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Juvenile and adult hardhead Mylopharodon conocephalus oxygen consumption rates: effects of temperature and swimming velocity

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Abstract

California’s populations of hardhead Mylopharodon conocephalus, a species of special concern, have declined, possibly due to dam construction with consequent temperature and water-velocity changes, and the introduction of non-native species. Environmental temperature effects on this large (to 60 cm SL) cyprinid, and its swimming abilities, are not well known. To address these deficiencies and to assist conservation efforts, we measured resting and swimming metabolic rates of adult and juvenile hardhead acclimated to four temperatures (11, 16, 21, or 25 °C). Resting metabolic rates (RMR, mg O2 kg−0.79 h−1) generally increased with acclimation temperature, in adults and juveniles, with low to moderate thermal sensitivity (Q10 range: 1.33–2.04). Swimming metabolic rates, in Brett-style respirometers, of adults ranged from 209 to 1342 mg O2 kg−1 h−1 at velocities from 30 to 90 cm s−1, and juveniles ranged from 393 to 769 mg O2 kg−1 h−1 from 10 to 50 cm s−1. Adults were lethargic at 11 °C and juveniles frequently refused to swim at 11 and 16 °C, but all fish swam well at 21 and 25 °C. These results suggest that hardhead are well-suited for sustained aerobic activity over a range of flow velocities, at moderate temperatures (ca. 16 to 21 °C). However, juveniles, emerging in spring, may not be able to perform in cold water and/or high flow velocities, providing a caution to dam managers and regulators to avoid spring and summer operations whereby juveniles experience conditions outside of those occurring in unregulated rivers.

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Acknowledgements

We thank P. Young for her assistance in identifying the need for this study; The California Department of Fish and Wildlife for assistance with our Scientific Collection Permit; K. Thomas, C. Garman, J. Rowan, and R. Vincik of CDFW, J. Williams of the US Forest Service - Eldorado National Forest, R. Aramayo of Garcia and Associates, M. Obedzinski of California Sea Grant Extension Program; B. Center of Camp Lotus for access to the Nugget property and B. Williams and E. Shelton of Pacific Gas and Electric for access upstream of the Chili Bar Dam facility; H. Nelson, R. Coalter, S. Cocherell, J. Reardon, B. Williamson, O. Patton, B. DeCourten, J. Poletto, N. Ho, D. Jauregui, N. Nordman, T. Baghdassarian, C. Baier, A. Pietrzyk, M. Richmond, E. Kelly, N. Brinton, E. Bush, A. Avila-Hanson, S. Brandl, D. Cheng, M. Figueroa, J. DeYoung, D. Hu, A. Fratzke, M. Gilliam, M. Saberi, K. Long, M. Zhang, J. Dexter, T. Nguyen, and J. Yu with help in fish capture, husbandry, and experimental assistance; the Upper American River Foundation, Granite Bay Flycasters, and the Sac-Sierra Chapter of Trout Unlimited for assistance with hardhead capture; and E. P. Scott Weber III, P. Lutes, and E. Hallen for their advice on fish husbandry. This research was funded by California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research grant PIR-08-029 and the University of California Agricultural Experiment Station (grant no. 2098-H to NAF). We thank our project manager J. O’Hagan for guidance throughout the project as well as two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments to improve this manuscript. All study animals were treated in accordance with UC Davis’ Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee guidelines (protocol # 15774).

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  1. Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Nann A. Fangue, Dennis E. Cocherell, Felipe La Luz, Joseph J. Cech Jr. & Lisa C. Thompson

  2. Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Lisa C. Thompson

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  1. Nann A. Fangue
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  4. Joseph J. Cech Jr.
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Correspondence to Nann A. Fangue.

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Fangue, N.A., Cocherell, D.E., La Luz, F. et al. Juvenile and adult hardhead Mylopharodon conocephalus oxygen consumption rates: effects of temperature and swimming velocity. Environ Biol Fish 98, 585–596 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-014-0292-1

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