2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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5/26/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | PHYSIOLOGICAL PLASTICITY OF STONEFLY NYMPHS IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE-DRIVEN CHANGES IN STREAM CONDITIONS | Virtual Platform

PHYSIOLOGICAL PLASTICITY OF STONEFLY NYMPHS IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE-DRIVEN CHANGES IN STREAM CONDITIONS

Extracting sufficient oxygen from water is a difficult challenge for aquatic insects. This will likely be exacerbated by climate change, which is warming waters, decreasing levels of dissolved oxygen, and lowering flow rates in streams and rivers. Aquatic insects may offset some risks of warming temperatures by exhibiting physiological plasticity. We tested this hypothesis by measuring plasticity in respiratory and thermal tolerance phenotypes of giant salmonfly nymphs (Pteronarcys californica) in response to 3-week acclimations in the lab to different combinations of dissolved oxygen, temperature, and flow. During the acclimation period, we measured rates of growth and survival in two different experiments (temperature-oxygen interactions and temperature-flow interactions). Following experiments we measured changes to respiratory phenotypes characterized by upper thermal limits (CTmax), gill morphology, and metabolic sensitivity to hypoxia. Nymphs acclimated to hypoxic and warm water show reduced growth and survival, however, those that did survive had significantly higher upper thermal limits. Gill morphology and respirometry analyses are underway. These results indicate that physiological plasticity may provide some resilience in the face of climate change, although how effective such mechanisms will be in the wild remains unknown.

Flow
Stream
Stressor

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Presenters/Authors

James I. Frakes (), University of Montana, jameson.frakes@umontana.edu;