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Salinity and temperature tolerance of an emergent alien species, the Amazon fish Astronotus ocellatus

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Abstract

Astronotus ocellatus (oscar), is native to the Amazon basin and, although it has been introduced to many countries, little is known regarding its tolerances for salinity and temperature. In this report, we provide data on the tolerance of A. ocellatus to abrupt and gradual changes in salinity, its high and low temperature tolerance, and information on how salinity, temperature, and fish size interact to affect survival. Fish were able to survive abrupt transfer to salinities as high as 16 ppt with no mortality. When salinity change was gradual (2 ppt/day), fish in the warm-temperature experiment (28°C) survived longer than fish in the cool-temperature experiment (18°C). Larger fish survived longer than smaller ones at the higher salinities when the temperature was warm, but when the temperature was cool fish size had little effect on survival. In the temperature-tolerance experiments, fish survived from 9 to 41°C for short periods of time. Overall, the species showed a wide range of temperature and salinity tolerance. Thus, in spite of the tropical freshwater origin of this species, physiological stress is not likely to hinder its dispersal to brackish waters, especially when temperatures are warm.

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Acknowledgments

We thank J. Schulte and D. Pecora for laboratory assistance. S. Ruessler and W. Hyde assisted with laboratory facilities. W. Loftus and S. Walsh kindly read an earlier version of the manuscript. This study was support by the US Geological Survey, Invasive Species Program and the Southeast Ecological Science Center. Also we thank CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) for financial support. All procedures were in compliance with IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) regulations (approved protocol USGS/SESC 2014-03). Any use of trade, product or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

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  1. Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Fisiologia, Centro Politécnico, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, 81531-990, Brazil

    Silvia M. M. Gutierre & Viviane Prodocimo

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, 7920 NW 71st Street, Gainesville, FL, 32653, USA

    Pamela J. Schofield

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  1. Silvia M. M. Gutierre
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Correspondence to Silvia M. M. Gutierre.

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Gutierre, S.M.M., Schofield, P.J. & Prodocimo, V. Salinity and temperature tolerance of an emergent alien species, the Amazon fish Astronotus ocellatus . Hydrobiologia 777, 21–31 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2740-8

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