Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF08053
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(10)

Predicting the slope of the allometric scaling of consumption rates in fish using the physiology of growth

Rodrigo Wiff A B D and Rubén Roa-Ureta C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens, St Andrews KY16 9LZ, Scotland, UK.

B División de Investigación Pesquera, Instituto de Fomento Pesquero, Blanco 839, Casilla 8v, Valparaíso, Chile.

C Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidad de Concepcion, PO Box 160-C, Concepción, Chile.

D Corresponding author. Email: rodrigo@mcs.st-and.ac.uk

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(10) 912-921 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08053
Submitted: 27 February 2008  Accepted: 2 August 2008   Published: 27 October 2008

Abstract

Allometric scaling (where body size features as the independent variable) has been observed in many aspects of fish biology. Empirical studies have shown that individual and population rates of food consumption for single and multi-species datasets show positive allometry. However, the ratio of population consumption to biomass shows negative allometry when evaluated across species. In this paper, a theoretical explanation is proposed that predicts the magnitudes and signs of the allometric slopes for consumption and consumption/biomass within and among species. It is proposed that the ultimate cause of the allometries related to food consumption in fish lies in the physiology of growth. In the context of von Bertalanffy growth, the allometric slopes are caused by the constraints imposed on anabolism by the surfaces absorbing oxygen, by the volumetric relationship between linear body size and body mass, and by a dimensionless growth parameter.

Additional keywords: allometry, food assimilation, life-history parameters, scaling, surface law.


Acknowledgements

The first author is sincerely grateful to Luis A. Cubillos for encouraging him to explore this topic. We also thank Professor John Harwood for his contributions that greatly improved an earlier version of this manuscript. Rodrigo Wiff was supported by ‘Beca Presidente de la Republica para Estudios de Postgrado en el Extranjero. MIDEPLAN-CHILE’. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.


References

Allen, J. R. M. , and Wootton, R. J. (1982). Age, growth and rate of food consumption in an upland population of the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. Journal of Fish Biology 21, 95–105.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Beverton R. J. H., and Holt S. J. (1959). A review of the lifespans and mortality rates of fish in nature and the relation to growth and other physiological characteristics. In ‘Ciba Foundation Colloquia in Ageing: The Lifespan of Animals. Vol. V’. (Eds G. E. W. Wolstenholme and M. O’Connor.) pp. 142–177. (J. & A. Churchill: London.)

Blaxter, J. H. S. , and Holliday, F. G. T. (1958). Herring (Clupea harengus L.) in aquaria. II Feeding. Marine Research Scottish Home Department 6, 1–22.
Charnov E. L. (1993). ‘Life History Invariants.’ (Oxford University Press: London.)

Charnov, E. L. , and Berrigan, D. (1990). Dimensionless numbers and life history evolution: age of maturity versus the adult lifespan. Evolutionary Ecology 4, 273–275.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Cui Y. (1987). Bioenergetics and growth of a teleost, Phoxinus phoxinus (Cyprinidae). PhD thesis, University of Wales.

Cui, Y. , and Liu, J. (1990). Comparison of energy budget among six teleosts-I. Food consumption, faecal production and nitrogenous excretion. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. A. Comparative Physiology 99, 163–171.
Pauly D., De Vildoso A. Ch., Mejia J., Samamé M., and Palomares M. L. (1987). Population dynamics and estimated anchoveta consumption of bonito (Sarda chiliensis) off Peru, 1953 to 1982. In ‘The Peruvian Anchoveta and Its Upwelling Ecosystem: Three Decades of Change’. (Eds D. Pauly and I. Tsukayama.) pp. 248–267. (ICLARM Studies and Reviews: Manila.)

