Effects of substrate on interactions between juvenile sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus Gmelin) and predatory sea stars (Asterias vulgaris Verrill) and rock crabs (Cancer irroratus Say)

We investigated the effect of substrate (glass bottom, sand, granule, pebble) on predation of juvenile sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) by sea stars (Asterias vulgaris) and rock crabs (Cancer irroratus) at two prey sizes (11-15 mm and 24-28 mm shell height), and two prey densities (10 and 30 scallops per aquarium) in laboratory experiments. Specifically, we quantified predation rate and underlying behaviours (proportion of time a predator spent searching for and handling prey, encounter rate between predators and prey, and various outcomes of encounters). We detected a significant gradual effect of particle size of natural substrates on sea star predation: specifically, predation rate on and encounter rate with small scallops tended to decrease with increasing particle size (being highest for sand, intermediate for granule, and lowest for pebble). Substrate type did not significantly affect predation rates or behaviours of sea stars preying on large scallops or of rock crabs preying on either scallop size classes. Other factors, such as prey size and density, were important in the scallop-sea star and scallop-rock crab systems. For example, predation rate by sea stars and crabs and certain sea star behaviours (e.g. probability of consuming scallops upon capture) were significantly higher with small scallops than with large scallops. As well, in interactions between small scallops and sea stars, predation rate and encounter rate increased with prey density, and the proportion of time sea stars spent searching was higher at low prey density than high prey density. Thus, substrate type may be a minor factor determining predation risk of seeded scallops during enhancement operations; prey size and prey density may play a more important role. However, substrate type still needs to be considered when choosing a site for scallop enhancement, as it may affect other scallop behaviours (such as movement).     

两种海星对三种双壳贝类的捕食选择性和摄食率

在实验室条件下,研究了多棘海盘车和海燕这两种海星对栉孔扇贝、菲律宾蛤仔和贻贝三种双壳贝类的捕食选择性和摄食率及温度的影响,测定了捕食Q₁₀温度系数。结果显示:多棘海盘车和海燕对三种贝类均可捕食,且表现出明显的捕食选择性,选择顺序依次为菲律宾蛤仔、贻贝和栉孔扇贝。海星对菲律宾蛤仔的摄食率显著高于其他两种贝类,分别为0.50和0.37个/d;对扇贝的摄食率最低,分别为0.05和0.07个/d。海星摄食率随水温升高而呈上升的趋势,总平均摄食干重分别为0.69 和0.79 g/d。水温从4.3 ℃升高到7.8 ℃多棘海盘车和海燕捕食Q₁₀系数分别为6.38和2.33,而水温从7.8 ℃升高至13.3 ℃时,Q₁₀系数没有显著升高,分别为1.13和1.22。说明水温从4.3 ℃升高时,海星捕食强度显著升高,是防御海星的重点时期。根据海星对贝类捕食的选择性,可在养殖笼内放入贻贝等低值贝类来保护扇贝,缓冲海星对扇贝的捕食,并在缓冲期间对养殖笼内的海星进行清除。     

火百合花丝组织培养器官形成的细胞组织学研究

以火百合花丝节段为外植体,接种在附加6-BA 1.0 mg/L和NAA 0.2 mg/L的MS培养基上,诱导出愈伤组织及器官。经细胞组织学观察表明,细胞启动、愈伤组织形成及器官再生皆发生于外植体形态学下端的切口边缘及内方,而形态学上端的细胞自始至终未启动。器官发生的途径是通过愈伤组织间接产生,有的愈伤组织团单独形成芽或根,而有的愈伤组织团则同时分别从表面形成芽,内部形成根,通过维管组织连接成完整的植株。     

八角炭疽病拮抗放线菌RX2-2的分离鉴定及其生物活性评价

[背景]八角炭疽病主要是由哈锐炭疽菌(Colletotrichum horii)引起的真菌性病害,给八角产业带来严重的经济损失.[目的]从八角根系土壤中分离筛选对哈锐炭疽菌具有拮抗作用的放线菌菌株,并对其进行种属鉴定及抗菌活性评价.[方法]采用稀释涂布平板法分离放线菌,并以哈锐炭疽菌作为指示菌,利用平板对峙法筛选具有高...     

Observations of novel locomotion in the sea star Luidia senegalensis (Lamark, 1816) (Asteroidea: Paxillosida)

During abundance surveys of the nine-armed sea star Luidia senegalensis (Lamark, 1816) in shallow waters north of Cubagua Island, Venezuela, novel locomotive behaviour was recorded in one sea star. The animal was observed to ‘walk’ with four arms in contact with the benthos whilst the remaining five were held erect. This previously unreported means of locomotion may be: for chemosensory detection of the surroundings; to alter the characteristic track pattern left in sediments as a means to avoid detection by predators; or, to lift the arms to attract commensal cleaners, thus eliminating epibiont commensals that may occupy the ambulacral groove. Whilst the predators of L. senegalensis remain unknown, earlier observations of serranid fish biting this species may support the notion of this behaviour as a predator avoidance strategy.     

