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Exposure to elevated p CO 2 alters post‐treatment diel movement patterns of largemouth bass over short time scales
Author(s) -
Hasler Caleb T.,
Midway Stephen R.,
Jeffrey Jennifer D.,
Tix John A.,
Sullivan Cody,
Suski Cory D.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
freshwater biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2427
pISSN - 0046-5070
DOI - 10.1111/fwb.12805
Subject(s) - diel vertical migration , micropterus , bass (fish) , biology , freshwater fish , fishery , zoology , fish <actinopterygii> , telemetry , predatory fish , ecology , engineering , aerospace engineering
Summary Studies with marine fishes indicate that exposure to elevated partial pressures of CO 2 ( p CO 2 ) related to climate change have negative consequences for fish behaviour. Freshwater fishes may experience similar increases in p CO 2 due to a number of different mechanisms, but there is a paucity of information on how freshwater fishes may respond to exposure to elevated p CO 2 . To define the effects of elevated p CO 2 on a free‐swimming freshwater fish, 19 adult largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ) were tagged with acoustic transmitters, held in water with p CO 2 levels of either ˜10 000 μatm or ambient p CO 2 (<100 μatm) for 5 days and released into a naturalised, earthen‐bottom pond outfitted with an acoustic telemetry array. Findings indicate that largemouth bass not exposed to elevated levels of p CO 2 decreased movement over 35% during the daylight periods; however, fish exposed to elevated levels of p CO 2 did not exhibit this pattern. This difference in diel movement patterns between fish exposed to elevated p CO 2 and fish not exposed was not detectable after 11 days. Changes in home range size and daily distance travelled were not observed. However, based on an assessment of position estimates after the completion of the telemetry monitoring portion of the study, space use differed for fish exposed to elevated p CO 2 . Exposure to elevated p CO 2 therefore can have consequences for some movement behaviours of freshwater fish and this may influence a variety of ecological processes including energetics, foraging and predator–prey dynamics. CO 2 ‐induced alterations to behaviour should recover upon a return to ambient water.