Respiratory and Reproductive Characteristics of Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) Inhabiting a Coal Ash Settling Basin

Much light can be shed on life history evolution through study of responses of organisms to chronic exposure to a novel or perturbed environment. To determine the influence of 28 yr of temporally unpredictable thermal elevation on their life history patterns, I sampled eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) from a thermally elevated (outflow from a nuclear reactor) and an ambient (farm pond) habitat in South Carolina every month for 2 yr. Fish from the artificially heated environment reproduced all year, had higher reproductive investments (higher clutch sizes and reproductive biomass), and smaller offspring than did fish from the ambient environment, which ceased reproduction from October through March, typical for natural populations of the region. Likely environmental factors responsible for these differences include unpredictable food resources, higher mortality from thermal death, and higher predation by fishes and birds in the heated waters. The extent to which these life history alterations are the result of adaptive genetic changes versus phenotypically plastic responses remains to be tested.

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Lipid Dynamics during Reproduction in Two Livebearing Fishes, Gambusia holbrooki and Poecilia latipinna

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f93-245 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 50 (10) ◽

pp. 2185-2191 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Gary K. Meffe ◽

Franklin F. Snelson Jr.

Keyword(s):

Lipid Content ◽

Energy Use ◽

Late Summer ◽

Energy Allocation ◽

Metabolic Efficiency ◽

Gambusia Holbrooki ◽

Poecilia Latipinna ◽

Lipid Dynamics ◽

Sailfin Molly ◽

Eastern Mosquitofish

In animals, strategies of energy allocation among growth, maintenance and reproduction can be significantly altered by lipid storage. Poeciliid (livebearing) fishes store energy in late summer and fall for overwintering and first reproduction in spring, but details of energy use in reproduction are lacking. We conducted a laboratory experiment on the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) and the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna) to document changes in lipid content in both the ovary and soma during development of a brood. In females of both species, ovarian lipid content was highest early in embryogeny and then declined; adult somatic lipids increased (were replenished) during embryonic development in mosquitofish, but declined in mollies. Larger clutches sequestered a larger share of body lipids in both species, possibly indicating energetic limits to reproduction. Finally, growth rate was positively correlated with somatic lipid content in both species, indicating among-individual differences in metabolic efficiency or feeding efficiency rather than a trade-off between growth and energy storage.

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Efficacy of estradiol in feminising the eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki: advance towards developing a genetic control option

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf21104 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

N. H. Norazmi-Lokman ◽

G. J. Purser ◽

J. G. Patil

Keyword(s):

Genetic Control ◽

Gambusia Holbrooki ◽

Control Option ◽

Eastern Mosquitofish

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First record of Siamese twins in Eastern Mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki (Girard 1859)

Limnetica ◽

10.23818/limn.30.01 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

Raquel Moreno-Valcárcel ◽

Ana Ruiz-Navarro ◽

Mar Torralva ◽

Francisco José Oliva-Paterna

Keyword(s):

First Record ◽

Gambusia Holbrooki ◽

Siamese Twins ◽

Eastern Mosquitofish

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Twenty-five new polymorphic microsatellites for the eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki (Actinopterygii : Poeciliidae), an invasive species in Australia

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo12095 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 60 (4) ◽

pp. 235 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kate D. L. Umbers ◽

Michael D. Jennions ◽

J. Scott Keogh

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Paternity Analysis ◽

Gambusia Holbrooki ◽

Target Species ◽

Single Population ◽

Invasive Range ◽

Polymorphic Microsatellites ◽

Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium ◽

Polymorphic Microsatellite ◽

Eastern Mosquitofish

We isolated 25 new polymorphic microsatellite markers from the eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki. Initially, 454 shotgun sequencing was used to identify 1187 loci for which primers could be designed. Of these 1187, we trialled 48 in the target species, 40 of which amplified a product of expected size. Subsequently, those 40 loci were screened for variation in 48 individuals from a single population in Canberra, Australia. Twenty loci were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and polymorphic, with observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.04 to 0.72 (mean: 0.45 ± 0.18) and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 5 (mean: 3.20 ± 1.05). These loci will be useful in understanding genetic variation, paternity analysis and in managing this species across both its native and invasive range.

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