TY - JOUR
T1 - The consequences of daily cyclic hypoxia on a European grass shrimp
T2 - From short‐term responses to long‐term effects
AU - Peruzza, Luca
AU - Gerdol, Marco
AU - Oliphant, Andrew
AU - Wilcockson, David
AU - Pallavicini, Alberto
AU - Hawkins, Lawrence
AU - Thatje, Sven
AU - Hauton, Chris
PY - 2018/10/4
Y1 - 2018/10/4
N2 - 1.Salt marshes are a key coastal environment for their important role as nursery habitats for marine and estuarine fish and crustaceans. Salt marshes are variable environments where species can experience daily cyclic hypoxic stress, characterized by profound variations in oxygen partial pressure (pO2) from supersaturated conditions (~42kPa) to extremely hypoxic conditions (~3kPa) in ~12‐hours.2.Here, under laboratory conditions, we assessed the physiological consequences of exposing the shrimp Palaemon varians, a species commonly found in the salt marshes of northern Europe, to the daily cyclic hypoxic regime currently experienced in its habitat in August (7.1±1.8 hours day−1 below 4.0kPa). In the laboratory adults were kept at water pO2 <4.5kPa for 7‐hours each night and in normoxic conditions for the rest of the time.3.We recorded an acceleration of P. varians’ moult cycle, which was 15% shorter in animals kept in cyclic hypoxia compared to animals in normoxia. Similarly, the pattern of expression of two cuticular proteins over an entire moult cycle indicated an effect of cyclic hypoxia on moult stage‐related genes. After 16 days, morphological changes to the gills were detected, with shrimps in cyclic hypoxia having a 13.6% larger lamellar surface area (measured in μm2/mg animal) than normoxic animals, which could improve gas exchange capacity. Overall, phenotypic and morphological data indicate that faster moulting is triggered in response to cyclic hypoxia, with the benefit that gill modifications can be prompted more rapidly in order to meet oxygen requirements of the body.4.On the first experimental day, in cyclic hypoxic exposed animals, we recorded a 50% decrease in feeding rates (during hypoxic conditions) in comparison to normoxic animals. Similarly, ammonium excretion was reduced by 66‐75% during the 1st and 21st experimental day. Body size was reduced by ~4% after 28 days. Females that reproduced in cyclic hypoxic conditions reduced the amount of yolk in each egg by ~24%. Overall, results underline how, in a decapod shrimp living in a key coastal environment, many physiological parameters are impaired by a cyclic hypoxic regime that is currently found in its natural habitat.
AB - 1.Salt marshes are a key coastal environment for their important role as nursery habitats for marine and estuarine fish and crustaceans. Salt marshes are variable environments where species can experience daily cyclic hypoxic stress, characterized by profound variations in oxygen partial pressure (pO2) from supersaturated conditions (~42kPa) to extremely hypoxic conditions (~3kPa) in ~12‐hours.2.Here, under laboratory conditions, we assessed the physiological consequences of exposing the shrimp Palaemon varians, a species commonly found in the salt marshes of northern Europe, to the daily cyclic hypoxic regime currently experienced in its habitat in August (7.1±1.8 hours day−1 below 4.0kPa). In the laboratory adults were kept at water pO2 <4.5kPa for 7‐hours each night and in normoxic conditions for the rest of the time.3.We recorded an acceleration of P. varians’ moult cycle, which was 15% shorter in animals kept in cyclic hypoxia compared to animals in normoxia. Similarly, the pattern of expression of two cuticular proteins over an entire moult cycle indicated an effect of cyclic hypoxia on moult stage‐related genes. After 16 days, morphological changes to the gills were detected, with shrimps in cyclic hypoxia having a 13.6% larger lamellar surface area (measured in μm2/mg animal) than normoxic animals, which could improve gas exchange capacity. Overall, phenotypic and morphological data indicate that faster moulting is triggered in response to cyclic hypoxia, with the benefit that gill modifications can be prompted more rapidly in order to meet oxygen requirements of the body.4.On the first experimental day, in cyclic hypoxic exposed animals, we recorded a 50% decrease in feeding rates (during hypoxic conditions) in comparison to normoxic animals. Similarly, ammonium excretion was reduced by 66‐75% during the 1st and 21st experimental day. Body size was reduced by ~4% after 28 days. Females that reproduced in cyclic hypoxic conditions reduced the amount of yolk in each egg by ~24%. Overall, results underline how, in a decapod shrimp living in a key coastal environment, many physiological parameters are impaired by a cyclic hypoxic regime that is currently found in its natural habitat.
KW - cyclic hypoxia
KW - shrimp
KW - transcriptomics
KW - gill morphology
KW - moult cycle
KW - body size
KW - reproduction
KW - ammonium excretion
UR - https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.13150#support-information-section
U2 - 10.1111/1365-2435.13150
DO - 10.1111/1365-2435.13150
M3 - Article
SN - 0269-8463
VL - 32
SP - 2333
EP - 2344
JO - Functional Ecology
JF - Functional Ecology
IS - 10
ER -