Thresholds for Reduction in Fish Growth and Consumption Due to Hypoxia: Implications for Water Quality Guidelines to Protect Aquatic Life.

Abstract

Control of hypoxia is a key element of water quality management, and guidelines are usually based on qualitative reviews of hypoxia impacts. In this study we use segmented regression to identify both thresholds for growth reduction and rate of decline of fish growth and food consumption under hypoxia; and then evaluate whether current freshwater guidelines for dissolved oxygen based on qualitative reviews are consistent with the quantitative analysis of hypoxia thresholds. Segmented regressions were fit to data from published growth-hypoxia studies for freshwater (N = 17) and marine fishes (N = 13). To understand potential drivers of hypoxia tolerance, we also modelled thresholds as simple functions of environmental and ecological covariates for each species including trophic level, marine vs. freshwater environment, maximum fish length, fish weight, and maximum temperature tolerance. The average threshold for growth reduction (Gcrit; 5.1 mg·l-1 DO) and decreased food consumption (Ccrit = 5.6 mg·l-1 DO) were not significantly different, and did not differ between marine and freshwater taxa. However, salmonids showed a significantly steeper decline in growth with increasing hypoxia relative to other taxa. Growth declined by 22% for every mg·l-1 reduction in DO below average Gcrit, and significant regressions indicate that warmwater (R2 = 0.25) and smaller-bodied (R2 = 0.44) species are more likely to be hypoxia tolerant. Observed mean Gcrit and Ccrit in the range of 5-6 mg·l-1 broadly match minimum water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life in freshwater in representative industrialized countries. However, this is much higher than the definition of hypoxia typically used in marine systems (2-2.5 mg·l-1), indicating a need to reconcile definition of hypoxia in the marine environment with empirical data. The principal challenge in freshwater hypoxia management is now translating discretionary guidelines into effective regulatory frameworks to reduce the incidence and severity of hypoxia.