scholarly journals Interindividual plasticity in metabolic and thermal tolerance traits from populations subjected to recent anthropogenic heating

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 210440
Author(s):  
Melissa K. Drown ◽  
Amanda N. DeLiberto ◽  
Moritz A. Ehrlich ◽  
Douglas L. Crawford ◽  
Marjorie F. Oleksiak

To better understand temperature's role in the interaction between local evolutionary adaptation and physiological plasticity, we investigated acclimation effects on metabolic performance and thermal tolerance among natural Fundulus heteroclitus (small estuarine fish) populations from different thermal environments. Fundulus heteroclitus populations experience large daily and seasonal temperature variations, as well as local mean temperature differences across their large geographical cline. In this study, we use three populations: one locally heated (32°C) by thermal effluence (TE) from the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, NJ, and two nearby reference populations that do not experience local heating (28°C). After acclimation to 12 or 28°C, we quantified whole-animal metabolic (WAM) rate, critical thermal maximum (CT max ) and substrate-specific cardiac metabolic rate (CaM, substrates: glucose, fatty acids, lactate plus ketones plus ethanol, and endogenous (i.e. no added substrates)) in approximately 160 individuals from these three populations. Populations showed few significant differences due to large interindividual variation within populations. In general, for WAM and CT max , the interindividual variation in acclimation response (log 2 ratio 28/12°C) was a function of performance at 12°C and order of acclimation (12–28°C versus 28–12°C). CT max and WAM were greater at 28°C than 12°C, although WAM had a small change (2.32-fold) compared with the expectation for a 16°C increase in temperature (expect 3- to 4.4-fold). By contrast, for CaM, the rates when acclimatized and assayed at 12 or 28°C were nearly identical. The small differences in CaM between 12 and 28°C temperature were partially explained by cardiac remodeling where individuals acclimatized to 12°C had larger hearts than individuals acclimatized to 28°C. Correlation among physiological traits was dependent on acclimation temperature. For example, WAM was negatively correlated with CT max at 12°C but positively correlated at 28°C. Additionally, glucose substrate supported higher CaM than fatty acid, and fatty acid supported higher CaM than lactate, ketones and alcohol (LKA) or endogenous. However, these responses were highly variable with some individuals using much more FA than glucose. These findings suggest interindividual variation in physiological responses to temperature acclimation and indicate that additional research investigating interindividual may be relevant for global climate change responses in many species.

1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (4) ◽  
pp. R1150-R1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Segal ◽  
D. L. Crawford

The temperature-dependent expression of lactate dehydrogenase-B (LDH-B) was compared between two environmentally distinct populations of Fundulus heteroclitus acclimated to 10 degrees C and 20 degrees C. The variability in LDH-B protein expression both within and between populations is consistent with a model of thermal compensation. The northern population from the colder environment expresses a twofold greater amount of LDH-B protein than the warmer southern population at both acclimation temperatures. Correspondingly, both populations have 1.3-fold greater levels of the enzyme at an acclimation temperature of 10 degrees C in comparison to 20 degrees C. In 20 degrees C-acclimated individuals there is a similar twofold difference between populations for LDH-B mRNA concentrations, and LDH-B protein and mRNA are highly correlated (r = 0.81). After acclimation to 10 degrees C, this difference between populations is not seen and in the northern population there is no relationship between LDH-B mRNA and protein levels. Thus the molecular mechanism regulating LDH-B enzyme expression changes in response to temperature acclimation and is different between populations.


