The duct system of the avian salt gland as a transporting epithelium: structure and morphometry in the duck Anas platyrhynchos

Summary The duct system of the nasal salt gland of the duck comprises central canals, secondary ducts and main ducts. The secondary and main ducts consist of a layer of columnar cells overlying a layer of small cuboidal cells. The columnar cells have complex intercellular spaces showing evidence of Na⁺ K⁺ -ATPase at the apical regions. Approximately 70% of surface area of the duct system is external to the gland. During adaptation to salt water the duct system increases in size as does the gland. Although the components of the gland of adapted ducks, including the duct system within the gland, increase in size compared with normal ducks, the percentage volume densities of the components remain similar in both categories of ducks, i.e. the duct system increases in size in proportion to the glandular tissue. The volume of the duct system external to the gland is six to seven times larger than the volume within the gland. Thus, if ductal modification of secreted fluid occurs, it will be most likely to take place in the ducts external to the gland.Total surface areas of the duct system were measured from serial sections of glands and ducts from one normal and one adapted duck. These were used to calculate possible flux rates of water and sodium across the duct epithelium, assuming the occurrence of either water reabsorption or sodium secretion. Although these flux rates are high it is shown that they are similar to calculated flux rates across the luminal surface of the secretory tubules.     

Functional vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-system in salt glands of the Pekin duck

Summary In saltwater-acclimated ducks with fully specialized supraorbital salt glands, intracarotid application of acetylcholine (5 nmoles/min/kg b.w.) or porcine vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (pVIP) (240 pmoles/min/kg b.w.) induced secretion from the salt glands at threshold conditions of secretory activity. pVIP-like immunoreactivity could be localized in fibers of the postganglionic secretory nerve ramifying throughout the glandular parenchyma. Both middle-sized arterioles and secretory tubules were innervated, and pVIP-immunoreactive varicose fibers formed peritubular baskets around the basal region of secretory tubules indicating direct innervation of the secretory tissue. pVIP-specific staining could be abolished by preabsorption of the antiserum with peptide extracts of salt-gland tissue. Synthetic pVIP and endogenous VIP from salt glands of the duck co-eluted on the HPLC system, suggesting structural similarity of the peptides. Membrane-binding studies with radioiodinated pVIP revealed the presence of high-affinity binding sites in salt-gland tissue. Affinities of unlabeled pVIP analogues to compete for these binding sites were as follows: pVIP > PHI > pVIP antagonist > secretin > pVIP (10–28) > chicken VIP (16–28). Peptide extracts of salt glands had affinities similar to pVIP. Binding sites could be localized mainly at the apical end of the radially arranged secretory tubules, as demonstrated by receptor autoradiography.It is concluded that, in addition to the classical parasympathetic transmitter acetycholine, VIP serves as neuromodulator/transmitter in cranial parasympathetic control of avian salt-gland secretion by acting on both the arteriolar network and the secretory tubules of the gland.     

金定鸭盲肠内厌氧菌群的初步研究

本文应用不同的培养基和培养方法对金定鸭盲肠内厌氧菌进行了分离和初步鉴定,结果说明:采用不同厌氧方法对厌氧菌的分离计数具有一定的影响;金定鸭盲肠内厌氧菌群主要有革兰氏阳性无芽孢杆菌、革兰氏阴性无芽孢杆菌、厌氧球菌和梭菌,其中有一株厌氧菌对氧的存在极为敏感。本文中强调了严格遵守厌氧培养和操作条件的重要性。     

Gas exchange and blood gases of Puna teal (Anas versicolor puna) embryos in the Peruvian Andes

