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MEPS 738:161-185 (2024)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14586

Thermal sensitivity of metabolic performance in Squalus acanthias: efficacy of aerobic scope as a predictor of viable thermal habitat

Alyssa M. Andres1,6,*, Emily Slesinger2,7, Rachael E. Young2,8, Grace K. Saba2, Vincent S. Saba3,4, Beth A. Phelan4, John Rosendale4, Daniel Wieczorek4, Connor F. White5, Brad A. Seibel1

1University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, 830 1st St. S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
2Rutgers University, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences Building, 71 Dudley Rd., New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
3Princeton University, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, 201 Forrestal Road, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
4Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory, 74 Magruder Road, Highlands, NJ 07732, USA
5Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology Labs, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
6Present address: Florida State University, Coastal and Marine Laboratory, 3618 Coastal Highway 98, St. Teresa, FL 32358, USA
7Present address: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2030 SE Marine Science Dr., Newport, OR 97365, USA
8Present address: Rowan University, 201 Mullica Hill Rd., Glassboro, NJ 08028, USA
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Ocean warming due to climate change can affect the metabolism, performance, and survival of ectothermic marine species. On the US Northeast continental shelf (US NES), waters are warming faster than the global average, leading to elevated mean temperatures and an increased risk of marine heatwave exposure in the region. Thus, it is critical to understand the effects of warming on the region’s living marine resources. Here, we quantified the acute temperature sensitivity of metabolic traits to evaluate their role as possible drivers of acute thermal tolerance and viable habitat in the spiny dogfish shark Squalus acanthias on the US NES. From 10-23°C, the standard metabolic rate increased more rapidly than the maximum metabolic rate, resulting in a reduction in factorial aerobic scope at warmer temperatures. However, the oxygen supply capacity increased with temperature in proportion to maximum metabolic rate, and neither metric declined at the warmest temperatures, suggesting oxygen supply capacity does not limit performance within the tested range. Although behavioral observations revealed overt thermal stress via loss of equilibrium at ≥20°C and estimated lethal temperature at ∼24°C, sharks retained the ability to regulate their resting metabolic rate, achieve maximum activity, and peak absolute aerobic scope at warm temperatures. Results suggest that factors other than oxygen supply or aerobic scope are constraining thermal tolerance in S. acanthias and support the notion that aerobic scope cannot be universally applied to determine optimal or viable metabolic habitat.


KEY WORDS: Elasmobranch · Aerobic scope · Thermal tolerance · Climate change · Metabolism


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Cite this article as: Andres AM, Slesinger E, Young RE, Saba GK and others (2024) Thermal sensitivity of metabolic performance in Squalus acanthias: efficacy of aerobic scope as a predictor of viable thermal habitat. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 738:161-185. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14586

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