Abstract
Abstract We investigated effects of starvation on acid tolerance of young-of-year smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieui in the laboratory. Juvenile smallmouth bass, held under simulated winter conditions for up to 5 months, experienced losses in ash-free dry weight of up to 30%. However, consecutive tests failed to demonstrate any decline in the short-term (≤7 d) tolerance of these fish for pH levels in the range from 3.0 to 4.5. We discuss the implications of these findings for northern populations where young-of-year fish experience significant winter starvation, followed by short-term exposure to low pH in spring. Calcium and sodium concentration of the water and fish body size (fork length) were all positively related to acid tolerance. A doubling of fork length increased survival time at any pH by 100%. At pH 3.0, a doubling of calcium concentration increased survival time by 13% and at pH 4.0 it increased survival time by 50%. Over the pH range 3.75 to 4.0, a doubling of sodium concentration increas...
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