EFFECTS OF EGG SIZE ON POSTLARVAL PERFORMANCE: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM A SEA URCHIN

Many life-history and developmental studies of marine invertebrates assume that eggs of species with nonfeeding larvae are large because they provide materials for rapid development. Using the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma which has 400 μm eggs and nonfeeding larvae, we removed an acellular, lipid-rich component from the blastula equivalent to ca. 40% of the egg volume and ca. 50% of the organic mass. Experimentally manipulated, reduced-lipid larvae survived well, developed in the usual time (3.5 d), and high percentages of the original numbers metamorphosed into anatomically normal juveniles. Control juveniles were larger at metamorphosis, grew more, and survived longer than siblings that lacked this lipid-rich material. Moderate increases in egg size in species with nonfeeding larvae may enhance postlarval performance significantly and therefore may reflect selection on early juvenile traits. The contrasts of our results and comparable experiments with feeding larvae suggests that egg size may play fundamentally different roles in species with feeding and nonfeeding larvae. The accommodation of materials reserved for the juvenile stage should be considered among hypotheses on evolutionary modification of developmental patterns.     

长江口中华鲟幼鱼的食物组成及摄食习性

分析了2004年5-9月长江口水域中华鲟幼鱼的食物组成及摄食的月份变化.结果表明:长江口中华鲟幼鱼以底栖小型鱼类、多毛类和端足类为主要食物,兼食虾类、蟹类及瓣鳃类等小型底栖动物.幼鱼的摄食率和摄食强度较高,且摄食强度存在着月份变化.主要饵料生物组成有明显的月变化,且食物个体有逐渐增大的趋势,其中5月主食多毛类和蟹类,6月主食鱼类和端足类,7月为鱼类和多毛类,8月样本较少且为空胃,9月为鱼类和虾类.与历史资料进行比较发现,曾是幼鱼重要饵料的鲬类所占比例极小,其质量百分比仅占1.81%;而以前未曾记录的虾虎鱼类在食物中所占比例较高, 其质量百分比达50.54%;等足类以前也未曾记录,其出现频率达10.07%.     

保幼激素类似物及蜕皮甾类对亚洲玉米螟幼虫酚氧化酶活性的影响

分别用1 μg/头、0.1 μg/头和0.01 μg/头浓度的保幼激素类似物methoprene（蒙五一五）体外处理亚洲玉米螟5龄幼虫,测定幼虫体壁组织、血清和血细胞溶离物中酚氧化酶的活性。结果表明： 1 μg/头 methoprene处理组和0.1 μg/头处理组幼虫体壁组织中酚氧化酶活性与对照组相比有显著提高（P<0.01）,血清和血细胞溶离物中酚氧化酶活性也显著上升（P<0.01）。将含有20-羟基蜕皮酮的人工饲料饲喂亚洲玉米螟5龄幼虫,处理组幼虫体壁组织的酚氧化酶活性下降(P<0.05),血清和血细胞溶离物中的酚氧化酶活性均低于对照组 （P<0.01）。这些结果表明methoprene可以诱导亚洲玉米螟5龄幼虫体内酚氧化酶活性的上升,而20-羟基蜕皮酮则抑制了酚氧化酶的活性。     

淡水鱼类微囊藻毒素去毒酶基因的克隆

微囊藻毒素去毒酶在鱼类微囊藻毒素去毒过程中起着关键作用,研究成功克隆鲢鱼、鳙鱼、草鱼、鲫鱼、鳜鱼、罗非鱼等淡水鱼类微囊藻毒素去毒酶基因cDNA核心片段而首次获得这些淡水鱼类微囊藻毒素去毒酶氨基酸序列。鲢鱼、鳙鱼、草鱼、鲫鱼、鳜鱼、罗非鱼微囊藻毒素去毒酶基因与人、小鼠、大鼠、牛、猪、羊的谷胱甘肽S-转移酶基因氨基酸同源性为60%左右,表明淡水鱼类微囊藻毒素去毒酶基因在进化上变异性较大,与其承担微囊藻毒素去毒代谢之特殊功能相适应。     

Effects of endogenous esterases and an allatostatin on the products of Manduca sexta larval corpora allata in vitro

Abstract A rapid and simple method has been developed for the simultaneous measurement of juvenile hormone (JH) and JH acid synthesized in vitro by larval corpora allata (CA) of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. An organic solvent partition of incubation medium efficiently separates JH acid from JH, and a radioimmunoassay which recognizes the two moieties equivalently is then employed to quantify each. The change in the biosynthetic product of the CA from JH to JH acid appears to begin slowly at the time of ecdysis to the last (fifth) larval stadium and is not complete until just prior to wandering (day 4). The inclusion of the JH esterase inhibitor S-benzoyl-O-ethyl phosphoramidothiolate in incubations of corpora allata revealed that the activity of JH esterases from the gland parallels gland activity and that significant hydrolysis of newly synthesized JH by these esterases occurs in incubations of glands taken at the beginnings of the fourth and fifth larval stadia. An allatostatin, which is proposed to inhibit the corpus allatum during the time of the change in its product, inhibits both JH I and JH I acid synthesis.     