Light pollution forces a change in dung beetle orientation behavior

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Behavioural mechanisms of sea stars (Asterias vulgaris Verrill and Leptasterias polaris Müller) and crabs (Cancer irroratus Say and Hyas araneus Linnaeus) preying on juvenile sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus (Gmelin)), and procedural effects of scallop tethering

We compared predation rates and behaviours of sea stars (Asterias vulgaris and Leptasterias polaris) and crabs (Cancer irroratus and Hyas araneus) preying on juvenile sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus, 25-35 mm shell height) in laboratory. These predatory species co-occur with sea scallops on the sea bed of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, and limit scallop survival in seeding operations. We also examined, under controlled conditions, the effect of tethering scallops on predator-prey interactions. Predation rates, time budgets and encounter behaviours observed for A. vulgaris and C. irroratus preying on free (untethered) scallops were comparable to previous studies. C. irroratus were more effective predators as they consumed 3.1 scallops predator^− 1 day^− 1, although they spent only 0.9% of their time searching for prey. A. vulgaris consumed 0.9 scallops predator^− 1 day^− 1 and spent 7.6% of their time searching. Sea stars L. polaris had a lower predation rate (0.02 scallop predator^− 1 day^− 1) than A. vulgaris. The frequent avoidance behaviour of L. polaris and its low ability to capture scallops support the notion that scallops are not a main component of this sea star's diet. Crabs H. araneus had similar predation rates (1.3 scallops predator^− 1 day^− 1) and behaviours to C. irroratus, although the probability of consumption upon capture was affected by relatively high numbers of rejections and post-capture escapes of scallops. As expected, the tethering procedure increased predation rate of L. polaris (about 19 times higher), but surprisingly did not significantly affect that of A. vulgaris. Examination of behaviours indicated that A. vulgaris offered tethered scallops tended to have a higher probability of capture, but spent less time searching for prey (possibly because satiation was reached) than A. vulgaris offered free scallops. Predation rates and behaviours of both crab species were not affected by tethering, since encounter rate was the primary determinant of crab-scallop interactions. Identification and quantification of behaviours underlying the predation process allowed us to mathematically model predator-related mortality for the four predator species.     

An initial comparative genomic autopsy of wasting disease in sea stars

Beginning in 2013, sea stars throughout the Eastern North Pacific were decimated by wasting disease, also known as “asteroid idiopathic wasting syndrome” (AIWS) due to its elusive aetiology. The geographic extent and taxonomic scale of AIWS meant events leading up to the outbreak were heterogeneous, multifaceted, and oftentimes unobserved; progression from morbidity to death was rapid, leaving few tell‐tale symptoms. Here, we take a forensic genomic approach to discover candidate genes that may help explain sea star wasting syndrome. We report the first genome and annotation for Pisaster ochraceus, along with differential gene expression (DGE) analyses in four size classes, three tissue types, and in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. We integrate nucleotide polymorphisms associated with survivors of the wasting disease outbreak, DGE associated with temperature treatments in P. ochraceus, and DGE associated with wasting in another asteroid Pycnopodia helianthoides. In P. ochraceus, we found DGE across all tissues, among size classes, and between asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals; the strongest wasting‐associated DGE signal was in pyloric caecum. We also found previously identified outlier loci co‐occur with differentially expressed genes. In cross‐species comparisons of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, consistent responses distinguish genes associated with invertebrate innate immunity and chemical defence, consistent with context‐dependent stress responses, defensive apoptosis, and tissue degradation. Our analyses thus highlight genomic constituents that may link suspected environmental drivers (elevated temperature) with intrinsic differences among individuals (age/size, alleles associated with susceptibility) that elicit organismal responses (e.g., coelomocyte proliferation) and manifest as sea star wasting mass mortality.     

Archival electronic tagging of a predatory sea star — Testing a new technique to study movement at the individual level

Sea stars are important marine predators, and their feeding often controls the distribution of associated species. Therefore, quantifying their activity at an individual level is important in further understanding how they structure marine communities. Sea stars are difficult to tag, so there is little information on activity of sea stars in their natural environment over extended periods of days to weeks. We tagged the New Zealand sea star Coscinasteriasmuricata with small archival electronic tags that recorded water temperate and depth every 5 min for up to 2 weeks. The tagging was undertaken to test the viability of using electronic tags in research on the ecology of the sea stars in a New Zealand fiord, where their vertical distribution is influenced by the presence of low-salinity layers. The effects of the tagging were tested in the laboratory and in the field, with tagging having no detectable influence on invitro survival, feeding rate, and righting time, or on their insitu movement and depth distribution. Laboratory experiments testing the salinity tolerance of C.muricata showed they could tolerate salinities as low as 25 PSU for at least a 20-day period. Tagging of sea stars in their natural environment provided information on depth distributions, vertical migrations and the influence of the physical environment on their behaviour. The tagging also revealed a large variation in activity at the individual level. This study represents one of the first to utilise electronic tagging to study the ecology of a mobile invertebrate such as a sea star. The success of this initial study suggests that we could gain valuable quantitative insight into the ecology of these animals in future tag deployments.