Effects of Acoustic Transmitters on Swimming Performance and Predator Avoidance of Juvenile Chinook Salmon

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha are negatively influenced by the intraperitoneal implantation of acoustic transmitters. We evaluated swimming performance and predator avoidance of juvenile salmonids implanted with acoustic transmitters that weighed up to 6.7% of the fish's body weight in air. Critical swimming speeds (U _crit) of tagged, sham-tagged (surgery but no tag), and control fish were measured in a respirometer to determine tag effects on swimming performance. Swimming performance was similar among treatment groups at 1-d and 21-d postsurgery intervals. Predator avoidance of fish implanted with active tags was evaluated to determine whether tagged fish were impaired by the operation of the tags or predators were attracted to the signals emitted from the tags. Predator avoidance was evaluated by comparing the proportion of each treatment group consumed (active tag, inactive tag, sham, and control) during exposure to piscivorous adult rainbow trout O. mykiss. Surgical implantation of acoustic tags in juvenile fall Chinook salmon did not significantly affect swimming performance. Implantation of acoustic transmitters (active and inactive) did not result in greater predation susceptibility in tagged fish than in untagged fish.