Availability of shelter is an important component of habitat selection for animals as it can influence survival (protection against harsh physical conditions and predation) and growth (energy acquisition and expenditure). Few studies address the effect of shelter on metabolic expenditures associated to non-mechanical tasks (excluding station holding or movement). The main goal of this study was to investigate the influence of shelter use on metabolic traits of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from two populations (Kiamika River and Lake Long). We conducted respirometry experiments on smallmouth bass to measure standard metabolic rate (SMR), resting metabolic rate (RMR), aerobic scope (AS), recovery time (RT), and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) in presence or in absence of shelter. Presence of shelter did not affect most metabolic traits, except for RMR, which was reduced in presence of shelter for Lake Long fish. Our results also show that larger fish had lower SMR in presence of shelter than when it was absent. When accounting for social hierarchy, there were no differences in most metabolic traits in dominant or subordinate fish in presence or absence of shelter, except for RT, which was significantly lower in presence of shelter for dominant fish. These results do not support the existence of an unequivocal relationship between individual metabolic traits and presence of shelter. If physiological motives may influence the use of shelter, sheltering in itself might not have important consequences on energy expenditures required for non-mechanical tasks. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

中文翻译：

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庇护所会影响硬骨鱼的代谢特征吗？

庇护所的可用性是动物栖息地选择的重要组成部分，因为它可以影响生存（抵御恶劣的物理条件和捕食）和生长（能量获取和消耗）。很少有研究涉及住所对与非机械任务（不包括站保持或移动）相关的代谢支出的影响。本研究的主要目标是调查住所使用对来自两个种群（Kiamika River 和 Lake Long）的小嘴黑鲈（Micropterus dolomieu）代谢特征的影响。我们对小口黑鲈进行了呼吸测量实验，以测量存在或不存在的标准代谢率 (SMR)、静息代谢率 (RMR)、有氧范围 (AS)、恢复时间 (RT) 和运动后过量耗氧量 (EPOC)的庇护所。庇护所的存在不影响大多数代谢性状，除了 RMR 外，龙湖鱼存在庇护所会降低。我们的结果还表明，在有庇护所时，较大的鱼比没有庇护所时的 SMR 低。在考虑社会等级时，在有或没有庇护所的情况下，优势鱼或从属鱼的大多数代谢特征没有差异，除了 RT，在优势鱼有庇护所时显着较低。这些结果不支持个体代谢特征与庇护所的存在之间存在明确的关系。如果生理动机可能会影响庇护所的使用，那么庇护所本身可能不会对非机械任务所需的能量消耗产生重要影响。本文受版权保护。版权所有。