Fast-starts are brief, sudden accelerations used by fish during predator‐prey encounters. The kinematics and performance of fish during fast-start manoeuvres have received a lot of attention since they may determine the outcome of predator‐prey interactions in terms of feeding success or survival. We will discuss recent progress on (1) the kinematics of escape responses and feeding strikes, (2) the fast-start performance of species with different body morphologies and from different habitats, and (3) the functional significance of fast-start kinematics and performance within the context of predator‐prey interactions.

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Review the kinematics and performance of fish fast-start swimming

Although it is well known that metabolism, feeding, and behaviour of lotic organisms is influenced by various flow characteristics, hydraulic variables usually are not accurately measured in lotic ecology studies. Using an approach we call "hydraulic stream ecology", we link organismic responses to a more comprehensive treatment of the physical environment. Since a unified analytical solution for all important hydraulic variables in running waters does not exist at the moment, we advocate a simpler view of the physical system. We demonstrate methods for estimating complex hydraulic key characteristics, like turbulence in the free flow, turbulence close to the stream bottom, and the force of flow prevailing at the bottom. Calculations of these complex key characteristics require measurement of simple hydraulic characteristics like mean velocity, water surface slope, depth, bottom roughness, kinematic viscosity, and density of the water. The hydraulic environment shows characteristic patterns within whole c...

Hydraulic Stream Ecology: Observed Patterns and Potential Applications

The deployment of electronic data storage tags that are surgically implanted or satellite-linked provides marine researchers with new ways to examine the movements, environmental preferences, and physiology of pelagic vertebrates. We report the results obtained from tagging of Atlantic bluefin tuna with implantable archival and pop-up satellite archival tags. The electronic tagging data provide insights into the seasonal movements and environmental preferences of this species. Bluefin tuna dive to depths of >1000 meters and maintain a warm body temperature. Western-tagged bluefin tuna make trans-Atlantic migrations and they frequent spawning grounds in the Gulf of Mexico and eastern Mediterranean. These data are critical for the future management and conservation of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic.

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Migratory movements, depth preferences, and thermal biology of Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Fishes suspended in water are subject to the complex nature of three-dimensional flows. Often, these flows are the result of abiotic and biotic sources that alter otherwise uniform flows, which then have the potential to perturb the swimming motions of fishes. The goal of this review is to highlight key studies that have contributed to a mechanistic and behavioural understanding of how perturbing flows affect fish. Most of our understanding of fish behaviour in turbulence comes from observations of natural conditions in the field and laboratory studies employing controlled perturbations, such as vortices generated in the wake behind simple geometric objects. Laboratory studies have employed motion analysis, flow visualization, electromyography, respirometry and sensory deprecation techniques to evaluate the mechanisms and physiological costs of swimming in altered flows. Studies show that flows which display chaotic and wide fluctuations in velocity can repel fishes, while flows that have a component of predictability can attract fishes. The ability to maintain stability in three-dimensional flows, either actively with powered movements or passively using the posture and intrinsic compliance of the body and fins, plays a large role in whether fish seek out or avoid turbulence. Fish in schools or current-swept habitats can benefit from altered flows using two distinct though not mutually exclusive mechanisms: flow refuging (exploiting regions of reduced flow relative to the earth frame of reference) and vortex capture (harnessing the energy of environmental vortices). Integrating how the physical environment affects organismal biomechanics with the more complex issue of behavioural choice requires consideration beyond simple body motions or metabolic costs. A fundamental link between these two ways of thinking about animal behaviour is how organisms sense and process information from the environment, which determines when locomotor behaviour is initiated and modulated. New data are presented here which show that behaviour changes in altered flows when either the lateral line or vision is blocked, showing that fish rely on multi-modal sensory inputs to negotiate complex flow environments. Integrating biomechanics and sensory biology to understand how fish swim in turbulent flow at the organismal level is necessary to better address population-level questions in the fields of fisheries management and ecology.

/pdf/a-review-of-fish-swimming-mechanics-and-behaviour-in-altered-51abg5gxg1.pdf

A review of fish swimming mechanics and behaviour in altered flows

Biologists concerned with the evolutionary consequences of competition seem unaware of a large literature on freshwater fishes that bears directly on the debates over ecological character displacem...

