scholarly journals Abundance of early life stages of the surf silverside Notocheirus hubbsi (Teleostei, Atheriniformes) in the coastal nearshore of central Chile

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Francisca Zavala-Muñoz ◽  
Mauricio F. Landaeta ◽  
Valentina Bernal-Durán ◽  
Claudia A. Bustos ◽  
Bryan S. Dyer

The abundance of early stages of the surf silverside Notocheirus hubbsi in nearshore waters of central Chile, collected in samplings set up to assess the lunar cycle during austral spring and summer is reported. A total of 19 specimens were collected with light traps, 16 larvae (7.89-16.20 mm SL) in austral spring and 3 juveniles (30.70-34.60 mm SL) in summer. Capture per unit effort (CPUE) varied from 0.33 to 2.00 ind. light trap-1 night-1 during the entire study period (September 2015-February 2016, and September 2016-February 2017). N. hubbsi catches recorded maximum abundance during the new moon and no catches during full moon.

2021 ◽  
pp. 074873042098363
Author(s):  
Alejandro A. Aguirre ◽  
Roberto A. Palomares ◽  
Aitor D. De Ondiz ◽  
Eleazar R. Soto ◽  
Mariana S. Perea ◽  
...  

Evidence has accumulated over the years indicating that the moon influences some aspects of the reproductive activity in animals and humans. However, little is known about the influence of the lunar cycle on the reproductive performance of cows under tropical conditions, where the environment strongly affects reproduction. This retrospective study was conducted with the aim of assessing the influence of the lunar cycle on some reproductive traits of tropical crossbred cows managed in a pasture-based system. Data from 5869 reproductive records from two commercial farms localized in the Maracaibo Lake Basin of Zulia State, Venezuela, were analyzed. Variables studied were first service conception rate, calving frequency, first postpartum estrous frequency, and pregnancy frequency. In addition to the lunar cycle, the effects of farm, season, and predominant breed were also considered. Data were analyzed using logistic regression and general linear model from SAS. First service conception was affected by lunar phases and predominant breed, but not by farm or season. For frequencies of calving, first postpartum estrus, and pregnancy, there was no main effect of farm, season, and predominant breed, whereas the effect of lunar phases was highly significant. First service conception was significantly greater in waning than in crescent phase of the lunar cycle. Frequencies of calving, first estrus, and pregnancy were highly correlated and showed greater figures around full moon and new moon. In conclusion, lunar cycle influenced first service conception, attaining greater values in the waning phase of the moon cycle. Frequencies of calving, first postpartum estrus, and pregnancy in crossbred cows showed a clear bimodal rhythm, whose greatest values coincided with new moon and full moon.


1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Courtney ◽  
DJ Die ◽  
JG McGilvray

This study examined the lunar and die1 variation in catch rates and reproductive condition of adult eastern king prawns, Penaeus plebejus, in relatively deep (160 m) coastal waters off south- eastern Queensland. Females numerically dominated catches over most of the lunar cycle and constituted 76% of the weight of the catch. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed an interaction between lunar phase and sex; catches peaked during Lunar Phase 3 (full moon � 3 days) and were particularly marked for males. This was the only period during the lunar cycle when the sex ratio approached 1 : 1. There was also an interaction between trawl-time and sex; male catch rates were at a minimum early in the evening, whereas female catch rates were at a maximum then and declined throughout the night. Trawler logbook catch rate data from the same area over a similar period indicated an interaction between lunar cycle and lunar phase. ANOVA revealed an effect of the interaction between phase and sex on the incidence of soft prawns; the incidence of soft males increased during Phase 4 (half moon waning to new moon � 3 days). Ovary weight also varied between phases and was higher during Phases 2 (half moon waxing to full moon � 3 days) and 4 (half moon waning to new moon � 3 days). Trends in the ovary weight and the incidence of histologically mature and ripe females suggested there are two periods of increased spawning activity during each lunar cycle. A cyclic regression fitted to the data explained 93% of the variation in the incidence of ripe females between samples. The influence of these cyclic trends in catch rate and reproductive condition should be considered when monitoring the spawning stock in the fishery and when planning sampling strategies in any future reproductive studies.


1993 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyomitsu Ito ◽  
Hachiro Sugiyama ◽  
Nik Mohd. Noor b. Nik Salleh ◽  
Chang Poon Min

