Abstract
Fish of the genus Thunnus are unusual because they are regional endotherms. In this study, archival tag data were used to demonstrate behavioural and physiological thermoregulation in juvenile yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares (35−52 cm fork length). Tags inserted into the peritoneal cavity were recovered from 23 yellowfin tuna caught mainly around Ishigaki Island, Japan, in 2009−2012. Peritoneal and environmental temperatures and depth data revealed that juvenile yellowfin tuna made daytime bounce dives repeatedly with a median dive duration of 16 min, and they remained at the surface during night-time. Body temperature daily averages were slightly higher than those of ambient temperature, and the body temperatures varied according to ambient temperature changes associated with vertical movements. Heat exchange coefficients (λ) during dives were estimated by a heat budget model. The thermal inertia component of λ was estimated in an experiment with dead juvenile yellowfin tuna. The value of λ exceeded the measured thermal inertia and varied between ascents and descents, thus providing evidence that physiological thermoregulation contributes to λ in juvenile yellowfin tuna and varies according to environmental temperature. Physiological thermoregulation helps maintain relatively stable body temperatures during dives in which tuna behaviourally escape cool deep waters and enter warm surface waters. Comparison of the obtained physiological parameters of λ and heat production (̇\({\dot{T}}_{\mathrm{m}}\)) with those previously recorded in Pacific bluefin tuna indicate that yellowfin tuna has a higher λ and lower \({\dot{T}}_{\mathrm{m}}\) than Pacific bluefin tuna, which may restrict yellowfin tuna to warm tropical and subtropical surface waters.
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The datasets in and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Y. Akita and K. Fujioka for their assistance with the tagging research. We thank S. Ogasawara for technical support with the tank experiments. We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for suggesting improvements in the manuscript and Editage (www.editage.jp) for English language editing.
Funding
T.K. was supported by the grant-in-aid for Young Scientists (A) [grant number 20688009], and the grant-in-aid for Scientific Research (A) [grant number JP16H01769] and Scientific Research (B) [grant number 24380104].
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YA and TK conceived the research. YA, AA, and TK conducted the tank experiments. All authors conducted the tagging research, interpreted the results, and were involved in the preparation of the manuscript.
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All experimental procedures followed the guidelines of the Animal Experiment Committee of the University of Tokyo, Japan, and the protocol of the study was approved by this committee (A09-16, A10-14, A11-3 and A12-4).
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Aoki, Y., Aoki, A., Ohta, I. et al. Physiological and behavioural thermoregulation of juvenile yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares in subtropical waters. Mar Biol 167, 71 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03679-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03679-w