In order to assess the suitability of Atyaephyra desmarestii as a bioindicator of the effects of hypoxic events on temperate freshwater systems, we investigated the respiratory responses of this shrimp to increasing temperatures and progressive hypoxia at two different salinities. This study, based on laboratory measurements, clearly demonstrates that this species has a moderate to poor oxygen regulatory ability and a high sensitivity to hypoxia. The respiratory response of the shrimp to increasing temperatures with increasing MO2 (low thermal regulation in oxygen uptake) was observed within a wide thermal range (15–30 °C), although the species seems to be vulnerable to temperatures above 25 °C in brackish water. This species copes best with hypoxia in brackish water but only at low to moderate temperatures (T ≤ 20 °C). In freshwater, its habitual habitat, the ability of A. desmarestii to oxyregulate seems to be less temperature dependent. These features suggest that the respiratory response of A. desmarestii could be used in short-term stress bioassays to test the consequences of climate change and pollution events which lead to increased hypoxia of aquatic habitats.

This research work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project Consolider-Ingenio 2010 (CSD2009-00065).

Peer reviewed