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Life in a warm deep sea: routine activity and burst swimming performance of the shrimp Acanthephyra eximia in the abyssal Mediterranean

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Abstract

Measurements of routine swimming speed, “tail-flip” escape responses, and oxygen consumptions were made of the deep-sea shrimp Acanthephyra eximia using autonomous landers in the Rhodos Basin at depths of up to 4,400 m and temperatures of 13–14.5°C. Routine swimming speeds at 4,200 m averaged 0.18 m s−1 or 3.09 body lengths s−1, approximately double those of functionally similar oceanic scavengers. During escape responses peak accelerations of 23 m s−2 or 630.6 body lengths s−2 were recorded, with animals reaching speeds of 1.61 m s−1 or 34.8 body lengths s−2. When compared to shallow-water decapods at similar temperatures these values are low for a lightly calcified shrimp such as A. eximia despite a maximum muscle mass specific power output of 90.0 W kg−1. A preliminary oxygen consumption measurement indicated similar rates to those of oceanic crustacean scavengers and shallower-living Mediterranean crustaceans once size and temperature had been taken into account. These animals appear to have high routine swimming speeds but low burst muscle performances. This suite of traits can be accounted for by high competition for limited resources in the eastern Mediterranean, but low selective pressure for burst swimming due to reductions in predator pressure.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Richard Paterson for organising the logistics of the Mediterranean cruise, Fotis Pantazoglou and Kostas Christodouloufor technical support and the officers and crew of the RV Philia for their excellent work. Thanks also to Tammy Horton for some of the data used in the interspecific analyses. This study was supported by NERC Grant GR3/12789.

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Author notes

  1. M. A. Collins

    Present address: British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, AB41 6AA, UK

    D. M. Bailey, P. M. Bagley, A. J. Jamieson, A. Cromarty, M. A. Collins & I. G. Priede

  2. Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92130–0202, USA

    D. M. Bailey

  3. Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, P.O. Box 2214, GR 71003, Iraklion, Crete, Greece

    A. Tselepidis

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  1. D. M. Bailey
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Correspondence to D. M. Bailey.

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Communicated by J.P. Thorpe, Port Erin

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Bailey, D.M., Bagley, P.M., Jamieson, A.J. et al. Life in a warm deep sea: routine activity and burst swimming performance of the shrimp Acanthephyra eximia in the abyssal Mediterranean. Marine Biology 146, 1199–1206 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1525-1

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