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Updated: Jul 28, 2026

Swimming Performance Assessment in Fishes
Published on: May 20, 2011
Swimming movements initiate bubble formation in fish decompressed from elevated gas pressures
Abstract:
Young specimens of trout, catfish, sculpin and salamanders were equilibrated with elevated gas pressures, then rapidly decompressed to ambient pressure. The newly hatched forms tolerated extremely high gas supersaturations; equilibration pressures of 80-120 atm argon or 150-250 atm helium were required for in vivo bubble formation. During subsequent larval development, the equilibration pressures required decreased to just 5-10 atm and bubbles originated in the fins. Anesthetising older fish before decompression prevented bubble formation in the fins; this suggests that swimming movements mechanically initiate bubbles, possibly by a tribonucleation mechanism.
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