Data for: Seasonal variability in resilience of a coral reef fish to marine heatwaves and hypoxia

Climate change projections indicate more frequent and severe tropical marine heatwaves (MHWs) and accompanying hypoxia year-round. However, most studies have focused on peak summer peak conditions under the assumption that annual maximum temperatures will induce the greatest physiological consequences. This study challenges this idea by characterizing seasonal MHWs (i.e., mean, maximum, and cumulative intensities, durations, heating rates, and mean annual occurrence) and comparing metabolic traits (i.e., standard metabolic rate (SMR), Q10 of SMR, maximum metabolic rate (MMR), aerobic scope, and critical oxygen tension (Pcrit)) of winter- and summer-acclimatized convict tang (Acanthurus triostegus) to the combined effects of MHWs and hypoxia. Fish were exposed to one of six MHW treatments with seasonally varying maximum intensities (winter: 24.5, 26.5, 28.5°C; summer: 28.5, 30.5, 32.5°C), representing past and future MHWs under IPCC projections (i.e., +0, +2, +4°C). Surprisingly, MHW cha..., Study species and marine heatwave treatments
A 26-year-long sea surface temperature dataset from 1994–2020 was collected at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstrationʻs Moku o Loʻe weather station (data retrieved online from tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov; Moku o Loʻe weather station; ID: 1612480; depth = 1 m; 21.433°N, 157.786°W) to characterize the local thermal environment to identify past marine heatwave (MHW) characteristics to simulate MHW conditions in the laboratory. To test seasonal acclimatization of thermal and hypoxia tolerance, experiments were conducted during the winter and summer for the winter and summer cohorts of Acanthurus triostegus, respectively. Collections were conducted at the end of the winter and summer of the year 2020, i.e., after ~3 month of seasonal acclimatization (winter collection temperature: 24.5 ± 0.5°C; summer collection temperature: 28.5 ± 0.5°C; N = 51). Fish were allowed to acclimate in the lab until they were consistently feeding before MHW t..., Requires Microsoft Excel