Emission rate of amino acids and ammonia and their role in olfactory preference behaviour of juvenile Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.)

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Author: Olsén, K. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1986
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic charr; Salvelinus alpinus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1986.tb05163.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8649.1986.tb05163.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1986.tb05163.x

The behaviour of juvenile Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.) , to an abrupt concentration step of L‐amino acids, L‐alanine and ammonium chloride was studied by fluviarium technique. The emission rates of these substances were studied. Juvenile Arctic charr emit 8.0 × 10 −4 mol total ammonia‐N kg −1 h −1 and 3.3 × I0 −5 mol amino acids kg −1 h −1 . In behaviour tests the charr avoided 5.6x 10 −6 and 5.6 × 10 −7 M ammonium chloride. The 17 L‐amino acid mixture, ranked as observed in the analysis of emission, was avoided at 4.6 × 10 −7 M, while 100 times dilution of this value gave neither avoidance nor attraction. The charr avoided L‐alanine tested alone at the concentration of 4.6 × 10 −7 M. Anosmic charr showed neither avoidance nor attraction to the mixture of 17 amino acids tested at 4.6 × 10 −7 M. The results indicate that ammonia as well as emitted amino acids are not responsible for the olfactory mediated attraction to conspecific odour shown earlier in Arctic charr. On the contrary, these substances may have a negative effect by reducing the strength of attraction.