Oxygen consumption, air cell gases, hematology, blood gases and pH of Puna teal (Anas versicolor puna) embryos were measured at the altitude at which the eggs were laid (4150 m) in the Peruvian Andes. In contrast to the metabolic depression described by other studies on avian embryos incubated above 3700 m, O₂ consumption of Puna teal embryos was higher than even that of some lowland avian embryos at equivalent body masses. Air cell O₂ tensions dropped from about 80 toor in eggs with small embryos to about 45 toor in eggs containing a 14-g embryo; simultaneously air cell CO₂ tension rose from virtually negligible amounts to around 26 torr. Arterial and venous O₂ tensions (32–38 and 10–12 toor, respectively, in 12- to 14-g embryos) were lower than described previously in similarly-sized lowland wild avian embryos or chicken embryos incubated in shells with restricted gas exchange. The difference between air cell and arterial O₂ tensions dropped significantly during incubation to a minimum of 11 torr, the lowest value recorded in any avian egg. Blood pH (mean 7.49) did not vary significantly during incubation. Hemoglobin concentration and hematocrits rose steadily throughout incubation to 11.5 g · 100 ml^-1 and 39.9%, respectively, in 14-g embryos.Abbreviations PO₂ partial pressure gradient of O₂ - BM body mass - D diffusion coefficient - G gas conductance (cm³·s^-1·torr^-1) - conductance to water vapor - IP internal pipping of embryos - P _ACO₂ partial pressure of carbon dioxide in air cell - P _AO₂ partial pressure of oxygen in air cell - P _aCO₂ partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood - P _aCO₂ partial pressure of oxygen in arteries - P _H barometric pressure (torr) - PCO₂ partial pressure of carbon dioxide - P _IO₂ partial pressure in ambiant air - PO₂ partial pressure of oxygen - P _VCO₂ venous carbon dioxide partial pressure - P _VO₂ mixed venous oxygen partial pressure - SE standard error - VO ₂ oxygen consumption     

Use of Restored Small Wetlands by Breeding Waterfowl in Prince Edward Island, Canada

Abstract Since 1990 under the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture over 100 small wetlands have been restored in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Wetlands were restored by means of dredging accumulated sediment from erosion to emulate pre‐disturbance conditions (i.e., open water and extended hydroperiod). In 1998 and 1999 we compared waterfowl pair and brood use on 22 restored and 24 reference wetlands. More pairs and broods of Ring‐necked Ducks, Gadwall, Green‐winged Teal, and American Black Ducks used restored versus reference wetlands. In restored wetlands waterfowl pair density and species richness were positively correlated with wetland/cattail area, percent cattail cover, and close proximity to freshwater rivers. In addition, a waterfowl reproductive index was positively correlated with percent cattail cover. Green‐winged Teal pair occurrence in restored wetlands was positively correlated with greater amounts of open water and water depths. American Black Duck pairs occurred on most (86%) restored wetlands. Restored small wetlands likely served as stopover points for American Black Duck broods during overland or stream movements, whereas they likely served as a final brood‐rearing destination for Green‐winged Teal broods. We suggest that wetland restoration is a good management tool for increasing populations of Green‐winged Teal and American Black Ducks in Prince Edward Island.     

Immunohistochemistry of Grandry corpuscles in the oral mucosa of the duck bill: a light- and electron-microscopic study

Grandry corpuscles in the oral mucosa of the upper bill of the duck were immunohistochemically studied using antisera against calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), galanin, methionine-enkephalin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), somatostatin, substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Grandry corpuscles in the lamina propria selectively showed only SP-like immunoreactivity. Herbst corpuscles distributed near Grandry corpuscles were negative to all antisera applied. Although immunoreactive products in the Grandry corpuscles were found as granules in the peripheral cytoplasm of the Grandry cell, the axon terminals and satellite cells exhibited no reactivity. In pre-embedding electron-microscopic sections, SP-like immunoreactive products visualized with 3,3-diaminobezidine were localized in the granules of Grandry cells, but no labeling was observed in the cytoplasmic matrix or cell organelles. Electron-immunocytochemical labeling with colloidal gold by the post-embedding method clearly demonstrated that the SP antigen was localized only in the granules. It is presumed that Grandry cells have a secretory function. However, the function and the method of release of the SP contained in the observed granules remains obscure. Some CGRP-, NPY-, SP- and VIP-like-immunoreactive nerve fibers with varicosities associated with blood vessels and nerve fiber bundles of various sizes were observed in the lamina propria, but no such fibers penetrated into the intraepitherial layer. Nerve fibers positive for SP and VIP were also found in the interlobular connective tissue of the palatine glands. Some SP-positive neurons were detected in the vicinity of the palatine glands.     

