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Effects of nutritional status on metabolic rate, exercise and recovery in a freshwater fish

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Abstract

The influence of feeding on swimming performance and exercise recovery in fish is poorly understood. Examining swimming behavior and physiological status following periods of feeding and fasting is important because wild fish often face periods of starvation. In the current study, researchers force fed and fasted groups of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) of similar sizes for a period of 16 days. Following this feeding and fasting period, fish were exercised for 60 s and monitored for swimming performance and physiological recovery. Resting metabolic rates were also determined. Fasted fish lost an average of 16 g (nearly 12%) of body mass, while force fed fish maintained body mass. Force fed fish swam 28% further and required nearly 14 s longer to tire during exercise. However, only some physiological conditions differed between feeding groups. Resting muscle glycogen concentrations was twofold greater in force fed fish, at rest and throughout recovery, although it decreased in both feeding treatments following exercise. Liver mass was nearly three times greater in force fed fish, and fasted fish had an average of 65% more cortisol throughout recovery. Similar recovery rates of most physiological responses were observed despite force fed fish having a metabolic rate 75% greater than fasted fish. Results are discussed as they relate to largemouth bass starvation in wild systems and how these physiological differences might be important in an evolutionary context.

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Acknowledgments

All of the experiments described in this study were conducted in accordance with the regulations and policies of the University of Illinois Office of Laboratory Animal Research. This project was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service by McIntire-Stennis funds through project ILLU-875-328, the Illinois Natural History Survey and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Illinois Natural History Survey staff, specifically Jimmy “Mac” McNamara and James “Jamie” Hopper, are thanked for their assistance with fish husbandry facilities.

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  1. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Illinois, C-519 Turner Hall (MC-047), 1102 South Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Andrew James Gingerich & Cory D. Suski

  2. Center for Aquatic Ecology, Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Andrew James Gingerich & David P. Philipp

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  1. Andrew James Gingerich
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  2. David P. Philipp
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Correspondence to Andrew James Gingerich.

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Communicated by I. D. Hume.

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Gingerich, A.J., Philipp, D.P. & Suski, C.D. Effects of nutritional status on metabolic rate, exercise and recovery in a freshwater fish. J Comp Physiol B 180, 371–384 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-009-0419-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-009-0419-4

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