SOME EFFECTS OF GONADOTROPIC HORMONES ON THE THREESPINE STICKLEBACK, GASTEROSTEUS ACULEATUS

1963 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1045-1053 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Nazar Ahsan ◽  
William S. Hoar

Sticklebacks collected during the autumn and maintained under 8-hour daily photoperiods did not mature sexually; their gonads remained in the condition characteristic of late summer and autumn fish in nature and probably did not change after the fish were placed under controlled photoperiods. No stimulation of the gametogenetic and related tissues occurred when these fish were treated with purified mammalian FSH (Armour) but LH (Armour) produced a maturation of all gonads to stages characteristic of late winter and spring fish; with LH, 80% of the individuals attained the stages of sexually mature fish in nature. Chorionic gonadotropins (Organon) also had a stimulatory effect but were considerably less active than the LH; PMS was more effective than HCG. TSH (Parke Davis or Organon) had a marked gonadotropic action as well as the expected thyrotropic effect and stimulated the reproductive organs to about the same degree as the chorionic gonadotropins. Crude extracts of alcohol-preserved salmon pituitaries were only mildly active but stimulated all gonads to stages beyond those normally found in the late summer and autumn.

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 468-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Lam ◽  
K. Chan ◽  
W. S. Hoar

Immersion of postspawning sticklebacks in seawater containing 0.5 ppm progesterone for 5 days (medium changed daily) caused marked fluid accumulation in the ovarian cavity. A similar effect was obtained in overripe fish treated in the same way for 9 days; overripe fish have overripe ovulated eggs in the ovarian cavity with very little fluid. Estradiol-17β (1 ppm) also caused ovarian fluid secretion in some postspawning fish, but this may be related to its marked stimulation of ovarian recrudescence. The findings are discussed in relation to the possible role of the postovulatory corpora lutea in ovarian fluid secretion for the maintenance of ovulated eggs.


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 901-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. McPhail ◽  
S. D. Peacock

Monthly samples of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) were collected from May through September 1975 from Fuller Lake, Vancouver Island. A total of 2175 adult sticklebacks were collected from 10 trap sites located at depths ranging from 0.25 to 5 m. These samples were assayed for length, weight, sex, state of maturity, and egg number (when applicable). In addition, we recorded the number and weight of the plerocercoids of a cestode tapeworm (Schistocephalus solidus) often found in the abdominal cavities of sticklebacks. The purpose of the study was to document the effects of Schistocephalus on reproduction in Gasterosteus. Stickleback spawning reached a peak in June and declined sharply through July and August. Over the entire breeding season, less than 5% of the gravid females were infected with Schistocephalus, whereas over 40% of the sexually mature but nongravid females were infected. There was no difference between breeding and nonbreeding males in the prevalence of Schistocephalus. In both sexes, the prevalence and severity of Schistocephalus infection were low in May, June, and July but increased sharply through August and September. Since the majority of Fuller Lake sticklebacks live for 1 year, the major adverse effects of Schistocephalus were confined to postreproductive adults. We hypothesize that Schistocephalus plerocercoids have been selected to delay adverse effects on their host until after the host has reproduced.


Zoomorphology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Ahnelt ◽  
David Ramler ◽  
Maria Ø. Madsen ◽  
Lasse F. Jensen ◽  
Sonja Windhager

AbstractThe mechanosensory lateral line of fishes is a flow sensing system and supports a number of behaviors, e.g. prey detection, schooling or position holding in water currents. Differences in the neuromast pattern of this sensory system reflect adaptation to divergent ecological constraints. The threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is known for its ecological plasticity resulting in three major ecotypes, a marine type, a migrating anadromous type and a resident freshwater type. We provide the first comparative study of the pattern of the head lateral line system of North Sea populations representing these three ecotypes including a brackish spawning population. We found no distinct difference in the pattern of the head lateral line system between the three ecotypes but significant differences in neuromast numbers. The anadromous and the brackish populations had distinctly less neuromasts than their freshwater and marine conspecifics. This difference in neuromast number between marine and anadromous threespine stickleback points to differences in swimming behavior. We also found sexual dimorphism in neuromast number with males having more neuromasts than females in the anadromous, brackish and the freshwater populations. But no such dimorphism occurred in the marine population. Our results suggest that the head lateral line of the three ecotypes is under divergent hydrodynamic constraints. Additionally, sexual dimorphism points to divergent niche partitioning of males and females in the anadromous and freshwater but not in the marine populations. Our findings imply careful sampling as an important prerequisite to discern especially between anadromous and marine threespine sticklebacks.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelios Katsanevakis ◽  
George Verriopoulos

