Effect of temperature, age class, and growth on induction of aestivation in Japanese sandeel (Ammodytes personatus) in Ise Bay, central Japan

We investigated the effects of temperature, age class, and growth on induction of aestivation in the Japanese sandeel (Ammodytes personatus) by means of rearing experiments and field surveys in Ise Bay, central Japan. Acoustic surveys and sampling of shoaling and aestivating sandeels indicated that the sandeels completed aestivation when the water temperature increased to 17–20°C. A rearing experiment showed that the mortality of sandeels reared without sand was greater than it was with sand, under replete feeding conditions. In a non‐aestivation rearing experiment without sand, the condition factor of the sandeels decreased when water temperatures exceeded 20°C, although they were fed to repletion. These results suggest that aestivation is induced by rising seawater temperature and plays an important role in energy conservation. The age‐1 group tended to start aestivation earlier than the age‐0 group in the field. Within the age‐0 group, larger sandeels tended to enter aestivation earlier. These observations indicate that fat reserves are an important cue to start aestivation.