The swimming performance and post-swim body ion concentrations of juvenile pink salmon, and the effect of parasitic sea lice on these parameters ...

• Main Author: Nendick, Laura J.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2009
• Subjects: Oncorhynchus gorbuscha; Pink salmon
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0067655; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0067655

Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Walbaum) stocks in the Broughton Archipelago BC have seen a general decline in recent years. This is thought to be due to parasitism by sea lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837), on pink salmon during early marine life stage. To investigate this, I measured swimming performance, an integrated measure of fish health, and post-swim body ion concentrations, a secondary stress response, of control and sea lice infected juvenile pink salmon (mass < 3.0 g). Using five different protocols (ranging in duration from 8 – 112 min), four constant acceleration tests (rates between 0.005 - 0.053 cm s₋²) and a repeated critical swim speed test, it was found that the final swimming speed of juvenile pink salmon (mass <5.0 g) at baseline was independent of the swim protocol (P > 0.05). Given this finding, estimates of swim performance in juvenile pink salmon can be accurately measured with an acceleration test lasting < 10 minutes. Using a repeated, constant acceleration ...