Limited transgenerational effects of environmental temperatures on thermal performance of a cold-adapted salmonid

Abstract

Adult lake trout held at two temperatures were interbred to study the influence of parental thermal environments on the next generation’s thermal physiology. Offspring performance reflected both their own rearing environment and parental influences, although parental effects on offspring physiology were limited and not always beneficial.

Behavioural thermoregulation in cold‐water freshwater fish: Innate resilience to climate warming?

“…This ability of some individuals to potentially acclimate to higher water temperatures can thus act in concert with behavioural thermoregulation to facilitate all thermal phenotypes of climatically vulnerable salmonid populations to persist in warming rivers. Notwithstanding, in lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush , Salmonidae), temperature acclimation of adult fish resulted in only limited trans‐generational plasticity to higher temperatures, suggesting this plasticity has limited potential to buffer warming effects on future generations (Penney et al, 2021 ). These limitations in adapting to higher temperatures have also been reflected in tropical fish species, with a higher risk that species already living in environments close to their upper thermal tolerance limit will be unable to respond sufficiently to expected rates of warming (Morgan et al, 2020 ).…”

The upper thermal limit of epaulette sharks (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) is conserved across three life history stages, sex and body size

“…Moreover, species from this taxon generally have larger body mass ranges compared to teleost species investigated in most CT max studies (e.g. Ospina and Mora, 2004 ; Messmer et al, 2017 ; Morgan et al, 2018 , 2019 ; Firth et al, 2021 ; Penney et al, 2021 ).…”

Plastic maternal effects of social density on reproduction and fitness in the least killifish, Heterandria formosa

“…There are compelling examples of adaptive plasticity (Allen et al, 2008; Galloway & Etterson, 2007; Kangassalo et al, 2020; Sun et al, 2018; Tougeron et al, 2020). However, many studies have either failed to find transgenerational plasticity where it was expected or found it to be maladaptive (Betini et al, 2020; Griffiths et al, 2021; Langen et al, 2019; Martin et al, 2019; Neylan et al, 2022; Penney et al, 2021). For any single ecological agent like conspecific density, some experiments demonstrate an adaptive effect (Langen et al, 2019) while others do not (Zipple et al, 2019).…”

“…Environmental parental effects, also known as transgenerational plasticity, are widespread in plants and animals (Bell & Hellmann, 2019; De Long et al, 2021; Donohue, 2009; Herman & Sultan, 2011; Meaney, 2001; Roach & Wulff, 1987; Rossiter, 1991; Weaver et al, 2004). Transgenerational plasticity has been demonstrated in response to a wide variety of ecological factors: temperature (Betini et al, 2020; Landy & Travis, 2018; Lee et al, 2020; Penney et al, 2021; Salinas & Munch, 2012; Sun et al, 2018; Tougeron et al, 2020), salinity (Griffiths et al, 2021), food availability (Kangassalo et al, 2020; Plaistow et al, 2006; Vega‐Trejo et al, 2018), exposure to predation risk (Hellmann et al, 2020; Lehto & Tinghitella, 2020; McGhee et al, 2021; Tariel et al, 2020), herbivory (Sobral, Sampedro, et al, 2021), and conspecific density (Langen et al, 2019; Li et al, 2019; Meise et al, 2016). However, the extent to which these effects represent adaptive plasticity between parent and offspring generations remains contentious (Marshall & Uller, 2007; Sanchez‐Tojar et al, 2020; Uller et al, 2013; Yin et al, 2019).…”