Publication Abstract

Effects of intraperitoneally implanted dummy acoustic transmitters on the behaviour of juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar

A. Moore, I.C. Russell and E.C.E. Potter

The behavioural and physiological effects of surgical implantation of dummy miniature acoustic transmitters into the peritoneal cavities of juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., were assessed. Intraperitoneal implantations had no significant effect on growth, feeding or swimming behaviour in either parr or smolts. Recovery from the surgical implantation was both rapid and total; infection was absent; and physiological processes such as smoltification and maturation of testes in precocious parr were unaffected. Expulsion of the transmitter through the body wall, not through the implantation wound, occurred in a number of fish but without adversely affecting the animals. The intraperitoneal implantation technique is discussed in relation to its use during biotelemetry studies.

Reference:

A. Moore, I.C. Russell and E.C.E. Potter (1990) Effects of intraperitoneally implanted dummy acoustic transmitters on the behaviour of juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Journal of Fish Biology, 37: 713-721.