Seasonal temperatures in South Eleuthera, The Bahamas, have considerable impacts on the cardiorespiratory function and swimming performance of Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus).

ABSTRACT: Surprisingly, the impacts of environmental changes on the physiology of tropical/subtropical marine fishes have received limited attention. Given that (i) temperature is considered to be a key factor controlling the biology of fishes; (ii) no published data are available on the swimming performance, metabolic capacity or cardiac function of any of the ~165 grouper species worldwide; and (iii) the Nassau grouper is an endangered species of great ecological and socioeconomic significance in The Bahamas, we investigated how current summer/early fall (30°C) and winter (22°C) temperatures in South Eleuthera affected the aerobic metabolism and heart function of wild Nassau grouper when swum to exhaustion (i.e. to their critical swimming speed, U_crit). The Nassau grouper had a v

SUBMITTER: Porter ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10699750 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature