Developmental changes in escape response performance of five species of marine larval fish

Abstract

We measured the escape response performance by four species of larval fish: Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus), radiated shanny (Ulvaria subbifurcata), and capelin (Mallotus villosus). The resultant data were combined with information from larval winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) to produce general models relating escape response performance to larval size. Three components of the escape response produced models with reasonable predictive ability, including mean and maximum speed during the response, and the distance travelled by larvae during the first 100 ms of the response (the latter representing the contribution of the C-shaped fast start that initiates the response). The logarithm of mean and maximum escape speed increased linearly with increasing larval length. The distance after 100 ms was linearly related to larval length. Our general model for mean escape speed produced significantly higher length-specific speed values than did the general model proposed by Miller et al. (T.J. Miller, L.B. Crowder, J.A. Rice, and E.A. Marschall. 1988. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 45: 1657n1670). Resume : Nous avons mesurO liefficacitO de la rOaction de fuite chez les larves de quatre poissons : la morue (Gadus morhua), le hareng (Clupea harengus harengus), liulvaire deux-lignes (Ulvaria subbifurcata) et le capelan (Mallotus