Acceleration Performance of Individual European Sea BassDicentrarchus labraxMeasured with a Sprint Performance Chamber: Comparison with High-Speed Cinematography and Correlates with Ecological Performance

Abstract

Locomotor performance can influence the ecological and evolutionary success of a species. For fish, favorable outcomes of predator-prey encounters are often presumably due to robust acceleration ability. Although escape-response or "fast-start" studies utilizing high-speed cinematography are prevalent, little is known about the contribution of relative acceleration performance to ecological or evolutionary success in a species. This dearth of knowledge may be due to the time-consuming nature of analyzing film, which imposes a practical limit on sample sizes. Herein, we present a high-throughput potential alternative for measuring fish acceleration performance using a sprint performance chamber (SPC). The acceleration performance of a large number of juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) from two populations was analyzed. Animals from both hatchery and natural ontogenies were assessed, and animals of known acceleration ability had their ecological performance measured in a mesocosm environment. Individuals from one population also had their acceleration performance assessed by both high-speed cinematography and an SPC. Acceleration performance measured in an SPC was lower than that measured by classical high-speed video techniques. However, short-term repeatability and interindividual variation of acceleration performance were similar between the two techniques, and the SPC recorded higher sprint swimming velocities. Wild fish were quicker to accelerate in an SPC and had significantly greater accelerations than all groups of hatchery-raised fish. Acceleration performance had no significant effect on ecological performance (as assessed through animal growth and survival in the mesocosms). However, it is worth noting that wild animals did survive predation in the mesocosm better than farmed ones. Moreover, the hatchery-originated fish that survived the mesocosm experiment, when no predators were present, displayed significantly increased acceleration performance during their 6 mo in the mesocosm; this performance was found to be inversely proportional to growth rate.

Relationships among Traits of Aerobic and Anaerobic Swimming Performance in Individual European Sea Bass Dicentrarchus labrax

“…It undertakes extensive seasonal migrations between inshore feeding grounds and offshore spawning areas [34,35]. As a consequence, it can perform well in both sustained aerobic and brief anaerobic swimming modes [3,4,36–38] and is an interesting model to investigate the existence of performance trade-offs.…”

Fast growers sprint slower: effects of food deprivation and re-feeding on sprint swimming performance in individual juvenile European sea bass

“…Food deprivation can also reduce the activity of enzymes involved in aerobic and anaerobic metabolism (Martínez et al, 2004;Martínez et al, 2002), and decrease anaerobic fuel stores (Hervant et al, 2001;Kieffer and Tufts, 1998;Merkle and Hanke, 1988). Together or independently, these factors can reduce the capacity for aerobic and anaerobic exercise and locomotor ability (Gingerich et al, 2010;Kolok, 1992;Martínez et al, 2004).While pursuing prey or evading predators, many ectotherms are capable of achieving extremely fast sprints over relatively short distances, using muscular contractions powered by anaerobic metabolism (Bauwens et al, 1995;Husak, 2006;Nelson and Claireaux, 2005;Nelson et al, 2002;Vandamm et al, 2012;Vanhooydonck et al, 2001). In fishes, speeds achieved during sprints can exceed those attained during all other types of swimming (including the C-start escape response) and may therefore represent the maximal level of anaerobic locomotor performance (Marras et al, 2013).…”

“…While pursuing prey or evading predators, many ectotherms are capable of achieving extremely fast sprints over relatively short distances, using muscular contractions powered by anaerobic metabolism (Bauwens et al, 1995;Husak, 2006;Nelson and Claireaux, 2005;Nelson et al, 2002;Vandamm et al, 2012;Vanhooydonck et al, 2001). In fishes, speeds achieved during sprints can exceed those attained during all other types of swimming (including the C-start escape response) and may therefore represent the maximal level of anaerobic locomotor performance (Marras et al, 2013).…”

Intraspecific individual variation of temperature tolerance associated with oxygen demand in the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

“…Such variability also affects a broad range of physiological performances, including temperature tolerance ( Anttila et al , 2013 ) and swimming capacity ( Reidy et al , 2000 ; Yang et al , 2015 ). In the sea bass, large inter-individual variation in swimming performance and thermal tolerance have also been reported and linked to survivorship in semi-natural field conditions ( Nelson and Claireaux, 2005 ; Claireaux et al , 2007 , 2013 ; Handelsman et al , 2010 ; Vandamm et al , 2012 ). However, the factors underpinning intraspecific individual variation in thermal tolerance and swimming performance and their association with other important life-history traits have not been fully investigated.…”