Does aerobic scope influence geographical distribution of teleost fishes?

Nati, J. J.H., Halsey, L. G., Johnson, P. C.D. , Lindström, J. and Killen, S. S. (2023) Does aerobic scope influence geographical distribution of teleost fishes? Conservation Physiology, 11(1), coad012. (doi: 10.1093/conphys/coad012) (PMID:37006338) (PMCID:PMC10061159)

Abstract

Many abiotic and biotic factors are known to shape species' distributions, but we lack understanding of how innate physiological traits, such as aerobic scope (AS), may influence the latitudinal range of species. Based on theoretical assumptions, a positive link between AS and distribution range has been proposed, but there has been no broad comparative study across species to test this hypothesis. We collected metabolic rate data from the literature and performed a phylogenetically informed analysis to investigate the influence of AS on the current geographical distributions of 111 teleost fish species. Contrary to expectations, we found a negative relationship between absolute latitude range and thermal peak AS in temperate fishes. We found no evidence for an association between thermal range of AS and the range of latitudes occupied for 32 species. Our main results therefore contradict the prevailing theory of a positive link between AS and distribution range in fish.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by an Aides à la Formation Recherche doctoral grant from the Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg (4005263), the Natural Environment Research Council Advanced Fellowship (NE/J019100/1) and the European Research Council Starting Grant (640004).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lindstrom, Dr Jan and Killen, Professor Shaun and Johnson, Dr Paul and Nati, Miss Julie
• Authors: Nati, J. J.H., Halsey, L. G., Johnson, P. C.D., Lindström, J., and Killen, S. S.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Conservation Physiology
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 2051-1434
• ISSN (Online): 2051-1434
• Published Online: 29 March 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Conservation Physiology 11(1): coad012
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
167015		The Influence of Individual Physiology on Group Behaviour in Fish Schools	Shaun Killen	Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)	NE/J019100/1	Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine