Meeting Abstract

5.2  Thursday, Jan. 3  Continuous Exercise Enhances Swimming Performance and Muscle Aerobic Indicators in Juvenile White Seabass (Atractoscion nobilis) and California Sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher) PETERS, C.J.*; LOWERY, M.S.; DRAWBRIDGE, M.A.; KELLEY, K.M.; University of San Diego; University of San Diego; Hubbs Sea World Research Institute; California State University, Long Beach cpeters-07@sandiego.edu

Juvenile white seabass and California sheephead were continuously exercised in raceways for 42 and 21 days respectively at four different water velocities. Laminar current flows in each raceway were based on the critical swimming speed (Ucrit) determined for each species. White seabass trained at Fast (60% Ucrit), Moderate (40% Ucrit), or Slow (20% Ucrit) velocity showed significant increases in the red to white muscle ratio and activity of the mitochondrial enzyme citrate synthase in red muscle relative to the control (minimal flow). White seabass reared for 42 days in the fast treatment exhibited a 15 % increase in Ucrit relative to untrained fish from the control velocity or from an age-matched cohort reared in typical aquaculture conditions. Sheephead reared for 21 days at fast velocity showed a 10% increase in Ucrit compared to fish from the control velocity and enhanced activity of citrate synthase in the red muscle. Our results indicate that rearing juvenile fish under continuous high velocity enhances swimming performance and increases aerobic capacity in species with two different swimming styles; sub-carangiform in white seabass and labriform in sheephead. Such conditioning should lead to higher survival than unexercised fish once released in to the wild.