Abstract
There have been few studies in seawater fish of the osmorespiratory compromise, the trade-off between the demands of high permeability of the gills for respiration but low permeability for osmoregulation. Flatfish are of particular interest because of their high tolerance to hypoxia, low metabolic rates, and partial reliance on the skin for O2 uptake (ṀO2). We studied the differential effects of acute challenges in temperature (12 °C to 7 °C, 12 °C to 17 °C), salinity (32 to16), and O2 (> 80% to ~ 10% air saturation) on diffusive water flux and ṀO2 of adult English sole (Parophrys vetulus) and Pacific sanddab (Citharichthys sordidus). Under acclimation conditions (normoxia, 12 °C, 32), the two species exhibited almost identical diffusive water flux rates (~ 0.2 ml/g/h) and ṀO2 (~ 2 µmol/g/h). These values did not depend on the presence or absence of sand in which to bury. Under acute hypoxia (~ 10% saturation), both species exhibited substantial reductions in ṀO2 (by 86–89%) and diffusive water flux (by 32–48%), similar to the osmorespiratory compromise responses of hypoxia-tolerant freshwater fishes. However, the species differed in their sensitivity to acute temperature and salinity challenges. Q10 values for diffusive water flux rates (2.99 overall) were higher than those for ṀO2 (2.06) in the sole, whereas the opposite was true in the sanddab (2.31 versus 3.07). Both species increased diffusive water flux rate (by 26–34%) at salinity 16, but ṀO2 remained unchanged in the sanddab and increased by 19% in the sole, suggesting uncoupling of the two processes.
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Supported by an NSERC (Canada) Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2017-03843) to CMW. We thank the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre Research Co-ordinator, Dr. Eric Clelland, for excellent assistance, and two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments.
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Supported by an NSERC (Canada) Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2017-03843) to CMW.
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The project was jointly conceived by JOO and CMW. JOO did the experiments under the supervision of CMW. JOO wrote the first draft of the paper, and CMW edited it.
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Onukwufor, J.O., Wood, C.M. The osmorespiratory compromise in marine flatfish: differential effects of temperature, salinity, and hypoxia on diffusive water flux and oxygen consumption of English sole (Parophrys vetulus) and Pacific sanddab (Citharichthys sordidus). Mar Biol 169, 51 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-022-04040-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-022-04040-z