Developmental effects of heatwave conditions on the early life stages of a coral reef fish
Type
ArticleKAUST Grant Number
CRG3 2278Date
2019-08-23Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/668388
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Marine heatwaves, which are increasing in frequency, duration and intensity owing to climate change, are an imminent threat to marine ecosystems. On coral reefs, heatwave conditions often coincide with periods of peak recruitment of juvenile fishes and exposure to elevated temperature may affect their development. However, whether differences in the duration of high temperature exposure have effects on individual performance is unknown. We exposed juvenile spiny damselfish, Acanthochromis polyacanthus, to increasing lengths of time (3, 7, 30 and 108 days post-hatching) of elevated temperature (+2°C). After 108 days, we measured escape performance at present-day control and elevated temperatures, standard length, mass and critical thermal maximum. Using a Bayesian approach, we show that 30 days or more exposure to +2°C leads to improved escape performance, irrespective of performance temperature, possibly owing to developmental effects of high temperature on muscle development and/or anaerobic metabolism. Continued exposure to elevated temperature for 108 days caused a reduction in body size compared with the control, but not in fish exposed to high temperature for 30 days or less. By contrast, exposure to elevated temperatures for any length of time had no effect on critical thermal maximum, which, combined with previous work, suggests a short-term physiological constraint of ∼37°C in this species. Our study shows that extended exposure to increased temperature can affect the development of juvenile fishes, with potential immediate and future consequences for individual performance.Citation
Spinks, R. K., Munday, P. L., & Donelson, J. M. (2019). Developmental effects of heatwave conditions on the early life stages of a coral reef fish. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 222(16), jeb202713. doi:10.1242/jeb.202713Sponsors
This work was supported by a King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Competitive Research Grant (CRG3 2278) and funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CE140100020). R.K.S. was supported by CRG3 2278 and P.L.M. was supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT130100505).Publisher
The Company of BiologistsJournal
Journal of Experimental BiologyAdditional Links
http://jeb.biologists.org/lookup/doi/10.1242/jeb.202713ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1242/jeb.202713