Factors influencing swimming performance and ...

Factors influencing swimming performance and behaviour of the shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

by David Deslauriers B.Sc. Laval University

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF M.Sc. In the Graduate Academic Unit of Biology Supervisor:

James D. Kieffer, Ph.D. Biology and Canadian Rivers Institute, UNB Saint John

Examining Board:

Tillmann Benfey, Ph.D., Biology Lucy Wilson, Ph.D., Biology (Geology)

This thesis is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK June, 2011 © David Deslauriers, 2011

ABSTRACT

The focus of this study was to investigate the swimming performance of juvenile shortnose sturgeon under various conditions. The critical swimming (Ucrit) and the endurance tests were used to determine the impacts of flume length, group swimming, and temperature on swimming performance. Results showed that swimming fish in groups of 5 did not affect swimming performance of individuals. Flume length impacted swimming performance, with shorter flumes resulting in lower performance. Temperature was found to have a significant impact on Ucrit values but did not significantly affect endurance performance at swimming speeds higher than Ucrit. Maximum sustainable swimming speed was found to equal ~80 % of Ucrit while the swimming curve did not display burst swimming. Overall, endurance swimming tests produced highly variable data. Ucrit swimming tests, in contrast, showed low levels of performance variability and were found to be an ideal method for comparing differently conditioned groups of fish.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank first and foremost Dr. Jim Kieffer for everything he has provided for me during my stay at UNBSJ. He has given me the opportunities to develop my research and writing skills while making the experience of being a graduate student enjoyable and entertaining. Also, I would like to thank Drs. Jeff Houlahan and Kelly Munkittrick for their valuable input on the various versions of this thesis. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Cornel Ceapa to my increasing sturgeon knowledge and for the opportunity he has given me to work at Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar Inc. Similarly, I would like to thank Stan Whelpley for showing me what it takes to become a true sturgeon fisherman. I would like to thank Drs. Heather Hunt and Stephen Peake for opening up their laboratory space to me and making their swim tunnels available. I also appreciate the fish holding space that was made available for me at UNB Fredericton by Dr. Tillmann Benfey and Robyn O’Keefe. Many people have provided technical help during the long experimentation hours. For this, I would like to thank Joel Chase, Wesley Michaud and Colin MacMichael. I would also like to thank M.-J. Maltais and Mark Gautreau for training me to use their respective swim tunnels. Living in Saint John has proven to be an interesting experience for me, having to move 4 times in a 3 year span. One of my most memorable stays has been with the Beaverlodge crew (Longus Vitae Castor) where I learned valuable life lessons and a little bit of Dutch. Thijs Bosker and Chris Edge have proven to iii

be an essential part in my success, either by giving advice on the way to conduct science or by providing me with sauerkraut and home made beverEdges. I would like to thank all the Biology graduate students at UNBSJ for making the everyday life a learning experience for the mind and the body. I would especially like to thank the sturgeon sisters Faith Penny and Sima Usvyatsov for sharing their enthusiasm for these great fish. My parents have been sympathetic to my decision to pursue the graduate student life and I would like to thank them for their weekly skype-support conversations and for everything else. I would also like to thank my brothers and all my friends in Quebec who have taken the time to come and visit me. Finally I would like to show my gratitude towards Erinn, who has been an encouraging force for me and a wonderful life partner.

Thesis playlist: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Broken Bells, Érik Satie, Matt Mays, Daniel Bélanger, Iron & Wine, Sébastien Schuller, Lord of the Rings Soundtrack, Wintersleep, Beirut, Eluvium.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT......................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES..............................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1........................................................................................................ 1 1

General introduction................................................................. 1 1.1

Overview .................................................................................. 2

1.2

Methods to assess swimming performance in fish ................... 6

1.3

Factors influencing swimming in fish........................................ 7

1.4

Species description ................................................................ 13

1.5

Thesis outline and objectives ................................................. 17

CHAPTER 2

2

19

The influence of flume length and group size on swimming

performance in shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur) ........ 19 2.1

Abstract .................................................................................. 20

2.2

Introduction ............................................................................ 21

2.3

Materials and methods ........................................................... 25

2.3.1

Animal husbandry .................................................................... 25

2.3.2

Flume description..................................................................... 26

2.3.3

Swimming test protocols .......................................................... 26 v

2.3.4

Statistical analysis.................................................................... 29

2.4

Results ................................................................................... 30

2.5

Discussion.............................................................................. 34

2.6

Acknowledgements ................................................................ 42

CHAPTER 3

3

44

Swimming performance and behaviour of the shortnose

sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur) under endurance and Ucrit swimming tests.............................................................................................. 44 3.1

Abstract .................................................................................. 45

3.2

Introduction ............................................................................ 46

3.3


3.3.1


3.3.2


3.3.3

Experimental protocol .............................................................. 50

3.3.4

Video analysis.......................................................................... 52

3.3.5


3.4

Results ................................................................................... 54

3.5

Discussion.............................................................................. 58

3.6


CHAPTER 4

4

67

The effects of temperature on swimming performance of the

shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)................................................ 67 4.1

Abstract .................................................................................. 68

4.2

Introduction ............................................................................ 69 vi

4.3


4.3.1


4.3.2


4.3.3

Swimming test protocols .......................................................... 74

4.3.4


4.4

Results ................................................................................... 77

4.5

Discussion.............................................................................. 80

4.6


CHAPTER 5

5

87

General discussion and conclusions ...................................... 87 5.1

Main findings and significance of results................................ 88

5.2

Future directions .................................................................... 92

5.3

Conclusion ............................................................................. 93

GENERAL REFERENCES ............................................................................... 94 APPENDIX I.................................................................................................... 105 APPENDIX II................................................................................................... 106 APPENDIX III.................................................................................................. 111 APPENDIX IV ................................................................................................. 114

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2-1

Table 3-1

Table 4-1

Endurance and Ucrit power values for fish swum individually and in groups along with projected replicate numbers to obtain an 80% power value. ....................................................... 39 Coefficient of variation (in %) for both endurance (n=5) and Ucrit (n=6) swimming tests at velocities up to critical swimming speed......................................................................... 59 Weight and total length data for groups of fish swimming under the critical swimming test or the endurance swimming test at various temperatures. Values in parentheses ( ) represent standard deviation. Note: n=6 groups of 5 fish swimming in the flume. ............................................................... 72

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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1

Figure 1-2

Figure 1-3

Figure 2-1 Figure 2-2

Figure 2-3

Figure 2-4

Figure 3-1

Figure 3-2

Figure 3-3

Theoretical endurance curve incorporating the three phases of swimming (after Brett 1964). The y-axis is reported on a log scale. ...................................................................................... 4 Temperature effect on Ucrit for the cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki clarki (redrawn from MacNutt et al. 2004). ........................................................................................... 9 The influence of body length on absolute (in cm s-1; ) and relative (in BL s-1; □) critical swimming speed (Ucrit) of shortnose sturgeon (Deslauriers & Kieffer unpublished; Appendix I). ................................................................................ 11 Side view of the experimental swimming flume (Aquabiotech inc).............................................................................................. 27 Mean + S.D. critical swimming speed values (Ucrit in cm s-1) for individual () and group () swimming performance in short (102cm) and full (204cm) length flume at 15°C (n=8). Values in parentheses () represent the coefficient of variation. Different letters indicate significant differences [p