Réponses comportementales des polychètes Nereis diversicolor (O.F. Müller) et Nereis virens (Sars) aux stimuli d'ordre alimentaire : utilisation de la matière organique particulaire (algues et halophytes)

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 2307-2317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Olivier ◽  
Gaston Desrosiers ◽  
Alain Caron ◽  
Christian Retière ◽  
Aline Caillou

Plant preference and feeding selectivity were studied in juveniles of Nereis diversicolor O.F. Müller) and Nereis virens (Sars) (Polychaeta: Nereidae) to evaluate the potential role of these species in the integration and transfer of vegetal debris to the littoral ecosystem. Results show that these annelids ingest the main plant species (algae and halophytes) that are abundant in the marshes of the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel (France) and (or) the À l'Orignal Inlet (St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada), independently of their origin or level of decomposition. Juveniles select detritus on the sediment surface (feeding area) and accumulate them in their burrow. Constant irrigation by young individuals (≈35% of time budget) maintains aerobic conditions favouring the decay process of plant debris by stimulating bacterial growth (gardening). Our results suggest that individuals of both N. diversicolor and N. virens play an important role in the transfer and integration processes and the residence time of vegetal detritus of the intertidal ecosystem.

Author(s):  
Mathieu J. Duchesne ◽  
Nicolas Pinet ◽  
Karine Bédard ◽  
Guillaume St-Onge ◽  
Patrick Lajeunesse ◽  
...  

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (11) ◽  
pp. 2008-2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Jacquaz ◽  
Kenneth W. Able ◽  
William C. Leggett

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) larvae in the St. Lawrence estuary and northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence were most abundant in 1974 and 1975 in the upper estuary in early June; this coincided with the spring peak in primary production. A spectacular decline (>99%) in larval abundance between June and September resulted principally from their downstream transport by currents. In October and November larval capelin were concentrated in a large counterclockwise gyre located in the northwestern Gulf between Anticosti Island and Pointe des Monts. This region is within the area of maximum primary production in the estuary and Gulf and may serve as an important feeding area for larval capelin. Length of capelin larvae at the end of the first growing season in the estuary and northwestern Gulf was greater than that of capelin from Newfoundland, Labrador, and Greenland. However, this difference may have resulted from sampling biases. Daily growth rates of capelin larvae from these areas were similar. Key words: capelin, Mallotus villosus, St. Lawrence, seasonal distributions, larval transport, growth, vertical distribution


2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (S1) ◽  
pp. 138-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Cossa ◽  
Charles Gobeil

Mercury speciation was determined in the water column and sediment pore waters of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary, and total Hg (HgT) was measured in seven biological species, including pelagic and demersal fish and crustaceans. In water, HgT concentrations ranged from 1.8 to 7.8 pM, with the highest levels in surface waters and the lowest in deep waters (1.8-2.9 pM). HgT concentrations in sediment pore waters were 10 times as high, with methyl mercury levels of 5.1-14.4 pM. Reactive Hg (HgR) generally accounted for around 20% of HgT in the water column and <30% in pore waters. The distribution of elemental Hg and HgR suggests that Hg(II) is reduced in surface waters and that inorganic Hg is mobilized during remineralization of organic matter at the sediment surface. In the biota, concentrations ranged between 0.05 and 0.89 nmol·g-1 (wet weight). Feeding habits and habitats account for these observations. Results suggest that the sediment is the main source of Hg contamination for the biota. A mass balance calculation showed that the Hg flux entering the lower estuary from the St. Lawrence River is equivalent to the amount buried in estuarine sediments.


1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 1794-1800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Gobeil ◽  
Daniel Cossa

The concentration of dissolved mercury in the pore water of Laurentian Trough sediments varies between the detection limit (2.5 pM) and 64 pM, up to an order of magnitude enriched relative to the overlying water. Dissolved mercury is low near the sediment surface, increases with depth to 5 cm, and then decreases with further depth. Redistribution of remobilized mercury within the sediment column is, however, insufficient to explain the observed depth variations in mercury concentration. In the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary, the vertical profiles of mercury in trough sediments tend to be consistent with the chronology of mercury discharges from chlor-alkali plants located in the St. Lawrence drainage basin. The total amount of anthropogenic mercury in sediments deposited below the 200-m isobath in the entire lower St. Lawrence Estuary since the beginning of industrialization is estimated as 170 ± 85 × 103 kg, about six times the amount of natural mercury that has accumulated during the same period. Near the seaward end of the Trough in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, sedimentary mercury concentrations are much lower than in the Estuary, with a significant portion of the anthropogenic mercury deposited in the sediments probably coming from the atmosphere.


2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 1508-1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ouellet ◽  
Alice Olga Victoria Bui ◽  
Diane Lavoie ◽  
Joël Chassé ◽  
Nicolas Lambert ◽  
...  

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) spawning in the St. Lawrence Estuary is concentrated in the Upper Estuary (UE). The northwest Gulf of St. Lawrence (NW GSL) was presented as the principal nursery for capelin originating from the estuary. In 2009 and 2010, we investigated the abundance, distribution, and size structure of capelin larvae in this system, and a particle tracking model was used to simulate larval dispersion. There was evidence of retention and larval growth in the Lower Estuary (LE), and older larvae were found in the LE by the end of summer. In October 2009, it was possible to link the cohorts of large larvae to emergence events in the UE in spring. Capelin larvae were more abundant or bigger (mean length) in the LE relative to the NW GSL in fall 2006, 2008, and 2009. We conclude that the LE is the habitat of a unit of the GSL capelin population composed of individuals that are retained in this region following hatching in the UE and that there is limited mixing with larvae originating in the NW GSL.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1393-1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Brand

Abstract The Popeye domain-containing gene family encodes a novel class of cAMP effector proteins in striated muscle tissue. In this short review, we first introduce the protein family and discuss their structure and function with an emphasis on their role in cyclic AMP signalling. Another focus of this review is the recently discovered role of POPDC genes as striated muscle disease genes, which have been associated with cardiac arrhythmia and muscular dystrophy. The pathological phenotypes observed in patients will be compared with phenotypes present in null and knockin mutations in zebrafish and mouse. A number of protein–protein interaction partners have been discovered and the potential role of POPDC proteins to control the subcellular localization and function of these interacting proteins will be discussed. Finally, we outline several areas, where research is urgently needed.


Author(s):  
Katherine Guérard ◽  
Sébastien Tremblay

In serial memory for spatial information, some studies showed that recall performance suffers when the distance between successive locations increases relatively to the size of the display in which they are presented (the path length effect; e.g., Parmentier et al., 2005) but not when distance is increased by enlarging the size of the display (e.g., Smyth & Scholey, 1994). In the present study, we examined the effect of varying the absolute and relative distance between to-be-remembered items on memory for spatial information. We manipulated path length using small (15″) and large (64″) screens within the same design. In two experiments, we showed that distance was disruptive mainly when it is varied relatively to a fixed reference frame, though increasing the size of the display also had a small deleterious effect on recall. The insertion of a retention interval did not influence these effects, suggesting that rehearsal plays a minor role in mediating the effects of distance on serial spatial memory. We discuss the potential role of perceptual organization in light of the pattern of results.


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