Behaviour and metabolic rates of brown trout and Atlantic salmon : Influence of food, environment and social interactions

Abstract: For Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta), the decision to migrate or when to migrate is believed to be influenced by the individual’s metabolic rate (MR) relative its food intake. As MR was expected to be related to behaviour, the potential links between behaviour and metabolic costs was studied. For both salmon and trout the dominant individual had a higher standard metabolic rate (SMR) than its subordinate counterpart. Also, successful migrants of brown trout had a higher SMR than unsuccessful migrants, whereas no such difference was found for obligate migratory Atlantic salmon. Measures of variation in MR and boldness indicated that Atlantic salmon was more sensitive to stress than brown trout and became passive when stressed. When two trout were interacting, an increase in ventilation rate (VR) was positively correlated to fighting intensity. The first day after an interaction, VR did not differ between small dominant and subordinate trout (mean size 3.7g), whereas for large trout (26.0g) subordinates had higher VR than dominants. However, a combination of low temperature (10°C) and high water velocity (22cm/s) eliminated this difference. This probably reflects the high swimming activity of small dominants and the low motivation for dominants to defend a large territory when temperatures were low and the cost of moving was high. These results show that the relationship between MR and behaviour may differ depending on species, fish size and environmental factors.