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Effects of Turbulence on Fish Swimming in Aquaculture

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Swimming Physiology of Fish

Abstract

The role of turbulence in aquaculture facilities is a multi-faceted, largely unexplored, and potentially important topic in understanding the energetics and behavior of rearing fishes. Here, we review some common principles of turbulent flow and discuss methods to measure and describe them. Flows that display chaotic and wide fluctuations in velocity can repel fishes, while flows that have a component of predictability can attract fishes. We reveal how fish in turbulence can save energy by using two distinct, though not mutually exclusive mechanisms; flow refuging (exploiting regions of reduced flow) and vortex capture (harnessing the energy of discrete vortices). We summarize the energetics of fish holding station in turbulent flows around a cylinder from recent work. Turbulent flows can also create instabilities that negatively affect fishes, such as reducing critical swimming speed and increasing oxygen consumption. Our aim is to discuss aspects of turbulence from key lab and field experiments which may prove productive if applied to aquaculture systems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Arjan Palstra and Josep Planas for inviting us to be a part of this book. Funding was provided by NIH RO1 DC010809 to J.C.L. and NSF Career 0447427 for A.J.C.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Department of Biology, University of Florida, 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd, Saint Augustine, FL, 32080, USA

    James C. Liao

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2125, USA

    Aline Cotel

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  1. James C. Liao
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  2. Aline Cotel
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Correspondence to James C. Liao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center, The Institute for Marine Resources, Wageningen University and Research, Korringaweg 5, Yerseke, 4401 NT, Netherlands

    Arjan P. Palstra

  2. , Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, Barcelona, 08028, Spain

    Josep V. Planas

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Liao, J.C., Cotel, A. (2013). Effects of Turbulence on Fish Swimming in Aquaculture. In: Palstra, A., Planas, J. (eds) Swimming Physiology of Fish. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31049-2_5

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