Biomaterial Database

High hydrostatic pressure improves the swimming efficiency of European migrating silver eel. 2009

P Sébert, and D Scaion, and M Belhomme

Université Européenne de Bretagne, Université de Brest, EA4324-ORPHY, UFR Sciences et Techniques, 6 Avenue Le Gorgeu, CS 93837, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France. Philippe.sebert@univ-brest.fr

To reproduce, European eels must undergo a long migration without feeding. During this migration they have to cope with many environmental factor changes, one of them being hydrostatic pressure. We focus on the effects of hydrostatic pressure on swimming energetics: does the pressure exposure modify swimming efficiency? By using a specially designed Blazka type swimming tunnel able to work under pressure, we have measured oxygen consumption of migrating male silver eels at different swimming speeds (from 0.2 to 1.0 BL/s) first at atmospheric pressure then at 101 ATA hydrostatic pressure. The results show that pressure increases the energetic swimming efficiency by decreasing oxygen consumption for a given swimming speed. Such a pressure effect could represent a remarkable adaptation enabling eels to spare their energy stores and swim for a long time.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D010101	Oxygen Consumption	The rate at which oxygen is used by a tissue; microliters of oxygen STPD used per milligram of tissue per hour; the rate at which oxygen enters the blood from alveolar gas, equal in the steady state to the consumption of oxygen by tissue metabolism throughout the body. (Stedman, 25th ed, p346)	Consumption, Oxygen,Consumptions, Oxygen,Oxygen Consumptions
D004524	Eels	Common name for an order (Anguilliformes) of voracious, elongate, snakelike teleost fishes.	Anguilliformes,Eel
D006874	Hydrostatic Pressure	The pressure due to the weight of fluid.	Hydrostatic Pressures,Pressure, Hydrostatic,Pressures, Hydrostatic
D000064	Acclimatization	Adaptation to a new environment or to a change in the old.	Acclimation
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013550	Swimming	An activity in which the body is propelled through water by specific movement of the arms and/or the legs. Swimming as propulsion through water by the movement of limbs, tail, or fins of animals is often studied as a form of PHYSICAL EXERTION or endurance.
D025041	Animal Migration	Periodic movements of animals in response to seasonal changes or reproductive instinct. Hormonal changes are the trigger in at least some animals. Most migrations are made for reasons of climatic change, feeding, or breeding.	Migration, Animal,Animal Migrations,Migrations, Animal