Persistent parental effects on the survival and size, but not burst swimming performance of juvenile sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka

Elevated incubation temperature improves later-life swimming endurance in juvenile Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

The effect of incubation and rearing temperature on muscle development and swimming endurance under a high-intensity swimming test was investigated in juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in a hatchery experiment. After controlling for the effects of fork length (L_F ) and parental identity, times to fatigue of fish were higher when fish were incubated or reared at warmer temperatures. Significant differences among combinations of pre- and post-emergence temperatures conformed to 15-15°C > 15-9°C > 9-9°C > 7-9°C > 7-7°C in 2011 when swimming tests were conducted at 300 accumulated temperature units post-emergence and 15-9°C > (7-9°C = 7-7°C) in 2012 when swimming tests were conducted at an L_F of c. 40 mm. The combination of pre- and post-emergence temperatures also affected the number and size of muscle fibres, with differences among temperature treatments in mean fibre cross-sectional area persisting after controlling for L_F and parental effects. Nonetheless, neither fibre number nor fibre size accounted for significant variation in swimming endurance. Thus, thermal carryover effects on swimming endurance were not mediated by thermal imprinting of muscle structure. This is the first study to test how temperature, body size and muscle structure interact to affect swimming endurance during early development in salmon.

Altered burst swimming in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss exposed to natural and synthetic oestrogens

Juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were exposed to two concentrations each of 17β-oestradiol (E2; natural oestrogen hormone) or 17α-ethinyl oestradiol (EE2; a potent synthetic oestrogen hormone) to evaluate their potential effects on burst-swimming performance. In each of six successive burst-swimming assays, burst-swimming speed (Uburst ) was lower in fish exposed to 0.5 and 1 µg l(-1) E2 and EE2 for four days compared with control fish. A practice swim (2 days prior to exposure initiation) in control fish elevated initial Uburst values, but this training effect was not evident in the 1 µg l(-1) EE2-exposed fish. Several potential oestrogen-mediated mechanisms for Uburst reductions were investigated, including effects on metabolic products, osmoregulation and blood oxygen-carrying capacity. Prior to burst-swimming trials, fish exposed to E2 and EE2 for 4 days had significantly reduced erythrocyte numbers and lower plasma glucose concentrations. After six repeated burst-swimming trials, plasma glucose, lactate and creatinine concentrations were not significantly different among treatment groups; however, plasma Cl(-) concentrations were significantly reduced in E2- and EE2-treated fish. In summary, E2 and EE2 exposure altered oxygen-carrying capacity ([erythrocytes]) and an osmoregulatory-related variable ([Cl(-) ]), effects that may underlie reductions in burst-swimming speed, which will have implications for fish performance in the wild.

Sex identification and PIT-tagging: tools and prospects for studying intersexual differences in freshwater fishes

This study evaluated a technique to allow the long-term monitoring of individual fishes of known sex in the wild using sex confirmation in close proximity to the reproductive period combined with individual tagging. Hundreds of partially migratory roach Rutilus rutilus were tagged with passive integrated transponders (PIT) following sex determination in spring and various performance measures were compared with fish tagged outside the reproductive period in autumn. Short-term survival was >95% for R. rutilus sexed and tagged under natural field conditions. Total length (LT ) did not affect the probability of survival within the size range tagged (119-280 mm), nor were there differences in timing of migration the following season between individuals sexed and tagged in spring and individuals tagged in autumn (i.e. outside the reproductive period). Also, a similar per cent of R. rutilus sexed and tagged in spring and tagged in autumn migrated the following season (34·5 and 34·7%). Moreover, long-term recapture data revealed no significant differences in body condition between R. rutilus individuals sexed and tagged in spring, individuals tagged in autumn and unmanipulated individuals. The observed sex ratio of recaptured fish did not differ from the expected values of equal recapture rates between males and females. Hence, there is no observable evidence for an adverse effect of tagging close to the reproductive period and therefore this method is suitable for studying intersexual differences and other phenotypic traits temporarily expressed during reproduction at the individual level in fishes.

Inhibition of P-glycoprotein in the blood-brain barrier alters avermectin neurotoxicity and swimming performance in rainbow trout

The importance of the blood brain barrier (BBB) and the contribution to its function by the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in teleosts were examined using the P-gp substrates and central nervous system neurotoxins ivermectin (22,23-dihydroavermectin B1a+22,23-dihydroavermectin B1b) [IVM]) and emamectin benzoate (4″-deoxy-49″epimethylaminoavermectin B1 benzoate [EB]). Trout were injected intraperitoneally with 0.01-1.0 and 1-50mg/kg of IVM or EB, respectively either alone or in combination with cyclosporin A (CsA: a P-gp substrate) at 1mg/kg. IVM affected the swimming performance (critical swimming speed, burst swimming distance, and schooling) at significantly lower concentrations than EB. When fish were exposed to IVM or EB in the presence of CsA, alterations to swimming were increased, suggesting that competition for P-gp in the BBB by CsA increased IVM and EB penetration into the CNS and decreased swimming capabilities. The effect of co-administration of CsA on swimming-related toxicity was different between IVM and EB-treated fish; EB toxicity was increased to a greater extent than IVM toxicity. The greater chemosensitization effect of EB vs. IVM was examined using a P-gp competitive inhibition assay in isolated trout hepatocytes with rhodamine 123 as a substrate. At the cellular level, IVM was a more potent inhibitor of P-gp than EB, which allowed for a greater accumulation of R123 in hepatocytes. These results provide evidence for a role of P-gp in the BBB of fish, and suggest that this protein protects fish from environmental neurotoxins.

