TY - JOUR

T1 - A novel protocol for rapid deployment of heart rate data storage tags in Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus reveals cardiac responses to temperature and feeding

AU - Rouyer, T.

AU - Bonhommeau, S.

AU - Bernard, S.

AU - Kerzerho, V.

AU - Derridj, O.

AU - Bjarnason, null

AU - Allal, H.

AU - Steffensen, J. F.

AU - Deguara, S.

AU - Wendling, B.

AU - Bal, G.

AU - Thambithurai, D.

AU - Mckenzie, D. J.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - The Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) is a highly prized species of large pelagic fish. Studies of their environmental physiology may improve understanding and management of their populations, but this is difficult for mature adults because of their large size. Biologging of heart rate holds promise in investigating physiological responses to environmental conditions in free-swimming fishes but it is very challenging to anesthetize large ABFT for invasive surgery to place a tag in the body cavity near to the heart. We describe a novel method for rapid deployment of a commercially available heart-rate tag on ABFT, using an atraumatic trocar to implant it in the musculature associated with the cleithrum. We performed three sequential experiments to show that the tagging method (1) is consistently repeatable and reliable, (2) can be used successfully on commercial fishing boats and does not seem to affect fish survival, and (3) is effective for long-term deployments. In experiment 3, a tag logged heart rate over 80 days on a 60-kg ABFT held in a farm cage. The logged data showed that heart rate was sensitive to prevailing seasonal temperature and feeding events. At low temperatures, there were clear responses to feeding but these all disappeared above a threshold temperature of 25.5°C. Overall, the results show that our method is simple, rapid, and repeatable, and can be used for long-term experiments to investigate physiological responses by large ABFT to environmental conditions.

AB - The Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) is a highly prized species of large pelagic fish. Studies of their environmental physiology may improve understanding and management of their populations, but this is difficult for mature adults because of their large size. Biologging of heart rate holds promise in investigating physiological responses to environmental conditions in free-swimming fishes but it is very challenging to anesthetize large ABFT for invasive surgery to place a tag in the body cavity near to the heart. We describe a novel method for rapid deployment of a commercially available heart-rate tag on ABFT, using an atraumatic trocar to implant it in the musculature associated with the cleithrum. We performed three sequential experiments to show that the tagging method (1) is consistently repeatable and reliable, (2) can be used successfully on commercial fishing boats and does not seem to affect fish survival, and (3) is effective for long-term deployments. In experiment 3, a tag logged heart rate over 80 days on a 60-kg ABFT held in a farm cage. The logged data showed that heart rate was sensitive to prevailing seasonal temperature and feeding events. At low temperatures, there were clear responses to feeding but these all disappeared above a threshold temperature of 25.5°C. Overall, the results show that our method is simple, rapid, and repeatable, and can be used for long-term experiments to investigate physiological responses by large ABFT to environmental conditions.

KW - Atlantic bluefin tuna

KW - heart rate

KW - longliner

KW - physiology

KW - protocol

KW - tagging

U2 - 10.1111/jfb.15507

DO - 10.1111/jfb.15507

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37483116

AN - SCOPUS:85166782698

JO - Journal of Fish Biology

JF - Journal of Fish Biology

SN - 0022-1112

ER -