Parental effects improve escape performance of juvenile reef fish in a high-CO2 world@en

Rising CO2 levels in the oceans are predicted to have serious consequences for many marine taxa. Recent studies suggest that non-genetic parental effects may reduce the impact of high CO2 on the growth, survival and routine metabolic rate of marine fishes, but whether the parental environment mitigates behavioural and sensory impairment associated with high CO2 remains unknown. Here, we tested the acute effects of elevated CO2 on the escape responses of juvenile fish and whether such effects were altered by exposure of parents to increased CO2 (transgenerational acclimation). Elevated CO2 negatively affected the reactivity and locomotor performance of juvenile fish, but parental exposure to high CO2 reduced the effects in some traits, indicating the potential for acclimation of behavioural impairment across generations. However, acclimation was not complete in some traits, and absent in others, suggesting that transgenerational acclimation does not completely compensate the effects of high CO2 on escape responses.海洋中不断升高的二氧化碳浓度预计会对众多海洋类群造成严重危害。近期研究显示，非遗传亲本效应可减轻高二氧化碳对海水鱼类生长、存活及日常代谢率的负面影响，但亲本所处环境能否缓解高二氧化碳引发的行为与感官损伤，目前尚不明确。本研究测试了高二氧化碳浓度对幼鱼逃逸反应的急性影响，并探究亲本暴露于升高的二氧化碳环境（跨代驯化）是否会改变此类效应。研究发现，高二氧化碳浓度会对幼鱼的反应性与运动能力产生负面影响，而亲本暴露于高二氧化碳环境可缓解部分性状的受损程度，这表明跨代驯化具备缓解行为损伤的潜在可能。不过，部分性状的驯化效果并不完全，部分性状则未出现驯化效应，提示跨代驯化无法完全抵消高二氧化碳对幼鱼逃逸反应的影响。