The effects of starvation on fast-start escape and constant acceleration swimming performance in rose bitterling (Rhodeus ocellatus) at two acclimation temperatures

In this study, the general condition, swimming capacities, and tissue metabolic capacities and metal concentrations in wild yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were examined from a range of metal-contaminated lakes near Sudbury, Ontario. Fish exposed to elevated environmental cadmium and copper concentrations showed higher liver concentrations of these metals and lower condition indices. Because growth rate appeared lower in the most metal-contaminated fish, the high tissue activities of nucleoside diphosphate kinase, an indicator of biosynthesis, in these fish indicated an increased rate of protein turnover and suggested a bioenergetic cost of metal exposure. Yellow perch from the most metal-contaminated lakes exhibited lower aerobic capacities, as indicated by citrate synthase and β-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase activities, two mitochondrial enzymes involved in aerobic adenosine triphosphate production, and by critical swimming speed. There was no evidence from our data that environmental metal exposure affected anaerobic capacities of tissues as measured by lactate dehydrogenase activities or anaerobic fast-start swimming performance. Overall, these data show that metal exposure leads to measurable effects on metabolic capacities in wild yellow perch.

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Maternal food restriction during pregnancy affects offspring development and swimming performance in a placental live-bearing fish

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.242850 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andres Hagmayer ◽

Martin J. Lankheet ◽

Judith Bijsterbosch ◽

Johan L. van Leeuwen ◽

Bart J. A. Pollux

Keyword(s):

Body Fat ◽

Food Restriction ◽

Prey Capture ◽

Swimming Performance ◽

Dry Mass ◽

Offspring Size ◽

Escape Performance ◽

Food Ration ◽

Poeciliid Fish ◽

Fast Start

How pregnant mothers allocate limited resources to different biological functions such as maintenance, somatic growth, and reproduction can have profound implications for early life development and survival of offspring. Here we examined the effects of maternal food restriction during pregnancy on offspring in the matrotrophic (i.e. mother-nourishment throughout gestation) live-bearing fish species Phalloptychus januarius (Poeciliidae). We fed pregnant females either with a ‘low-food’ or ‘high-food’ ration for six weeks and quantified the consequences for offspring size and body fat at birth and one week after birth. We further measured fast-start escape performance of offspring at birth, as well as swimming kinematics during prey capture at zero, two, and seven days after birth. We found that the length of maternal food restriction during pregnancy negatively affected offspring dry mass and lean dry mass at birth, as well as body fat gain during the first week after birth. Moreover, it impacted the locomotor performance of offspring during prey capture at, and during the first week after, birth. We did not observe an effect of food restriction on fast-start escape performance of offspring. Our study suggests that matrotrophic poeciliid fish are maladapted to unpredictably fluctuating resource environments, because sudden reductions in maternal food availability during pregnancy result in smaller offspring with slower postnatal body fat gain and an inhibition of postnatal improving swimming skills during feeding, potentially leading to lower competitive abilities after birth.

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Effects of fasting and feeding on the fast-start swimming performance of southern catfish Silurus meridionalis

Journal of Fish Biology ◽

10.1111/jfb.12595 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 86 (2) ◽

pp. 605-614 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

G. J. Yan ◽

X. K. He ◽

Z. D. Cao ◽

S. J. Fu

Keyword(s):

Swimming Performance ◽

Silurus Meridionalis ◽

Fast Start

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Fast-start swimming performance and reduction in lateral plate number in threespine stickleback

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z01-226 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 80 (2) ◽

