototaxis. Survival was significantly decreased when exposed to 1300 μatm and 3000 μatm, and coincided with a significant increase in heart rate at the 3000 μatm exposure. However, these effects were less pronounced than the findings of previous studies on other marine fish species. Yolk depletion rate and standard length were not significantly affected by pCO2. Scototaxis behaviour was also not significantly affected by exposure to elevated levels of pCO2 under both acute and acclimated exposure scenarios. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that estuarine life history and habitat usage may play a critical role in determining sensitivity of fish species to OA. Furthermore, estuarine species may provide present-day insight into the physiological and ecological foundation of OA tolerance.

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