Factors influencing return rate and marine residence duration in sea trout populations in Central Norway.

Brown trout (Salmo trutta) display extensive plasticity in marine migratory behaviours, with marine migrations considered to be an adaptive strategy which enables sea trout to maximize growth and reproductive potential. However, marine migrations are not without associated costs, including threats posed by ever-increasing salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infestations. In the present study, we used passive integrated transponder technology to characterize variability in sea trout migration behaviour amongst three catchments situated in a region of intensive salmon farming in central Norway. Specifically, we investigate how lice infestation, out-migration date and body size alter sea trout return rate and marine residence duration during the first out-migration to sea from each catchment. Distinct catchment-specific differences in sea trout out-migration size and the number of cohorts were observed, but larger body size did not guarantee the successful return of migrating trout. The marine residence duration of individuals that successfully returned to freshwater was positively correlated with lice infestation risk, suggesting for these individuals the lethal infestation threshold had not been reached. Our results also suggest that sea trout populations from lotic-dominated catchments are potentially at greater risk from size-related threats to their survival encountered during their marine migrations than sea trout from lentic-dominated catchments. The variability in sea trout migratory behaviour amongst catchments observed here emphasizes the challenges fisheries managers face when deciding the best actions to take to protect the anadromous portion of brown trout populations.

Incubation temperature and physiological aging in the zebra finch.

In birds, incubation temperature has received increased attention as an important source of phenotypic variability in offspring. A lower than optimal incubation temperature may negatively affect aspects of nestling physiology, such as body growth and energy metabolism. However, the long-term effects of sub-optimal incubation temperature on morphology and physiology are not well understood. In a previous study, we showed that zebra finches from eggs incubated at a low temperature (35.9°C) for 2/3 of the total incubation time suffered a lower post-fledging survival compared to individuals that had been incubated at higher temperatures (37.0 and 37.9°C). In the present study, we investigated whether these variations in incubation temperature could cause permanent long-lasting differences in body mass, body size, or basal metabolic rate. Furthermore, we tested whether the observed differences in survival between treatment groups would be reflected in the rate of physiological deterioration, assessed through oxidative damage and decreased metabolic rate with age (i.e. 'metabolic aging'). Incubation temperature did not significantly affect embryonic or nestling body growth and did not influence final adult body mass or body size. Nor was there any long-term effect on basal metabolic rate. Birds from eggs incubated at the lowest temperature experienced an accumulation of oxidative damage with age, although this was not accompanied by an accelerated rate of metabolic aging. The present results suggest that the low survival in these birds was possibly mediated by increased oxidative stress, but independent of body growth and the basal metabolic rate.

Is the rate of metabolic ageing and survival determined by Basal metabolic rate in the zebra finch?

The relationship between energy metabolism and ageing is of great interest because aerobic metabolism is the primary source of reactive oxygen species which is believed to be of major importance in the ageing process. We conducted a longitudinal study on captive zebra finches where we tested the effect of age on basal metabolic rate (BMR), as well as the effect of BMR on the rate of metabolic ageing (decline in BMR with age) and survival. Basal metabolic rate declined with age in both sexes after controlling for the effect of body mass, indicating a loss of functionality with age. This loss of functionality could be due to accumulated oxidative damage, believed to increase with increasing metabolic rate, c.f. the free radical theory of ageing. If so, we would expect the rate of metabolic ageing to increase and survival to decrease with increasing BMR. However, we found no effect of BMR on the rate of metabolic ageing. Furthermore, survival was not affected by BMR in the males. In female zebra finches there was a tendency for survival to decrease with increasing BMR, but the effect did not reach significance (P<0.1). Thus, the effect of BMR on the rate of functional deterioration with age, if any, was not strong enough to influence neither the rate of metabolic ageing nor survival in the zebra finches.