Data from: Living in flowing water increases resistance to ultraviolet B radiation

Ultraviolet B radiation (UV-B) is an important environmental driver that
can affect locomotor performance negatively by inducing production of
reactive oxygen species (ROS). Prolonged regular exercise increases
antioxidant activities, which may alleviate the negative effects of
UV-B-induced ROS. Animals naturally performing exercise, such as humans
performing regular exercise or fish living in flowing water, may therefore
be more resilient to the negative effects of UV-B. We tested this
hypothesis in a fully factorial experiment, where we exposed mosquitofish
(Gambusia holbrooki) to UV-B and control (no UV-B) conditions in flowing
and still water. We show that fish exposed to UV-B and kept in flowing
water had increased sustained swimming performance (Ucrit), increased
antioxidant defences (catalase activity and glutathione concentrations)
and reduced cellular damage (lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl
concentrations) compared with fish in still water. There was no effect of
UV-B or water flow on resting or maximal rates of oxygen consumption. Our
results show that environmental water flow can alleviate the negative
effects of UV-B-induced ROS by increasing defence mechanisms. The
resultant reduction in ROS-induced damage may contribute to maintain
locomotor performance. Hence, the benefits of regular exercise are
‘transferred’ to improve resilience to the negative impacts of UV-B.
Ecologically, the mechanistic link between responses to different habitat
characteristics can determine the success of animals. These dynamics have
important ecological connotations when river or stream flow changes as a
result of weather patterns, climate or human modifications.