Abstract
Climate change is causing the warming and deoxygenation of coastal habitats like Chesapeake Bay that serve as important nursery habitats for many marine fish species. As conditions continue to change, it is important to understand how these changes impact individual species’ behavioral and metabolic performance. The sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) is an obligate ram-ventilating apex predator whose juveniles use Chesapeake Bay as a nursery ground up to 10 years of age. The objective of this study was to measure juvenile sandbar shark metabolic and behavioral performance as a proxy for overall performance (i.e. fitness or success) when exposed to warm and hypoxic water. Juvenile sandbar sharks (79.5–113.5 cm total length) were collected from an estuary along the eastern shore of Virginia and returned to lab where they were fitted with an accelerometer, placed in a respirometer and exposed to varying temperatures and oxygen levels. Juvenile sandbar shark overall performance declined substantially at 32°C or when dissolved oxygen concentration was reduced below 3.5 mg l−1 (51% oxygen saturation between 24–32°C). As the extent of warm hypoxic water increases in Chesapeake Bay, we expect that the available sandbar shark nursery habitat will be reduced, which may negatively impact the population of sandbar sharks in the western Atlantic as well as the overall health of the ecosystem within Chesapeake Bay.
Highlights
IntroductionAn increase in anthropogenic nutrient input is likewise increasing the severity and extent of hypoxic episodes in many of these areas (Hagy et al, 2004; Preston, 2004; Kemp et al, 2005; Conley et al, 2007; Rabalais et al, 2009; Najjar et al, 2010; Irby et al, 2016)
Climate change is warming coastal areas and estuaries worldwide
To determine Scrit, we found the first value where the shark’s metabolic rate dropped below mRMR and where the remaining metabolic rates were below mRMR
Summary
An increase in anthropogenic nutrient input is likewise increasing the severity and extent of hypoxic episodes in many of these areas (Hagy et al, 2004; Preston, 2004; Kemp et al, 2005; Conley et al, 2007; Rabalais et al, 2009; Najjar et al, 2010; Irby et al, 2016) These conditions are expected to worsen over the 100 years as climate change impacts are exacerbated (Rabalais et al, 2009; Najjar et al, 2010; Irby et al, 2018). While in their nursery habitat, juvenile weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) avoided waters in a tributary of Indian River Bay, DE, USA with dissolved oxygen below by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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