Mixed‐source reintroductions lead to outbreeding depression in second‐generation descendents of a native North American fish

Reintroductions are commonly employed to preserve intraspecific biodiversity in fragmented landscapes. However, reintroduced populations are frequently smaller and more geographically isolated than native populations. Mixing genetically, divergent sources are often proposed to attenuate potentially low genetic diversity in reintroduced populations that may result from small effective population sizes. However, a possible negative tradeoff for mixing sources is outbreeding depression in hybrid offspring. We examined the consequences of mixed‐source reintroductions on several fitness surrogates at nine slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) reintroduction sites in south‐east Minnesota. We inferred the relative fitness of each crosstype in the reintroduced populations by comparing their growth rate, length, weight, body condition and persistence in reintroduced populations. Pure strain descendents from a single source population persisted in a greater proportion than expected in the reintroduced populations, whereas all other crosstypes occurred in a lesser proportion. Length, weight and growth rate were lower for second‐generation intra‐population hybrid descendents than for pure strain and first‐generation hybrids. In the predominant pure strain, young‐of the‐year size was significantly greater than any other crosstype. Our results suggested that differences in fitness surrogates among crosstypes were consistent with disrupted co‐adapted gene complexes associated with beneficial adaptations in these reintroduced populations. Future reintroductions may be improved by evaluating the potential for local adaptation in source populations or by avoiding the use of mixed sources by default when information on local adaptations or other genetic characteristics is lacking.     

The reproductive behaviour of Pogonophryne scotti confirms widespread egg-guarding parental care among Antarctic notothenioids

In this paper, the first documentation of egg-guarding behaviour in an artedidraconid species, Pogonophryne scotti, through in situ photographic imagery obtained during video transects is provided. The male specimen was observed closely guarding a well-defined multi-layered egg mass deposited on the sea floor at 240 m on the southern South Orkney Islands shelf in the northern Weddell Sea. Egg-guarding parental care is present in species that are distributed among all of the major lineages of Antarctic notothenioids; however, lack of information on egg-deposition behaviours in Bovichtidae and Pseudaphritis prevents assessment of whether parental care originated prior to the origin of the Antarctic notothenioid radiation.     

Population ecology of the paddy field-dwelling fish Channa gachua (Günther) (Perciformes, Channidae) in Sri Lanka

A population of Channa gachua in a small irrigation canal that supplies rice fields was studied by monthly sampling over 2 years. The population density was positively correlated with the rainfall and varied from 0.34 to 0.95 individuals m⁻². The growth parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth equation determined on monthly size–frequency data were L_x = 179 mm total length and K =0.50. Overall male to female ratio was 0.82 and there were more females than males in the middle size classes. Spawning occurred throughout the year, but all evidence indicated enhanced breeding during major rainy periods of May to July and October to December. The length at first spawning was 102 mm, which is reached in about 20 months. Fecundity, which varied between 389 and 2130, was positively correlated with gonad weight, body weight and total length. Longevity and natural mortality were estimated as 6 years and l.27 yr⁻¹, respectively. However, 99% of the population appeared to live for only 3 years. The mean biomass, average annual production and turnover ratio of the population were 7.35 g m⁻², 12.06 g m⁻² and 1.64, respectively.     

Transfer of heavy metals from sediment to fish,and their biliary excretion

Uptake and biliary excretion of metals were studied in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, exposed through spiked sediment to a mixture of seven heavy metals. Metal concentrations and toxicity of bile and blood plasma were used as indicators of exposure. Among the seven metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) only three (Cu, Hg, and Pb) were concentrated in the bile (bile-plasma ratio >1). Bile-plasma ratios in the rainbow trout were similar to those found in rats for Cu and Hg. Daphnia magna bioassays were used to determine toxicity of bile and blood plasma in the same trout. Toxicity of bile and blood plasma increased after treatment with acid. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that toxicity of bile and blood plasma to D. magna in metal-exposed trout was significantly correlated with (1) bile and blood plasma test concentration, (2) acid treatment of bile and blood plasma (hydrolysis of metal-plasma and metal-bile complexes) and (3) sediment concentration of metals during exposure of trout. In order to significantly detect the magnitude of the exposure to a xenobiotic the biomarker must respond in a dose- or time-dependent manner. Therefore, the potential use of bile toxicity as a biomarker of heavy metal exposure in fish is probably limited by the low bioconcentration of many of these toxicants in bile.     

