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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(3)

Estimating the sustained swimming ability of coral reef fishes

J. L. Johansen A C , C. J. Fulton B and D. R. Bellwood A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

B School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: jacob.johansen@jcu.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 58(3) 233-239 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF06136
Submitted: 26 July 2006  Accepted: 7 December 2006   Published: 9 March 2007

Abstract

Sustained swimming ability can play a critical role in the ecology of fishes, particularly in terms of their distribution among habitats of differing flow conditions. However, the relative utility of various measures of swimming ability remains to be determined. The present study assessed the swimming speed performances of coral reef fishes using a range of experimental methods. This included a novel technique that measures the speed at which labriform fishes change gait from purely pectoral to pectoral-and-caudal propulsion over sustained time scales of >200 min (termed Up–nE). Measures of Up–cE were compared with two commonly used experimental metrics: critical swimming speed (Ucrit) and critical transition speed (Up–c). All three methods revealed consistent differences among taxa, and provided a reliable means of comparing swimming speed performances. Notably, two experimental measures (Up–c and Up–cE) appeared to more closely reflect the swimming speeds displayed by the same coral reef fishes in the field.

Additional keywords: gait transition, habitat-use, labriform, pectoral swimming, Pomacentridae.


Acknowledgements

We thank M. Depczynski, R. Dunn, A. Hoey, N. Konow, the staff of MARFU and Lizard Island Research Station for their assistance. Financial support was provided by the Knud Højgaard Foundation, Krista and Viggo Petersen Foundation and Otto Bruun Foundation (J.L.J.), the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation and Nancy Vernon Rankine Bequest (C.J.F.), and the Australian Research Council (D.R.B.).


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