Despite plasticity, heatwaves are costly for a coral reef fish

Jacey C. Van Wert*, Kim Birnie-Gauvin, Jordan Gallagher, Emily A. Hardison, Kaitlyn Landfield, Deron E Burkepile, Erika J. Eliason

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

Climate change is intensifying extreme weather events, including marine heatwaves, which are prolonged periods of anomalously high sea surface temperature that pose a novel threat to aquatic animals. Tropical animals may be especially vulnerable to marine heatwaves because they are adapted to a narrow temperature range. If these animals cannot acclimate to marine heatwaves, the extreme heat could impair their behavior and fitness. Here, we investigated how marine heatwave conditions affected the performance and thermal tolerance of a tropical predatory fish, arceye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus), across two seasons in Moorea, French Polynesia. We found that the fish's daily activities, including recovery from burst swimming and digestion, were more energetically costly in fish exposed to marine heatwave conditions across both seasons, while their aerobic capacity remained the same. Given their constrained energy budget, these rising costs associated with warming may impact how hawkfish prioritize activities. Additionally, hawkfish that were exposed to hotter temperatures exhibited cardiac plasticity by increasing their maximum heart rate but were still operating within a few degrees of their thermal limits. With more frequent and intense heatwaves, hawkfish, and other tropical fishes must rapidly acclimate, or they may suffer physiological consequences that alter their role in the ecosystem.
Original languageEnglish
Article number13320
JournalScientific Reports
Volume14
Number of pages15
ISSN2045-2322
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Climate change
  • Ecophysioogy
  • Heart rate
  • Metabolism
  • Thermal tolerance

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