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Effects of feeding, digestion and fasting on the respiration and swimming capability of juvenile sterlet sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus, Linnaeus 1758)

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Abstract

The objective of this study is to provide information on changes in swimming capability and respiration of the sterlet sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus, Linnaeus 1758) caused by different levels of fasting. Before testing, the four groups of sturgeon (body length: 12.1–15.4 cm, body mass: 10.0–20.2 g) fasted for 6 h, 2 days, 1 and 2 weeks, respectively. Swimming tests were then performed to measure critical swimming speed and oxygen consumption at 20 ± 0.5 °C. Results show: (1) Fasting times shorter than 2 days has little effect on swimming capability, but it decreases significantly when the fasting time is longer than a week. (2) After 2 weeks of fasting, swimming efficiency is significantly reduced. (3) Anaerobic capacity increases when digestion nears completion.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Miss Xiang Rongrong and Miss He Da who also contributed to the work providing assistance with writing. This work was supported by National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: 51609155), Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment in the National Twelfth Five-Year Plan of China (Grant Number: 2012ZX07104-002-04), National Key Research Program of China (2016YFC0502206), the introduction of the internationally advanced water science and technology program (Program 948) of Ministry of Water Resources in China (No. 201210), and Hubei Province Key Laboratory Foundation of Three Gorges Project for Conservation of Fishes (Grant Number: 0704102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Research Center of Eco-environment in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, 443002, People’s Republic of China

    Lu Cai, David Johnson, Min Fang, Prashant Mandal, Zhiying Tu & Yingping Huang

  2. Key Laboratory of Ecological Impacts of Hydraulic-Projects and Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystem of Ministry of Water Resources, Institute of Hydroecology, Ministry of Water Resources and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430079, China

    Lu Cai & David Johnson

  3. Yellow River Liaocheng Bureau, Liaocheng, 252000, China

    Min Fang

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  1. Lu Cai
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  2. David Johnson
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  3. Min Fang
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  4. Prashant Mandal
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  5. Zhiying Tu
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  6. Yingping Huang
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Correspondence to Yingping Huang.

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Cai, L., Johnson, D., Fang, M. et al. Effects of feeding, digestion and fasting on the respiration and swimming capability of juvenile sterlet sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus, Linnaeus 1758). Fish Physiol Biochem 43, 279–286 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-016-0285-4

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