Zebrafish take their cue from temperature but not photoperiod for the seasonal plasticity of thermal performance

Condon, Catriona H., Chenoweth, Stephen F. and Wilson, Robbie S. (2010) Zebrafish take their cue from temperature but not photoperiod for the seasonal plasticity of thermal performance. Journal of Experimental Biology, 213 21: 3705-3709.


Author Condon, Catriona H.
Chenoweth, Stephen F.
Wilson, Robbie S.
Title Zebrafish take their cue from temperature but not photoperiod for the seasonal plasticity of thermal performance
Journal name Journal of Experimental Biology  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank A)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2010-11
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1242/jeb.046979
Volume number 213
Issue number 21
ISSN 0022-0949
Start page 3705
End page 3709
Total pages 5
Place of publication Cambridge, England, U.K.
Publisher Company of Biologists
Language eng
Abstract Organisms adjust to seasonal variability in the environment by responding to cues that indicate environmental change. As most studies of seasonal phenotypic plasticity test only the effect of a single environmental cue, how animals may integrate information from multiple cues to fine-tune plastic responses remains largely unknown. We examined the interaction between correlated (seasonally matching) and conflicting (seasonally opposite) temperature and photoperiod cues on the acclimation of performance traits in male zebrafish, Danio rerio. We acclimated fish for 8 weeks and then tested the change in thermal dependence of maximum burst swimming and feeding rate between 8 and 38°C. We predicted that correlated environmental cues should induce a greater acclimation response than uncorrelated cues. However, we found that only temperature was important for the seasonal acclimation of performance traits in zebrafish. Thermal acclimation shifted the thermal performance curve of both traits. For maximum burst swimming, performance increased for each group near the acclimation temperature and reduced in environments that were far from their acclimation temperature. The feeding rate of cold-acclimated zebrafish was reduced across the test temperature range compared with that of warm-acclimated fish. Our study is the first that has found no effect of the covariation between temperature and photoperiod acclimation cues on locomotor performance in fishes. Our results support the intuitive idea that photoperiod may be a less important seasonal cue for animals living at lower latitudes. © 2010 The Company of Biologists Ltd.
Keyword Acclimation
Temperature
Photoperiod
Thermal performance curve
Phenotypic plasticity
Swimming Performance
Locomotor Performance
Eastern Mosquitofish
Escape Performance
Skeletal-muscle
Climate-change
Danio-rerio
Acclimation
Fish
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ
Additional Notes Accepted 6 August 2010; First published online October 15, 2010

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Official 2011 Collection
School of Biological Sciences Publications
 
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Created: Sun, 07 Nov 2010, 00:07:43 EST