Effects of dietary lipid levels on mitochondrial gene expression in low and high‐feed efficient families of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

A 2 × 3 factorial study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary lipid level on mitochondrial gene expression in mixed sex rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Practical diets with a fixed crude protein content of 42%, formulated to contain 10% (42/10), 20% (42/20) and 30% (42/30) dietary lipid, were fed to triplicate groups of either low‐feed efficient (F129; mean ± s.d. = 105·67 ± 3·04 g initial average mass) or high‐feed efficient (F134; mean ± s.d. = 97·86 ± 4·02 g) families of fish, to apparent satiety, twice per day, for 108 days. At the end of the experiment, diets 42/20 and 42/30 led to similar fish condition factors, which were higher than that observed with diet 42/10 (P < 0·05). F134 fish fed diet 42/10 showed the highest hepato‐somatic index, while there was no significant difference among all the other treatments (P < 0·05). When the group of F134 fish fed diet 42/10 was used as the calibrator for gene expression analysis, the five genes selected for their involvement in lipid metabolism (complex I‐nd1, complex III‐cytb, complex IV‐cox1, complex IV‐cox2 and complex V‐atp6) were up‐regulated in the muscle and down‐regulated in both the liver and the intestine. There was a significant family × diet interaction regarding nd1, cox2 and atp6 in the liver; nd1, cytb, cox1, cox2 and atp6 in the intestine, and nd1, cytb, cox1, cox2 and atp6 in the muscle (P < 0·05). The overall results of this study constitute basic information for the understanding of molecular mechanisms of lipid metabolism at the mitochondrial level in fishes.     

Fragmentation of riverine systems: the genetic effects of dams on bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in the Clark Fork River system

Migratory bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) historically spawned in tributaries of the Clark Fork River, Montana and inhabited Lake Pend Oreille as subadult and adult fish. However, in 1952 Cabinet Gorge Dam was constructed without fish passage facilities disrupting the connectivity of this system. Since the construction of this dam, bull trout populations in upstream tributaries have been in decline. Each year adult bull trout return to the base of Cabinet Gorge Dam when most migratory bull trout begin their spawning migration. However, the origin of these fish is uncertain. We used eight microsatellite loci to compare bull trout collected at the base of Cabinet Gorge Dam to fish sampled from both above and further downstream from the dam. Our data indicate that Cabinet Gorge bull trout are most likely individuals that hatched in above-dam tributaries, reared in Lake Pend Oreille, and could not return to their natal tributaries to spawn. This suggests that the risk of outbreeding depression associated with passing adults over dams in the Clark Fork system is minimal compared to the potential genetic and demographic benefits to populations located above the dams.     

Salinity tolerances of four species of fish from the Murray-Darling River system

The salinity tolerances of four species of small fishes native to the Murray-Darling river system were measured. Slow acclimation LD₅₀s were 43.7 ± 1.7 g L⁻¹ for Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum Gunther, 38.0 ± 1.1 g L⁻¹ for Hypseleotris klunzingeri (Ogilby), 58.7 ± 0.9 g L⁻¹ for Retropinna semoni (Weber), and 29.8 ± 0.7 g L⁻¹ for Melanotaenia splendida (Castelnau). The salinity tolerance of M. splendida was also measured by direct transfer, providing an estimated LD₅₀ (infinite exposure time) of 20.8 g L⁻¹, ∼ 70% of the slow acclimation value. Results suggest that at least adults of the species studied are under no threat from present or foreseeable salinities in the Murray River.     

青海可可西里地区鱼类资源及其保护的初步研究

青海可可西里地区是世界上最少研究的地区之一。通过多次零星的鱼类调查（１９７３－１９８６）和１９９０年５至８月间对本区进行的全面水生生物和鱼类考察。本文首次报道其有关的浮游植物、浮游动物和鱼类种类分布及生物学特性等问题。诸如浮游动、植物的水平分布、优势和群和生物量及鱼类食性、年龄、生长、繁殖等。     

New records of orange roughy Hoplostethus atlanticus juveniles in Chile

Orange roughy Hoplostethus atlanticus juveniles <24 cm fork length (L_F) (10–17 years old) were recorded for the first time in Chile, when 10 specimens were collected on the continental slope and seamount JF2 in Juan Fernandez Archipelago. The L_F, total mass, anatomical and parasitological information are reported. Relevance to current life‐cycle hypotheses is discussed.