The Antarctic notothenioid fish Pagothenia borchgrevinki is thermally flexible: acclimation changes oxygen consumption

Abstract

Antarctic marine organisms are considered to have extremely limited ability to respond to environmental temperature change. However, here we show that the Antarctic notothenioid fish Pagothenia borchgrevinki is an exception to this theory. P. borchgrevinki was able to acclimate its resting metabolic rate and resting ventilation frequency after a 5°C rise in temperature. Acute exposure to 4°C resulted in an elevation in metabolic rate (57.8 ± 4.79 mg O2 kg−1 h−1) and resting ventilation rate (40.38 ± 1.61 breaths min−1) compared with fish at −1°C (metabolic rate 34.45 ± 3.12 mg O2 kg−1 h−1; ventilation rate 29.88 ± 3.72 breaths min−1). However, after a 1-month acclimation period, there was no significant difference in the metabolic rate (cold fish 29.52 ± 3.01; warm fish 31.13 ± 2.30 mg O2 kg−1 h−1), or the resting ventilation rate (cold fish 28.75 ± 0.98; warm fish 34.25 ± 2.28 breaths min−1) of cold and warm acclimated fish. Acclimation changes to the rate of oxygen consumption following exhaustive exercise were complex. The pattern of oxygen consumption during recovery from exhaustive exercise was not significantly different in either cold or warm acclimated fish.