AbstractDaily light trap catches of Scotinophara coarctata (Thunberg) were analysed from mid-September 1986 to December 1990 and the physiological status of the trapped adults was examined. The catch size fluctuated synchronously with the lunar phase; large catches occurred around the full moon period and very few adults were trapped around the new moon period. Seasonally, the catches were large from January to March and from July to September, while they were small from May to June and October to November. The seasonal fluctuations of the catches seemed to be related to the growth stages of the rice plants on which the adults multiplied. The sex ratio of trapped adults was biased toward males, unlike that of the cage-reared insects which was 1:1. Most of the trapped females showed undeveloped ovaries and some of these females appeared to have oviposited previously. Light-attracted adults showed a considerable tolerance to starvation and survived for 20–30 days when they were given water, but for only two days in the absence of water. When the light-attracted females were supplied with food, their ovaries developed rapidly and females with mature eggs were produced after nine days. When the starvation period was prolonged, the ovaries remained immature and the fat bodies reduced in size. The nocturnal take-off of the adults was not triggered simply by the full moon illumination. Adult eclosion did not synchronize with the moon cycle.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munasik ◽  
Suharsono ◽  
J. Situmorang ◽  
H. N. Kamiso

Monthly larval release by the coral Pocillopora damicornis at Panjang Island, Central Java was investigated. Corals were collected from windward and leeward and maintained in outdoor, flow-trough system to quantify nightly release of larvae. Larval release of the coral occurs every month throughout the year, and its planulation increased during dry monsoon. Monthly planulation occurs from new moon to full moon and possesses in different pattern between single and paired colonies. Planulation in paired colonies occurred in single peak and more synchronized in each colony however single colonies planulated in double peaks and less synchronized in each colony. This study confirmed that planulation period of P. damicornis at Panjang Island over a range of lunar phases with shorter periods of peak release which predominantly controlling by tidal range rather than lunar cycle.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Shima ◽  
CW Osenberg ◽  
SH Alonzo ◽  
EG Noonburg ◽  
P Mitterwallner ◽  
...  

© 2020 by the Ecological Society of America Most organisms reproduce in a dynamic environment, and life-history theory predicts that this can favor the evolution of strategies that capitalize on good times and avoid bad times. When offspring experience these environmental changes, fitness can depend strongly upon environmental conditions at birth and at later life stages. Consequently, fitness will be influenced by the reproductive decisions of parents (i.e., birth date effects) and developmental decisions (e.g., adaptive plasticity) of their offspring. We explored the consequences of these decisions using a highly iteroparous coral reef fish (the sixbar wrasse, Thalassoma hardwicke) and in a system where both parental and offspring environments vary with the lunar cycle. We tested the hypotheses that (1) reproductive patterns and offspring survival vary across the lunar cycle and (2) offspring exhibit adaptive plasticity in development time. We evaluated temporal variation in egg production from February to June 2017, and corresponding larval developmental histories (inferred from otolith microstructure) of successful settlers and surviving juveniles that were spawned during that same period. We documented lunar-cyclic variation in egg production (most eggs were spawned at the new moon). This pattern was at odds with the distribution of birth dates of settlers and surviving juveniles—most individuals that successfully survived to settlement and older stages were born during the full moon. Consequently, the probability of survival across the larval stage was greatest for offspring born close to the full moon, when egg production was at its lowest. Offspring also exhibited plasticity in developmental duration, adjusting their age at settlement to settle during darker portions of the lunar cycle than expected given their birth date. Offspring born near the new moon tended to be older and larger at settlement, and these traits conveyed a strong fitness advantage (i.e., a carryover effect) through to adulthood. We speculate that these effects (1) are shaped by a dynamic landscape of risk and reward determined by moonlight, which differentially influences adults and offspring, and (2) can explain the evolution of extreme iteroparity in sixbars.


1975 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Davies

AbstractThe biting activity of Culex (Melanoconion) portesi Senevet & Abonnenc and C. (M.) taeniopus D. & K. in a secondary seasonal marsh forest in Trinidad was studied by means of catches by six mouse-baited suction traps, and a single light-trap. The traps were cleared at hourly intervals between 17.00 h and 07.00 h on nights which approximated to the new, first quarter, full and last quarter phases of the moon. The catches were compared with illumination at canopy and ground level which was estimated by selenium photocells whose output was recorded on the continuous chart of a servo-potentiometer. Humidity, rainfall, temperature and cloud cover were also recorded. In the suction traps both species showed peaks of activity at evening and dawn twilight at new moon, although the dawn peak was not very pronounced with C. taeniopus, but this pattern was modified on other nights in a manner which was consistent with moon age. At full moon the evening and dawn peaks were replaced by increased activity during moonrise and the middle of the night. The light-traps failed to show the evening and dawn activity and did not always duplicate the baited traps during darkness. Two hypotheses based on either a permissive range of illumination or an underlying circadian rhythm are discussed; neither fully explains the observed biting activity. Although an association between moonlight and biting activity does exist, an understanding of its nature will require more experimental data.


