Impairing cardiac oxygen supply in swimming coho salmon compromises their heart function and tolerance to acute warming

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 21204 - 16
• Main Authors: Ekström, Andreas, Hendriks, Brian, Van Wert, Jacey C., Gilbert, Matthew J. H., Farrell, Anthony P., Cooke, Steven J., Patterson, David A., Hinch, Scott G., Eliason, Erika J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.12.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/158/2455; 631/443/1338; 631/443/1784; 631/443/319; 631/443/592; 631/601; Animals; Climate change; Coronary artery; Female; Fish migration; Global warming; Heart; High temperature; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hypotheses; Male; Mortality; multidisciplinary; Oncorhynchus kisutch; Oxygen; Oxygen Consumption; Oxygen demand; Rivers; Salmon; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spawning; Spawning migrations; Swimming; Temperature; Temperature tolerance; Thermal stress; Zoologi; Zoology
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47713-5
• ISSN: 2045-2322

Climatic warming elevates mortality for many salmonid populations during their physically challenging up-river spawning migrations, yet, the mechanisms underlying the increased mortality remain elusive. One hypothesis posits that a cardiac oxygen insufficiency impairs the heart’s capacity to pump sufficient oxygen to body tissues to sustain up-river swimming, especially in warm water when oxygen availability declines and cardiac and whole-animal oxygen demand increases. We tested this hypothesis by measuring cardiac and metabolic (cardiorespiratory) performance, and assessing the upper thermal tolerance of coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ) during sustained swimming and acute warming. By surgically ligating the coronary artery, which naturally accumulates arteriosclerotic lesions in migrating salmon, we partially impaired oxygen supply to the heart. Coronary ligation caused drastic cardiac impairment during swimming, even at benign temperatures, and substantially constrained cardiorespiratory performance during swimming and progressive warming compared to sham-operated control fish. Furthermore, upper thermal tolerance during swimming was markedly reduced (by 4.4 °C) following ligation. While the cardiorespiratory capacity of female salmon was generally lower at higher temperatures compared to males, upper thermal tolerance during swimming was similar between sexes within treatment groups. Cardiac oxygen supply is a crucial determinant for the migratory capacity of salmon facing climatic environmental warming.