Character release and displacement in fishes: a neglected literature

1. During swimming at constant speed the frequency ( f ), amplitude ( a ) and depth ( d ) of the tail trailing edge, and the length of the propulsive wave (λ) were measured for rainbow trout ranging in total length (L) from 5.5 to 56.0 cm. Fish were tested in a water flume using increasing velocity tests to sample a range of swimming speeds, V. 2. λ was independent of V and related to size by:λ=1.43L 0.83 so that wavelength was relatively larger in smaller fish. 3. f was related to L and V according to: f =3.19L −⅓ +1.29V/L. 4. a was independent of V but was relatively smaller in larger fish: a =0.36L 0.74 5. d was also independent of V but relatively larger in larger fish: d =0.18L 1.05 6. Thrust power (=drag power) calculated using Lighthill9s small amplitude bulk momentum model was two to three times the theoretical minimum of a flat plate of equivalent length and area moving parallel to the flow with a presumed turbulent boundary layer. 7. Froude efficiency increased with swimming speed, and it is shown that this is the usual relationship for fish studied so far. Froude efficiency was essentially independent of size at the critical swimming speed. 8. Estimated aerobic efficiency increased with size at the critical swimming speed, implying that muscle efficiency also increases with size.

https://panel.islandscholar.ca/islandora/object/ir%3A1168/datastream/PDF/view

The effect of size and swimming speed on locomotor kinematics of rainbow trout

Acoustic telemetry showed that stomach temperature from large bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, held in an impoundment, changes markedly during feeding. The stomach cools rapidly on ingesting cold food. It then warms to a maximum of 10–15 °C above water temperature over a period of 12–20 h. Temperature decreases slowly over the next 20–30 h to a final state where it remains 3–6 °C above water temperature. The viscera are thermally isolated. Conductive heat losses are reduced by an overlying gas bladder and by the thick fatty muscle of the body wall. Convective heat losses are prevented by heat exchangers in the circulation. The temperature rise can be accounted for by heat released in the hydrolytic processes of digestion and by an increase in metabolic rate. The elevated temperatures should speed digestion and allow the tuna to feed frequently when food is abundant.

/pdf/bluefin-tuna-warm-their-viscera-during-digestion-2x6md95ooz.pdf

Bluefin tuna warm their viscera during digestion

https://panel.islandscholar.ca/islandora/object/ir%3A1071/datastream/PDF/view

Expression of four glutamine synthetase genes in the early stages of development of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in relationship to nitrogen excretion.

In two separate experiments we investigated the effects of different types of suture material and patterns on wound healing in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss with and without transmitter implants. We used absorbable and nonabsorbable monofilament and braided silk sutures in simple interrupted and vertical mattress patterns to close 3-cm incisions on rainbow trout. Braided silk sutures and vertical mattress suture patterns caused significantly more tissue inflammation (P < 0.05) as shown by macroscopic analysis. However, there were no significant differences in the histology or strength of the wounds related to the type of suture material or the type of suture pattern used. Dummy radio transmitters compounded the inflammatory effect silk had on healing incisions compared with inflammation without transmitters.

https://panel.islandscholar.ca/islandora/object/ir%3A1167/datastream/PDF/view

Effects of Suture Type and Patterns on Surgical Wound Healing in Rainbow Trout

Pirarucu, weighing 2 to 3 kg, ventilated their gills 16 to 24 times per minute and ventilated their lungs every 1 to 2 min. Average oxygen uptake from water was 23 mg∙h−1∙kg−1; average oxygen uptak...

E. Don Stevens

Papers

The effect of size and swimming speed on locomotor kinematics of rainbow trout

Bluefin tuna warm their viscera during digestion

Expression of four glutamine synthetase genes in the early stages of development of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in relationship to nitrogen excretion.

Effects of Suture Type and Patterns on Surgical Wound Healing in Rainbow Trout

The partitioning of oxygen uptake from air and from water by the large obligate air-breathing teleost pirarucu (Arapaima gigas)