Locomotory behaviour and post-exercise physiology in relation to swimming speed, gait transition and metabolism in free-swimming smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

We examined swimming behaviour, gait recruitment and post-exercise muscle glycogen, muscle lactate, plasma lactate and oxygen consumption in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu; 24-38 cm fork length) that voluntarily ascended a 25 m raceway against water velocities ranging from 40 to 120 cm s(-1). Physiological parameters were referenced to additional measurements made following exhaustive exercise in a static tank and aerobic exercise in a swim tunnel. Maximum speeds maintained exclusively using a steady gait in the raceway ranged from 53.6 to 97.3 cm s(-1) and scaled positively with fish length. Minimum swimming speeds maintained exclusively through recruitment of an unsteady gait were also positively correlated to fish length and ranged from 81.4 to 122.9 cm s(-1). Fish switched between steady and unsteady swimming at intermediate speeds. Smallmouth bass always maintained a positive ground speed in the raceway; however, those that primarily swam using a steady gait to overcome low to moderate water velocities (20-50 cm s(-1)) maintained mean ground speeds of similar to20 cm s(-1). By contrast, mean ground speeds of fish that primarily recruited an unsteady locomotory gait increased significantly with water velocity, which resulted in an inverse relationship between exercise intensity and duration. We interpret this behaviour as evidence that unsteady swimming was being fuelled by the limited supply of anaerobic substrates in the white muscle. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that unsteady swimming fish showed significantly lower muscle glycogen levels, higher lactate concentrations (muscle and plasma) and higher post-exercise oxygen consumption rates compared with fish that used a steady gait. The reduction in passage time achieved by fish using an unsteady gait allowed them to ascend the raceway with relatively minor post-exercise metabolic imbalances, relative to individuals chased to exhaustion.