The Effects of Water Flow Rate and Swim Time on the Escape Response Distance of Golden Shiners Notemigonus crysoleucas Christopher J. Broking and Bradley G. Rehnberg, Department of Biological Sciences, York College of PA H 1 : There will be no significant difference in response distance at a constant flow rate when swim time is increased. H 2 : Response distance is expected to decline as H 2 O flow rate is progressively increased. H 3 : The length or mass of the golden shiners will have no significant impact on the response distance. Hypotheses Introduction The escape response of fishes involves behaviors that increase survival as well as demonstrate the complexity of fish locomotion. Fish accelerate very quickly during an escape response and achieve high velocities in a very short period of time. However, the total distance traveled during the escape response is very short (Webb, 1976). Fish use both red and white muscle during a response (Green-Walker, 1975). Red muscle is highly aerobic and responsible for steady swimming. By contrast, white muscle is more “explosive” and can produce strong acceleration before rapidly fatiguing (Green-Walker, 1975). Water velocity is another important factor in the escape response. Escape responses might be reduced in high water velocity or after long periods of continuous swimming. Results Methods Test Variable: Swim Time Constant: Velocity at 30 LPM Test Variable: H 2 O Velocity Constant: Time at 3 minutes Acclimate at 0 LPM for 5 min 1 – 10 min. at 1 min increments n = 6 Increments of 10 LPM until 50 LPM Then 20 LPM increments until 110 LPM n = 8 Distance measured in grid “boxes” 1 box = cm Measure mass (g) and length (cm) of shiners Conclusions 60 Golden Shiners obtained from a local bait shop Held for 48 hrs prior to testing Escape response distance in golden shiners is significantly affected by water flow rate, especially at high velocities above 90 LPM’s. The amount of time a shiner spent swimming prior to stimulation had no effect on the response distance. The mass and length of golden shiners are not clear indicators of escape response performance. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the York College Engineering Department for constructing the swim tunnel used in this study. Literature Cited Greek-Walker, G.A. Pull A Survey of Red and White Muscle in Marine Fish. Journal of Fish Biology 7: Nelson, J.A Sprint Swimming Performance of Juvenile European Sea Bass. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 134: Webb, P.W The Effect of Size on the Fast-Start Performance of Rainbow Trout Salmo Gairdneri and a Consideration of Piscivorous Predator-Prey Interactions. Journal of Experimental Biology 65: Tested in swim tunnel (swim chamber approx. 90cm in length) Fig 3: A shiner in the swim tunnel. The grid used to record response distance can also be seen. Fig 1: A side view of the swim tunnel. Flow straighteners used to reduce turbulence are circled. The direction of water flow is indicated by the arrow. Fig 2: Another view of the swim tunnel. The mesh* near the back catches fish that become fatigued during the trials. The direction of water flow is indicated by the arrow. *