Pedersen, J. (2000). Food consumption and daily feeding periodicity: comparison between pelagic and demersal whiting in the North Sea. Journal of Fish Biology 57, 402–416.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Peters R. H. (1983). ‘The Ecological Implications of Body Size.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Richter H., Gonzal A., Focken U., and Becker K. (2004). Uptake of natural food and supplemental feed by cultured Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), in Laguna de Bay, Philippines. In ‘Proceeding of 6th International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture. New dimensions in farmer tilapia. ISTA VI: Manila, Philippines, September 2004’. (Eds R. Bolivar, G. Mair and K. Fitzsimmons.) pp. 347–363. (American Tilapia Association: Washington.)

Ricker, W. E. (1973). Linear regressions in fishery research. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 30, 409–434.


Roa, R. , and Quiñones, R. A. (1998). Theoretical analysis of the relationship between production per unit biomass and animal body size. Oikos 81, 161–167.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Rowan, D. J. , and Rasmussen, J. B. (1996). Measuring the bioenergetic cost of fish activity in situ using a globally dispersed radiotracer (137Cs). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53, 734–745.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ruggerone, G. T. (1989). Gastric evacuation rates and daily ration of piscivorous coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum. Journal of Fish Biology 34, 451–463.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Savage, V. M. , Gillooly, J. F. , Woodruff, W. H. , West, G. B. , Allen, A. P. , Enquist, B. J. , and Brown, J. H. (2004). The predominance of quarter-power scaling in biology. Functional Ecology 18, 257–282.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Schnute, J. (1981). A versatile growth model with statistically stable parameters. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 38, 1128–1140.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Silverstein, J. T. , Wolters, W. R. , and Holland, M. (1999). Evidence of differences in growth and food intake regulation in different genetic strains of channel catfish. Journal of Fish Biology 54, 607–615.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Smith, R. L. , Paul, A. J. , and Paul, J. M. (1988). Aspects of energetics of adult walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma (Pallas), from Alaska. Journal of Fish Biology 33, 445–454.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Smith, R. L. , Paul, A. J. , and Paul, J. M. (1991). Daily ration estimates for yellowfin sole, Limanda aspera (Pallas), based on laboratory consumption and growth. Journal of Fish Biology 38, 243–250.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Temming, A. (1994). Food conversion efficiency and the von Bertalanffy growth function. Part II and conclusion: extension of the new model to the generalized von Bertalanffy growth function. Naga: The WorldFish Center Quarterly 17, 41–45.


Temming, A. , and Herrmann, J. P. (2001). Gastric evacuation in horse mackerel. I. The effects of meal size, temperature and predator weight. Journal of Fish Biology 58, 1230–1245.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Trudel, M. , Tremblay, A. , Schetagne, R. , and Rasmussen, J. B. (2000). Estimating food consumption rates of fish using a mercury mass balance model. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57, 414–428.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Tyler, A. V. , and Dunn, R. S. (1976). Ration, growth, and measures of somatic and organ condition in relation to meal frequency in winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, with hypotheses regarding population homeostasis. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 33, 63–75.


Vašek, M. , and Kubečka, J. (2004). In situ diel patterns of zooplankton consumption by subadult/adult roach Rutilus rutilus, bream Abramis brama, and bleak Alburnus alburnus. Folia Zoologica 53, 203–214.


von Bertalanffy, L. (1938). A quantitative theory of organic growth (Inquiries on growth laws. II). Human Biology 10, 181–213.
|  CAS |

von Bertalanffy, L. (1957). Quantitative laws in metabolism and growth. The Quarterly Review of Biology 32, 217–231.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | CAS |

West, G. B. , Brown, J. H. , and Enquist, B. J. (2001). A general model for ontogenetic growth. Nature 413, 628–631.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | CAS |

White, C. R. , and Seymour, R. S. (2003). Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass2/3. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100, 4046–4049.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | CAS |

Yan, M. , Li, Z. , Xiong, B. , and Zhu, J. (2004). Effects of salinity on food intake, growth, and survival of pufferfish (Fugu obscurus). Journal of Applied Ichthyology 20, 146–149.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |