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Development and Laboratory Evaluation of a Bioenergetics Model for Subadult and Adult Smallmouth Bass
Author(s) -
Whitledge Gregory W.,
Hayward Robert S.,
Zweifel Richard D.,
Rabeni Charles F.
Publication year - 2003
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(2003)132<0316:daleoa>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - bioenergetics , bass (fish) , micropterus , biology , growth model , body weight , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , zoology , ecology , mathematics , mathematical economics , endocrinology , mitochondrion , microbiology and biotechnology
A previously developed bioenergetics model for smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu (Hewett and Johnson 1992) was originally constructed with data exclusively from age‐0 fish but has since been used to predict growth and food consumption for both age‐0 and older fish, including adults. We developed a bioenergetics model for subadult and adult smallmouth bass and compared the abilities of the two models to predict growth and food consumption for fish weighing from 100 to 270 g. Model‐independent laboratory growth and food consumption data for individual subadult and adult fish were used to evaluate the performance of both models. Experimental fish were subjected to three consecutive 3‐week feeding regimes: an ad libitum ration at 22°C, a ration of 2.5% wet body weight/d at 22°C, and a ration of 2% wet body weight/d at 27°C. Overall, the bioenergetics model developed for subadult/adult smallmouth bass produced significantly greater accuracy in estimates of relative growth rate and cumulative consumption for subadult and adult fish than did the age‐0 model. The subadult−adult model tracked observed changes in mean fish weight more closely than did the model developed for age‐0 fish, and the mean percentage errors in predicting cumulative consumption were consistently lower for the subadult−adult model. Our findings are consistent with previous studies, which have also found that bioenergetics models developed for a particular life stage of a species can yield substantially inaccurate predictions of growth and consumption for other life stages of that species. The model developed for subadult and adult fish produced better agreement with observed growth and food consumption by subadult and adult smallmouth bass than the model developed for age‐0 fish and is recommended for applications involving fish weighing more than 50 g.