Early development and allometric growth patterns in Siberian sturgeon and their ecological significance

Early development of Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baeri was divided into two different phases, the prelarval stage between hatching (10·4–11·1 mm L_T) and first feeding (19·6–21·0 mm L_T), and the larval stage between the initiation of external feeding and metamorphosis (28·6–32·4 mm L_T). Morphogenesis and differentiation were more intense during the prelarval than larval and early juvenile stages; the prelarval period was characterized by the replacement of embryonic adaptations and functions by definitive ones, such as branchial respiration, exogenous feeding, and active swimming. The positive allometry of the head for feeding, sensorial and respiratory functions (inflexion point at 20·0 mm L_T), and the tail for reducing costs of transport, routine swimming and escape reactions from predators (inflexion point at 20·2 mm L_T) confirmed the hypothesis that growth patterns of early life stages closely match specific needs.     

Morphology,mechanics, and locomotion: the relation between the notochord and swimming motions in sturgeon

Synopsis To examine the relation between morphology and performance, notochordal morphology was correlated with notochordal mechanics and with steady swimming motions in white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus. In a still-water tank, motions of four sturgeon varied with changes in swimming speed and axial position along the body. For a 1..34 m sturgeon, slow and fast swimming modes were distinguished, with speeds at the fast mode more than two times those at the slow mode without changes in tailbeat frequency. This increase in speed is correlated with an increase in the body's maximal midline curvature (m^–1), suggesting a role for curvature-related mechanical properties of the notochord. Maximal midline curvature also varied with axial position, and surprisingly was uncorrelated with axial changes in the notochord's cross-sectional shape - as measured by height, width, inner diameter, and lateral thickness of the sheaths. On the other hand, maximal midline curvature was negatively correlated with the axial changes in the notochord's angular stiffness (N m rad^–1) and change in internal pressure (% change from baseline of 58.6 kPa), both of which were measured during in vitro bending tests. In vivo curvature and in vitro angular stiffness were then used to estimate the bending moments (Nm) in the notochord during swimming. In the precaudal notochord, the axial pattern of maximal stiffness moments was congruent with the pattern of maximal notochordal curvature in the precaudal region, but in the caudal notochord maximal angular stiffness was located craniad to maximal curvature. One interpretation of this pattern is that the precaudal notochord resists bending moments generated by the muscles and that the caudal notochord resists bending moments generated by hydrodynamic forces acting on the tail.     

人工标志放流中华鲟幼鱼的降河洄游

1998— 2 0 0 2年期间 ,向长江放流人工繁殖中华鲟 2月龄稚鲟 (全长 7 5— 17 0cm) 17 5 2万尾 ,其中 7795 7尾用CWT进行标记 ;14月龄幼鲟 (全长 5 5 0— 98 0cm) 4 0 0尾 ,全部用外挂银牌和CWT双重标记。放流后沿长江及沿海收集中华鲟稚鲟和幼鲟样本 ,4年共回收稚鲟样本 6 4 0 0尾 ,幼鲟样本 13尾 ,检测到携带标记的稚鲟和幼鲟各 13尾。人工放流的幼鲟降海洄游的速度平均达到 2 8 6km/ 2 4h(7 1— 10 0 2km/ 2 4h) ,回捕时离放流点的距离从 346—2 4 5 9km ,平均 16 0 0km ,回捕的标志幼鲟有 4 6 2 %的个体来自海区。初步估算出 1999年和 2 0 0 0年人工放流个体在长江口幼鲟种群中的贡献率分别为 2 2 81%和 0 997%。结果表明 ,人工放流中华鲟稚鲟和幼鲟的生长、洄游及分布与自然种群没有明显差异。放流较大规格的幼鲟有利于提高成活率 ,而目前长江中华鲟种群的补充仍以自然繁殖种群为主。     

Thermal maxima for juvenile shortnose sturgeon acclimated to different temperatures

Many populations of shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, in the southeastern United States continue to suffer from poor juvenile recruitment. High summer water temperatures, which may be exacerbated by anthropogenic activities, are thought to affect recruitment by limiting available summer habitat. However, information regarding temperature thresholds of shortnose sturgeon is limited. In this study, the thermal maximum method and a heating rate of 0.1°C min⁻¹ was used to determine critical and lethal thermal maxima for young-of-the-year (YOY) shortnose sturgeon acclimated to temperatures of 19.5 and 24.1°C. Fish used in the experiment were 0.6 to 35.0 g in weight and 64 to 140 days post hatch (dph) in age. Critical thermal maxima were 33.7°C (±0.3) and 35.1°C (±0.2) for fish acclimated to 19.5 and 24.1°C, respectively. Critical thermal maxima significantly increased with an increase in acclimation temperature (p < 0.0001). Lethal thermal maxima were 34.8°C (±0.1) and 36.1°C (±0.1) for fish acclimated to 19.5 and 24.1°C, respectively. Lethal thermal maxima were significantly affected by acclimation temperature, the log₁₀ (fish weight), and the interaction between log₁₀(fish weight) and acclimation temperature (p < 0.0001). Thermal maxima were used to estimate upper limits of safe temperature, thermal preferences, and optimal growth temperatures of YOY shortnose sturgeon. Upper limits of safe temperature were similar to previous temperature tolerance information and indicate that summer temperatures in southeastern rivers may be lethal to YOY shortnose sturgeon if suitable thermal refuge cannot be found.     

