The swimming behaviour and activity patterns of the argentine sandperch Pseudopersis semifasciata, and bioenergetic implications

PAOLO DOMENICI; LUCAS BELTRAMINO; LEONARDO VENERUS; STEFANO MARRAS; JAVIER CIANCIO

Porto

Congreso; Fitfish annual conference; 2018

Accelerometry is a novel, fundamental tool for evaluatingthe behaviour and energetics of swimming fish in the field and in variousenvironmental conditions. It allows to evaluate the individual movement patternof fish in the field with relatively high resolution (e.g. 25 Hz), includingtheir energetics and also to assess their behavioural patterns by determiningspecific acceleration signatures that correspond to given motor behaviour. Theaim of this project is to investigate the swimming behaviour of a key reefspecies from the coastal areas of Argentina, using a combination of video andaccelerometry observations. These methods will be used to test the effect of variousenvironmental factors (time of the day, light level, lunar phase) as well asthe individual patterns of  activity inargentine sandperch Pseudopercissemifasciata, a species of high ecological importance. The project willhave relevance for the ecology and management of this species since behaviourdeeply affects bioenergetics. This research will be carried out at the CONICET centrein Puerto Madryn (Argentina) and has direct implications with FITFISH WG1 andWG2 in particular, since it is largely based on monitoring fish behaviour andactivity in real-life situations, using high-tech methodology such as tri-axialaccelerometry.