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Seasonal variation of brain size in a freshwater top predator
  • +4
  • Evan Versteeg,
  • Timothy Fernandes,
  • Matthew Guzzo,
  • Frederic Laberge,
  • Trevor Middel,
  • Mark Ridgway,
  • Bailey McMeans
Evan Versteeg
University of Toronto - Mississauga

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Timothy Fernandes
University of Toronto - Mississauga
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Matthew Guzzo
University of Toronto - Mississauga
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Frederic Laberge
University of Guelph
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Trevor Middel
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
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Mark Ridgway
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
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Bailey McMeans
University of Toronto - Mississauga
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Abstract

1. Teleost fishes occupy a range of ecosystem and habitat types subject to large seasonal fluctuations. Temperate fishes in particular, survive large shifts in temperature, light availability, and access to certain habitats across seasons. Yet, there is limited understanding of how behavioral responses to a seasonally shifting environment might shape, or be shaped by, the nervous system. 2. Here we quantified variation in relative brain size and the size of five externally visible brain regions in a freshwater top predator, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), across six consecutive seasons in two different lakes. Acoustic telemetry data from one of our study lakes was collected during the study period from a different subset of individuals and used to infer relationships between brain size and seasonal behaviors (habitat use and movement rate). 3. Our results indicated that lake trout relative brain size was larger in the fall and winter compared to the spring and summer in both lakes. Larger brains coincided with increased use of nearshore lake habitats and increased horizontal movement rates by lake trout in the fall and winter based on acoustic telemetry. The telencephalon followed the same pattern as whole brain size, while the other brain regions (cerebellum, optic tectum, olfactory bulbs, hypothalamus) were only smaller in the spring. 4. Seasonal shifts in total brain size might reflect greater underlying changes in the size of the telencephalon. These findings provide evidence that flexibility in brain size could underpin shifts in behavior which could subserve functions associated with differential habitat use during cold and warm seasons and allow fish to succeed in seasonally variable temperate environments.
31 May 2021Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
01 Jun 2021Submission Checks Completed
01 Jun 2021Assigned to Editor
08 Jun 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
06 Jul 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
08 Jul 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
25 Aug 20211st Revision Received
26 Aug 2021Submission Checks Completed
26 Aug 2021Assigned to Editor
26 Aug 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
03 Sep 2021Editorial Decision: Accept