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A SIMPLE APPARATUS FOR MEASURING ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF FISHES 1
Author(s) -
Shirer Hampton W.,
Cairns John,
Taller William T.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1968.tb05761.x
Subject(s) - fish <actinopterygii> , function (biology) , environmental science , resource (disambiguation) , simple (philosophy) , aquatic environment , ecology , biology , toxicology , fishery , biochemical engineering , computer science , engineering , computer network , philosophy , epistemology , evolutionary biology
A sizeable body of information has accumulated which indicates that waste disposal concentrations which merely permit survival of aquatic organisms may not permit them to function properly. Aquatic resource management groups and fisheries personnel are beginning to realize that temporary survival of fish and other aquatic organisms is really meaningless if they have aberrant behavior patterns, fail to reproduce, have poor growth rates, or are not able to function properly in other respects. However, most means of assessing sublethal effects require chronic exposures to the test material and use techniques that often require considerable expenditures for equipment, space, and personnel. In addition it is frequently desirable to have some quick assessment of the biological effects of various compounds before embarking on lengthy tests to determine whether the possibility exists of functional damage when fish undergo prolonged exposure to sublethal concentrations. The apparatus described in this paper furnishes a quick, relatively inexpensive assessment of the movement patterns of fishes and the suggestion is made that changes in activity may reflect deeper physiological stress.