Temperature Tolerance of the Sheepshead Minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus

Abstract

The sheepshead minnow may be the most eurythermic of all known fishes. This species' physiological (static or plunge) and ecological (dynamic) thermal tolerance polygons have areas of 1380 C2 and 1470 C2, respectively, which are among the largest ever measured for a fish. In addition, sheepshead minnows are more resistant to both high and low lethal temperatures than are other fish species. Sheepshead minnows acclimated to 5 and 30 C have CTMin-CTMax of 0.6-34.6 C and 11.3-