Use of substratum ripples for flow refuging by Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua

The ability to maintain position in a current without actively swimming (station-holding) was measured on substratum ripples for Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, a bentho-pelagic fusiform species. The current velocities tested ranged from 0–111 cm sec-1. Ripples were sinusoidal, with twelve combinations of ripple wavelength (10, 25, 50, 125 cm) and ripple amplitude (1.0, 2.5, 5.0 cm). Ripple wavelengths were chosen to approximate 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0 times fish total length. The potential of ripples to locally retard current and thereby provide a refuge from the flow was measured as a velocity ratio, utrough/ufree-stream, where utrough is the flow velocity measured at a height of 0.5 cm from the bottom of a trough and ufree-stream the flow velocity measured at a height of 10 cm above ripple crests. Cod usually swam steadily above substratum ripple crests in the free-stream flow. They used substratum ripples to hold station on only 3 of the 12 ripples tested by refuging from the flow in the ripple troughs (flow refuging). These ripples had wavelengths approaching twice the body length, with ripple amplitudes that produced velocity ratios of 0.44–0.65, thus providing at least a 35% flow reduction in the troughs. In addition, these ripples were only used at intermediate velocities starting at 49–78 cm sec-1 and ending at 81–109 cm sec-1 depending on the ripple morphology, suggesting there may be costs involved in flow refuging, probably in stability control. Flow refuging on substratum ripples could dramatically impact the physiology and ecology of cod in high current velocities by providing areas of retreat for energetic savings, but also offering opportunities for enhanced feeding and migration.