Magnetic and electric characteristics of the electric fish Gymnotus carapó.

The fresh water fish Gymnotus carapó produces a continuous series of weak pulsed electric fields in its surroundings and senses disturbances of this field as part of its sensory system. The electric and magnetic properties of the electric organ of this fish were studied. Magnetic fields close to the fish on the order of nT are produced by currents on the order of 10(-4) A in the electric organ of the fish. The electromotive force, the internal resistance, the current, and the electric power of the equivalent circuit were determined noninvasively.     

‘Communication’ in weakly electric fish, Gnathonemus niger (Mormyridae) I. Variation of electric organ discharge (EOD) frequency elicited by controlled electric stimuli

The weakly electric fish, Gathonemus niger, discharged with a frequency of 4 to 8 Hz during the day and 10 to 16 Hz during the night. The frequency of superimposed burst discharges (32 to 56 Hz) was independent of diurnal factors. The variation of the electric organ discharge frequency during the day was investigated in response to controlled electric stimulus patterns: (a) A free running stimulus frequency of 4 Hz, simulating the resting frequency of another fish, and different stimulus intensities, simulating different distances between two fish. (b) Free running frequencies of 4, 8, 16, …, 128 Hz and two particular stimulus intensities. (c) Discharge coupled stimuli (each discharge triggered an electric stimulus with a fixed delay) and different stimulus intensities.All three kinds of stimuli elicited defined and predictable response discharge patterns supporting the assumption that an electric fish would respond to a particular discharge pattern of another fish also in a similar and predictable manner. Low stimulus intensities (0·04 to 0·2 mV per cm) caused cessation of the discharge activity, a ‘hiding’ or ‘listening’ response. The discharge rate increased linearly with the logarithm of the stimulus intensity. The fish was particularly sensitive to stimulus frequencies which simulated its burst activity (32 to 56 Hz). Discharge coupled stimuli showed that the fish responded to about eight times lower stimulus intensities if the stimulus occurred between two discharges (15 to 30 m-s after the fish's discharge) than if the stimulus occurred within or immediately after the discharge. All suprathreshold stimuli elicited a typical discharge pattern: The irregular resting discharge activity became significantly regular. The degree of regularity was even improved during maintained stimulation. The regularisation of the discharge activity is thought to be involved in the fish's electrolocating system whereas frequency variations are considered as being involved in both the locating system and as communication signals among weakly electric fish.     

Taxonomy-based differences in feeding guilds of fish

It has been taken for granted that feeding guilds and behavior in animals are linked to the taxonomic relatedness of species,but empirical evidence supporting such relationship is virtually missing.To examine the importance of taxonomy on trophic ecology,I here present the first well-resolved dietary taxonomy analysis based on feeding guilds(predation,herbivory,and filtering)among families and genera within the fish order Perciformes.Taxonomic relatedness in feeding did not vary with ecosystem dimension(marine vs.freshwater).Although predation dominates among Perciformes fishes,this study shows that in most cases taxonomic units(family or genus)are composed by species with several feeding guilds.Related species are more similar in feeding compared with species that are taxonomically more distant demonstrating that there is a greater variation of feeding guilds within families than genera.Thus,there is no consistency in feeding guilds between family-and genus-level taxonomy.This study provides empirical support for the notion that genera are more informative than families,underlining that family-level taxonomy should be avoided to infer feeding habits of fish species at finer taxonomic resolution.Thus,the choice of taxonomic resolution(family or genus level)in ecological studies is key to avoid information loss and misleading results.I conclude that high-rank taxonomic units(i.e.,above the generic level)are not appropriate to test research hypotheses about the feeding of fish.     

Evaluation of target strength–fish length equation choices for estimating estuarine fish biomass

In the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), fish biomass estimates are necessary for the evaluation of habitat use and function following the mandate for ecosystem-based fisheries management in the recently reauthorized Sustainable Fisheries Act of 2007. Acoustic surveys have emerged as a potential tool to estimate fish biomass in shallow-water estuaries, however, the transformation of acoustic data into an index of fish biomass is not straightforward. In this article, we examine the consequences of equation selection for target strength (TS) to fish length relationships on potential error generation in hydroacoustic fish biomass estimates. We applied structural equation models (SEMs) to evaluate how our choice of an acoustic TS–fish length equation affected our biomass estimates, and how error occurred and propagated during this process. To demonstrate the magnitude of the error when applied to field data, we used SEMs on normally distributed simulated data to better understand the sources of error involved with converting acoustic data to fish biomass. As such, we describe where, and to what magnitude, error propagates when estimating fish biomass. Estimates of fish lengths were affected by measurement errors of TS, and from inexact relationships between fish length and TS. Differences in parameter estimates resulted in significant differences in fish biomass estimates and led to the conclusion that in the absence of known TS–fish length relationships, Love’s (J Acoust Soc Am 46:746–752, 1969) lateral-aspect equation may be an acceptable substitute for an ecosystem-specific TS–fish length relationship. Based upon SEMs applied to simulated data, perhaps the most important, yet most variable, component is the mean volume backscattering strength, which significantly inflated biomass errors in approximately 10% of the cases. Handling editor: M. Power     

