Gw. Whitledge et Rs. Hayward, LABORATORY EVALUATION OF A BIOENERGETICS MODEL FOR LARGEMOUTH BASS AT2 TEMPERATURES AND FEEDING LEVELS, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 126(6), 1997, pp. 1030-1035
We evaluated a bioenergetics model for adult largemouth bass Micropter
us salmoides at two temperatures (22 degrees C and 27 degrees C) and t
wo feeding levels (ad libitum and 2% wet body mass) in the laboratory.
Three statistical methods were used to assess agreement between predi
cted and observed growth and consumption during a 9-week period. Multi
variate profile analysis indicated no significant deviations between p
redicted and observed mean body masses at the end of each week of the
experiment; partitioning mean square error revealed that 87% of the va
riance was attributed to random variation rather than to systematic va
riation; and a reliability index indicated agreement between predicted
and observed masses within a factor of 1.03. Predicted cumulative foo
d consumption during the 9-week period was 9.4% less than that observe
d. Model predictions of mean daily consumption rates closely tracked o
bserved values when fish were not fed to excess, but the model did not
perform as well under ad libitum feeding conditions. However, multiva
riate profile analysis detected no significant deviations between pred
icted and observed mean consumption rates from each week; random varia
tion was the largest source of error (78%); and the reliability index
showed agreement between predicted and observed mean weekly consumptio
n rates within a factor of 1.38. Agreement between model estimates and
observed growth and food consumption further corroborates the largemo
uth bass bioenergetics model within the limited range of temperatures
and feeding conditions tested.