Sustained swimming capacity of Atlantic salmon

Sustained swimming in fish relies on aerobic metabolism alone and has been defined as swimming speeds that can be maintained for 200 min. However, few studies have tested swimming performances at constant velocities for such durations. Instead, the limits of sustainable swimming are often defined in...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aquaculture Environment Interactions
Main Authors: Hvas, M, Oppedal, F
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Inter-Research 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00239
https://doaj.org/article/5846d7a31334428480da673325455fe9
id ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5846d7a31334428480da673325455fe9
record_format openpolar
spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5846d7a31334428480da673325455fe9 2023-05-15T15:30:55+02:00 Sustained swimming capacity of Atlantic salmon Hvas, M Oppedal, F 2017-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00239 https://doaj.org/article/5846d7a31334428480da673325455fe9 EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/aei/v9/p361-369/ https://doaj.org/toc/1869-215X https://doaj.org/toc/1869-7534 1869-215X 1869-7534 doi:10.3354/aei00239 https://doaj.org/article/5846d7a31334428480da673325455fe9 Aquaculture Environment Interactions, Vol 9, Pp 361-369 (2017) Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling SH1-691 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00239 2022-12-31T12:50:55Z Sustained swimming in fish relies on aerobic metabolism alone and has been defined as swimming speeds that can be maintained for 200 min. However, few studies have tested swimming performances at constant velocities for such durations. Instead, the limits of sustainable swimming are often defined indirectly as speeds where anaerobic metabolism is required. Atlantic salmon Salmo salar aquaculture is currently expanding to more exposed locations that experience occasional strong current velocities, and thus a more practical assessment of the sustained swimming capacity is needed to ensure acceptable animal welfare. To this purpose, we performed swim tunnel respirometry experiments with groups of larger post-smolts (~800 g) at 13∞C. First, the average critical swimming speed (Ucrit) was determined (97.2 cm s-1); then, sustained swimming trials were conducted in which fish were forced to swim up to 4 h at 60, 80 or 100% of the average Ucrit. All fish endured 60 and 80% Ucrit for 4 h, while only 2 avoided fatigue at 100% Ucrit (n = 24 treatment-1). A decrease in oxygen consumption rate over time at the sub-Ucrit intensities indicated swimming became more efficient and aerobic. To explain variation in swimming performance within the group, Ucrit and fatigue time were correlated with relative ventricular mass, condition factor and weight. However, these parameters were poor predictors of swimming performance. In conclusion, Atlantic salmon possess the aerobic capacity for continuous high-intensity swimming of at least 80% Ucrit for several hours. This adds important temporal insight to welfare guidelines related to current velocities in aquaculture. Article in Journal/Newspaper Atlantic salmon Salmo salar Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Aquaculture Environment Interactions 9 361 369
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling
SH1-691
Ecology
QH540-549.5
spellingShingle Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling
SH1-691
Ecology
QH540-549.5
Hvas, M
Oppedal, F
Sustained swimming capacity of Atlantic salmon
topic_facet Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling
SH1-691
Ecology
QH540-549.5
description Sustained swimming in fish relies on aerobic metabolism alone and has been defined as swimming speeds that can be maintained for 200 min. However, few studies have tested swimming performances at constant velocities for such durations. Instead, the limits of sustainable swimming are often defined indirectly as speeds where anaerobic metabolism is required. Atlantic salmon Salmo salar aquaculture is currently expanding to more exposed locations that experience occasional strong current velocities, and thus a more practical assessment of the sustained swimming capacity is needed to ensure acceptable animal welfare. To this purpose, we performed swim tunnel respirometry experiments with groups of larger post-smolts (~800 g) at 13∞C. First, the average critical swimming speed (Ucrit) was determined (97.2 cm s-1); then, sustained swimming trials were conducted in which fish were forced to swim up to 4 h at 60, 80 or 100% of the average Ucrit. All fish endured 60 and 80% Ucrit for 4 h, while only 2 avoided fatigue at 100% Ucrit (n = 24 treatment-1). A decrease in oxygen consumption rate over time at the sub-Ucrit intensities indicated swimming became more efficient and aerobic. To explain variation in swimming performance within the group, Ucrit and fatigue time were correlated with relative ventricular mass, condition factor and weight. However, these parameters were poor predictors of swimming performance. In conclusion, Atlantic salmon possess the aerobic capacity for continuous high-intensity swimming of at least 80% Ucrit for several hours. This adds important temporal insight to welfare guidelines related to current velocities in aquaculture.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Hvas, M
Oppedal, F
author_facet Hvas, M
Oppedal, F
author_sort Hvas, M
title Sustained swimming capacity of Atlantic salmon
title_short Sustained swimming capacity of Atlantic salmon
title_full Sustained swimming capacity of Atlantic salmon
title_fullStr Sustained swimming capacity of Atlantic salmon
title_full_unstemmed Sustained swimming capacity of Atlantic salmon
title_sort sustained swimming capacity of atlantic salmon
publisher Inter-Research
publishDate 2017
url https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00239
https://doaj.org/article/5846d7a31334428480da673325455fe9
genre Atlantic salmon
Salmo salar
genre_facet Atlantic salmon
Salmo salar
op_source Aquaculture Environment Interactions, Vol 9, Pp 361-369 (2017)
op_relation https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/aei/v9/p361-369/
https://doaj.org/toc/1869-215X
https://doaj.org/toc/1869-7534
1869-215X
1869-7534
doi:10.3354/aei00239
https://doaj.org/article/5846d7a31334428480da673325455fe9
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00239
container_title Aquaculture Environment Interactions
container_volume 9
container_start_page 361
op_container_end_page 369
_version_ 1766361395418365952