The biophysical basis of thermal tolerance in fish eggs

Martin, Benjamin T.; Dudley, Peter N.; Kashef, Neosha S.; Stafford, David M.; Reeder, William J.; Tonina, Daniele; Del Rio, Annelise M.; Scott Foott, J.; Danner, Eric M.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.1550

i

The biophysical basis of thermal tolerance in fish eggs

2020
By Martin, Benjamin T. ; Dudley, Peter N. ; Kashef, Neosha S. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Personal Author:

Martin, Benjamin T. ; Dudley, Peter N. ; Kashef, Neosha S. ; Stafford, David M. ; Reeder, William J. ; Tonina, Daniele ; Del Rio, Annelise M. ; Scott Foott, J. ; Danner, Eric M.
NOAA Program & Office:

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; SWFSC (Southwest Fisheries Science Center)
Description:

A warming climate poses a fundamental problem for embryos that develop within eggs because their demand for oxygen (O 2 ) increases much more rapidly with temperature than their capacity for supply, which is constrained by diffusion across the egg surface. Thus, as temperatures rise, eggs may experience O 2 limitation due to an imbalance between O 2 supply and demand. Here, we formulate a mathematical model of O 2 limitation and experimentally test whether this mechanism underlies the upper thermal tolerance in large aquatic eggs. Using Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) as a model system, we show that the thermal tolerance of eggs varies systematically with features of the organism and environment. Importantly, this variation can be precisely predicted by the degree to which these features shift the balance between O 2 supply and demand. Equipped with this mechanistic understanding, we predict and experimentally confirm that the thermal tolerance of these embryos in their natural habitat is substantially lower than expected from laboratory experiments performed under normoxia. More broadly, our biophysical model of O 2 limitation provides a mechanistic explanation for the elevated thermal sensitivity of fish embryos relative to other life stages, global patterns in egg size and the extreme fecundity of large teleosts.
Keywords:

General Agricultural And Biological Sciences General Biochemistry, Genetics And Molecular Biology General Environmental Science General Immunology And Microbiology General Medicine General Agricultural And Biological Sciences General Biochemistry, Genetics And Molecular Biology General Immunology And Microbiology General Agricultural And Biological Sciences General Biochemistry, Genetics And Molecular Biology General Immunology And Microbiology
Source:

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287(1937), 20201550
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1550
ISSN:

0962-8452 ; 1471-2954
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

The Royal Society
Document Type:

Journal Article
Rights Information:

Other
Compliance:

Library
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:0531240d3d2832d66a9204fce474e61cc16736982c0b67075032e7802e0fc15a
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/53995/noaa_53995_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 964.50 KB ]

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