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Sustainable Swimming Speeds of Striped Bass Larvae
Author(s) -
Meng Lesa
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1993)122<0702:sssosb>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - morone saxatilis , bass (fish) , fishery , larva , zoology , biology , environmental science , ecology
Sustainable swimming speeds, defined as speeds maintained in 1‐h tests, were measured for three size‐classes (6–6.9 mm, 7–7.9 mm, and 8–8.9 mm) of larval striped bass Morone saxatilis . Probit analysis was used to find failure velocities (the water velocity at which 50% of the larvae fail to sustain swimming speed) and confidence intervals for each size‐class. Failure velocities were 1.7, 2.1, and 3.0 cm/s for 6–6.9‐mm, 7–7.9‐mm, and 8–8.9‐mm larvae, respectively. There was a general improvement in swimming performance with age, There was no difference in swimming ability due to the presence or absence of an inflated swim bladder. Striped bass larvae approached the upper range of swimming speeds recorded for other larval fishes and reached speeds of 3–4 body lengths/s, which are comparable to adult fish speeds. The relatively high speeds attained by striped bass larvae may improve feeding success rates by increasing the volume of water larvae are capable of searching for food.