Fish morphology and passage through velocity barriers. Experience with northern straight-mouth nase (Pseudochondrostoma duriense Coelho, 1985) in an open channel flume

Knowing the relationship between size, morphological traits and swimming performance of fish is essential to understand the swimming capacity to successfully surpass these obstacles and the selective pressure that barriers in rivers and streams could exert on fish. Northern straight-mouth nase, an e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrobiologia 2022-03, Vol.849 (6), p.1351-1366
Main Authors: Sánchez-González, J. R., Morcillo, F., Ruiz-Legazpi, J., Sanz-Ronda, F. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Body shape
Cameras
Dispersal
Ecology
Endemic species
Fish
Fish ladders
Fish populations
Fishes
Fishways
Flow velocity
Flumes
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
High flow
Iberian Ichthyology
Life Sciences
Morphology
Open channels
Rivers
Streamlined bodies
Streams
Swimming
Telemetry
Velocity
Zoology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Knowing the relationship between size, morphological traits and swimming performance of fish is essential to understand the swimming capacity to successfully surpass these obstacles and the selective pressure that barriers in rivers and streams could exert on fish. Northern straight-mouth nase, an endemic potamodromous cyprinid fish species from the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, was selected to carry out volitionally swimming performance experiments in an open channel against three different flow velocities, using telemetry and video cameras. The use of thin-plate spline, on 10 landmarks, evidenced unknown patterns linked to velocity barriers. At lower flow velocity, size is the main factor explaining the swimming performance; thus, large individuals swim up more efficiently. In contrast, at high flow velocities, shape becomes the essential explanatory variable; thereby, streamlined body shapes with a higher relative position of the tail and a narrower caudal peduncle are more efficient. The obtained results show the existence of a relationship between fish morphology and swimming performance, with potential consequences due to selection pressures associated with velocity barriers and their implications on behavioural and dispersal processes. To sum up, velocity barriers could exert a selection pressure on nase populations, so the fishway design and removal should be (re)considered.
ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1007/s10750-021-04712-9