pp. 207-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

C A Bergstrom

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽

Swimming Performance ◽

Maximum Velocity ◽

Threespine Stickleback ◽

Predatory Fish ◽

Lateral Plate ◽

Maximum Acceleration ◽

Plate Number ◽

Fast Start

Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have colonized freshwater habitats in circumboreal coastal regions, resulting in populations with variable but generally reduced lateral plate numbers compared with marine ancestors. Several abiotic and ecological factors associated with variation in lateral plate number among freshwater populations of G. aculeatus have been found, including large-scale climatic effects, variation in water-flow rates and levels of dissolved calcium, and the presence or absence of predatory fish. In addition, it has been proposed that plate reduction might be an adaptation for evading predator pursuit that enhances fast-start performance. If this hypothesis is correct, one would predict that fast-start performance would improve as lateral plate numbers decrease. I tested this prediction by comparing fast-start performance among stickleback with different numbers of lateral plates within two freshwater populations. Fast-starts of individual stickleback were video-recorded at 60 Hz and maximum velocity, maximum acceleration, displacement, and body curvature were calculated for each fish. Lateral plate number was significantly negatively correlated with velocity and displacement but not with acceleration or curvature. These results suggest that reduction in lateral plate number has the potential to be advantageous in some predation regimes because of its association with enhanced fast-start performance.

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Effects of wave-driven water flow on the fast-start escape response of juvenile coral reef damselfishes

10.32942/osf.io/x2msw ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dominique Roche

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Water Flow ◽

Escape Response ◽

Swimming Performance ◽

Reef Fishes ◽

Body Depth ◽

Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽

Juvenile Coral ◽

Fast Start ◽

Escape Responses

Fish often evade predators with a fast-start escape response. Studies typically examine this behaviour in still water despite water motion being an inherent feature of aquatic ecosystems. In shallow habitats, waves create complex flows that likely influence escape performance, particularly in small fishes with low absolute swimming speeds relative to environmental flows. I examined how wave-driven water flow affects the behaviour and kinematics of escape responses in juveniles of three coral reef damselfishes (Pomacentridae) with different body morphologies. Tropical damselfishes have similar fin and body shapes during early development with the exception of body depth, a trait deemed important for postural control and stability. Wave-driven flow increased response latency in two of the three species tested: fish with a fusiform body responded 2.4 times slower in wave-driven flow than in still water, whereas this difference was less pronounced in fish with an intermediate body depth (1.9 times slower response), and absent in fish with a laterally compressed body. The effect of wave-driven flow on swimming performance (cumulative escape distance and turning rate) was variable and depended on the timing and trajectory of escape responses in relation to the wave phase. Given intense predation pressure on juvenile coral reef fishes during settlement, interspecific differences in how wave-driven flow affects their ability to escape predators could influence the distribution and abundance of species across spatial and temporal scales.

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Pacing and Performance in Swimming: Differences Between Individual and Relay Events

International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance ◽

10.1123/ijspp.2019-0381 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (8) ◽

pp. 1059-1066 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Katie E. McGibbon ◽

Megan E. Shephard ◽

Mark A. Osborne ◽

Kevin G. Thompson ◽

David B. Pyne

Keyword(s):

Swimming Performance ◽

Individual Event ◽

Slow Start ◽

Pacing Strategy ◽

Fast Start ◽

And Performance ◽

The Impact

Purpose: Although pacing is considered crucial for success in individual swimming events, there is a lack of research examining pacing in relays. The authors investigated the impact of start lap and pacing strategy on swimming performance and whether these strategies differ between relays and the corresponding individual event. Methods: Race data for 716 relay (4 × 200-m freestyle) finals from 14 international competitions between 2010 and 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. Each swimmer’s individual 200-m freestyle season’s best time for the same year was used for comparison. Races were classified as a fast, average, or slow start lap strategy (lap 1) and as an even, negative, or positive pacing strategy (laps 2–4) to give an overall race strategy, for example, average start lap even pacing. Results: A fast start lap strategy was associated with slower 200-m times (range 0.5–0.9 s, P ≤ .04) irrespective of gender, and positive pacing led to slower 200-m (0.4–0.5 s, P ≤ .03) times in females. A fast start lap strategy led to positive pacing in 71% of swimmers. Half of the swimmers changed pacing strategy, with 13% and 7% more female and male swimmers, respectively, displaying positive pacing in relays compared with individual events. In relays, a fast start lap and positive pacing was utilized more frequently by swimmers positioned on second to fourth relay legs (+13%) compared with lead-off leg swimmers (+3%). Conclusion: To maximize performance, swimmers should be more conservative in the first lap and avoid unnecessary alterations in race strategy in relay events.

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