Population dynamics of daphnia pulex and utilization by the rainbow trout (salmo gairdneri)

The effect of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) predation on the population dynamics of the water flea,Daphnia pulex, was examined during 1976 and 1977 in Becker Lake, a small, shallow, productive reservoir in northeastern Arizona.Rainbow trout were size-biased feeders, utilizing daphnids which were 1.3 mm in size or larger. Trout predation uponDaphnia pulex occurred mainly during winter and early spring when their numbers were relatively low but their clutch size high, suggesting that trout selectedDaphnia on the basis of brood pigmentation. By far the greatest proportion ofDaphnia mortality was due to nonpredatory sources, since generally less than 6% could be attributed to trout predation.TheD. pulex population exhibited a bimodal seasonal abundance curve which was attributed to ephippial egg production and trout predation during the winter and poor food quality/quantity during the summer.This work was supported in part by the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. The authors wish to thank Jim Novy and Joe Stone of that department for their invaluable assistance in the field collecting segment of this study.     

Thermoregulatory behavior of juvenile cromileptes altivelis (serranidae), a tropical marine fish

Ten juvenile Cromileptes altivelis were tested individually for 3-day periods in electronic shuttleboxes to measure their thermoregulatory behavior. The fish voluntarily occupied a 21–27°C span, out of a potentially available 0–50°C range. The mean final thermal preferendum was 24.5°C for all individuals. The thermoregulatory performance of this species is similar to that of cool temperate freshwater fishes.     

Complement-dependent induction of DNA synthesis and proliferation of human diploid fibroblasts

The effects of fresh human serum (FHS) and heat-inactivated human serum (HHS) on the DNA synthesis and proliferation of human diploid fibroblasts were assessed. FHS activated significantly more quiescent fibroblasts to undergo DNA synthesis and proliferation than did HHS. The stimulatory effect occurred consistently over a serum concentration range of 0.1–10%. Using bromodeoxyuridine selective killing techniques, it was shown that this FHS stimulatory effect was on a specific subpopulation of fibroblasts unresponsive to HHS. The involvement of the complement system, and specifically of C1, was shown by the inability of Clq-depleted FHS to support enhanced DNA synthesis whereas Clq-depleted serum reconstituted with purified Clq was effective. Purified Clq did not restore activity when added to heated serum, nor was it mitogenic when tested in basal medium without serum. The addition of purified Clq to fresh serum inhibited the enhancement of DNA synthesis, and at Clq concentrations of 4γ/ml and greater, the fresh serum effects were abrogated. Thus, it appears that binding of the assembled C1 complex to the fibroblast surface was required for FHS-mediated enhancement of fibroblast proliferation, with Clq subcomponent serving as the recognition site. The results from several experiments indicated that antibody was not required for the complement-dependent fibroblast activation. FHS was not cytotoxic, and autologous serum was as effective as allogeneic sera. A 20-fold molar excess of Fab' from pooled human IgG did not alter the FHS effects. FHS from which IgG was more than 99% depleted was still effective. These results suggested an antibody-independent role for complement in the activation of a subpopulation of human diploid fibroblasts.     

Cytochalasin B blocks sperm incorporation but allows activation of the sea urchin egg

Cytochalasin B (CB) (2 × 10⁻⁶ M) prevents the incorporation of sperm into the eggs of Lytechinus pictus and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus as judged by light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). At lower concentrations of CB (2 × 10⁻⁷ M), sperm are successfully incorporated into the egg, but their migration in the area of the egg cortex is impaired. The site of action of CB on the sperm may be on the initial rotation of the sperm nucleus in the cortex; the subsequent migration is not affected by CB. Although sperm incorporation is prevented at the higher CB concentrations, the eggs become activated—as judged by cortical reaction, increased protein synthesis and increased respiration. These findings raise the concept that egg activation by sperm could result from some pre-fusion event and hence that sperm-egg fusion would not be a prerequisite for the triggering of development. An alternative hypothesis is that fusion occurs between the acrosome process membrane and egg membrane, but since CB has destroyed the integrity of the cortex actin, the fusion bridge is so weak that it cannot be maintained without some contractile or cytoskeletal support by the cortex. The sperm may activate the CB-treated egg in the same manner as pricking with a microelectrode sometimes does.     

Evaluation of Bone Strength During Aflatoxicosis and Ochratoxicosis

Young chickens were fed graded levels of aflatoxin (0, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 μg/g of diet) or ochratoxin (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 μg/g of diet), and the breaking strength, displacement before failure, and diameter of their tibias were determined. Breaking strength was decreased at growth inhibitory levels of aflatoxin (2.5 μg/g) and ochratoxin (2 μg/g), whereas a reduction in diameter required higher levels (5.0 and 4.0 μg/g, respectively). Bones from birds with ochratoxicosis selected to have diameters equal to control bones had lower breaking strength. In an attempt to negate mathematically the effect of decreased diameter and bias in any selection process, stress at time of failure of the bones was calculated and found to be decreased by feeding aflatoxin but not ochratoxin. Total displacement of bones before breaking was increased significantly (P < 0.05) by both toxins at the highest levels administered, but this increase was primarily the result of an increase in displacement from the start of failure to complete failure. Increased displacement associated with both toxicoses was equal in bones selected to be of equal diameter or in bones from the same treatment but of different diameters. However, calculation of modulus of elasticity which is corrected for diameter revealed aflatoxin had no effect whereas ochratoxin tripled the effect. These data indicate that the material properties of bones can be altered during mycotoxicoses and suggest yet another way in which mycotoxins are detrimental to animal health.     

