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The effect of acute warming and thermal acclimation on maximum heart rate of the common killifish Fundulus heteroclitus
Author(s) -
Safi Hamid,
Zhang Yangfan,
Schulte Patricia M.,
Farrell Anthony P.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/jfb.14159
Subject(s) - fundulus , killifish , acclimatization , critical thermal maximum , biology , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery
Common killifish Fundulus heteroclitus were acclimated to ecologically relevant temperatures (5, 15 and 33°C) and their maximum heart rate ( f Hmax ) was measured at each acclimation temperature during an acute warming protocol. Acclimation to 33°C increased peak f Hmax by up to 32% and allowed the heart to beat rhythmically at a temperature 10°C higher when compared with acclimation to 5°C. Independent of acclimation temperature, peak f Hmax occurred about 3°C cooler than the temperature that first produced cardiac arrhythmias. Thus, when compared with previously published values for the critical thermal maximum of F. heteroclitus , the temperature for peak f Hmax was cooler and the temperature that first produced cardiac arrhythmias was similar to these critical thermal maxima. The considerable thermal plasticity of f Hmax demonstrated in the present study is entirely consistent with eurythermal ecology of killifish, as shown previously for another eurythermal fish Gillichthys mirabilis .