Can size distributions of European lake fish communities be predicted by trophic positions of their fish species?

An organism''s body size plays an important role in ecological interactions such as predator–prey relationships. As predators are typically larger than their prey, this often leads to a strong positive relationship between body size and trophic position in aquatic ecosystems. The distribution of body sizes in a community can thus be an indicator of the strengths of predator–prey interactions. The aim of this study was to gain more insight into the relationship between fish body size distribution and trophic position in a wide range of European lakes. We used quantile regression to examine the relationship between fish species'' trophic position and their log‐transformed maximum body mass for 48 fish species found in 235 European lakes. Subsequently, we examined whether the slopes of the continuous community size distributions, estimated by maximum likelihood, were predicted by trophic position, predator–prey mass ratio (PPMR), or abundance (number per unit effort) of fish communities in these lakes. We found a positive linear relationship between species'' maximum body mass and average trophic position in fishes only for the 75% quantile, contrasting our expectation that species'' trophic position systematically increases with maximum body mass for fish species in European lakes. Consequently, the size spectrum slope was not related to the average community trophic position, but there were negative effects of community PPMR and total fish abundance on the size spectrum slope. We conclude that predator–prey interactions likely do not contribute strongly to shaping community size distributions in these lakes.     

“Naked” spinal cord on a non-segmented baton-like bony structure in the tail of the electric fish Eigenmannia virescens (Gymnotoidei)

Summary The caudal spinal cord of Eigenmannia virescens is not enclosed in a neural canal of the vertebral column. In fact, a segmented vertebral column with neural and ventral arches is lacking and replaced by a non-segmented baton-like bony structure on which the free spinal cord is located. The baton consists of calcified bone tissue with bone cells. Individual differences exist as far as the length of the rod is concerned. The electromotor neurons of this caudal part of the spinal cord are histochemically acetylcholinesterase-positive. The electrocytes which surround this part of the spinal cord show strong enzymatic actitivity on the posterior innervated face. However, there is also activity on the non-innervated lateral and anterior faces.     

Utilisation of fish oil in ruminants: II. Transfer of fish oil fatty acids into goats’ milk

A study was conducted to determine the transfer of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6) from fish oil into goats’ milk. Goats were sequentially offered three diets: control (C) pellets (lucerne hay-oat grain: 60/40 w/w), C plus tuna oil protected against ruminal biohydrogenation (PTO pellets), and C plus unprotected tuna oil (UTO pellets). In supplemented diets, tuna oil constituted 3% of total dry matter (DM), and each supplement was fed for 7 days, with 12 days allowed between the two fish oil feeding periods to minimise carry-over effects. Dry matter intake, milk yield, protein and fat yield were reduced by feeding UTO, but not PTO, pellets. Goats produced ω-3 enriched milk (0.3–0.5% EPA and 1.01–1.12% DHA) when fed either supplement. The rate of transfer of dietary EPA and DHA to milk ranged from 3.5 to 7.6%. Significant transfer of EPA and DHA from tuna oil into goat milk, without deleterious effects on intake or milk yield is possible, provided that the oil supplement is substantially protected against ruminal biohydrogenation.     

On the evolution of fish–coral interactions

The biodiversity of tropical reefs is typified by the interaction between fishes and corals. Despite the importance of this ecological association, coevolutionary patterns between these two animal groups have yet to be critically evaluated. After compiling a large dataset on the prevalence of fish–coral interactions, we found that only a minority of fish species associate strongly with live corals (~5%). Furthermore, we reveal an evolutionary decoupling between fish and coral lineage trajectories. While fish lineages expanded in the Miocene, the bulk of coral diversification occurred in the Pliocene/Pleistocene. Most importantly, we found that coral association did not drive major differences in fish diversification. These results suggest that the Miocene fish diversification is more likely related to the development of novel, wave-resistant reef structures and their associated ecological opportunities. Macroevolutionary patterns in reef fishes are thus more strongly correlated with the expansion of reefs than with the corals themselves.     

