Abiotic drivers of activity in a large, free-ranging, freshwater teleost, Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii)

The allocation of time and energy to different behaviours can impact survival and fitness, and ultimately influence population dynamics. Intrinsically, the rate at which animals expend energy is a key component in understanding how they interact with surrounding environments. Activity, derived through locomotion and basic metabolism, represents the principal energy cost for most animals, although it is rarely quantified in the field. We examined some abiotic drivers of variability in locomotor activity of a free-ranging freshwater predatory fish, Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii), for six months using tri-axial accelerometers. Murray cod (n = 20) occupied discrete river reaches and generally exhibited small-scale movements (