Microhabitat selection in the early juvenile mudskipper Boleophthalmus pectinirostris (L.)

Abstract

Using laboratory choice experiments, behavioural preferences of the early juvenile mudskipper Boleophthalmus pectinirostris for temperature, salinity and sediment were observed. The temperature preference experiments were conducted in an annular chamber with a thermal gradient of 27 to 34°C, and the fish selected a mean AE S.D. temperature of 31Á2 AE 0Á5°C. The salinity preference experiments were conducted in an aquarium with decreasing salinity from 20 to 15, 10, 5 and 0Á5, and significantly more (P < 0Á05) fish were found in water with a salinity of 5. The sediment preference experiments were tested in circular tanks which contained four types of sediment (medium sand, fine sand, muddy sand and sandy mud), and the fish showed a clear preference for sandy mud. These results indicated that early juvenile B. pectinirostris showed behavioural preference for microhabitats. Temperature and salinity probably set large-scale boundaries on distribution, but sediment should be a critical factor for determining the distribution of the mudskipper.

Effects of feeding on thermoregulatory behaviours and gut blood flow in white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) using biotelemetry in combination with standard techniques

“…The setup consists of an annular-shaped chamber designed to minimise the effects of external influences while maximising the span of the gradient. The design was first presented by Myrick and colleagues (Myrick et al, 2004) and has later been used by other research groups (Chen et al, 2008;McMahon et al, 2008).…”

Cognition and Welfare

“…Reproductive status also affected temperature preference in Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica, where they choose to spawn in temperatures of 18 • C-22 • C in captivity, similar to ambient temperatures, when given a choice ranging between 14 • C and 27 • C (Dou et al 2008). When given a range of salinities, temperatures and substrates to choose from, the mudskipper, Boleophthalmus pectinirostris, exhibited profound preferences for approximately 31 • C, salinity of 5 ppm and sandy mud substrate which governs this species' choice of microhabitat (Chen et al 2008).…”

Automation and critical evaluation of an annular chamber for aquatic ectotherm temperature preference experiments

“…Custom‐made annular‐shaped preference chambers, either based on acrylic or PVC, have been used in several studies on fishes so far (Myrick, Folgner & Cech ; Chen et al . ; McMahon, Bear & Zale ; Gräns et al . ; Klimley et al .…”

“…Based on the original work from Myrick, Folgner & Cech (), systems ranging from 0·22 (Chen et al . ) to 3 m (Gräns et al . ; Klimley et al .…”

“…The objective of the present study was to reproduce and improve an annular chamber based on the original work of Myrick, Folgner & Cech (), compiling the information on chamber construction and handling from subsequent studies (Chen et al . ; McMahon, Bear & Zale ; Gräns et al . ; Klimley et al .…”