Demand-feeding and Locomotor Circadian Rhythms in the Red sea bream, Pagrus major

In the present study, the locomotor and feeding activities of single red sea bream, Pagrus major were simultaneously investigated to examine the existence of such dual behaviour. Seven red sea bream of 13cm body length on average were placed individually in 35L tanks equipped with an infrared sensor and a newly developed demand-feeding device. Fish were exposed to a light: dark 12: 12h cycle and constant darkness (DD) to study endogenous rhythmicity. Under LD 12: 12 h, the daily pattern of behaviour differed between individual fish; some red sea bream were diurnal and others were nocturnal. Futhermore, some of them displayed an extraordinary flexibility in phasing because they were dark active but light feeding, and vice versa. Under DD, red sea bream showed free-running rhythms for locomotor activity and feeding. These results indicate that the type of phasing of locomotor activity did not necessarily decide the feeding phase; much of this is explained by the fact that red sea bream were demand-fed. Flexibility in phasing and a certain degree of independence between locomotor and feeding activities could be seen as an adaptative response of the highly adaptable circadian rhythms of fish.