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Thesis
AFFECTS OF ACCLIMATION TEMPERATURE ON THE CRITICAL THERMAL MAXIMA AND MINIMA OF THE LITTLE SKATE, LEUCORAJA ERINACEA
University of West Florida
Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida
2016
Abstract
Little skates, Leucoraja erinacea, inhabit cold-water habitats where temperatures approach the freezing point of seawater, yet little is known about this species' thermal ecology. I quantified critical thermal maxima (CTMaxima) and minima (CTMinima) and determined the thermal niche of little skates from Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Fish acclimated at 5.3, 10.5, 15.0, or 15.8C exhibited respective CTMaxima of 24.4, 28.1, 28.0, or 27.0C, and CTMinima of -3.1, -1.9, 0.6, or -0.4C. A thermal tolerance polygon from laboratory data revealed an area of 522C2 the second smallest measured in a batoid and a limited acclimation range of 18C. The thermal niche is dominated by intrinsic tolerance, and a low acclimation response ratio (~0.3C per 1C change in acclimation temperature), limiting little skate acclimation adjustments to no more than 5.5C. My data suggest that little skates are an obligate cold-water species that may not fare well under warming sea temperatures.
Details
- Title
- AFFECTS OF ACCLIMATION TEMPERATURE ON THE CRITICAL THERMAL MAXIMA AND MINIMA OF THE LITTLE SKATE, LEUCORAJA ERINACEA
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Copyright
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
- Identifiers
- 99380090731206600
- Academic Unit
- Biology
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Science (MS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida