Antifreeze Proteins in the Arctic Shorthorn Sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius)

ARCTIC ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Garth L. Fletcher ◽  
Richard F. Addison ◽  
Don Slaughter ◽  
Choy L. Hew
Keyword(s):  
Antifreeze Proteins ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Shorthorn Sculpin ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius

Niche expansion of the shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) to Arctic waters is supported by a thermal independence of cardiac performance at low temperature

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (8) ◽  
pp. 573-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.P. Farrell ◽  
J. Altimiras ◽  
C.E. Franklin ◽  
M. Axelsson
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Temperature Change ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Cardiac Performance ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Acclimation Temperature ◽  
Adrenergic Stimulation ◽  
Inotropic Effects ◽  
Shorthorn Sculpin ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius

Cardiovascular adaptations that permit successful exploitation of polar marine waters by fish requires a capacity to negate or compensate for the depressive effects of low temperatures on physiological processes. Here, we examined the effects of acute and chronic temperature change on the maximum cardiac performance of shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius (L., 1758)) captured above the Arctic Circle. Our aim was to establish if the sculpin’s success at low temperatures was achieved through thermal independence of cardiac function or via thermal compensation as a result of acclimation. Maximum cardiac performance was assessed at both 1 and 6 °C with a working perfused heart preparation that was obtained after fish had been acclimated to either 1 or 6 °C. Thus, tests were performed at the fish’s acclimation temperature and with an acute temperature change. Maximum cardiac output, which was relatively large (>50 mL·min−1·kg−1 body mass) for a benthic fish at a frigid temperature, was found to be independent of both acclimation temperature and test temperature. While maximum β-adrenergic stimulation produced positive chronotropy at both acclimation temperatures, inotropic effects were weak or absent. We conclude that thermal independence of cardiac performance at low temperature likely facilitated the exploitation of polar waters by the shorthorn sculpin.

scholarly journals Impact of vessel traffic on the home ranges and movement of shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) in the nearshore environment of the high Arctic

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 2390-2400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silviya V. Ivanova ◽  
Steven T. Kessel ◽  
Justin Landry ◽  
Caitlin O’Neill ◽  
Montana F. McLean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Telemetry ◽  
Open Water ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Shorthorn Sculpin ◽  
Arctic Fish ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius ◽  
The Impact

Sea ice reduction in the Arctic is allowing for increased vessel traffic and activity. Vessel noise is a known anthropogenic disturbance, but its effects on Arctic fish are largely unknown. Using acoustic telemetry — Vemco positioning system — we quantified the home ranges and fine-scale movement types (MT) of shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius), a common benthic Arctic fish, in response to vessels and environmental drivers during open water over 3 years (2012–2014). Low overlap of core home ranges (50%) for all years and a change of overall MT proportions (significant in 2012 only) were observed when vessels were present compared with absent. However, changes in MTs associated with vessel presence were not consistent between years. Photoperiod was the only environmental driver that influenced (R2 = 0.32) MTs of sculpin. This is the first study of vessel impacts on Arctic fish using acoustic telemetry and demonstrates that individuals alter their behavior and home ranges when vessels are present. Given increasing vessel traffic in the Arctic, additional study on the impact of vessels on these ecosystems is warranted.

scholarly journals Movement types of an Arctic benthic fish, shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius), during open-water periods in response to biotic and abiotic factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 626-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin J. Landry ◽  
Steve T. Kessel ◽  
Montana F. McLean ◽  
Silviya V. Ivanova ◽  
Nigel E. Hussey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Movement Ecology ◽  
Open Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Benthic Fish ◽  
Arctic Cod ◽  
Movement Trajectories ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Shorthorn Sculpin ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius

Shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) are among the most numerous consumers in the Arctic nearshore marine habitats. Despite this, little is known about their movement ecology or predator–prey interactions, particularly with Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), an important forage fish in the Arctic. Using acoustic telemetry, the movements of tagged sculpin and cod were quantified based on specific locations using a Vemco positioning system during open water when both species were present in the near shore. Movement trajectories of sculpin distinguish three unique types: foraging and feeding behaviour and large transiting movements. The relative time of each of these movement types were correlated to biotic (presence of large numbers of acoustically tagged Arctic cod) and abiotic factors (percent ice coverage and temperature). This study provides unique data on the movement, feeding ecology, and behaviour of an abundant Arctic benthic fish that demonstrates similar movement types to temperate fish. However, further study is needed to quantify specifically the trophic interactions of these important fish and impact on food webs in the rapidly changing Arctic.

