Progress report on the eel expedition of R.V. ‘Anton Dohrn’ and R.V. ‘Friedrich Heincke’ to the Sargasso Sea 1979

Synopsis This report presents preliminary results of the 1979 Sargasso Sea expedition from February to May 1979. Information is given on horizontal and vertical distribution of eel larvae and adults, adult eel tracking and pelagic trawling. Related matters such as electrophoretic studies on anguilliform larvae, feeding of eel larvae, predation on leptocephali, occurrence of other anguilliform larvae and hydrography are mentioned.     

Pathogenicity of Spiroplasma taiwanense for larval Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

Helical replicative forms, but not the persistent non-replicative forms, of Spiroplasma taiwanense Abalain-Colloc et al. (isolated from the mosquito Anopheles sinensis Wiedemann in Taiwan) were shown to reduce significantly the survival of Aedes aegypti (L.) mosquito larvae reared in 10 ml of water with 0.3 ml of S.taiwanense suspensions added on days 0 and 3. The suspensions contained, respectively, helical forms at a concentration of 10(9) Colour Change Units (CCU)/ml and persistent forms at 10(6) CCU/ml. It is suggested that S.taiwanense, or toxins produced from it, are potentially useful for use in integrated mosquito control programmes.     

Evolution des activités enzymatiques dans le tractus digestif au cours de la vie larvaire de la sole. Variations des protéinogrammes et des zymogrammes

The activities of digestive enzymes were studied during the course of larval development (from hatching to 30 days) in the sole, Solea solea. No glycosidase activity was present, but alkaline proteolytic activity increased from hatching to day 5, then decreased until day 15. In the acid range, proteolytic activity was relatively stable from the 10th to the 30th day. There were also changes in the number of esterase-like isozymes which increased between day 20 and 30, with minimum activity observed during metamorphosis.     

Fine structure and function of the abdominal chloride epithelia in caddisfly larvae

Summary The larvae of the caddisfly Anabolia nervosa Curt. (Limnephilidae) possess 10 fields on the dorsal and ventral sides of the 3rd to 7th abdominal segments, which were formerly regarded as specialized sites of respiration. The epithelial fine structure and histochemical localization of chloride unequivocally show that the main function of these sites is the transport of electrolytes. They probably participate in osmoregulation by the absorption of salt. Therefore, these specialized areas of the hypodermis are termed chloride epithelia.     

氨氮对脊尾白虾幼体存活生长及体内RNA/DNA比值的影响

以脊尾白虾(Exopalaemon carinicauda)糠虾幼体为实验材料,用氯化铵模拟水体中氨氮进行毒性试验.结果表明,氨氮对糠虾幼体24、48、72和96 h的半致死浓度(LC50)分别为27.51、23.15、19.46和10.28 mg/L.糠虾幼体体内毒性蓄积程度随实验时间逐步增强.在6 d的糠虾幼体蜕壳...     

Comparative efficacy of ivermectin and levamisole for reduction of migrating and encapsulated larvae of Baylisascaris transfuga in mice

The comparative efficacy of 2 anthelmintics (ivermectin and levamisole) against Baylisascaris transfuga migrating and encapsulated larvae was studied in mice. A total of 60 BALB/c mice inoculated each with about 1,000 embryonated B. transfuga eggs were equally divided into 6 groups (A-F) randomly. Mice of groups A and B were treated with ivermectin and levamisole, respectively, on day 3 post-infection (PI). Mice of groups A-C were killed on day 13 PI. Similarly, groups D and E were treated with ivermectin and levamisole, respectively, on day 14 PI, and all mice of groups D-F were treated on day 24 PI. The groups C and F were controls. Microexamination was conducted to count the larvae recovering from each mouse. The percentages of reduction in the number of migrating larvae recovered from group A (ivermectin) and B (levamisole) were 88.3% and 81.1%, respectively. In addition, the reduction in encapsulated larvae counts achieved by ivermectin (group D) and levamisole (group E) was 75.0% and 49.2%, respectively. The results suggested that, to a certain extent, both anthelmintics appeared to be more effective against migrating larvae than encapsulated larvae. However, in the incipient stage of infection, ivermectin may be more competent than levamisole as a larvicidal drug for B. transfuga.     

Plasticity in the timing of a major life‐history transition and resulting changes in the age structure of populations of the salamander Hynobius retardatus

Variation in age and size at life‐history transitions is a reflection of the diversifying influence of biotic or abiotic environmental change. Examples abound, but it is not well understood how such environmental changes influence the age structure of a population. I experimentally investigated the effects of water temperature and food type on age and body size at metamorphosis in larvae of the salamander Hynobius retardatus. In individuals grown at a cold temperature (15 °C) or given Chironomidae as prey, the time to metamorphosis was significantly prolonged, and body size at metamorphosis was significantly enlarged, compared with individuals grown at a warmer temperature (20 °C) or fed larvae. I also examined whether larval density (a possible indicator of cannibalism in natural habitats) generated variation in the age structure of natural populations in Hokkaido, Japan, where the climate is subarctic. Natural ponds in Hokkaido may contain larvae that have overwintered for 1 or 2 years, as well as larvae of the current year, and I found that the number of age classes was related to larval density. Although cool water temperatures prolong the larval period and induce later metamorphosis, in natural ponds diet‐based enhancement of development translated into a shorter larval duration and earlier metamorphosis. Geographic variation in the frequency of cannibalism resulted in population differences in metamorphic timing in H. retardatus larvae. It is important to understand how environmental effects are ultimately transduced through individual organisms into population‐level phenomena, with the population response arising as the summation of individual responses. Without a thorough comprehension of the mechanisms through which population and individual responses to environmental conditions are mediated, we cannot interpret the relationship between population‐level and individual‐level phenomena. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102 , 100–114.     

Climate-driven genetic divergence of limpets with different life histories across a southeast African marine biogeographic disjunction: different processes, same outcome

Genetic divergence among populations of marine broadcast spawners in the absence of past geological barriers presents an intriguing challenge to understanding speciation in the sea. To determine how differences in life history affect genetic divergence and demographic histories across incomplete dispersal barriers, we conducted a comparative phylogeographic study of three intertidal limpets (Siphonaria spp.) represented on either side of a biogeographic disjunction separating tropical and subtropical marine provinces in southeastern Africa. Using a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data, we identified two distinct evolutionary lineages each in both Siphonaria concinna (a planktonic disperser) and S. nigerrima (a direct developer), and panmixia in a second planktonic disperser, S. capensis. Although phylogeographic breaks were present in two species, how these became established differed depending on their life histories. In the direct developer, lack of gene flow following divergence, and demographic expansion from a small initial size in the species' subtropical population, point to a single colonisation event. In contrast, the evolutionary lineages of the planktonic disperser split into two genetic lineages with much larger initial population sizes and southward gene flow continued at least periodically, indicating that divergence in this species may have been driven by a combination of reduced larval dispersal and divergent selection. These findings help explain why the presence or absence of phylogeographic breaks often appears to be independent of species' dispersal potential.     

Limited ecological population connectivity suggests low demands on self-recruitment in a tropical inshore marine fish (Eleutheronema tetradactylum: Polynemidae)

The diversity of geographic scales at which marine organisms display genetic variation mirrors the biophysical and ecological complexity of dispersal by pelagic larvae. Yet little is known about the effect of larval ecology on genetic population patterns, partly because detailed data of larval ecology do not yet exist for most taxa. One species for which this data is available is Eleutheronema tetradactylum, a tropical Indo-West Pacific shorefish. Here, we use a partial sequence mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) marker and five microsatellite loci to survey the genetic structure of E. tetradactylum across northern Australia. Structure was found throughout the range and isolation by distance was strong, explaining approximately 87 and 64% of the genetic variation in microsatellites and mtDNA, respectively. Populations separated by as little as 15 km also showed significant genetic structure, implying that local populations are mainly insular and self-seeding on an ecological time frame. Because the larvae of E. tetradactylum have lower swimming performance and poor orientation compared with other tropical fishes, even modest larval abilities may permit self-recruitment rather than passive dispersal.