Mar 23, 2010
Physiological stress response of Mountain Whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) and White Sucker (Catostomus commersoni) sampled along a gradient of temperature and agrichemicals in the Oldman River, Alberta
by
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Environmental Biology of Fishes
- States that increasing water temperature is already considered a widespread and problematic stressor in salmonids on the West Coast and displacement of cold-water, northern, high latitude and high altitude species of fish is predicted in many global warming models
- States water temperatures outside the thermal preference range, specifically warmer water temperatures, can cause thermal stress which depletes energy reserves, decreases growth rates, impairs reproduction and changes behavior
- Compares the stress responses of the Mountain Whitefish, (Prosopium williamsoni, a cold-water fish) and White Sucker (Catostomus commersoni, a cool-water fish), along a temperature and pesticide gradient in the Oldman River, Southern Alberta in spring and summer
- Uses plasma acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) as an indicator of exposure to organophosphate and carbamates pesticides
- Detects important species-specific differences in APlasma acetylcholinesterase ChE activities and responses of the physiological stress axis, suggesting that whitefish are more sensitive to temperature and pesticide stress than suckers