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The Saint John River (SJR) is home to the only Canadian population of shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum. Adult shortnose sturgeon routinely enter saltwater to forage, yet less is known about how juveniles cope with the associated osmoregulatory pressures. Recently, it has been shown that short-term (24 h) exposure to saltwater causes significant changes to ion and water levels in juvenile shortnose. In some species of fish, notably salmonids, it has been shown that shifts in fluid and ion levels following saltwater challenges reduce the swimming capacity. The relationship between ion concentration and swimming capacity is not well understood for sturgeon species. Our research aimed to determine whether short-term salt exposure affects swimming ability in juvenile shortnose sturgeon. Juvenile, SJR, hatchery-raised shortnose sturgeon ( 1 year old) were exposed to salinities of 0 (control), 16, or 24‰ for 24 h and then subjected to a critical swimming speed test (U |
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