What do fish make of mirror images?

Fish act aggressively towards their mirror image suggesting that they consider it another individual, whereas in some mammals behavioural response to mirrors may be an evidence of self-recognition. Since fish cannot self-recognize, we asked whether they could distinguish between fighting a mirror image and fighting a real fish. We compared molecular, physiological and behavioural responses in each condition and found large differences in brain gene expression levels. Although neither levels of aggressive behaviour nor circulating androgens differed between these conditions, males fighting a mirror image had higher immediate early gene (IEG) expression in brain areas homologous to the amygdala and hippocampus than controls. Since amygdalar responses are associated with fear and fear conditioning in other species, higher levels of brain activation when fighting a mirror suggest fish experience fear in response to fights with a mirror image. Clearly, the fish recognize something unusual about the mirror image and the differential brain response may reflect a cognitive distinction.     

Plasticity of electric organ discharge waveform in the South African Bulldog fish, Marcusenius pongolensis: tradeoff between male attractiveness and predator avoidance?

Background

In adult male Marcusenius pongolensis the duration of their Electric Organ Discharge (EOD) pulses increases with body size over lifetime (267 to 818 μs, field-measured). Spawning males have been observed to exhibit an additional, temporary pulse duration increase which probably betters their mating success but increases predation risk by electroreceptive catfish. We here study the question of how the additional pulse duration increase is triggered and for how long it persists, in an attempt to understand the compromise between opposing selective forces.

Results

Here, we demonstrate short-term plasticity in male EOD waveform in 10 captive M. pongolensis. An increase in EOD duration was experimentally evoked in two different ways: by exchanging the familiar neighbours of experimental subjects for stranger males that were separated by plastic mesh partitions, or by separating familiar fish by plastic mesh partitions introduced into their common tank. Both treatments evoked an increase of male EOD duration. Values exceeded those found in the non-reproductive season in nature. In one male the increase of EOD duration was 5.7 fold, from 356 μs to 2029 μs. An increase in EOD duration was accompanied by a high level of aggression directed against the neighbours through the plastic mesh. With conditions remaining constant, EOD duration receded to 38 – 50% of the maximum EOD duration after 10 weeks, or, more rapidly, when sensory contact between the fish was severely restricted by the introduction of a solid plastic wall.

Conclusion

The short-term increase of EOD duration evoked by experimental manipulation of sensory contact with conspecifics through the plastic mesh, as reported here, resembled the changes in EOD waveform that accompanied reproduction in two captive males. Plasticity of the male EOD in pulse duration seems to be an adaptation for (1) securing a higher fitness by a sexually "attractive" long-duration EOD, while (2) limiting the risk of detection by electroreceptive predators, such as the sharptooth catfish, by receding to a shorter EOD as soon as reproduction is over.     

Is there a fixed number of niches for endoparasites of fish?

Kennedy and Guégan, based on Cornell and Lawton (J Anim Ecol 1992;61:1–12), found a curvilinear relationship (the fundamental form of the relationship for parasite communities) between infracommunity and component community richness, and interpreted this as meaning that only processes acting within the infracommunities can explain the limitation in the number of parasite species in a given host. The research described here shows that an asymptotic relationship is the consequence of the differential likelihoods of parasite species to appear in an infracommunity as determined by transmission rates and intrinsic lifespans. Processes operating at the infracommunity level are not necessary to explain the curvilinear relationship. Even communities much richer than those found in European freshwater fishes cannot be assumed to be saturated in the sense that further species cannot be added over evolutionary time.     

Environmental impacts of hybrid and electric vehicles—a review

Purpose

A literature review is undertaken to understand how well existing studies of the environmental impacts of hybrid and electric vehicles (EV) address the full life cycle of these technologies. Results of studies are synthesized to compare the global warming potential (GWP) of different EV and internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) options. Other impacts are compared; however, data availability limits the extent to which this could be accomplished.

Method

We define what should be included in a complete, state-of-the-art environmental assessment of hybrid and electric vehicles considering components and life cycle stages, emission categories, impact categories, and resource use and compare the content of 51 environmental assessments of hybrid and electric vehicles to our definition. Impact assessment results associated with full life cycle inventories (LCI) are compared for GWP as well as emissions of other pollutants. GWP results by life cycle stage and key parameters are extracted and used to perform a meta-analysis quantifying the impacts of vehicle options.