The table given in this paper contains the results of calculations relating to the objects specified in the title; cast into periods of six, seven, or eight days, so as to bring the day of the lunar phase belonging to it in the middle of the time. The observations were all made in the neighbourhood of London. It appears from them that in the period of the last quarter of the moon the barometer is highest, the temperature a little above the mean, and the depth of rain the smallest. In the period of the new moon, both the barometer and temperature are considerably depressed, and the rain increased in quantity. The influence of the first quarter shows itself by the further depression of the barometer; but the temperature rises almost to the point from which it had fallen, and the rain still increases, but not in an equal ratio. Lastly, the full moon again reduces the temperature; while the barometer attains its maximum mean height, and the quantity of rain is the greatest. Thus it appears, that during this lunar cycle, the approach of the last quarter is the signal for the clearing up of the air, and the return of sunshine.


1972 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Kettle

The biting rates of Culicoides furens (Poey) and C. barbosai Wirth & Blanton on Florida Beach, Jamaica, were observed in 50 trials conducted 40–115 min after dawn from 5 February 1960 to 10 February 1961. The data were logarithmically transformed and non-zero biting rates standardised. Biting rates of both species varied markedly from week to week but monthly mean rates were significantly higher and lower for C. furens in September (111·4) and March (13·7), respectively. Monthly mean rates for C. barbosai fell into three groups, (i) March-June (15·3); (ii) November–December (9·1); (iii) January–February and July–October (3·1). These changes were negatively correlated with mean sea level. Biting rates of C. barbosai were highest at new moon (10·3) and lower but similar (4·3–5·2) for the other three phases of the moon. Those of C. furens were maximal at new moon (62·8), minimal at full moon (20·4) and intermediate (35·9, 39·5) at the quarters. The lunar effect is assumed to act through the tides. There were no significant differences between the standardised biting rates at different times after dawn. In a comparison of the quantitative effects of ten factors on the biting rates of C. furens, C. barbosai and Leptoconops becquaerti (Kieff.), most important were month of year and wind speed; of less importance were lunar cycle, temperature, collector and limb exposed; while site position, intensity of illumination, time after dawn, saturation deficit were of minor or no importance. It is concluded that the biting rate of L. becquaerti should be the least affected by changes in these factors, C. barbosai more affected and C. furens most affected.


1973 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Bowden ◽  
David G. Gibbs

Catches in light-traps adjoining cotton were obtained at the time of seasonal southward movement of the Inter-Tropical Front (ITF) in October, and during most of the following two months. Taxa studied were mostly Orthoptera and moths, many associated with sorghum, others long-distance migrants. Suction-trap catches at three heights up to 50 ft were obtained for short periods in October and November, and aircraft catches at 250 ft were also available on two days. Suction-trap catches of grass-feeding Homoptera suggest that displacement of these insects was associated with changes in wind direction marking movement of the ITF in October. The exact form of the displacement system in relation to the front cannot be reconstructed from catches at a single place, but it seems likely that proximity of the front at or soon after the time of a brief period of crepuscular activity stimulates insects to take flight and rise to 50 ft or more so that they are displaced. In many taxa, light-trap catches showed a regular pattern of increase, with only slight nightly fluctuations from a logarithmic trend, following full moon. Other increases were superimposed on this pattern at times when the ITF passed north of the trap site, and in some taxa particularly when it was far north. The pattern of change after full moon, shown most clearly in taxa with source populations close to the trap, was related to the moon's influence on the range of trap effectiveness. But various qualitative variations suggest that, in addition, aspects of behaviour or development may have adaptive relationships to the lunar cycle; variations include differences between taxa, particularly in timing of catch changes, and increasing proportion and decreasing maturity of females of certain taxa at the time of the regular increases in catch.


BMC Zoology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kodai Fukunaga ◽  
Fumika Yamashina ◽  
Yuki Takeuchi ◽  
Chihiro Yamauchi ◽  
Akihiro Takemura

Abstract Background Many animals in coral reefs exhibit lunar cycles in their reproduction, showing synchronous gametogenesis and spawning at a particular moon phase. How these lunar reproductive cycles are endogenously regulated remains unknown, although changes in moonlight between the new moon and full moon are likely involved in this rhythmic event. Results This study evaluated the possible role of cryptochrome (cry1, cry2, cry3) in phase shifting and setting in the honeycomb grouper Epinephelus merra, which is a typical lunar spawner with full moon preference. qPCR analysis revealed that when fish were reared under alternating light-dark conditions, the transcript levels of cry1 and cry2, but not of cry3, in the diencephalon and pituitary gland showed daily variations. Weekly collection at midnight showed increases in the transcript levels of cry1 and cry2 in the diencephalon, but not the pituitary gland, from the first quarter moon through the last quarter moon. In comparison to the new moon, these transcript levels were significantly lower at all other sampling times. The artificial full moon conditions for 1 month resulted in increased cry transcript levels in both tissues at 2 (cry1) or 2 and 4 (cry2) weeks after the initiation of full moon conditions. Conclusions These results indicate the importance of transient changes in “brightness at night” in the response to moonlight for the phase shift and of “darkness at night” during the new moon for the phase set to the determined moon phase. We concluded that the moon phase-dependent oscillation of clock genes plays a role in lunar cycle-dependent behaviors in fish.


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