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Integrating environmental variation, predation pressure, phenotypic plasticity and locomotor performance
Shi-Jian Fu1, Zhen-Dong Cao, Guan-Jie Yan
1Laboratory of Evolutionary Physiology and Behavior, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Animal Biology, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 400047, China, shijianfu9@hotmail.com.
Oecologia
|March 7, 2013
Summary
Dams on the Wujiang River altered fish habitats, impacting pale chub (Zacco platypus) swimming. Fish in faster waters with fewer predators showed better steady swimming but poorer fast-start ability.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Ichthyology
- Physiology
Background:
- Dams create diverse flow regimes and predator conditions in river systems.
- These environmental changes may affect fish swimming performance and body shape.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how flow regime and predator stress influence pale chub swimming performance and morphology.
- To assess adaptations in steady (U(crit)) and unsteady (fast-start) swimming, respiratory capacity, and cost of transport (COT).
Main Methods:
- Collected pale chub from various Wujiang River sites with differing conditions.
- Measured steady and unsteady swimming performance, morphological traits, maximum respiratory capacity, and COT.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in swimming performance and morphology were observed across sites.
- Steady swimming (U(crit)) correlated positively with water velocity and negatively with predator abundance.
- Unsteady swimming (fast-start) correlated negatively with water velocity; body shape linked to performance and ecology.
Conclusions:
- Habitat alterations drive selection for specific swimming traits and body shapes.
- Fish in high-flow/low-predator areas exhibit higher U(crit) and streamlined bodies, but reduced fast-start performance.
- Divergence in U(crit) may also relate to variations in respiratory capacity.
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