Results

Few studies provide a full LCI for EVs together with assessment of multiple impacts. Research has focused on well to wheel studies comparing fossil fuel and electricity use as the use phase has been seen to dominate the life cycle of vehicles. Only very recently have studies begun to better address production impacts. Apart from batteries, very few studies provide transparent LCIs of other key EV drivetrain components. Estimates of EV energy use in the literature span a wide range, 0.10?C0.24?kWh/km. Similarly, battery and vehicle lifetime plays an important role in results, yet lifetime assumptions range between 150,000?C300,000?km. CO₂ and GWP are the most frequently reported results. Compiled results suggest the GWP of EVs powered by coal electricity falls between small and large conventional vehicles while EVs powered by natural gas or low-carbon energy sources perform better than the most efficient ICEVs. EV results in regions dependant on coal electricity demonstrated a trend toward increased SO _x emissions compared to fuel use by ICEVs.

Conclusions

Moving forward research should focus on providing consensus around a transparent inventory for production of electric vehicles, appropriate electricity grid mix assumptions, the implications of EV adoption on the existing grid, and means of comparing vehicle on the basis of common driving and charging patterns. Although EVs appear to demonstrate decreases in GWP compared to conventional ICEVs, high efficiency ICEVs and grid-independent hybrid electric vehicles perform better than EVs using coal-fired electricity.     

Otolith chemistry of prey fish consumed by a fish predator: does digestion hinder Russian doll techniques?

The effect of digestion by a predatory fish (largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides) on stable isotopic (δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) and trace elemental (Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca) compositions of prey fish (bluegill Lepomis macrochirus) otoliths was investigated in a laboratory experiment. Trace element and stable‐isotopic signatures of L. macrochirus otoliths were not significantly altered for up to 16 h after L. macrochirus were consumed by M. salmoides. Prey fish otoliths recovered from predator digesta can retain environmental stable isotopic and trace elemental signatures, suggesting that determination of environmental history for prey fishes by stable‐isotope and trace‐element analysis of otoliths recovered from stomachs of piscivorous fishes will be feasible.     

Are alien fish a reliable indicator of river health?

1. The ability of many introduced fish species to thrive in degraded aquatic habitats and their potential to impact on aquatic ecosystem structure and function suggest that introduced fish may represent both a symptom and a cause of decline in river health and the integrity of native aquatic communities. 2. The varying sensitivities of many commonly introduced fish species to degraded stream conditions, the mechanism and reason for their introduction and the differential susceptibility of local stream habitats to invasion because of the environmental and biological characteristics of the receiving water body, are all confounding factors that may obscure the interpretation of patterns of introduced fish species distribution and abundance and therefore their reliability as indicators of river health. 3. In the present study, we address the question of whether alien fish (i.e. those species introduced from other countries) are a reliable indicator of the health of streams and rivers in south‐eastern Queensland, Australia. We examine the relationships of alien fish species distributions and indices of abundance and biomass with the natural environmental features, the biotic characteristics of the local native fish assemblages and indicators of anthropogenic disturbance at a large number of sites subject to varying sources and intensities of human impact. 4. Alien fish species were found to be widespread and often abundant in south‐eastern Queensland rivers and streams, and the five species collected were considered to be relatively tolerant to river degradation, making them good candidate indicators of river health. Variation in alien species indices was unrelated to the size of the study sites, the sampling effort expended or natural environmental gradients. The biological resistance of the native fish fauna was not concluded to be an important factor mediating invasion success by alien species. Variation in alien fish indices was, however, strongly related to indicators of disturbance intensity describing local in‐stream habitat and riparian degradation, water quality and surrounding land use, particularly the amount of urban development in the catchment. 5. Potential confounding factors that may influence the likelihood of introduction and successful establishment of an alien species and the implications of these factors for river bioassessment are discussed. We conclude that the potentially strong impact that many alien fish species can have on the biological integrity of natural aquatic ecosystems, together with their potential to be used as an initial basis to find out other forms of human disturbance impacts, suggest that some alien species (particularly species from the family Poeciliidae) can represent a reliable ‘first cut’ indicator of river health.     

Regulation and expression of transgenes in fish—a review

Transgenic fish, owing to a number of advantages which they offer over other species, are proving to be valuable model systems for the study of gene regulation and developmental genetics in addition to being useful targets for the genetic manipulation of commercially important traits. Despite having begun only a decade ago, the production of transgenic fish has become commonplace in a number of laboratories world-wide and considerable progress has been made. In this review, we initially consider the various regulatory elements and coding genes which have been used in fish, and subsequently discuss and compare both the transient and long-term fate and expression patterns of injected DNA sequences in the context of the different factors which are likely to have an effect on the expression of transgenes.     

