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Critical thermal maxima of juvenile alligator gar ( Atractosteus spatula , Lacépède, 1803) from three Mississippi‐drainage populations acclimated to three temperatures
Author(s) -
Fernando A. V.,
Lochmann S. E.,
Haukenes A. H.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied ichthyology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1439-0426
pISSN - 0175-8659
DOI - 10.1111/jai.13047
Subject(s) - biology , alligator , acclimatization , population , broodstock , local adaptation , american alligator , ecology , zoology , botany , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , aquaculture , demography , sociology
Summary Local adaptation may cause thermal tolerance to vary between nearby but distinct populations of a species. During the summer of 2013, alligator gar Atractosteus spatula spawned from broodstock collected from three populations within the Mississippi River drainage separated by a 5° latitudinal gradient were acclimated to three temperatures (25, 30, and 35°C). Ten fish from each population were acclimated at each temperature. CT M ax was determined at each temperature for each population, using five fish for each population‐acclimation temperature pairing. CT M ax for each population‐acclimation temperature pairing was compared using two‐factor anova . CT M ax increased significantly with acclimation temperature (F 2,40 = 600.5, P < 0.001) but population had no significant effect (F 2,40 = 1.882, P = 0.166). Temperature tolerance appears to be consistent across populations of alligator gar, with no evidence of local adaptation.