Swimming Performance of Young Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) as Affected by Reduced Ambient Oxygen Concentration

As oxygen concentration is lowered, a point is reached, the critical oxygen level, at which juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) stop swimming in a tunnel respirometer. At concentrations just above the critical level, salmon frequently lose position in the upstream end of the respirometer and fall back to the downstream end while still headed into the current. There appears to be a progressive decrease in locomotor activity, indicated by reduced tailbeat frequency, on approaching the critical concentration. Swimming performance of Atlantic salmon is more highly dependent on oxygen concentration than is that of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri), goldfish (Carassius auratus), or Tilapia. The critical oxygen level for salmon swimming at 55 cm/sec is about 4.5 mg/liter, in comparison with 2.0 for rainbow trout, 1.7 for goldfish, and 1.0 for Tilapia. Between the minimum speed at which a salmon swims steadily and the maximum of which the fish is capable, the critical oxygen level rises with increase in swimming speed. Stoppage of swimming at the critical level is not owing to fatigue; fish resume swimming within minutes of the oxygen level being raised only slightly. The high critical oxygen levels for salmon in relation to other species including rainbow trout, another salmonid, point up the need for maintenance of stringent water quality criteria for oxygen levels in salmon rivers.