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Social and metabolic mediation of growth performance in a temperate estuarine fish

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posted on 2025-03-17, 04:12 authored by Elizabeth Carolyn HootsElizabeth Carolyn Hoots, Juliet Bao Ngoc Doling, Luis L Kuchenmüller, Michael R Skeeles, Timothy ClarkTimothy Clark
Despite the importance of juvenile growth to lifetime fitness, high variability exists within many fish species where some individuals grow markedly faster than others. Here, we explored whether social context mediated growth performance in n = 35 Galaxias maculatus by manipulating the social environment after identifying different growth phenotypes. We found that initially fast-growing fish slowed their growth rate when pooled with similarly fast-growing individuals, whereas none of the initially slow-growing fish markedly improved their growth when pooled with other slow-growers. We examined for any metabolic underpinnings to the findings by measuring standard, routine, and maximum metabolic rates (SMR, RMR, and MMR) at two time points separated by ~4 months. SMR and RMR positively correlated with growth rates when the fish were pooled into growth phenotypes, but not when they were returned to their original (mixed) social groups. We highlight research directions to further elucidate how social context and metabolism interact to govern growth phenotype.

History

Journal

Frontiers in Fish Science

Volume

2

Article number

1482878

Pagination

1-9

Location

Lausanne, Switzerland

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

2813-9097

eISSN

2813-9097

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Publisher

Frontiers Media

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