Threespine stickleback aggregations create a potential predation refuge for sockeye salmon fry

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 1052-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory T. Ruggerone
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Salmon Fry ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Predation Rates ◽  
Predation Refuge

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) frequently consume sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) fry in Chignik Lake, Alaska, but have never been observed to consume threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), which are often closely associated with sockeye fry. Because coho salmon are visual predators and appear to avoid sticklebacks, a series of experiments was conducted in net pens to determine whether juvenile sockeye associated with threespine sticklebacks experienced less prédation than sockeye without sticklebacks and whether prey size affected prédation rates. Significantly fewer sockeye fry by coho were consumed in the pen containing 60 sticklebacks [Formula: see text] than in the 30-stickleback (4.7 fry/day) and 0-stickleback (4.4 fry/day) pens. An identical experiment with large, yearling sockeye (rather than sticklebacks) did not reveal a significant effect (p = 0.28), although there was a tendency for fewer large fry to be consumed when yearlings were abundant. A third experiment demonstrated predation rates on fry that were 45% lower in the presence of sticklebacks (1.2 fry/day) than in the presence of yearling sockeye (2.2 fry/day). Large sockeye fry (37–44 mm) consumed by coho declined steadily from about 36 to 29 to 22% of the total number of fry eaten as the number of sticklebacks or yearling sockeye increased from 0 to 30 to 60, respectively. These data suggest that the presence of threespine sticklebacks may reduce predation by coho on juvenile sockeye, especially those sockeye similar in size to sticklebacks.

Absence of Acute Effects on Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Exposed to Resuspended Harbor Sediment Contaminants

1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1240-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. LeGore ◽  
David M. DesVoigne
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Kisutch ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Oil And Grease ◽  
Volatile Solids ◽  
Salmon Fry ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Sediment Contaminants ◽  
Wet Weight

Threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and coho salmon fry (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were challenged in static 96-hr bioassays with suspensions of sediment from the Duwamish Waterway, Seattle, Wash. Doses of up to 5% wet weight (28.8 g/liter dry weight basis) were used. No observable effect on the fish of contaminants released from the sediment was elicited, although high levels of these contaminants, such as volatile solids, COD, organic nitrogen, oil and grease, zinc, and lead, were present.

Effect of Thermal Stress on Predator Avoidance in Sockeye Salmon

1972 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 601-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Sylvester
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Kisutch ◽  
Acclimation Temperature ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Salmon Fry ◽  
Predation Rates

Under laboratory conditions, predation rates of yearling coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) on sockeye salmon fry (Oncorhynchus nerka) increased with increasing acclimation temperature. Elevated temperature doses significantly decreased survival of sockeye salmon fry. The results suggest that under natural conditions, sudden increases in water temperature could alter predator–prey interactions of some fish by increasing predation mortalities.

scholarly journals Diversity and sexual dimorphism in the head lateral line system in North Sea populations of threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus (Teleostei: Gasterosteidae)

Zoomorphology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Ahnelt ◽  
David Ramler ◽  
Maria Ø. Madsen ◽  
Lasse F. Jensen ◽  
Sonja Windhager
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Lateral Line ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Marine Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

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.

scholarly journals Genome Characterization, Prevalence, and Transmission Mode of a Novel Picornavirus Associated with the Threespine Stickleback Fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan A. Hahn ◽  
Nolwenn M. Dheilly
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Model System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT The complete genome sequence of an RNA virus was assembled from RNA sequencing of virus particles purified from threespine stickleback intestine tissue samples. This new virus is most closely related to the Eel picornavirus and can be assigned to the genus Potamipivirus in the family Picornaviridae. Its unique genetic properties are enough to establish a new species, dubbed the Threespine Stickleback picornavirus (TSPV). Due to their broad geographic distribution throughout the Northern Hemisphere and parallel adaptation to freshwater, threespine sticklebacks have become a model in evolutionary ecology. Further analysis using diagnostic PCRs revealed that TSPV is highly prevalent in both anadromous and freshwater populations of threespine sticklebacks, infects almost all fish tissues, and is transmitted vertically to offspring obtained from in vitro fertilization in laboratory settings. Finally, TSPV was found in Sequence Reads Archives of transcriptome of Gasterosteus aculeatus, further demonstrating its wide distribution and unsought prevalence in samples. It is thus necessary to test the impact of TSPV on the biology of threespine sticklebacks, as this widespread virus could interfere with the behavioral, physiological, or immunological studies that employ this fish as a model system. IMPORTANCE The threespine stickleback species complex is an important model system in ecological and evolutionary studies because of the large number of isolated divergent populations that are experimentally tractable. For similar reasons, its coevolution with the cestode parasite Schistocephalus solidus, its interaction with gut microbes, and the evolution of its immune system are of growing interest. Herein we describe the discovery of an RNA virus that infects both freshwater and anadromous populations of sticklebacks. We show that the virus is transmitted vertically in laboratory settings and found it in Sequence Reads Archives, suggesting that experiments using sticklebacks were conducted in the presence of the virus. This discovery can serve as a reminder that the presence of viruses in wild-caught animals is possible, even when animals appear healthy. Regarding threespine sticklebacks, the impact of Threespine Stickleback picornavirus (TSPV) on the fish biology should be investigated further to ensure that it does not interfere with experimental results.

