Social stimulation,nuptial colouration,androgens and immunocompetence in a sexual dimorphic cichlid fish

The nature of the costs maintaining honesty of sexual signalling in inter- and intrasexual interactions remains a contentious issue. For carotenoid-based colour ornaments, it has been hypothesized that the honesty of the signal is enforced when carotenoid allocation to colour expression is traded off against carotenoid availability for immunocompetence. In addition, honesty is enforced if androgens required for colour expression are immunosuppressive. We tested whether there is a trade-off between colour expression and immunocompetence in a lek-breeding haplochromine cichlid fish, Pundamilia nyererei, from Lake Victoria with a carotenoid-based nuptial dress. First, we showed that expression of red nuptial colouration and social rank in a group were positively correlated. We then successfully manipulated the level of colour advertisement by socially stimulating individually housed males with a rival male: Stimulated males developed larger areas of red nuptial colouration and had higher levels of circulating 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) than non-stimulated males. We subsequently tested the humoral immune response to a novel antigen (sheep red blood cells). There was no overall significant effect of social stimulation on antibody production, but in the stimulated males, the degree of red colouration and the antibody response were negatively correlated. This significant interaction between colour and treatment thus shows that the negative correlation between colouration and antibody production is dependent on the (manipulated) social environment. This study provides correlational and experimental evidence for a trade-off between expression of a sexual trait and one component of immune function in fish. We found no evidence for a direct effect of 11-KT on antibody production, and we discuss alternative mechanisms that could mediate the trade-off.     

用连续提取法研究芘在鱼鳃表面的结合形态

建立了研究鱼鳃表面芘的结合状态的四步连续提取方法．分别用H2O、CaCl2、CH3OH和n-C6H14+CH2Cl2(1:1, v/v)混合液提取经暴露的鱼鳃．操作定义的前3步分别提取松散附着在鳃表的鱼鳃黏液中的芘,紧密附着在鳃表的鱼鳃黏液中的芘以及直接吸着在鱼鳃表皮上的芘,第4步则用来提取鱼鳃组织吸收的芘．其提取的芘分别占总量的 4．0％、12．1％、45．2％和38．7％．经3 h暴露,进入鳃组织的芘仅为总测定量的三分之一强,因此大部分芘并未进入鳃组织．单独进行的五步CH3OH连续提取实验结果证明,CH3OH提取步骤能有效地解吸鳃表吸着的芘,但不会导致鳃组织中芘的释放．动态实验结果表明,黏液结合态芘在暴露1h左右即达到平衡,而鳃表吸着态和鳃组织吸收态芘在暴露3h内含量迅速上升,3 h后显著趋缓．     

鱼类耳石元素指纹研究进展

耳石是沉积在真骨鱼类内耳中的一种矿物结构,其主要成分是碳酸盐.在鱼类的生活过程中,水环境中的化学元素经过代谢稳定地沉积在耳石上,由于生活水域化学环境的差异,鱼类耳石的元素组成或含量存在一定的差异,而使耳石上的元素指纹成为一种天然标志,记录了鱼类所经历的生态环境及其变化.耳石元素指纹研究主要包括同位素成分分析、锶钙比率研究(Sr/Ca)以及一些痕量元素分析等,这些可以用于鱼类种群识别、生活史研究、生活环境重建,以及高龄鱼的年龄鉴定,在鱼类生态学和渔业资源学研究中具有广泛的应用前景.参57     

Effects of Widespread Fish Introductions on Paedomorphic Newts in Europe

Abstract:  As a result of factors such as global warming, habitat destruction, and species introduction, amphibians are declining worldwide. No one, however, has analyzed the status of polymorphic amphibian species at a national or continental scale, although some local reports exist. Our aim was to report on the loss of intraspecific heterochrony as a loss to diversity in determining the consequences of fish stocking on European populations of paedomorphic newts. Paedomorphosis is a polymorphism in which larval traits are retained in the adult stage. We surveyed 39 paedomorphic populations of the alpine (  Triturus alpestris ) and palmate ( T. helveticus ) newts, all but one of which initially occupied fishless ponds and lakes in France, Italy, Slovenia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Greece. Exotic fishes were found in 44% of the studied aquatic habitats, with a 100% presence in Montenegro. At all sites paedomorphs disappeared and metamorphs declined. Only fish explained these population changes because alternative factors such as drying were not significant. More catastrophically, fish introductions occurred in habitats known to support the largest populations of newts and even some endemic subspecies. If management and legislative measures are not taken to stop fish stocking, protect paedomorphs as conservation units at national and international levels, and restore natural habitats, all the largest paedomorphic populations may disappear in the near future. Their disappearance would represent a loss of one of the rare, fascinating examples of intraspecific heterochrony.     

