The effect of dissolved oxygen on the growth of young-of-the-year winter flounder,Pseudopleuronectes americanus

Abstract

The effects of constant and diurnally fluctuating levels of dissolved oxygen on the growth of young-of-theyear winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, were examined under controlled laboratory conditions. Fish were exposed for either 10 or 11 weeks to constant levels of 6.7 (high) and 2.2 (low) mg l-l, and a diurnal fluctuation, ranging from 2.5 to 6.4 mg O2 1-l. Growth rates, calculated for both standard length and weight, for fish exposed to low and diurnally fluctuating levels were significantly reduced (p < 0.001) as compared to those for fish exposed to the high level. Growth rates of fish exposed to the high level were over twice those of fish held under low oxygen conditions. Under fluctuating conditions, fish grew at intermediate rates. Following these exposures, all fish were subsequently held at 7.2 mg O? 1-l for five weeks. Growth rates increased over two and a half times for fish previously exposed to the low oxygen level and were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than for the other two groups.

Impacts of hypoxia on the structure and processes in pelagic communities (zooplankton, macro-invertebrates and fish)

“…Feeding experiments by Jordan and Steffensen (2007) showed that cod, fed under normoxic conditions at a food rate of 2.5 and 5% of body weight, used 40 and 55% of their oxygen uptake for specific dynamic action, respectively, while they used 69% under hypoxic conditions leaving much less oxygen for other metabolic activities. Similar results were found by Bejda et al (1987) for red hake Urophycis chuss, where especially younger stages increased their swimming activity to escape low oxygen waters and all stages reduced food search activities with decreasing oxygen content.…”

“…Carlson et al, 1980;Brett and Blackburn, 1981;Chabot and Dutil, 1999;Braun et al, 2006). The growth rates in American winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) kept in hypoxic waters were less than 50% of those kept under normoxic conditions (Bejda et al, 1992). Similarly, moderate hypoxic conditions caused a 20% reduction in growth of turbot (Boeuf et al, 1999).…”

Diet Composition and Feeding Habits of Common Fishes in Long Island Bays, New York

“…For depleted populations, it is particularly pressing to understand which factors might suppress recruitment and therefore which management options are potentially most conducive to stock recovery. Mortality of age-0 Winter Flounder is affected by a suite of environmental variables, including prey availability, density of intraspecific and interspecific competitors, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pollution, and the presence of physical structures in nursery grounds (Sogard 1991;Bejda et al 1992;Able et al 1999;DeLong et al 2001;Meise et al 2003). Although many potential impediments to recovery exist, predation on age-0 Winter Flounder is a likely cause of the higher M observed in our study relative to studies in the Niantic River and the Mystic River estuary.…”

Juvenile weakfish Cynoscion regalis distribution in relation to diel-cycling dissolved oxygen in an estuarine tributary

“…These concentrations are not much above the lethal DO concentrations (LC 50 values) determined for the juvenile stage of some estuary-dependent fishes (Burton et al 1980, USEPA 2000, Miller et al 2002 and they overlap concentrations shown to be detrimental for growth (Bejda et al 1992, USEPA 2000, Stierhoff et al 2006. For example, juvenile summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus have a 24 h LC 50 of 1.59 mg O 2 l -1 at 24 to 25°C (USEPA 2000), and their growth rate is reduced by ~25% at 3.5 mg O 2 l -1 (compared to normoxia, i.e.…”