The foraging ecology of two pairs of congeneric demersal fish species: importance of morphological characteristics in prey selection

The feeding habits of two sympatric species pairs of demersal fish ( Mullus barbatus-Mullus surmuletus, Serranus cabrilla-Serranus hepatus ) which occupy the shallow coastal area (25–30 m) in Iraklion Bay were investigated from samples collected on a monthly basis (August 1990 to August 1992). Stomach content analyses revealed that all of them were carnivores, feeding mainly on benthic invertebrates, and that each species consumed a narrow range of prey species with no significant dietary overlap. The morphology of their feeding apparatus was compared to examine the effect of any morphological differences on food selection and resource partitioning between the fish species. The species could be distinguished on the basis of the size of their mouth gape, the number of gill rakers and the length of their intestine. This study shows that each species pair follows a different strategy segregating along food niche dimensions. In particular, M. barbatus and M. surmuletus segregate their feeding niche consuming different prey taxa with similar sizes whereas S. cabrilla and S. hepatus differ considerably with respect to the degree to which prey species contribute to their diets coupled with differences in mean prey sizes.     

Morphological variation between red mullet populations in Greece

Morphometric variation in 15 characters of the red mullet Mullus barbatus samples from seven Greek localities was examined using multivariate analysis. ANOVA, stepwise discriminant analysis and cluster analysis revealed a rather high morphological variability between the populations studied. The discriminant analysis revealed that about 80% of the examined fish could be correctly classified into the seven areas. This variability could be explained in terms of genetic structuring of the populations and/or environmental conditions prevailing in each geographic area in combination with fish migration and egg/larvae transportation from one area to another. The results suggest that multivariate analysis when combined with other important biological parameters of red mullet may have important implications for the management of the Greek demersal fish resources.     

RFLP Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA to Evaluate Genetic Variation in Striped Red Mullet (Mullus surmuletus L.) and Red Mullet (Mullus barbatus L.) Populations

The genetic differentiation of striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus) and red mullet (Mullus barbatus) was investigated in 6 Mediterranean populations of each species by means of restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of mitochondrial DNA. Three segments amplified by polymerase chain reaction (control region, COI, and 12S–16S ribosomal RNA) were digested with 20 restriction endonucleases, revealing 71 haplotypes for M. surmuletus and 30 for M. barbatus. For the two species nucleotide diversity was equally distributed within and among populations, leading to N _ST values of 0.545 and 0.500 for M. surmuletus and M. barbatus, respectively. However, intrapopulation and interpopulation genetic structuring appeared to be much higher for M. surmuletus than for M. barbatus (1.88% vs. 0.46% of mean intrapopulation nucleotide diversity; 1.94% vs. 0.47% of mean interpopulation nucleotide diversity; 0.055% vs. 0.002% of net interpopulation divergence). Furthermore, 81.69% of the haplotypes observed for M. surmuletus were unique, whereas 70.29% of M. barbatus individuals were grouped in 3 common haplotypes. Given that fishing pressure and population sizes are similar for both species, this differentiation could be attributed to differences in biological parameters and life histories between the two species, coupled with oceanographic conditions prevailing in the studied area. Received July 25, 2000; accepted December 29, 2000     

外源一氧化氮对模拟酸雨胁迫下箬竹（Indocalamus barbatus）光合特性的影响

为了探讨外源一氧化氮对酸胁迫下植物生理响应的调节作用,以髯毛箬竹为试验材料,以硝普钠（SNP）为一氧化氮供体,研究了一氧化氮对模拟酸雨胁迫下叶片叶绿素相对含量、光合作用日变化以及叶绿素荧光特性等的影响。结果表明：（1）外源一氧化氮（50～450mg／LSNP）预处理可不同程度地缓解pH3．0酸雨胁迫下叶绿素含量的下降,其中以450mg／LSNP处理效果最明显;（2）酸雨胁迫下,箬竹叶片光合“午休”现象加重,日均净光合速率（Pn）、气孔导度（Gs）、蒸腾速率（Tr）和气孔限制值（Ls）均明显降低,而细胞间隙CO2浓度（Ci）增大,经过外源SNP预处理后Pn、Gs、Tr和Ls不同程度增加,而Ci有所降低,以450mg／LSNP预处理的效果最好;（3）酸雨胁迫下,箬竹叶片的最大荧光（胁）、PSⅡ最大光化学效率（Fv／Fm）、有效光化学效率（Fv’／Fm’）、最大荧光产额（Fm’）、稳态荧光产额（Fs’）、光化学淬灭系数（qP）、非光化学淬灭系数（NPQ）、PSⅡ实际光化学效率（qbPSⅡ）及表观光合电子传递速率（ETR）均降低,而暗适应下最小荧光（F0）、光适应下最小荧光产额（F’0）则升高;经450mg／LSNP预处理后,上述荧光参数在胁迫下的变化均受到不同程度的抑制。可见,一氧化氮预处理能够不同程度地缓解酸雨胁迫下非气孔因素引起的箬竹叶片光合速率的下降以及对光合系统的破坏作用,提高胁迫下光合能力。光化学效率的提高和过剩光能的非光合耗散的增强可能是一氧化氮缓解胁迫对光合机构破坏的机制之一。     

Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the red harvester ant,Pogonomyrmex barbatus

The red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus, is a monogynous, polyandrous species: each ant colony is founded by a single queen that has mated with one or more males. To study levels of polyandry within a colony, as well as relationships among colonies, we developed 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci for P. barbatus. With the number of alleles per locus ranging from 3 to 39, and expected heterozygosities of 0.58–0.95, these markers promise to be useful in the study of colony and population genetic structure.     

轮藻植物在澳大利亚的重新发现之探密

澳大利亚轮藻植物研究历史悠久,迄今约有95种被描记。在Wood(1972)对澳大利亚轮藻植物的修订研究中,一些种因为标本遗失或已损坏而未包括在内,其中有的种近年来又被重新发现。本文重点介绍Nitella hookeri A．Br．var．arthroglochin A．Br．,Lychnothamnus barbatus(Meyen)Leonh．和Nitella partita Nordst．的发现过程及其产地生态环境,探讨了季节性湿地对轮藻植物的保护意义。N．hookeri var．arthroglochin早在1854年就发现于澳大利亚,并于1887年再次作为澳大利亚特有物种而被记录,然而从此销声匿迹,直至1989年才再度问世,它重新出现的地点为新南威尔士州高海拔花岗岩风化土壤地区的季节性溪流中。L．barbatus则为R．D．Wood首次发现于1960年,嗣后一再搜寻并无踪迹,直到1996年才于昆士兰东南地区亚热带阵发性溪流中被再次发现。昆士兰中部干旱地区1889年一度见到的N．partita,也是近一百年后才在新南威尔士州西北干旱地区的季节性湿地再次发现。     

贵州荔波发现弱须洞鳅

洞鳅属（Troglonectes Zhang, Zhao & Tang 2016）鱼类为中国特有的小型洞穴淡水鱼类,主要分布在贵州和广西喀斯特地区的地下河流中。2018至2019年在贵州省荔波县境内进行洞穴生物多样性调查时采集到4号洞鳅属标本,经过形态比较,与弱须洞鳅（Troglonectes barbatus）相似;基于线粒体16S rRNA和Cyt b重建的系统发育树及遗传距离分析显示,4号洞鳅属标本与来自模式产地的弱须洞鳅高度支持聚为一支;利用Kimura双参数模型计算基于16S rRNA和Cyt b的遗传距离,这些标本与弱须洞鳅之间的遗传距离分别为0.4%和0.2%,小于洞鳅属物种之间的遗传距离（16S rRNA遗传距离为2.4%,Cyt b遗传距离为6.1%）。本次研究使用16S rRNA和Cyt b分子标记研究洞鳅属部分物种的系统发育关系和遗传距离。综合形态和分子系统发育分析结果,确定采集自贵州省荔波县小七孔景区的4号标本为隶属于鲤形目条鳅科洞鳅属的弱须洞鳅,系贵州省洞穴鱼类新记录种。     

DEVELOPMENT OF DISPLAY BEHAVIOR IN YOUNG CAPTIVE BEARDED SEALS

In this study of the ontogeny of vocal behavior in captive bearded seals, Erignathus barbatus , (three males and three females), only males exhibited vocal displays. The onset of display behavior coincided with sexual maturity. Males exhibited three types of dive displays associated with the performance of vocalizations. Vocalizing individuals were frequently attended by another male that maintained passive muzzle contact with the vocalizing male. These interactions were non-aggressive and might play a role in the establishment of a social hierarchy or they might allow the attendee to obtain "near-field" vocal information from the displaying male. Captive males' vocalizations resembled those of males in the wild. However, display dives were shorter, and fewer vocalization types were documented among the captive males compared to bearded seals in the wild. The capacity of the captive males for producing well-formed, long calls with large frequency changes was also significantly less than for wild males. These capacities will likely develop further as the males grow older. Individual capacity for vocal production appears to develop gradually, showing plasticity in form development over time.