2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (15) ◽  
pp. 2305-2322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A. Johnston ◽  
Genevieve K. Temple

SUMMARY Seasonal cooling can modify the thermal preferenda of ectothermic vertebrates and elicit a variety of physiological responses ranging from winter dormancy to an acclimation response that partially compensates for the effects of low temperature on activity. Partial compensation of activity levels is particularly common in aquatic species for which seasonal temperature changes provide a stable cue for initiating the response. Thermal plasticity of locomotory performance has evolved independently on numerous occasions, and there is considerable phylogenetic diversity with respect to the mechanisms at the physiological and molecular levels. In teleosts,neuromuscular variables that can be modified include the duration of motor nerve stimulation, muscle activation and relaxation times, maximum force and unloaded shortening velocity (Vmax), although not all are modified in every species. Thermal plasticity in Vmax has been associated with changes in myosin ATPase activity and myosin heavy chain(MyHC) composition and/or with a change in the ratio of myosin light chain isoforms. In common carp (Cyprinus carpio), there are continuous changes in phenotype with acclimation temperature at lower levels of organisation, such as MyHC composition and Vmax, but a distinct threshold for an effect in terms of locomotory performance. Thus,there is no simple relationship between whole-animal performance and muscle phenotype. The nature and magnitude of temperature acclimation responses also vary during ontogeny. For example, common carp acquire the ability to modify MyHC composition with changes in acclimation temperature during the juvenile stage. In contrast, the thermal plasticity of swimming performance observed in tadpoles of the frog Limnodynastes peronii is lost in the terrestrial adult stage. Although it is often assumed that the adjustments in locomotory performance associated with temperature acclimation enhance fitness, this has rarely been tested experimentally. Truly integrative studies of temperature acclimation are scarce, and few studies have considered both sensory and motor function in evaluating behavioural responses. Developmental plasticity is a special case of a temperature acclimation response that can lead to temporary or permanent changes in morphology and/or physiological characteristics that affect locomotory performance.


2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (10) ◽  
pp. 1605-1613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Zeis ◽  
Jana Maurer ◽  
Olaf Pinkhaus ◽  
Eva Bongartz ◽  
Rüdiger J Paul

Daphnia magna Straus, 1820 is a widespread zooplanktic organism enduring considerable changes in oxygen concentration and temperature within its natural habitat. The thermal tolerance window of D. magna was analyzed using the animals' swimming activity as a test parameter in a photometrical assay. Acclimation to different temperatures (10, 20, 30 °C) resulted in a shift of the thermal optimum corresponding to acclimation conditions. Acclimation to warm temperatures also increased the upper thermal tolerance limit in acute thermal tolerance tests. However, the magnitude of the resulting shift in the acute thermal tolerance (LT50) was much smaller. An increase in acclimation temperature by 10 °C changed the thermal optimum by approximately this value, whereas the LT50 was enhanced only by 1–2 °C. The time course of the acclimation process was followed by surveying temperature-dependent swimming activity upon the transfer of animals raised in a medium at 20 °C to a medium at 30 °C. Maximum swimming intensity at 20 °C was lost within 3 days. The swimming behavior resembled that of animals acclimated to 30 °C after 2 weeks, indicating that acclimation to the elevated temperature was achieved.


2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 568-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua-Sen Wang ◽  
Chao Yu ◽  
Xian-Feng Tang ◽  
Li-Yan Wang ◽  
Xun-Chun Dong ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.B. Jensen ◽  
T. Wang ◽  
J. Brahm

Unidirectional (36)Cl(−) efflux via the red blood cell anion exchanger was measured under Cl(−) self-exchange conditions (i.e. no net flow of anions) in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and red-eared freshwater turtle Trachemys scripta to examine the effects of acute temperature changes and acclimation temperature on this process. We also evaluated the possible adaptation of anion exchange to different temperature regimes by including our previously published data on other animals. An acute temperature increase caused a significant increase in the rate constant (k) for unidirectional Cl(−) efflux in rainbow trout and freshwater turtle. After 3 weeks of temperature acclimation, 5 degrees C-acclimated rainbow trout showed only marginally higher Cl(−) transport rates than 15 degrees C-acclimated trout when compared at the same temperature. Apparent activation energies for red blood cell Cl(−) exchange in trout and turtle were lower than values reported in endothermic animals. The Q(10) for red blood cell anion exchange was 2.0 in trout and 2.3 in turtle, values close to those for CO(2) excretion, suggesting that, in ectothermic animals, the temperature sensitivity of band-3-mediated anion exchange matches the temperature sensitivity of CO(2) transport (where red blood cell Cl(−)/HCO(3)(−) exchange is a rate-limiting step). In endotherms, such as man and chicken, Q(10) values for red blood cell anion exchange are considerably higher but are no obstacle to CO(2) transport, because body temperature is normally kept constant at values at which anion exchange rates are high. When compared at constant temperature, red blood cell Cl(−) permeability shows large differences among species (trout, carp, eel, cod, turtle, alligator, chicken and man). Cl(−) permeabilities are, however, remarkable similar when compared at preferred body temperatures, suggesting an appropriate evolutionary adaptation of red blood cell anion exchange function to the different thermal niches occupied by animals.


