Sex differences in metabolic rate and swimming performance in pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha): the effect of male secondary sexual traits

Abstract

AbstractDo secondary sexual traits, such as large dorsal hump and hooked snout, decrease the swimming efficiency of male pink salmon during freshwater migration? This is the first study to address the effects of secondary sexual traits in pink salmon on oxygen uptake and swimming capacity. We conducted a laboratory experiment using a swimming respirometer and a field study using electromyogram (EMG) telemetry in the Shibetsu River, Hokkaido, Japan. We compared the relationship between MO2 (mg O2·kg−1·h−1) and swimming velocity U (m·s−1) in male and female fish, and also investigated the effects of morphological traits (secondary sexual characters) on the relationship between MO2 (mg O2·kg−1·h−1) and swimming velocity U (m·s−1). Additionally, we compared energy costs and swimming behaviour during upstream migration between male and female pink salmon. The laboratory experiment revealed that MO2 exponentially increased with increasing U; this increase was described by MO2 = 167.9e1.23U for males and 144.9e1.14U for females. Linear mixed models found that hump height and the upper jaw length in males significantly and positively affected the relationship between MO2 and U; no effect was found in females. The field study found that swimming velocity for both sexes estimated from EMG calibration was lower than optimal swimming velocity (Uopt) calculated from the laboratory experiment. We suggest that pink salmon in the Shibetsu River do not swim at the optimal swimming velocity because of the short migration distance involved (20 km).