Thermal tolerance and standard metabolic rate of juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax, Linnaeus, 1758) acclimated to four temperatures

Abstract

In the current study, we report the thermal tolerance, standard metabolic rate (SMR) and preferred temperature of juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) (1.2 +/- 0.4 g) acclimated at 15, 20, 25 and 30 degrees C for 30 days. Dynamic and static thermal tolerance zones of juvenile European sea bass are 861 degrees C-2 and 613 degrees C-2, respectively. The European sea bass is a fish species with low thermal resistance, with a resistance zone area of 162.5 degrees C-2. The SMR of the fish species at the above acclimation temperatures are 184, 255, 382 and 459 mg O-2 h(-1) kg(-1), respectively and are significantly different (P < 0.001, n = 10). The fact that SMR increases with rising temperatures and gradually decreases after 25 degrees C indicates that the preferred temperature ranges of juvenile European sea bass are between 25 and 30 degrees C. Our study shows that European sea bass has a low acclimatization capacity to survive in aquatic systems characterized by wide temperature fluctuations.