Coronary Circulation Enhances the Aerobic Performance of Wild Pacific Salmon

Female Pacific salmon often experience higher mortality than males during their once-in-a-lifetime up-river spawning migration, particularly when exposed to secondary stressors (e.g. high temperatures). However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. One hypothesis is that female Pacific salmon hearts are more oxygen-limited than males and are less able to supply oxygen to the body’s tissues during this demanding migration. Notably, female hearts have higher coronary blood flow, which could indicate a greater reliance on this oxygen source. Oxygen limitations can develop from naturally occurring coronary blockages (i.e., coronary arteriosclerosis) found in mature salmon hearts. If female hearts rely more heavily on coronary blood flow but experience similar arteriosclerosis levels as males, they will have disproportionately impaired aerobic performance. To test this hypothesis, we measured resting (RMR) and maximum metabolic rate (MMR), aerobic scope (AS) and acute upper thermal tole..., Adult coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were collected at Chilliwack Hatchery, British Columbia, Canada and fish were held at Cultus Lake Laboratory for experiments. See publication for methodology details. , , # Van Wert et al 2024

# Coronary circulation enhances the aerobic performance of wild Pacific salmon

## Description of the Data and file structure

Author Information
A. Principal Investigator Contact Information
Name: Dr. Erika Eliason or Jacey Van Wert
Institution: University of California, Santa Barbara
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]), [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])
B. Corresponding Author Contact Information
Name: Jacey Van Wert
Institution: University of California, Santa Barbara
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

Date range of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): Oct - Nov 2019

Geographic location of data collection: Cultus Lake Laboratory, Chilliwack, BC, Canada

Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data:
This work was supported by the US National Science Foundation [Graduate Research Fellowship support to JCV]; the Swedish Research Council [2018-00516 to AE]; the ...