The slowest fish: Swim speed and tail-beat frequency of Greenland sharks
Locomotory muscle function of ectothermic fishes is generally depressed in cold waters, making them vulnerable to avian and mammalian predators whose body temperature remains high. Paradoxically, Greenland sharks Somniosus microcephalus exhibit the reverse of this usual predator-prey thermal pattern...
Published in: | Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology |
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Scholarship at UWindsor
2012
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Online Access: | https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/385 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 |
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ftunivwindsor:oai:scholar.uwindsor.ca:glierpub-1387 2023-06-11T04:09:11+02:00 The slowest fish: Swim speed and tail-beat frequency of Greenland sharks Watanabe, Yuuki Y. Lydersen, Christian Fisk, Aaron T. Kovacs, Kit M. 2012-09-01T07:00:00Z https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/385 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 unknown Scholarship at UWindsor https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/385 doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications Cold adaptation Ectotherm Phylogenetically independent contrast Scaling Swimming performance text 2012 ftunivwindsor https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 2023-05-06T19:10:50Z Locomotory muscle function of ectothermic fishes is generally depressed in cold waters, making them vulnerable to avian and mammalian predators whose body temperature remains high. Paradoxically, Greenland sharks Somniosus microcephalus exhibit the reverse of this usual predator-prey thermal pattern by apparently hunting seals in Arctic waters. To examine whether this species possesses cold-adaptations that enhance its swimming performance, we used data-logging tags to measure swim speed and tail-beat frequency (which reflects muscle-shortening speed) of six free-swimming sharks (204-343kg). For comparison, we compiled these parameters for wild fishes from the literature over a wide body mass range (0.2-3900kg) and examined the scaling relationships using phylogenetically informed statistics. The sharks cruised at 0.34m·s -1 with a tail-beat frequency of 0.15Hz, both of which were the lowest values for their size across fish species. The mean and maximum speed (0.74m·s -1) and acceleration during burst swimming (0.008m·s -2) were much lower than those of seals. Our results indicate that the swimming performance of Greenland sharks is limited by cold waters (~2°C) and insufficient to catch swimming seals. However, Arctic seals sleep in water to avoid predation by polar bears Ursus maritimus, which may leave them vulnerable to this cryptic slow-swimming predator. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. Text Arctic Greenland Somniosus microcephalus Ursus maritimus University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor Arctic Greenland Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 426-427 5 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwindsor |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Cold adaptation Ectotherm Phylogenetically independent contrast Scaling Swimming performance |
spellingShingle |
Cold adaptation Ectotherm Phylogenetically independent contrast Scaling Swimming performance Watanabe, Yuuki Y. Lydersen, Christian Fisk, Aaron T. Kovacs, Kit M. The slowest fish: Swim speed and tail-beat frequency of Greenland sharks |
topic_facet |
Cold adaptation Ectotherm Phylogenetically independent contrast Scaling Swimming performance |
description |
Locomotory muscle function of ectothermic fishes is generally depressed in cold waters, making them vulnerable to avian and mammalian predators whose body temperature remains high. Paradoxically, Greenland sharks Somniosus microcephalus exhibit the reverse of this usual predator-prey thermal pattern by apparently hunting seals in Arctic waters. To examine whether this species possesses cold-adaptations that enhance its swimming performance, we used data-logging tags to measure swim speed and tail-beat frequency (which reflects muscle-shortening speed) of six free-swimming sharks (204-343kg). For comparison, we compiled these parameters for wild fishes from the literature over a wide body mass range (0.2-3900kg) and examined the scaling relationships using phylogenetically informed statistics. The sharks cruised at 0.34m·s -1 with a tail-beat frequency of 0.15Hz, both of which were the lowest values for their size across fish species. The mean and maximum speed (0.74m·s -1) and acceleration during burst swimming (0.008m·s -2) were much lower than those of seals. Our results indicate that the swimming performance of Greenland sharks is limited by cold waters (~2°C) and insufficient to catch swimming seals. However, Arctic seals sleep in water to avoid predation by polar bears Ursus maritimus, which may leave them vulnerable to this cryptic slow-swimming predator. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. |
format |
Text |
author |
Watanabe, Yuuki Y. Lydersen, Christian Fisk, Aaron T. Kovacs, Kit M. |
author_facet |
Watanabe, Yuuki Y. Lydersen, Christian Fisk, Aaron T. Kovacs, Kit M. |
author_sort |
Watanabe, Yuuki Y. |
title |
The slowest fish: Swim speed and tail-beat frequency of Greenland sharks |
title_short |
The slowest fish: Swim speed and tail-beat frequency of Greenland sharks |
title_full |
The slowest fish: Swim speed and tail-beat frequency of Greenland sharks |
title_fullStr |
The slowest fish: Swim speed and tail-beat frequency of Greenland sharks |
title_full_unstemmed |
The slowest fish: Swim speed and tail-beat frequency of Greenland sharks |
title_sort |
slowest fish: swim speed and tail-beat frequency of greenland sharks |
publisher |
Scholarship at UWindsor |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/385 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland Somniosus microcephalus Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland Somniosus microcephalus Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/385 doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.021 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology |
container_volume |
426-427 |
container_start_page |
5 |
op_container_end_page |
11 |
_version_ |
1768382942922407936 |