Abstract The population density of Octopus vulgaris was measured by visual census with scuba diving in coastal areas in Greece (eastern Mediterranean). A time-variant, stage-classified, matrix population model was developed to interpret the seasonal variation of octopus stage densities and to estimate several life cycle parameters. An annual and a semi-annual periodic cycle were found in the stage densities. A main peak of benthic settlement was observed during summer and a secondary, irregular one during late autumn. Two spawning peaks were estimated, a main one during late winter–spring and a secondary one during late summer–early autumn. More than 50% of the just-settled individuals will eventually die after 3 months. Mortality rate declines, as individuals grow larger, reaches a minimum approximately 6 months after settlement, and then grows again probably because of terminal spawning. The life expectancy of recently settled individuals (<50 g) during their summer peak is approximately 5 months. The lifespan of the common octopus is estimated to be between 12 and 15 months. The octopuses' mean specific growth rates (±s.d.) in their natural environment were 1.61 ± 0.30 d−1 for 50–200 g individuals and 1.19 ± 0.31 d−1 for 200–500 g individuals.


Author(s):  
L. Leveelahti ◽  
P. Leskinen ◽  
E.H. Leder ◽  
W. Waser ◽  
M. Nikinmaa

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juntao Hu ◽  
Sara J S Wuitchik ◽  
Tegan N Barry ◽  
Heather A Jamniczky ◽  
Sean M Rogers ◽  
...  

Abstract Epigenetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic change are hypothesized to contribute to population persistence and adaptation in the face of environmental change. To date, few studies have explored the heritability of intergenerationally stable methylation levels in natural populations, and little is known about the relative contribution of cis- and trans-regulatory changes to methylation variation. Here, we explore the heritability of DNA methylation, and conduct methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) analysis to investigate the genetic architecture underlying methylation variation between marine and freshwater ecotypes of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We quantitatively measured genome-wide DNA methylation in fin tissue using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing of F1 and F2 crosses, and their marine and freshwater source populations. We identified cytosines (CpG sites) that exhibited stable methylation levels across generations. We found that additive genetic variance explained an average of 24–35% of the methylation variance, with a number of CpG sites possibly autonomous from genetic control. We also detected both cis- and trans-meQTLs, with only trans-meQTLs overlapping with previously identified genomic regions of high differentiation between marine and freshwater ecotypes. Finally, we identified the genetic architecture underlying two key CpG sites that were differentially methylated between ecotypes. These findings demonstrate a potential role for DNA methylation in facilitating adaptation to divergent environments and improve our understanding of the heritable basis of population epigenomic variation.


Author(s):  
M.R. Denadai ◽  
F.B. Santos ◽  
E. Bessa ◽  
L.P. Bernardes ◽  
A. Turra

This study describes the spatio-temporal distribution, population biology, and diet of the puffer fish Lagocephalus laevigatus in Caraguatatuba Bay, south-eastern Brazil. Monthly samples were taken between August 2003 and October 2004 by trawls in two areas, south and north, at depths of 1 to 4 m. The fish were measured and their sex and reproductive stage determined. The abundance of this species was compared between areas and among months, and the items in the diet were identified and quantified. Lagocephalus laevigatus was rare in Caraguatatuba Bay, where only 199 small individuals (4.8 to 15.4 cm) were obtained in the entire study period, suggesting that this species uses the estuary as a nursery. None of the specimens of L. laevigatus captured in Caraguatatuba Bay were sexually mature. Higher densities of L. laevigatus in the bay were recorded in the south area and between October and December 2003, i.e. in the spring, suggesting that spawning may occur from late winter to spring (August through to November). The diet items consumed by L. laevigatus in Caraguatatuba Bay were, as expected from the current literature, crustaceans, mainly amphipods, and fish. However, the most-consumed item was the sea whip Leptogorgia setacea (Cnidaria). This feeding habit may be related to the presence of toxins (tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin) that are frequently found in the skin and viscera of L. laevigatus, which may be sequestered from the sea whip, which possibility still needs to be specifically evaluated.


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