Swimming Capability and Swimming Behavior of Juvenile Acipenser schrenckii

Abstract

Acipenser schrenckii, the Amur Sturgeon, was a commercially valuable fish species inhabiting the Amur (Heilongjiang) River but populations have rapidly declined in recent years. Dams impede A. schrenckii spawning migration and wild populations were critically endangered. Building fishways helped maintain fish populations but data on swimming performance and behavior was crucial for fishway design. To obtain such data on A. schrenckii, a laboratory study of juvenile A. schrenckii (n = 18, body mass = 32.7 ± 1.2 g, body length = 18.8 ± 0.3 cm) was conducted using a stepped velocity test carried out in a fish respirometer equipped with a high-speed video camera at 20°C. Results indicate: (1) The counter-current swimming capability of A. schrenckii was low with critical swimming speed of 1.96 ± 0.10 BL/sec. (2) When a linear function was fitted to the data, oxygen consumption, as a function of swimming speed, was determined to be MO2 = 337.29 + 128.10U (R(2) = 0.971, P < 0.001) and the power value (1.0) of U indicated high swimming efficiency. (3) Excess post-exercise oxygen cost was 48.44 mgO2 /kg and indicated excellent fatigue recovery. (4) Cost of transport decreased slowly with increased swimming speed. (5) Increased swimming speed led to increases in the tail beat frequency and stride length. This investigation contributed to the basic science of fish swimming behavior and provided data required for the design of fishways. Innovative methods have allowed cultivation of the species in the Yangtze River and, if effective fishways could be incorporated into the design of future hydropower projects on the Amur River, it would contribute to conservation of wild populations of A. schrenckii. The information provided here contributes to the international effort to save this critically endangered species. J. Exp. Zool. 319A:149-155, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Interrelationships between feeding, food deprivation and swimming performance in juvenile grass carp

“…It is reported that U crit (20°C) of Coreius guichenoti and Aristichthys nobilis (both Cyprinids) are 6.54 and 4.57 BL s −1 (20°C), respectively, after 2 d of starvation (Cai et al 2012. U crit of grass carp (8.94 BL s −1 ) was higher than either of these species.…”

“…1). Components of the respirometer included a motor, transducer, propeller, multi-aperture rectifier plate (Lucite) and a wire grid (Cai et al 2013). The transducer controls the voltage applied to the motor, allowing the propeller speed and flow velocity to be adjusted.…”

“…Comparing morphological characteristics, the body of grass carp of similar body weight is longer and thinner than those of the 2 other Cyprinids; a slender morphology produces less drag at a given countercurrent velocity (Boily & Magnan 2002). While U crit is a measure of sustained maximum swimming speed as determined by an experimental protocol under controlled conditions, it correlates well with sustained maximum swimming speed under natural conditions (Cai et al 2013). U crit provides reliable design criteria for the maximum velocity of water in a fish ladder slot.…”

Oxygen consumption and swimming behavior of juvenile Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baerii during stepped velocity tests

“…2014). To improve the effectiveness of fish passage for larger species, designs can be enhanced by incorporating orifices into the traditional pool and weir design, as reported in previous studies of the swimming performance of sturgeons (He et al 2013, Cai et al 2013. For example, the minimal slot width (in the vertical slot model) can be determined by the largest tail beat amplitude (TBA), and the slot velocities of upstream fishways should be lower than critical swimming speed (U crit ) of the fish in downstream fishways (Tu et al 2011).…”

“…It is easy to evaluate costs of activities such as migrating by measuring tail beat frequency (TBF) and observing body movements of the fish (Ohlberger et al 2007). Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) can be used to determine recovery time after fatigue, and resting pools should usually be required in fishways (Cai et al 2013). Other important design considerations include fish physiology, flow velocity and hydraulic conditions (Roscoe & Hinch 2010, Katopodis & Williams 2012.…”