title: Differences in swimming ability and its response to starvation among male and femaleGambusia affinis.
abstract: To explore the differences in the swimming ability and environmental adaptive abilities between male and femaleGambusia affinis, we assessed the differences in burst swimming speeds (Uburst), critical swimming speeds (Ucrit) and their related fin areas, and consumption of energy substances after starvation at 0 (control group), 15, 30, 45, and 60 days, respectively. The results showed that the pectoral and caudal fin areas did not differ significantly between male and femaleG. affinisHowever, the dry mass, condition factors, and absolute contents of glycogen, lipids, and proteins were significantly elevated in females in the control group (P<0.05), whereasUburstandUcritwere significantly low (P<0.05). After starvation of 60 days, the rate of consumption of lipids was significantly low in the females (P<0.05). AlthoughUburstandUcritdecreased linearly with increased duration of starvation, the coefficient of linear equation betweenUcritand starvation time was significantly lower in females than males (P<0.05). These findings indicated that low body mass and condition factors reduce the relative bear load and moving resistance that causes high swimming performance in maleG. affinisHigh contents of energy substances and low rate of consumption of lipids result in stableUcritin females during hunger.
authors.affiliation: Institute of hydrobiology, Jinan University; Engineering Research Center of Tropical and Subtropical Aquatic Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, China.
authors.forename: Jiangtao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of hydrobiology, Jinan University; Engineering Research Center of Tropical and Subtropical Aquatic Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, China tlinxt@jnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaotao
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0963-095X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institute of hydrobiology, Jinan University; Engineering Research Center of Tropical and Subtropical Aquatic Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, China.
authors.forename: Zhongneng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of hydrobiology, Jinan University; Engineering Research Center of Tropical and Subtropical Aquatic Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
keywords: Burst swimming speed; Critical swimming speed; Energy metabolism; Invasive fish; Sexual dimorphism