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Energetics of Swimming in Juvenile Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis

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Abstract

Little research has been devoted to the investigation of swimming energetics and performance in lie-in-wait predators. This study evaluated activity metabolism and swimming performance in juvenile snook, Centropomus undecimalis, a lie-in-wait predator, by determining oxygen uptake in a tunnel respirometer. Compared to previously reported results for more actively foraging species (i.e., white crappie, rainbow trout), snook exhibited lower maintenance metabolism (58.6 ml O2 kg−1 WM h−1) and greater metabolic expansibility (6.5). Relative critical swimming speeds decreased isometrically with length, implying that small snook are capable of prolonged swimming in velocity regimes similar to those experienced by larger individuals. Swimming was most efficient at the transition between pectoral (low-speed) and caudal (high-speed) propulsion. The results of this study support previous speculation that maintenance costs may be reduced in lie-in-wait predators compared to other fishes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Arts and Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Boulevard South, Fort Myers, FL, 33965-6565, U.S.A.

    S. Gregory Tolley

  2. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 Seventh Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, U.S.A

    Joseph J. Torres

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  1. S. Gregory Tolley
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  2. Joseph J. Torres
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Gregory Tolley, S., Torres, J.J. Energetics of Swimming in Juvenile Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis . Environmental Biology of Fishes 63, 427–433 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014938805181

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