Effects of water temperature on swimming performance of <em>Siniperca knerii</em> Garman under the Yuanshui River cascade development

Abstract

We examined the swimming parameters and oxygen consumption rate at four temperature levels (15，20，25 and 30°C) of Siniperca knerii Garman (11.81 ±2.21 cm, 26.4 ± 6.28g) from Yuanshui River for 30 days to analyze the ecological adaptability of the typical fish and the conservation of fishery resources from the Dongting Lake water system. Their relationship was also analyzed, and the results showed an approximately linear increasing trend of the fish's critical swimming speed and preferred swimming speed with the change of temperature (P<0.05). In contrast, the induction velocity of fish decreased with the increase in water temperature. The relative induction velocities of the fish at four temperatures were (1.16±0.07), (0.94±0.06), (0.86±0.07), and (0.70±0.09) BL/s (Body Length/s). The preferred swimming speed was (1.86±0.04), (2.23±0.35), (2.65±0.28), and (2.74±0.33) BL/s. The relative critical speed was (2.58 ±0.32), (3.31±0.41), (4.31±0.52), and (5.22±0.48) BL/s. According to oxygen consumption rate at different temperatures, four nonlinear function models of the relationship between oxygen consumption rate of water temperature and swimming speed behavior parameters were obtained by nonlinear fitting. The model proved that the oxygen consumption rate, tail beating frequency, and respiratory rate increased with the increase in swimming speed. The higher the temperature, the more significant the changes were. The results showed that water temperature significantly affected the swimming characteristics of juvenile Siniperca knerii Garman. The changes were due to physiological and biochemical regulation with temperature and environmental changes. This experiment provided essential data support for the adaptive mechanism of sports physiology and ecology of typical fishes in the Yuanshui River.