Fluorometric assay for 1-deoxyfructose

A sensitive fluorometric assay has been developed for the measurement of 1-deoxyfructose in biological fluids. Samples containing 1-deoxyfructose are incubated with an equal volume of 0.01 m 3,5-diaminobenzoic acid in 5.0 m phosphoric acid in a boiling-water bath for 15 min. The fluorescent product has an emission maximum at 502 nm and an excitation maximum at 396 nm. Fluorescence is proportional to 1-deoxyfructose concentrations over a range from 0.002 to 1.0 mm. The method can be used to detect as little as 0.03 μmol of 1-deoxyfructose in deproteinized blood and in urine and no interference is observed with glucose, fructose, pyruvate, or ketone bodies. The method will also detect 1-deoxytagatose, 2-deoxyaldohexoses, and -pentoses, 2,5-anhydromannose, and a number of 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-mono- or bis(hydroxymethyl)furans. The fluorescence properties of the products formed from all of the above compounds are similar suggesting structural similarities of the adducts formed and possible mechanistic similarities of the reactions involved.     

Patterns of turning in courtship orientation of the male German cockroach

Courtship turning of the male German cockroach, Blattella germanica, was analysed with respect to rotational and translational movements. Three different sources of orientation information are postulated for the control of this behaviour: external sensory information (perception of sex pheromone) releases courtship, proprioception from the legs is required to curtail turning when the specified turn angle is reached, and internally stored information determines the sign of turning and patterns the courtship actions.     

The effects of cross-fostering on the behaviour of two species of North American lemmings, Dicrostonyx groenlandicus and Lemmus trimucronatus: I. Olfactory preferences

To determine the role of the maternal environment in the development of adult olfactory preferences, the young of two species of North American lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus and Lemmus trimucronatus) were reciprocally cross-fostered shortly after birth. In-fostered (reared by foster conspecific females) and non-fostered animals served as controls. When adult, subjects were tested for olfactory preferences in a free-choice Y-maze olfactometer. When compared to controls, cross-fostered animals showed increased preference for heterospecific odour. This effect was stronger for males than for females. These results suggest that adult species-specific odour preferences are learned during the neonatal period.     

Inhibition of the pancreatic microsome enzyme release phenomenon by inhibitors of signal peptidase activity

The protease-sensitive release of α-amylase from rat pancreatic microsomes, incubated at 37°C, was inhibited by protease inhibitors which have been reported to inhibit signal peptidase activity. Protease inhibitors which did not affect signal peptidase activity also failed to inhibit amylase release from microsomes. Although the observed amylase release was in the opposite direction to enzyme secretion and involved fully-synthesised proteins, rather than nascent peptides, it is proposed that the enzyme release phenomenon reported from this laboratory (Pearce et al. (1978) Biochem. J. 176, 611–614) is related to the protein transporting mechanism involved in secretion.     

Subpopulations of splenic T and B lymphocytes producing and regulating leukocyte adherence inhibition factor

Picryl chloride induces contact hypersensitivity in mice, accompanied by spleen cell sensitization that is demonstrable in vitro by specific antigen-induced formation of leukocyte adherence inhibition factor (LAIF). This cellular activity was detected only up to 7 days after sensitization; thereafter the spleen cells appeared to be unreactive with the antigen. The cells were still normally reactive with the mitogen concanavalin A. Antigen reactivity of such “late” cells was restored by passage through a glass-bead column (provided resulting nonadherent cells were reconstituted with normal macrophages), and the restored reactivity was again suppressed by the eluted glass-bead-adherent cells. Suppression was antigen specific. Separation of T and B lymphocytes by affinity chromatography, after glass-bead treatment of sensitized spleen cells, showed that two subpopulations of B cells—those responsible for producing LAIF as well as those suppressing LAIF production by T cells—were glassbead adherent. This was extended by showing directly with anti-Thy-1.2 serum that B cells producing LAIF and suppressor T cells were glass adherent. Thus two suppressive cell populations, and the B cell producing LAIF, were glass adherent while the T-cell LAIF producer was not. Tests for adoptive transfer of cutaneous hypersensitivity in vivo demonstrated the relevance of many of the above observations to conditions in the whole animal. “Late” spleen cells from sensitized mice could not transfer hypersensitivity but this property was restored by glass-bead passage. The eluted adherent cells suppressed transfer. Both adoptive transfer and its suppression were antigen specific.