Allopatric differentiation in the acoustic communication of a weakly electric fish from southern Africa, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Marcusenius macrolepidotus</Emphasis> (Mormyridae,Teleostei)

A few species of the weakly electric snoutfish, the African freshwater family Mormyridae, have been reported to vocalise. However, allopatric populations of a single species were never compared. Members of three allopatric Marcusenius macrolepidotus populations, originating from the Upper Zambezi River in Namibia, the Buzi River (Mozambique), and the Incomati River system in South Africa, vocalised with pulsatile growl- and tonal hoot sounds in dyadic confrontation experiments. A high rate of growling accompanied territorial and agonistic interactions and also non-threatening interactions between males and females, which in one pair appeared to be courtship. Growl sound characteristics of M. macrolepidotus from the Incomati system differed from those of the Upper Zambezi in a significantly higher frequency of the first harmonic (mean, 355 Hz vs 266 Hz). The two vocalising males from the Buzi River generated growls about twice as long as the other fish. Furthermore, the growl pulse period was about 4 ms in M. macrolepidotus from the Upper Zambezi River and from the Incomati system, but 6 ms in M. macrolepidotus from the Buzi River. Hoots were only observed in agonistic encounters. Hoot oscillograms showed a sinusoidal waveform, and the mean duration of this sound was similar in Incomati system fish (mean, 161 ms), Upper Zambezi fish (172 ms) and Buzi fish (103 and 145 ms for the two vocalising individuals). The mean frequency of the first hoot harmonic was higher in Incomati system fish (326 Hz) than in Upper Zambezi fish (245 Hz). Both growl and hoot occurred only in the presence of conspecifics, probably signalling the presence and condition of an opponent, territory owner or potential mate. This is the first evidence for (1) sound production and acoustical communication in another species and genus, M. macrolepidotus, from southern Africa to be (2) geographically differentiated.     

天津地区鱼塘水、悬浮物、沉积物和鱼体中的DDT

采样测定了天津地区2典型鱼塘鲫鱼、鲢鱼、水、悬浮物、沉积物和鱼塘周边表土中的DDT及其代谢产物含量。结果发现,2鱼塘各主要介质以及鱼体肌肉和器官中都富集了较高浓度的DDT。鲫鱼和鲢鱼肌肉中DDT的含量分别为(66.4±2.7)ng·g-1和(24.3±23.4)ng·g-1。肝胰脏、肠和鱼鳃中DDT含量一般高于肌肉,其中肠的富集量最大,是肌肉的3倍以上。生物富集系数(lgBCF)分别为3.7和3.3。2鱼塘鱼体和各相含量有较大差别,鱼塘介质中悬浮物富集浓度最高。表土污染相对严重地区的鱼塘中各介质和鱼体DDT含量均高于另一污染较轻的鱼塘。污染严重鱼塘的DDE/ΣDDT含量比值也相对较高,反映早期污染残留的重要特征。尽管如此,仍然较高的DDT含量以及悬浮物中很低的DDE/ΣDDT含量比值说明很可能还有污染源存在。     

Cave molly females (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae, Teleostei) like well-fed males

We examined the preference of Atlantic molly females (Poecilia mexicana) to associate with a well-fed or a starved male in simultaneous choice tests. Females from three different populations were tested in three treatments: (1) the females could choose on the basis of multiple cues from the males (visual plus non-visual); (2) only non-visual cues could be perceived in darkness, (3) only visual cues were presented. The three tested populations differ clearly in their ecology: one population occurs in a typical river habitat, the second one in a milky sulfur creek outside a cave, and the third population occurs in a cave habitat (cave molly). In the river-dwelling population, females never showed a preference. In the population from the sulfur creek, females preferred to associate with the well-nourished male when visual cues from the males were available. Only cave molly females exhibited a strong preference for well-nourished males in all treatments. A morphological comparison demonstrated that wild-caught males from river habitats are typically in a good nutritional state. In the sulfur creek, males showed signs of starvation. Cave molly males were in an even worse nutritional state. In the cave population, saturated males probably indicate high fitness, thereby driving the evolution of the preference for good male nutritional state.Communicated by K. Lindström     

我国大兴安岭北部鱼类资源现状

根据１９９０－１９９４年调查结果表明,我国大兴岭北部现有淡水鱼类计７目５亚目１４科,１４亚科４７属６８种,其中经济鱼类２２种。与８０年代初期相比,有８目２亚目１０科２亚科２９属３３种鱼类未采集到标本,经济鱼类资源少了１７种。     

热污染对陡河水库鱼类及其水环境的影响

研究表明,热污染对水环境影响主要表现在水温的频繁变化、水平和纵向上温差明显以及改变水生物的群落结构.寄生虫感染率增加,冷热冲击对胚胎发育的危害和浮游生物群落变化形成的饵料基础是影响鱼类数量和生长的重要因素,鱼类在群落中的生态位特点则决定着对各种变化的反应结果.