Non-invasive determination of critical dissolved oxygen thresholds for stress physiology in fish using triple-oxygen stable isotopes and aquatic respirometry.

Understanding the critical thresholds of dissolved oxygen (O) that trigger adaptive physiological responses in aquatic organisms is long hampered by a lack of robust, non-lethal or non-invasive methodologies. The isotope fractionation of triple O isotopes (O/O/O) during respiration is linked to the amount of oxygen utilised, offering a potential avenue for new insights. Our experimental research involved measuring the oxygen isotope fractionation of dissolved O in closed-system aquatic respirometry experiments with wild sticklebacks ().

The role of temperature in vitality and survival assessments of beam-trawled and discarded European plaice .

Thermal stress can influence the recovery of fish released after capture. Vitality assessments using reflex and behavioural responses require that responses can be observed reliably, independent of temperature. Here, we tested whether reflex and behavioural impairment and survival of beam-trawled and discarded European plaice () are independent from seasonal air and water temperature deviations.

The interplay between sleep and ecophysiology, behaviour and responses to environmental change in fish.

Evidence of behavioural sleep has been observed in every animal species studied to date, but current knowledge of the behaviour, neurophysiology and ecophysiology associated with sleep is concentrated on mammals and birds. Fish are a hugely diverse group that can offer novel insights into a variety of sleep-related behaviours across environments, but the ecophysiological relevance of sleep in fish has been largely overlooked. Here, we systematically reviewed the literature to assess the current breadth of knowledge on fish sleep, and surveyed the diverse physiological effects and behaviours associated with sleep.

A role for lakes in revealing the nature of animal movement using high dimensional telemetry systems.

Movement ecology is increasingly relying on experimental approaches and hypothesis testing to reveal how, when, where, why, and which animals move. Movement of megafauna is inherently interesting but many of the fundamental questions of movement ecology can be efficiently tested in study systems with high degrees of control. Lakes can be seen as microcosms for studying ecological processes and the use of high-resolution positioning systems to triangulate exact coordinates of fish, along with sensors that relay information about depth, temperature, acceleration, predation, and more, can be used to answer some of movement ecology's most pressing questions.