Toxicity of Various Formulations of 2,4-D to Salmonids in Southeast Alaska

1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 480-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Meehan ◽  
Logan A. Norris ◽  
Howard S. Sears
Keyword(s):  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Butyl Ester ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
Dolly Varden Char ◽  
Salmon Fry ◽  
Percent Mortality ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Made In

To determine acute toxicity to juvenile (1) pink, chum, coho, and sockeye salmon, (2) Dolly Varden char, and (3) rainbow trout, 2,4-D acid, butyl and isooctyl esters were tested in southeast Alaska. A comparable test was made in Oregon using coho salmon fingerlings. The mean percent mortality after 96 h and the highest concentration of herbicide that did not produce any mortality were determined for each formulation tested.At less than 50 ppm 2,4-D acid produced no mortality except in pink salmon fry. The butyl ester was most toxic causing nearly complete mortality in all species at concentrations > 1.0 ppm and the isooctyl ester least toxic of the ester formulations. Alaskan and Oregon coho fingerlings were similar in their responses to 2,4-D acid, butyl and isooctyl esters. The toxicities of three different formulations of isooctyl ester, a PGBE ester, and butyl ester to Alaskan coho fingerlings were also determined. There were few or no differences in toxicity among isooctyl ester formulations. The butyl and PGBE esters were similar in toxicity.

Raiding shoal size and a distraction display in male sticklebacks (Gasterosteus)

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark S. Ridgway ◽  
J. D. McPhail
Keyword(s):  
Nest Predation ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Species Pairs ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

In threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), shoals of foraging conspecifics attack the nests of parental males and consume the offspring. This type of nest predation also occurs in lakes with sympatric species pairs of sticklebacks (Gasterosteus sp.) in which benthic stickleback shoals attack the nests of parental limnetic males. We manipulated shoal size of benthic sticklebacks in Paxton and Enos lakes to determine if there is a minimum shoal size necessary before parental limnetic males will perform the spasmodic swim display, a behaviour used by parental males to lure foraging shoals away from their nest and offspring. Males showed a significant increase in display frequency beginning with shoals of eight fish. The display occurred only when there were offspring in the nest and not when the nest was empty. We interpret the display to be a foraging deception in which parental males manipulate raiding shoals into giving up their search for a food source, causing them to leave the area of the male's nest site. This distraction display appears to be widespread within the threespine stickleback species complex.

Effect of incubation temperature on the development of five species of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus) embryos and alevins

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 266-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Murray ◽  
J. D. McPhail
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Embryo Survival ◽  
Salmon Fry ◽  
Incubation Temperatures

Embryo and alevin survival, time to hatching and emergence, and alevin and fry size of five species of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus) were observed at five incubation temperatures (2, 5, 8, 11, and 14 °C). No pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) or chum (O. keta) salmon embryos survived to hatching at 2 °C. Coho (O. kisutch) and sockeye (O. nerka) salmon had higher embryo survival at 2 °C than chinook (O. tschawytscha) salmon. At 14 °C, chum, pink, and chinook salmon had higher embryo survival than coho or sockeye salmon. In all species, peaks of embryo mortality occurred at specific developmental stages (completion of epiboly, eye pigmentation, and hatching). Alevin survival to emergence was high for all species, except for coho and pink salmon at 14 °C. Hatching and emergence time varied inversely with incubation temperature, but coho salmon hatched and emerged sooner at all temperatures than the other species. Coho and sockeye salmon alevins were larger at 2 °C, pink, chum, and chinook salmon alevins were larger at 5 and 8 °C. Coho salmon fry were larger at 2 °C, chinook and chum salmon fry were larger at 5 °C, and sockeye and pink salmon fry were larger at 8 °C. High incubation temperatures reduced fry size in all species. Each species of Pacific salmon appears to be adapted to different spawning times and temperatures, and thus indirectly to specific incubation temperatures, to ensure maximum survival and size and to maintain emergence at the most favorable time each year.

Effect of pituitary homotransplants on peripheral target organs in intact threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. form trachurus

1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1341-1344 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Leatherland
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Gland ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Peripheral Target ◽  
Partial Regression ◽  
Target Organs ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Anadromous Form

The activity of pituitary homotransplants in the anadromous form (trachurus) of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. was investigated by examining the structure of the thyroid, interrenal, gonad, and in situ pituitary; the melanophore index was also measured.The thyroid gland was markedly more active and the in situ thyrotrophs more granulated in the recipient fish when compared with the sham-operated animals. Similarly, the interrenal nuclear index was slightly (but significantly) larger in the recipient fish and there was a concomitant partial regression of the in situ pituitary corticotrophs.There was no difference between the structure of the gonads in the two groups although the in situ gonadotrophs were apparently smaller and less well granulated in the recipient fish.The melanophore index was significantly lower in recipient sticklebacks.In situ prolactin-secreting cells, somatotrophs, and neurointermediate lobes were similar in recipient and sham-operated animals.

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