Energy savings in sea bass swimming in a school: measurements of tail beat frequency and oxygen consumption at different swimming speeds |
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Authors: | J. Herskin J. F. Steffensen |
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Affiliation: | Marine Biological Laboratory, University Of Copenhagen, Strandpromenaden 5, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark |
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Abstract: | Tail beat frequency of sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax (L.) (23.5 ± 0·5 cm, LT ), swimming at the front of a school was significantly higher than when swimming at the rear, for all water velocities tested from 14·8 to 32 cm s−1. The logarithm of oxygen consumption rate, and the tail beat frequency of solitary swimming sea bass (28·8 ± 0·4 cm, LT ), were each correlated linearly with swimming speed, and also with one another. The tail beat frequency of individual fish was 9–14% lower when at the rear of a school than when at the front, corresponding to a 9–23% reduction in oxygen consumption rate. |
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Keywords: | Dicentrarchus labrax flow tank hydrodynamic advantages respirometry schooling fish |
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