Exploring the Relationship Between Physiological Performance and Reproductive

Exploring the relationship between physiological performance and reproductive investment in wild fish using heart rate biologgers By Tanya S. Prystay B.Sc. Dalhousie University, 2016 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Department of Biology) CARLETON UNIVERSITY (Ottawa, Ontario) February 2018 © Tanya S. Prystay 2018 i MASTER OF SCIENCE (2018) CARLETON UNIVERSITY Biology Ottawa, Ontario TITLE: Exploring the relationship between physiological performance and reproductive investment in wild fish using heart rate biologgers AUTHOR: Tanya S. Prystay, Hons. B.Sc. (Dalhousie University) SUPERVISORS: Dr. Steven J. Cooke (Carleton University) and Dr. Erika J. Eliason (University of California Santa Barbara) NUMBER OF PAGES: ix + 111 + Appendices ii Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... viii Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................... ix Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: General Introduction ........................................................................................... 2 Reproductive strategies ............................................................................................................ 2 Hypothesis of physiological performance relating to reproductive behaviour ........................ 4 The cardiovascular system as mean of assessing physiological performance ......................... 5 Introduction to thesis purpose, hypothesis, and study systems ............................................... 7 CHAPTER 2: Exploring relationships between cardiovascular activity and parental care investment in nesting smallmouth bass: a field study using heart rate biologgers ............... 16 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 17 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Day 1...................................................................................................................................... 20 Day 2-3 .................................................................................................................................. 22 Day 4...................................................................................................................................... 22 Day 5 - onward ...................................................................................................................... 23 Statistical Analyses ................................................................................................................ 25 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 27 Characterizing fH ................................................................................................................... 27 Relationship between fH and nesting behaviour .................................................................... 28 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 29 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 34 CHAPTER 3: Cardiac performance of free-swimming wild sockeye salmon during the reproductive period .................................................................................................................... 46 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 46 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 47 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 51 iii Data collection ....................................................................................................................... 51 Statistical analyses ................................................................................................................. 53 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 56 Heart rate profile .................................................................................................................... 56 Relationship between heart rate and behaviour ..................................................................... 57 Relationship between heart rate, behaviour and GSI (females only) .................................... 58 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 58 Characterization of spawning sockeye salmon heart rate ...................................................... 59 Environmental factors influencing heart rate ........................................................................ 61 Heart rate and spawning behaviours ...................................................................................... 63 Heart rate and survival duration ............................................................................................ 66 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 66 CHAPTER 4: Synthesis and Conclusions................................................................................. 80 Synthesis and Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 80 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 82 Future directions .................................................................................................................... 83 References .................................................................................................................................... 87 iv List of Figures Figure 1.1 Map of Big Rideau Lake ............................................................................................ 14 Figure 1.2 Map of Gates Creek Spawning Channel .................................................................... 15 Figure 2.1 Smallmouth bass heart rate trace ................................................................................ 38 Figure 2.2 Smallmouth bass heart rate vs temperature regression .............................................. 39 Figure 2.3 Intraspecific variability in heart rate in smallmouth bass ........................................... 40 Figure 2.4 Time spent on parental care behaviours ..................................................................... 41 Figure 2.5 Scatterplot comparing heart rate performacne to brood success, heart rate parameters, time spent on nesting behaviours and aggression level ................................................................ 42 Figure 2.6 Relationship between heart rate and aggression score ............................................... 43 Figure 2.7 Parental care smallmouth bass heart rate over time ................................................... 44 Figure 2.8 Diel variation in smallmouth bass heart rate during parental care ............................. 45 Figure 3.1 Sockeye salmon heart rate traces from a male, female that did not spawn and female that spawned.................................................................................................................................. 70 Figure 3.2 Intraspecific variability in heart rate in male and female sockeye salmon ................. 71 Figure 3.3 Sockeye salmon heart rate vs temeprature regression ................................................ 72 Figure 3.4 Diel variation in sockeye salmon heart rate during the spawning period ................... 73 Figure 3.5 Changes in heart rate over time in sockeye salmon during the spawning period ....... 74 Figure 3.6 Sockeye salmon heart rate at night vs heart rate during the subsequent day regression ....................................................................................................................................................... 75 Figure 3.7 Observed daily behaviour status of individual spawning sockeye salmon ................ 76 Figure 3.8 Sockeye salmon average heart rate at each spawning behaviour status. .................... 77 Figure 3.9 Changes in sockeye salmon heart rate associated with shifts in spawning behaviour status ............................................................................................................................................. 78 Figure 3.10 Relationship between survival duration and gonadal somatic index in female sockeye salmon ............................................................................................................................

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