2017 ◽  
Vol 312 (3) ◽  
pp. R412-R425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian K. Townley ◽  
Sibel I. Karchner ◽  
Elena Skripnikova ◽  
Thomas E. Wiese ◽  
Mark E. Hahn ◽  
...  

The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) family of transcription factors plays central roles in the development, physiology, pathology, and environmental adaptation of animals. Because many aquatic habitats are characterized by episodes of low dissolved oxygen, fish represent ideal models to study the roles of HIF in the response to aquatic hypoxia. The estuarine fish Fundulus heteroclitus is found in habitats prone to hypoxia. It responds to low oxygen via behavioral, physiological, and molecular changes, and one member of the HIF family, HIF2α, has been previously described. Herein, cDNA sequencing, phylogenetic analyses, and genomic approaches were used to determine other members of the HIFα family from F. heteroclitus and their relationships to HIFα subunits from other vertebrates. In vitro and cellular approaches demonstrated that full-length forms of HIF1α, HIF2α, and HIF3α independently formed complexes with the β-subunit, aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator, to bind to hypoxia response elements and activate reporter gene expression. Quantitative PCR showed that HIFα mRNA abundance varied among organs of normoxic fish in an isoform-specific fashion. Analysis of the F. heteroclitus genome revealed a locus encoding a second HIF2α—HIF2αb—a predicted protein lacking oxygen sensing and transactivation domains. Finally, sequence analyses demonstrated polymorphism in the coding sequence of each F. heteroclitus HIFα subunit, suggesting that genetic variation in these transcription factors may play a role in the variation in hypoxia responses among individuals or populations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1778) ◽  
pp. 20190036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sunday ◽  
Joanne M. Bennett ◽  
Piero Calosi ◽  
Susana Clusella-Trullas ◽  
Sarah Gravel ◽  
...  

Linking variation in species' traits to large-scale environmental gradients can lend insight into the evolutionary processes that have shaped functional diversity and future responses to environmental change. Here, we ask how heat and cold tolerance vary as a function of latitude, elevation and climate extremes, using an extensive global dataset of ectotherm and endotherm thermal tolerance limits, while accounting for methodological variation in acclimation temperature, ramping rate and duration of exposure among studies. We show that previously reported relationships between thermal limits and latitude in ectotherms are robust to variation in methods. Heat tolerance of terrestrial ectotherms declined marginally towards higher latitudes and did not vary with elevation, whereas heat tolerance of freshwater and marine ectotherms declined more steeply with latitude. By contrast, cold tolerance limits declined steeply with latitude in marine, intertidal, freshwater and terrestrial ectotherms, and towards higher elevations on land. In all realms, both upper and lower thermal tolerance limits increased with extreme daily temperature, suggesting that different experienced climate extremes across realms explain the patterns, as predicted under the Climate Extremes Hypothesis . Statistically accounting for methodological variation in acclimation temperature, ramping rate and exposure duration improved model fits, and increased slopes with extreme ambient temperature. Our results suggest that fundamentally different patterns of thermal limits found among the earth's realms may be largely explained by differences in episodic thermal extremes among realms, updating global macrophysiological ‘rules’. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Physiological diversity, biodiversity patterns and global climate change: testing key hypotheses involving temperature and oxygen’.


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