Adrenergic control of hypothalamic function during osmotic stress in the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

Summary The role of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and biogenic amines (BA) in regulating the level of corticoids in the serum of osmotically stressed mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) was analyzed employing three experimental approaches: 1) pharmacologic alteration of central BA levels, 2) microscopic evaluation of BA distribution, and 3) placement of electrolytic lesions into the PVN. Reserpine and -methyl-p-tyrosine (mpt), agents that decrease the amount of BA's in the central nervous system, produced a fivefold increase in the concentration of serum corticoids. Conversely, pargyline and amphetamine, agents that increase the functional pool of BA's, prevented the rise in serum corticoid concentration normally observed in birds challenged with an intraperitoneal injection of hypertonic saline. When the topographic distribution of BA's was analyzed in the brains of osmotically stressed and nonstressed ducks distinct changes in the intensity of catecholamine (CA) fluorescence were observed in only one location, the PVN of the hypothalamus. Additionally, electrolytic lesions stereotaxically placed in the PVN blocked the osmotic stress-induced rise in serum corticoid concentration. These data therefore indicate that the PVN in the mallard duck plays some role in regulating the observed stress-induced rise in serum corticoid concentration, and that this regulatory function is probably inhibited by catecholamines.This research was supported by research grant No. GB 33321 from the National Science Foundation. We wish to express our sincere thanks to Mr. Howard Funk, research director, Colorado Division of Wildlife, for the use of the State's animal facilitiesThis research was submitted as partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80521     

Afferent connections of physiologically identified neuronal complexes in the paraventricular nucleus of conscious Pekin ducks involved in regulation of salt- and water-balance

Summary The afferent connections of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the domestic mallard (Pekin duck), Anas platyrhynchos, were demonstrated by means of microiontophoretic injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). To place the HRP injection exactly into the PVN, its location was identified prior to the injection by observing antidiuretic reactions to electrostimulations within the rostral hypothalamus of conscious, hydrated animals. Antidiuresis was induced only when electrostimulation was applied to a distinct hypothalamic area. Two different patterns of antidiuresis were observed: (i) an immediate reduction in rate of production of urine, and (ii) antidiuresis preceded by a period of increase in production of urine. Repeated stimulation of the same site with the same parameters resulted in decreasing antidiuretic effects. At the site where stimulation had elicited the most pronounced antidiuresis of either response type, HRP was injected microiontophoretically.Histological examination after 3–8 days of survival revealed delicate injection sites located exclusively in the periventricular portion of the PVN. Adjacent to the dorsal portion of the PVN retrogradely labeled tanycytes and intraependymal neurons were scattered in the ventricular wall. As demonstrated in neurohistological and electron-microscopic investigations, this ependymal region exhibits a particular arrangement of tanycytes and small neurons (10–15 m in diameter), some of which belong to the neurosecretory type.Additional HRP-labeled neuronal perikarya afferent to the PVN were demonstrated in the contralateral PVN, and on the ipsilateral side in the lateral septum, lateral hypothalamic area and locus coeruleus. Within the nuclei of the solitary tract, stained nerve cells were found ipsilateral as well as contralateral to the injection site.Several of the neurons demonstrated may be considered as candidates for the transmission of signals originating from various receptive structures relevant for the control of avian salt- and water-balance. The physiological results conform to the concept that neurons of the PVN influence urine formation by controlling the release of arginine-vasotocin (AVT). Evidence that suggests additional modes of control exerted by these neurons in salt- and water-balance is presented.Supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Ko 758/1; Si 230/4-4)Portions of these results were presented on the occasion of the 54th Meeting of the Deutsche Physiologische Gesellschaft (Korf et al. 1981 a) and the 76th Meeting of the Anatomische Gesellschaft (Korf et al. 1981 b)