Premium
Fast‐start escape performance across temperature and salinity gradients in mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus
Author(s) -
Collar David C.,
Thompson Jessica S.,
Ralston Tyler C.,
Hobbs Trevor J.
Publication year - 2020
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.14273
Subject(s) - fundulus , biology , acclimatization , salinity , estuary , temperature salinity diagrams , escape response , predation , fish <actinopterygii> , killifish , predator , ecology , zoology , fishery , atmospheric sciences , geology
Abstract Fast‐start predator‐escape performance of mummichogs Fundulus heteroclitus was tested across field‐informed variation in temperature (24, 30 and 36°C) and salinity (2, 12 and 32 ppt). Performance was similar across temperatures and salinities when fish were allowed to acclimate to these conditions. However, when mummichogs experienced acute temperature changes, performance exhibited thermal dependence in two contrasting ways. Fast‐start turning rates and linear speeds varied directly with the temperature at which the manoeuvre was executed, but these aspects of performance varied inversely with acclimation temperature, with cool‐acclimated fish exhibiting faster starts across test temperatures. Temperature effects were consistent across salinities. These results suggest that while mummichogs increase performance with acute temperature increases, long‐term rises in sea temperature may cause these fish to become more susceptible to predation during abrupt cooling events, such as when storm events flood shallow water estuaries with cool rainwater.