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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 60(3)

Effect of incubation and rearing temperature on locomotor ability in barramundi, Lates calcarifer Bloch, 1790

Geoff R. Carey A B and Craig E. Franklin A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: g.carey@uq.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(3) 203-210 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF07250
Submitted: 27 December 2007  Accepted: 12 October 2008   Published: 27 March 2009

Abstract

Temperature profoundly influences virtually all aspects of fish biology. Barramundi, Lates calcarifer Bloch, 1790, is a catadromous fish that undergoes several migrations in its life cycle, necessitating locomotion under various thermal conditions. The present study examined the effects of varying thermal regimes on performance in juvenile L. calcarifer by determining the effects of rearing and ambient temperature on burst (Umax) and sustained (Ucrit) swimming ability. Fish were incubated at three set temperatures, 26°C (cool), 29°C (control) and 31°C (warm), from egg fertilisation until first feeding before some of the larvae were allocated to different temperatures to differentiate the effects of incubation temperature v. rearing temperature on subsequent swimming performance. Individuals incubated and reared at the cool (26°C) temperature showed significantly faster burst speeds at the 26°C test temperature than fish from any other treatment group. This indicates the ability of L. calcarifer to thermally acclimate burst swimming. However, there was no evidence that incubation temperature (as opposed to rearing temperature) affected burst or sustained swimming ability. Swimming ability was significantly affected by the test temperature, with the Umax of fish highest at the 29°C test temperature. Lower test temperatures depressed both burst and sustained swimming ability. Juvenile L. calcarifer can acclimate Umax, but swimming ability was unaffected by incubation thermal history.

Additional keywords: acclimation, fish, phenotypic plasticity, Ucrit, Umax.


Acknowledgements

This research was conducted with the approval of the University of Queensland Animal Ethics Committee (ZOO/ENT/262/03/URG) and was funded in part by an Australian Research Council linkage grant to C. E. Franklin. We thank Mike Rimmer from QDPI for the supply of the fertilised eggs and Brian Stumer for the raceway design and construction. Thank you to four anonymous referees for their constructive comments, which greatly improved the manuscript.


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