Effects of water ionic composition on acid–base regulation in rainbow trout, during hypercarbia at rest and during sustained exercise

Abstract

Aquatic hypercarbia (elevated environmental CO₂) results in a blood acidosis in fish, which is compensated by the exchange of Na⁺ and/or Cl⁻ for its acid/base counterpart (H⁺, HCO₃ ⁻) across the gill epithelium. To date, no studies exist on how a single species, capable of inhabiting both fresh and saltwater, responds to hypercarbia, at rest or during sustained exercise. Rainbow trout was acclimated to soft water (in mmol l^− 1: Na⁺, 0.08; Cl⁻, 0.05; pH 6.7–6.8), hard water (in mmol l^− 1: Na⁺, 2.4; Cl⁻, 0.2; pH 7.9–8.0), or 85% saltwater (28 ppt) (in mmol l^− 1: Na⁺, 410; Cl⁻, 476; pH 7.8–8.0). Acid–base relevant blood parameters were measured during a 1 kPa CO₂ hypercarbia exposure, both at rest and during sustained exercise (~ 60% U _crit). After 48 h of hypercarbia, resting hard-, and saltwater trout fully restored blood pH, whereas soft-water-acclimated trout was only 60.6 ± 10.5% recovered. In all fish, recovery was associated with an increase in plasma [HCO₃ ⁻] and an equimolar reduction in plasma [Cl⁻]. Following 8 h of hypercarbia during sustained exercise, saltwater fish fully restored blood pH, while soft- and hard water fish were 42 ± 18.1 and 64 ± 6.8% recovered, respectively. Results provide intra-specific support demonstrating that saltwater acclimated fish acid–base compensate faster than freshwater fish during hypercarbia. Furthermore, data indicate that recovery during hypercarbia in trout is more rapid during exercise than rest. This not only demonstrates an important link between ambient water ion levels and ability to recover from acid–base disturbances, but also it presents novel data, suggesting that exercise may enhance acid–base regulation.