Genetic variation in plasticity of life-history traits between Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) populations exposed to contrasting thermal regimes

Abstract

We employed common-garden experiments to test for genetic variation in responses of larval life-history traits to temperature between two populations of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L., 1758) that naturally experience contrasting thermal environments during early life due to spatial and temporal differences in spawning. Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence cod larvae experienced faster growth in warmer water and low, uniform survival across all experimental temperatures (3, 7, 11 °C), consistent with previous studies on this spring-spawning population. In contrast, larvae from fall-spawning Southwestern Scotian Shelf cod collected near Sambro, Nova Scotia, lacked plasticity for growth but experienced much lower survival at higher temperatures. Phenotypes that are positively associated with fitness were observed at temperatures closest to those experienced in the wild, consistent with the hypothesis that these populations are adapted to local thermal regimes. The lack of growth plasticity observed in Sambro cod might be due to costly maintenance of plasticity in stable environments or energy savings at cold temperatures. However, additional experiments need to be conducted on Sambro cod and other fall-spawning marine fishes to determine to what extent responses to projected changes in climate will differ among populations.