Lunar cycles of coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch. I. Growth and feeding

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum) parrs and smolts, maintained in a laboratory under a fixed artificial 12 h light:12 h dark photoperiod from the time of hatching, exhibited a pattern of alternating periods of rapid and slow growth in body mass; the peaks and troughs in growth rate were significantly different from one another. The alternating growth rate changes were rhythmic in nature, of approximately 14 to 15 days in length. Evidence for cyclic patterns of growth in relative length and in food consumption was also found in coho salmon parr. Peak food intake appeared to occur 2–4 days after each peak of growth in relative mass. Although the pattern of growth in relative length was less clear, there was evidence to suggest that growth in length might be out of phase with growth in mass. There was no pattern of cycling growth rates in coho salmon parr subsampled from a common stock. The significance of this is discussed. The data suggest that the lunar cycle acts as a Zeitgeber for synchronization of the growth rate rhythms.