Meeting Abstract
Fishes living in high energy coral reefs are faced with the challenge of maintaining position against wave-induced water surges and must expend energy to remain stationary in bi-directional flow. This process of dealing with wave stress is an energetically expensive endeavor, and examining the energetic costs of inhabiting these environments is important in understanding a species habitat use and distributions, and responses to environmental change (e.g. wave intensity). Thus far, the swimming costs of station-holding in a bi-directional wave surge have not been measured, and may vary with swimming style and morphology of the fish. Using a novel wave-simulating apparatus, the Simulated Wave Motion Respirometer (SWMR), energetic costs were measured via intermittent-flow respirometry as fish swam through a regiment of increasing wave frequencies and amplitudes. Oxygen consumption rates were measured for coral reef associated species that utilize a wide variety of swimming modes. Comparisons were made for metabolic rates between species using body-and-caudal fin (BCF) swimming, and median-and-paired fin (MPF) swimming including labriform, balistiform, and ostraciiform swimming subtypes. Within swimming modes, metabolic rate comparisons were made between species that differed in fin morphology, examining the role of fin aspect ratio in unsteady swimming performance and coping with energy demands in increased wave-action. These measures may help elucidate the observed relationships between morphology, swimming ability, habitat use, and the diverse swimming modes of coral reef fishes.
