Temperature Effects on Lactate–Glycogen Metabolism in Zinc-Intoxicated Rainbow Trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Acute, lethal exposures of fish to zinc cause gill damage and subsequent death through tissue hypoxia. This experiment showed that lactic acid production and glycogen utilization in dorsal white muscle of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) increased with time of exposure to a lethal concentration of zinc. Exposure of trout to zinc at 3, 11, and 19 C did not affect the timing or percentage change of lactic acid production or utilization of glycogen. Therefore, the previously observed high tolerance of zinc by warm-acclimated fish is not due to increased resistance to the tissue hypoxia caused by gill damage.