史氏鲟Sox9基因cDNA的克隆及在早期发育过程不同组织中的表达

利用RT-PCR和RACE的方法从史氏鲟(Acipenser schrenchii)中克隆了Sox9基因cDNA的部分序列(1140bp)。组织特异性表达分析表明Sox9基因在1^ ～3^ 年龄史氏鲟的大脑、心脏、肝脏、眼睛、胰脏、肾脏、精巢和卵巢等8种组织中均有表达,只是表达量随发育阶段和组织的不同而稍有差异。刚孵出1日龄的史氏鲟鱼苗中Sox9微量表达,而孵出15日龄的鱼苗中表达量上升。1^ ～3^ 年龄的史氏鲟精巢和卵巢中Sox9基因均表达,说明Sox9基因在史氏鲟性别分化过程中所起的作用不明显。Sox9基因在史氏鲟不同发育时期的8种组织中广泛表达,这可能与Sox9基因在脊椎动物软骨分化过程中的功能保守性有关。     

养殖史氏鲟不同部位氨基酸组成

测定了史氏鲟不同部位中17种氨基酸的含量,并对它们的营养价值进行了评价,结果表明,虽然史氏鲟各部位中常见氨基酸种类较为齐全,但不同部位中氨基酸总量和组成差异极其显著,氨基酸总量范围在3.26~105.0 mg.g-1,平均氨基酸含量52.2±36.9 mg.g-1。人体必需氨基酸含量略低于其他主要经济鱼类,但呈味氨基酸百分比介于鲷科鱼类和石首科鱼类之间。除了肌肉外,心脏、食道和鳔等部位中必需氨基酸和营养等级较高,具有综合利用价值。     

乌鲁木齐维吾尔人两种物质味盲基因频率

1996年5月,我们在新疆乌鲁木齐市天山区测定了维吾尔族群体中糖精（saccharin）和乙酰水杨酸（acetosal．aspirin,APS）味盲频率和隐性基因频率,调查对象为10～21岁,身体健康,父母同族的大、中、中学学生。糖精测定时以2号液（254×10-2mol／L）为味盲界限,乙酰水杨酸测定时以2号液（0.85×10-2mol／L）为味盲界限,具体阈值分布情况见表1。用阈值法,在维吾尔族群体中糖精测试者512人,其中男241人,女271人,味盲总数30人,占调查人数的5．86％。乙酸水杨酸测试者340人,其中男186人,味盲75人,占40．4％;女154人,味盲引人,占…     

Pectoral fin and girdle development in the basal actinopterygians Polyodon spathula and Acipenser transmontanus

The pectoral fins of Acipenseriformes possess endoskeletons with elements homologous to both the fin radials of teleosts and the limb bones of tetrapods. Here we present a study of pectoral fin development in the North American paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, and the white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, which reveals that aspects of both teleost and tetrapod endoskeletal patterning mechanisms are present in Acipenseriformes. Those elements considered homologous to teleost radials, the propterygium and the mesopterygial radials, form via subdivision of an initially chondrogenic plate of mesenchymal cells called the endoskeletal disc. In Acipenseriformes, elements homologous to the sarcopterygian metapterygium develop separately from the endoskeletal disc as an outgrowth of the endoskeletal shoulder girdle that extends into the posterior margin of the finbud. As in tetrapods, the elongating metapterygium and the metapterygial radials form in a proximal to distal order as discrete condensations from initially nonchondrogenic mesenchyme. Patterns of variation seen in the Acipenseriform fin also correlate with putative homology: all variants from the "normal" fin bauplan involved the metapterygium and the metapterygial radials alone. The primary factor distinguishing Polyodon and Acipenser fin development from each other is the composition of the endoskeletal extracellular matrix. Proteoglycans (visualized with Alcian Blue) and Type II collagen (visualized by immunohistochemistry) are secreted in different places within the mesenchymal anlage of the fin elements and girdle and at different developmental times. Acipenseriform pectoral fins differ from the fins of teleosts in the relative contribution of the endoskeleton and dermal rays. The fins of Polyodon and Acipenser possess elaborate endoskeletons overlapped along their distal margins by dermal lepidotrichia. In contrast, teleost fins generally possess relatively small endoskeletal radials that articulate with the dermal fin skeleton terminally, with little or no proximodistal overlap.     

Swimming alters responses to hypoxia in the Adriatic sturgeon Acipenser naccarii

When the Adriatic sturgeon Acipenser naccarii was exposed to progressive hypoxia under static conditions, it exhibited a linear decline in O₂ uptake, behaving as an 'oxyconformer'. When, however, it was allowed to swim at a low sustained speed, it could regulate O₂ uptake down to a mean ± s . e . critical ( P _crit) of 4·9 ± 0·5 kPa ( n = 6). At moderate levels of hypoxia, static fish exhibited significant reductions in arterial blood O₂ content, and increases in plasma lactate, which were not observed in swimming animals.