The effect of caseinate on inclusion complexes of γ-cyclodextrin for oxidative stabilization of fish oil

In this study, we investigated that when γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) forms the inclusion complexes for fish oils, the oxidation stability and retardation of odor can be effectively enhanced through the addition of sodium caseinate (SC). In order to evaluate the oxidative stability and the odor-masking effect, the inclusion complexes of γ-CD and SC incorporating fish oils at various ratios were thermally-oxidized for 5 days at a storage temperature of 55°C. The use of SC on the inclusion complexes of γ-CD could improve the oxidative stability of fish oils and the masking effect of the odor. When the inclusion complexes for fish oils were composed with 80% of γ-CD and 20% of SC, the improvement effect of the oxidative stability was better compared with the complexes of other ratios. Therefore, the use of γ-CD and SC can potentially protecting sensitive ingredients such as EPA and DHA in the food industry.     

Process of exotrophy in fish. Effect of heavy metals—Zn and Cu

The review summarizes for the first time the information on effects of Zn and Cu on various links of the fish exotrophy process. It has been shown that essential metals, like the nonessential ones, can produce negative effects on various aspects of the food-procuring behavior, on sensor systems providing alimentary behavior, and on the digestive enzymes realizing digestion in fish of different ecological groups. A particular attention is paid to their different effects on proteinases functioning in stomach and intestine of various fish species as well as on hydrolase activities in their potential nutrition objects (fish and invertebrate animals). Several mechanisms are considered which allow decreasing the negative action of Zn and Cu on the process of fish exotrophy.     

Endotoxin recognition: in fish or not in fish?

The interaction between pathogens and their multicellular hosts is initiated by activation of pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs). These receptors, that include most notably members of the toll-like receptor (TLR) family, recognize specific pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). TLR4 is a central part of the receptor complex that is involved in the activation of the immune system by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) through the specific recognition of its endotoxic moiety (Lipid A). This is a critical event that is essential for the immune response to Gram-negative bacteria as well as the etiology of endotoxic shock. Interestingly, compared to mammals, fish are resistant to endotoxic shock. This in vivo resistance concurs with in vitro studies demonstrating significantly lowered sensitivity of fish leukocytes to LPS activation. Further, our in vitro analyses demonstrate that in trout mononuclear phagocytes, LPS fails to induce antiviral genes, an event that occurs downstream of TLR4 and is required for the development of endotoxic shock. Finally, an in silico approach that includes mining of different piscine genomic and EST databases, reveals the presence in fish of all of the major TLR signaling elements except for the molecules specifically involved in TLR4-mediated endotoxin recognition and signaling in mammals. Collectively, our analysis questions the existence of TLR4-mediated cellular responses to LPS in fish. We further speculate that other receptors, in particular beta-2 integrins, may play a primary role in the activation of piscine leukocytes by LPS.     

Cyclotron resonance as a cause of biological effects of weak electric and magnetic fields?

Even weak electric and magnetic fields have been found to cause interaction effects in vitro only within small frequency ranges. The existence of such "frequency windows" may be explained by a cyclotron resonance model which also takes the influence of the earth's magnetic field into consideration. In this paper analytical relations are developed which permit the determination of energy uptake and motion curve diameter. On the basis of this calculations it can be concluded that, giving consideration to interparticle interactions and the limitations of motion curve dimensions due to the limited dimensions of cells and cellular interspaces, energy uptake in vivo is many orders of magnitude below thermal energy, and can therefore be neglected.     

Effect of zinc salts on the structure–function of actomyosin from pelagic fish

The effect of zinc salts, zinc chloride and zinc sulfate on the structure and ATPase enzyme activity of actomyosin from pelagic fish (Sardinella longiceps) has been investigated. ATPase enzyme activity decreased in the presence of both the zinc salts. The inhibitory effect is present in both pH of 7.0 and 9.0. At concentration of 1 × 10^?3 M of zinc salts, complete inhibition of ATPase enzyme activity is observed. With the increase in temperature from 25 °C to 45 °C the ATPase activity decreased by nearly 80%. The solubility profile of actomyosin in the presence of zinc salts shows a sigmoid pattern as the concentration of both the zinc salts increases. Free SH content of actomyosin decreased with the increase in concentration of zinc salts. Intrinsic fluorescence indicated significant decrease in relative fluorescence intensity of actomyosin. This indicates significant alterations in the structure of actomyosin. Analysis of secondary structure also indicates significant alteration in the α-helical content upon binding of both zinc salts.