Thermoregulatory behaviour, diel activity and the relationship of spontaneous locomotor activity to temperature in the sea raven, Hemitripterus americanus (Gmelin)

Twelve sea ravens, Hemitripterus americanus, were tested individually for three day periods in electronic shuttleboxes to measure their preferred and avoided temperatures, diel activity pattern and relationship of activity to temperature. The fish avoided temperatures below 9°C or above 25°C, preferring temperatures with a central tendency of 15–17°C. The fish were primarily nocturnal, being more active at night than by day. Locomotor activity increased eightfold between 10 and 20°C, but exhibited an anomalous decrease between 14 and 18°C, corresponding to the preferred-temperature zone, characteristic of maximal summer temperatures in the natural habitat.