Differences in Metabolic Rates of Migratory and Resident Freshwater Forms of an Arctic Whitefish
Wohlschag DE. 1957. Differences in Metabolic Rates of Migratory and Resident Freshwater Forms of an Arctic Whitefish. Ecology. 38(3):502-510
An exploratory field study of Alaskan Arctic Coregonus sardinella revealed that migratory forms in marine waters had higher oxygen consumption (respiratory) rates and higher metabolism rates over the body weight, temperature, and activity ranges studied than did the same species isolated in a freshwater lake. These results make possible an explanation of the reason why the lake forms are fatter and deeper-bodied than the migratory forms. The ecological and physiological implications of the study are also discussed from the standpoint of environmental adaptations. A specially designed apparatus for measurement of oxygen consumption rates of actively swimming fish is described with reference to field experimentation. The problem of handling several variables simultaneously was also explored; and it was concluded that multivariate analysis of field data was both feasible and desirable.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Wohlschag, Donald
- Units
- ARCN , BELA , CAKR , GAAR , KOVA , NOAT
- Keywords
- Arctic, Barrow, Fish, Metabolism, Migration, Morphology, North Slope, Weight, Whitefish