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Heart rate as an indicator of metabolic rate and activity in adult Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar
Author(s) -
Lucas M. C.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1994.tb01262.x
Subject(s) - salmo , respirometer , biology , fish measurement , heart rate , zoology , flume , fish <actinopterygii> , linear regression , fishery , anatomy , respiration , blood pressure , endocrinology , mathematics , statistics , flow (mathematics) , geometry
Telemetered heart rate ( f H ) was examined as an indicator of activity and oxygen consumption rate ( VO 2 ) in adult, cultivated, Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. Heart rate was measured during sustained swimming in a flume for six fish at 10° C [mean weight, 1114 g; mean fork length (f. l.), 50·6 cm] and seven fish at 15° C (mean weight, 1119 g; mean f. l., 50·7 cm) at speeds of up to 2·2 body lengths/s. Semi–logarithmic relationships between heart rate and swimming speed were obtained at both temperatures. Spontaneously swimming fish in still water exhibited characteristic heart rate increases associated with activity. Heart rate and Vo 2 were monitored simultaneously in a 575–1 circular respirometer for six fish (three male, three female) at 4° C (mean weight, 1804 g; mean F. L., 62· cm) and six fish (three male, three female) at 10° C (mean weight, 2045 g; mean f. l., 63·2 cm) during spontaneous but unquantified activity. Linear regressions were obtained by transforming data for both f H and Vo 2 to log values. At each temperature, slopes of the regressions between f H and Vo 2 for individual fishes were not significantly different, but in some cases elevations were. All differences in elevation were between male and female fish. There were no significant differences in regression slope or elevation for fish of the same sex at the two temperatures and so regressions were calculated for the sexes, pooling data from 4 and 10° C. There was no significant difference in the mean ± S. D. Vo 2 between the sexes at 4° C (male, 66·0 ± 59·6 mgO 2 kg −1 h −1 ; female, 88·0 ± 60·1 mgO 2 kg −1 h −1 ) or 10° C (male, 166·2 ± 115·4 mgO 2 kg −1 h −1 ; female, 169·2 ± 111–1 mgO 2 kg −1 h −1 ). Resting Vo 2 (x̄± s. d.) at 4°C was 36·7 ± 8.4 mgO 2 kg −1 h −1 , and 10° C was 72·8 ± 11·9 mgO 2 kg −1 h −1 . Maximum Vo 2 (x̄± S. D.) at 4° C was 250·6 ± 40·2 mgO 2 kg −1 h −1 , and at 10° C was 423·6 ± 25·2 mgO 2 kg −1 h −1 . Heart rate appears to be a useful indicator of metabolic rate over the temperature range examined, for the cultivated fish studied, but it is possible that the relationship for wild fish may differ.