Differential Effects of Food Restriction and Warming in the Two-Spotted Goby: Impaired Reproductive Performance and Stressed Offspring

Ana F. Lopes, Robyn Murdoch, Sara Martins-Cardoso, Carolina Madeira, Pedro M. Costa, Ana S. Félix, Rui F. Oliveira, Narcisa M. Bandarra, Catarina Vinagre, Ana R. Lopes, Emanuel J. Gonçalves, Ana Margarida Faria

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
15 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Climate change is a growing threat to marine organisms and ecosystems, and it is already modifying ocean properties by, for example, increasing temperature and decreasing pH. Increasing water temperature may also lead to an impairment of primary productivity and an overall depletion of available zooplankton. Understanding how the crossover between warming and zooplankton availability impacts fish populations has paramount implications for conservation and mitigation strategies. Through a cross factorial design to test the effects of ocean temperature and food availability in a temperate marine teleost, Pomatochistus flavescens, we showed that hindered feeding impacted sheltering and avoidance behaviour. Also, low food availability impaired fish reproduction, particularly male reproduction, as the expression of cyp11b1, a gene with a pivotal role in the synthesis of the most important fish androgen, 11-ketotestosterone, was significantly reduced under a low food regime. In contrast, temperature alone did not affect reproductive success, but offspring showed increased saturated fatty acid content (embryos) and increased lipid peroxidation (larvae). Altogether, food availability had a stronger effect on fitness, showing that coping with elevated temperatures, an ability that may be expected in shallow-water fish, can be indirectly impacted, or even overwhelmed, by the effects of ocean warming on primary productivity and downstream ecological processes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number194
Number of pages24
JournalFishes
Volume7
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Aug 2022

Keywords

  • behaviour
  • food availability
  • ocean warming
  • Pomatochistus flavescens
  • reproduction

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Differential Effects of Food Restriction and Warming in the Two-Spotted Goby: Impaired Reproductive Performance and Stressed Offspring'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this