SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1980
STP27426S

Allometric Growth Response of Exercised Rainbow Trout to Cyanide Poisoning

Source

The toxicity of cyanide to juvenile rainbow trout held in swimming chambers during 20-day growth experiments at 10°C was found to be size related, the larger trout being more adversely affected than the smaller ones.

The results of four experiments on control and cyanide-exposed trout forced to swim against a constant current speed of 12.1 cm/s while being fed restricted rations revealed that cyanide at 0.01 mg/litre hydrogen cyanide (HCN) increased the food maintenance requirement of the large fish, which were growing less rapidly than their respective controls. The smaller fish, however, grew faster than their controls when exposed to cyanide because of a faster accumulation of lipids.

The metabolic rate of fish is related to size, and this relation is described by the allometric formula Y = aXb, where Y is the metabolic rate, X the body size, a the Y-intercept, and b the weight exponent and slope. This formula was applied to the present results, and a log-log plot of dry weight gains against initial wet weights provided a linear relationship describing the metabolic rates of the control and poisoned fish. The slope representing the controls was 1.12, indicating a metabolic rate function of the weight of the fish, whereas the slope representing the cyanide-poisoned group was 0.67, thus describing a metabolism proportional to the surface area of the fish.

This study brings to light the determining influence of factors modifying the metabolic rate, such as exercise and size, on the response of fish to a toxicant.

Author Information

McCracken, IR
Water Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, Sir George Williams Campus, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Leduc, G
Water Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, Sir George Williams Campus, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
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Details
Developed by Committee: E35
Pages: 303–320
DOI: 10.1520/STP27426S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4775-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0280-4