The effect of temperature and mass on routine metabolism in <i>Sarotherodon</i> (<i>Tilapia</i>)<i>mossambicus</i> (Peters)

Abstract

A reappraisal of oxygen uptake by Sarotherodon mossambicus was undertaken using a continuous flow respirometer. Measurements were obtained over the temperature range 16°C–37°C for fish weighing between 10 g and 150 g. Oxygen uptake was converted to energy equivalents ( Q ox ) using the value 13.68 J mg O 2 –1 and the routine metabolic energy expenditure can be described by the equation E =0.0086 t 2 0783 M 0 652 where E is the energy requirement for routine metabolism expressed in J h ‐1 , t the temperature in °C and M the mass in g.