Opercular differential pressure as a predictor of metabolic oxygen demand in the starry flounder
Authors: Dalla Valle, A. Z.1; Rivas-Diaz, R.2; Claireaux, G.2
Source: Journal of Fish Biology, Volume 63, Number 6, December 2003 , pp. 1578-1588(11)
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
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Abstract:
The feasibility of using a differential pressure sensor connected to an acoustic telemetry device to monitor opercular activity as a correlate of oxygen consumption was investigated. Four starry flounders Platichthys stellatus were fitted with a miniature differential pressure sensor mounted close to the operculum. A cannula was connected to the sensor and inserted under the operculum, inside the branchial cavity. Measurements of oxygen consumption and opercular activity were carried out over a broad range of metabolic activity, from the post-surgery stress (high metabolic rate) to routine metabolic rate the following day. Relationships between differential pressure changes (rate and amplitude) were highly correlated with oxygen consumption (r2 = 0·74 and 0·60 respectively). The results indicate that monitoring opercular activity offers an alternative method for measuring aerobic metabolism in free-swimming fishes in nature.Keywords: flounder; O2 consumption; opercular activity; pressure sensor; telemetry
Document Type: Regular paper
DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2003.00268.x
Affiliations: 1: University of Milan, Department of Pharmacological Science, via Balzaretti 9, 20 133 Milan, Italy and 2: Centre de Recherche sur les Ecosystèmes Marins et Aquacoles, CNRS-IFREMER, BP5, Place du Séminaire, 17 137 L'Houmeau, France.
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