Antifreeze proteins from the shorthorn sculpin, Myoxocephalus scorpius: isolation and characterization

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 377-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choy L. Hew ◽  
Garth L. Fletcher ◽  
V. S. Ananthanarayanan
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Secondary Structure ◽  
Antifreeze Proteins ◽  
Winter Flounder ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Shorthorn Sculpin ◽  
Approximate Molecular Weight ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius ◽  
Antifreeze Activity

The antifreeze proteins (AFP) of the shorthorn sculpin, Myoxocephalus scorpius, were isolated and compared with the AFP of the winter flounder. The shorthorn sculpin was found to contain one major and one minor antifreeze protein with an approximate molecular weight of 10 000 – 11 000 in the winter. The major AFP was isolated and characterized. It had many characteristics in common with the flounder AFP studied in our laboratories. These characteristics included its seasonal appearance, size, amino acid composition, the abundance of alanine in the composition, the extent of antifreeze activity, and the nature of the secondary structure. It is suggested that both the sculpin and flounder AFP are structurally homologous and belong to the same type of polypeptide antifreeze.

Food of Shorthorn Sculpin, Myoxocephalus scorpius, in the Cumberland Sound Area of Baffin Island

1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. A. Moore ◽  
J. W. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Dry Weight ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
The Other ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Baffin Island ◽  
Littorina Saxatilis ◽  
Shorthorn Sculpin ◽  
Cumberland Sound ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius ◽  
Benthic Prey

One hundred shorthorn sculpins, Myoxocephalus scorpius, over 15 cm in length captured from June to October, 1972, in Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island, fed almost exclusively (90% by both numbers and dry weight) on the planktonic amphipods Pseudalibrotus glacialis and Parathemisto libellula. In contrast, 140 fish captured about the same times from nearby Pangnirtung Fjord fed heavily on the benthic gastropods Littorina saxatilis and Margarites umbilicalis (each 34% by numbers and 22% by weight) and the bivalve Modiolaria discors (16% by both). Drifting ice on Cumberland Sound probably reduced the level of illumination making the detection of benthic prey difficult and causing the sculpins in this area to feed entirely on the better illuminated, brightly colored plankton. At both localities, the most abundant species in the plankton and the epifauna were also the most frequently encountered in gut contents. On the other hand, coelenterates, planktonic gastropods, copepods, and infauna, all of which were abundant in the environment, were rarely eaten.

Fish and Fish-Leeches on Rocky Shores Around Britain

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.A. Hussain ◽  
E.W. Jones-Knight
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Rock Pools ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Cleaner Fish ◽  
South West ◽  
Summer Temperatures ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius

Collecting water from rock pools just above rising tides, usually in winter and spring, yielded 1412 Lipophrys pholis, 255 Pholis gunnellus and 29 Coryphoblennius galerita, bearing respectively 172, 8 and 1 Oceanobdella blennii, 744 Taurulus bubalis bearing six Oceanobdella microstoma and 14 Sanguinothus pinnarum, and a Myoxocephalus scorpius with a single O. microstoma; fishes of 23 other species totalled 1243, but none bore leeches externally. Oceanobdella blennii was found mainly in February and March (some in gill chambers), at temperatures generally below 8°C, with lower numbers (all external) in April and May and none later. Infestation was highest in Northumberland. Leeches on P. gunnellus were smaller than those on L. pholis, which they would not attack. They were confined to Northumberland and Scotland, where L. pholis was scarcer. The southern limit of O. blennii seemed to be in north Cornwall, but O. microstoma, though more stenothermal, extends from the Arctic to south Devon, its hosts living mostly subtidally. It is hidden under the chin of Cottidae, whereas S. pinnarum is easily seen on the fins. Abundance in south-west Britain of the ‘cleaner fish’ Crenilabrus melops may explain why S. pinnarum, though common in Scotland and tolerant of summer temperatures, is scarce in Anglesey and not found further south.

Age, Growth, and Sexual Maturity of the Shorthorn Sculpin, Myoxocephalus scorpius, in Newfoundland Waters

1970 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 2155-2158 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Ennis
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Shorthorn Sculpin ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius

In Newfoundland waters, shorthorn sculpins, Myoxocephalus scorpius (L.), live to age 15 and attain a maximum size of just over 50 cm. The growth rates of males and females are little different below age 4, but above age 4 the females grow faster than the males, and the difference between average length-at-age for males and females gets progressively larger with age. Males mature at a younger age and at a smaller size than females. In any age-group where there are mature and immature individuals the mature ones are larger.

Feeding ecology of a common benthic fish, shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) in the high arctic

Polar Biology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 2091-2102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin J. Landry ◽  
Aaron T. Fisk ◽  
David J. Yurkowski ◽  
Nigel E. Hussey ◽  
Terry Dick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Benthic Fish ◽  
Shorthorn Sculpin ◽  
Myoxocephalus Scorpius
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