The metabolic rates associated with resting, and with the performance of agonistic, submissive and digging behaviours in the cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher (Pisces: Cichlidae) |
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Authors: | A Grantner M Taborsky |
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Institution: | Konrad Lorenz-Institut für Vergleichende Verhaltensforschung, Savoyenstra?e 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria e-mail: m.taborsky@klivv.oeaw.ac.at Fax: 0043-1-4862121-28, AT
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Abstract: | We measured the metabolic rates as a direct estimate of energy expenditure of individual Neolamprologus pulcher, a cooperatively breeding cichlid fish, when resting and when performing agonistic, submissive or digging behaviours in a
respirometer. Standard and routine metabolic rates increased linearly with body mass (range 0.9–8.4 g) when plotted on a doubly
logarithmic scale (linear regression equations: standard metabolic rate: log individual oxygen consumption rate = 0.65 + 0.86
log body mass; routine metabolic rate: log individual oxygen consumption rate = 0.75 + 0.86 log body mass). Routine metabolic
rates were, on average, 30% higher than standard metabolic rates. Submissive and agonistic behaviours raised routine metabolic
rates by factors of 3.3 and 3.9, respectively. Digging resulted in a 6.1-fold increase of routine metabolic rates. Differences
in metabolic rates between active and resting rates were statistically significant. However, those between the three behaviours
were not. Mean opercular beat frequencies correlated significantly with routine metabolic rates and with metabolic rates when
performing specific behaviours, which offers methodological prospects for field measurements. In N. pulcher, the high energy expenditure for submissive behaviour may indicate that this is a reliable signal. The considerable energy
expenditure involved in territory defence suggests that these costs should be considered in addition to risk in cost-benefit
analyses. This is the first study in which the energy expenditures of specific social and territory maintenance behaviours
of individual fish were measured directly by respirometry and within the usual social setting of the fish.
Accepted: 20 February 1998 |
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Keywords: | Behavioural energetics Cooperative breeding Respirometry Cichlid fish Neolamprologus |
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