Does among-population variation in burst swimming performance of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka fry reflect early life migrations?

Using a fixed-speed test, burst swimming performance was found to vary among nine populations of emergent sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka fry reared in a common-garden environment. No consistent relationship was, however, detected between difficulty of fry migration (upstream v. downstream) to rearing areas and total burst swimming duration or bursting rate.

Maternal and environmental influences on egg size and juvenile life-history traits in Pacific salmon

Life-history traits such as fecundity and offspring size are shaped by investment trade-offs faced by mothers and mediated by environmental conditions. We use a 21-year time series for three populations of wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) to test predictions for such trade-offs and responses to conditions faced by females during migration, and offspring during incubation. In years when their 1100 km upstream migration was challenged by high water discharges, females that reached spawning streams had invested less in gonads by producing smaller but not fewer eggs. These smaller eggs produced lighter juveniles, and this effect was further amplified in years when the incubation water was warm. This latter result suggests that there should be selection for larger eggs to compensate in populations that consistently experience warm incubation temperatures. A comparison among 16 populations, with matching migration and rearing environments but different incubation environments (i.e., separate spawning streams), confirmed this prediction; smaller females produced larger eggs for their size in warmer creeks. Taken together, these results reveal how maternal phenotype and environmental conditions can shape patterns of reproductive investment and consequently juvenile fitness-related traits within and among populations.

Evidence of disruption in estrogen-associated signaling in the liver transcriptome of in-migrating sockeye salmon of British Columbia, Canada

The health of sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) salmon stocks is of increasing concern; reflecting both a sentinel of human-impacted aquatic environments and as a key fishery for British Columbia, Canada. The spawning migration of Pacific sockeye salmon represents a critical life stage where significant demands are made on animal biology and important BC fisheries are linked to this migration in the Skeena and Fraser River watersheds. These watersheds present very different environments; the former being sparsely populated with little industrial impact, while the latter flows through highly-populated areas. The present study used quantitative real-time PCR analysis of adult sockeye salmon from four 2008 stocks [Fulton River and Pinkut Creek (Skeena) and Weaver Creek and Harrison River (Fraser)] to evaluate ten hepatic gene transcripts associated with reproduction, stress, energy metabolism, and exposure to environmental contaminants. Dynamic changes in mRNA abundance were observed in Fulton River stock animals from the Skeena River mouth to the spawning ground which reflect the physiological demands of in-river migration and reproductive maturation. Inter-stock comparisons of migrants at spawning grounds demonstrated a marked difference in the sex-specific gene hepatic gene expression profiles. Our original hypothesis was that a greater diversity in mRNA profiles is associated with watersheds with higher human impact. However, our observations contradict this posit. Skeena males and females displayed poor definition in their molecular profiles between sexes while the Fraser River fish had very distinctive sex differences that were consistent with the previous year's migration. The genetic sex distribution and ratio of milt versus roe production did not differ between the Skeena and Fraser River spawning site fish. However, a significant percentage of Skeena animals displayed marked discordance of these characteristics with gender-specific hepatic mRNA profiles implying that an alteration in estrogen-mediated signaling has occurred. Continued geospatial and longitudinal assessments will help determine to what extent the dynamic molecular biology of late life-stage sockeye salmon reflects natural variation or modulation by anthropogenic causative agents.

Parental identity influences progeny responses to incubation thermal stress in sockeye salmon Onchorhynchus nerka

The influence of individual parentage on progeny responses to early developmental temperature stress was examined in a cross-fertilization experiment using sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka. Differences in survival, hatch timing and size were examined among five paternally linked and five maternally linked offspring families (Weaver Creek population, British Columbia, Canada) incubated at 12, 14 and 16° C from just after fertilization to hatch. Mean embryonic survival was significantly lower at 14 and 16° C; however, offspring families had substantially different survival responses across the thermal gradient (crossing reaction norms). Within temperature treatments, substantial variation in embryonic survival, alevin mass, time-to-hatch and hatch duration were attributable to family identity; however, most traits were governed by significant temperature-family interactions. For embryonic survival, large differences between families at 16° C were due to both female and male spawner influence, whereas inter-family differences were obscured at 14° C (high intra-family variation), and minimal at 12° C (only maternal influence detected). Despite post-hatch rearing under a common cool thermal regime, persistent effects of both temperature and parentage were detected in alevin and 3 week-old fry. Collectively, these findings highlight the crucial role that parental influences on offspring may have in shaping future selection within salmonid populations exposed to elevated thermal regimes. An increased understanding of parental and temperature influences and their persistence in early development will be essential to developing a more comprehensive view of population spawning success and determining the adaptive capacity of O. nerka populations in the face of environmental change.