Patterns of parental investment,dispersal and size among coral-reef fishes

Synopsis Coral-reef fishes have been selected to produce propagules for dispersal because they live in a patchy environment, and the adults cannot migrate between patches. For large species (>100 mm SL) and widely separated patches, numerous propagules are needed, often with specialized pelagic intervals. Individuals of small species are confined to portions of the reef. They are unable to produce enough eggs for effective longrange dispersal, and so they keep their vulnerable eggs and young out of the plankton until they are well developed enough to seek out and settle onto the appropriate habitat before dispersing.Guarded demersal eggs, requiring a greater individual investment by the small short-lived species, further reduces their individual fecundity. These costs to fecundity, and the reduction in vagile young appear to account for the lack of postzygotic investment in larger longlived species.All coral-reef fishes are selected to disperse, usually with a young planktonic propagule interval. Both large and small species produce a mixed outcome, with some propagules returned to, or retained at the home reef, while others disperse more widely. The smaller the species the greater the proportion of propagules retained.     

Scale dependence in the species‐discharge relationship for fishes of the southeastern U.S.A.

1. Species‐discharge relationships (SDR) are aquatic analogues of species‐area relationships, and are increasingly used in both basic research and conservation planning. SDR studies are often limited, however, by two shortcomings. First, they do not determine whether reported SDRs, which normally use complete drainage basins as sampling units, are scale dependent. Second, they do not account for the effects of habitat diversity within or among samples. 2. We addressed both problems by using discrete fish zones as sampling units in a SDR analysis. To do so, we first tested for longitudinal zonation in three rivers in the southeastern U.S.A. In each river, we detected successive ‘lower’, ‘middle’, and ‘upper’ fish zones, which were characterized by distinct fish assemblages with predictable habitat requirements. Because our analyses combined fish data from multiple sources, we also used rarefaction and Monte Carlo simulation to ensure that our zonation results were robust to spurious sampling effects. 3. Next, we estimated the average discharge within each zone, and plotted these estimates against the respective species richness within each zone (log₁₀ data). This revealed a significant, linear SDR (r² = 0.83; P < 0.01). Notably, this zonal SDR fit the empirical data better than a comparable SDR that did not discriminate among longitudinal zones. We therefore conclude that the southeastern fish SDR is scale dependent, and that accounting for within‐basin habitat diversity is an important step in explaining the high diversity of southeastern fishes. 4. We then discuss how our zonal SDR can be used to improve conservation planning. Specifically, we show how the slope of the SDR can be used to forecast potential extinction rates, and how the zonal data can be used to identify species of greatest concern.     

Life cycles and challenges for fish species that breed in South African estuaries

The literature currently recognizes four guilds of estuarine resident fish species, namely solely estuarine, estuarine and marine, estuarine and freshwater, and estuarine migrant. In this review the life cycles of actual representatives from these four guilds are assessed to determine whether the current definitions, which have never been formally tested, are appropriate to fish species resident in South African estuaries. Detailed information and diagrammatic life cycles are provided for the selected species covered by this review. A potential new estuarine resident guild category is also identified, namely, those taxa that are primarily estuarine but also have subpopulations recorded in both adjacent marine and freshwater habitats. The full range of reproductive characteristics employed by estuary resident species is examined, ranging from live bearers, pouch and nest brooders, to a suite of oviparous taxa that attach their ova to estuarine rocks, shells, and submerged vegetation, all of which assists with larval retention within the estuarine environment. The small size and early reproductive maturity of most estuarine resident species is highlighted, with reduced vulnerability to predation in shallow, sheltered, often turbid estuary waters offering considerable protection during spawning events when compared to the open ocean. In addition, these small fish would not have to move considerable distances at any stage of their life cycle, since egg, larval, juvenile, and adult stages all occur in the same place. The existence of contingent subpopulations within many estuarine resident species is noted, physico-chemical stresses on these species are highlighted, and the eurytopic nature of these small fish taxa emphasized.     

Aquaporin and brain diseases

Background

The presence of water channel proteins, aquaporins (AQPs), in the brain led to intense research in understanding the underlying roles of each of them under normal conditions and pathological conditions.

Scope of review

In this review, we summarize some of the recent knowledge on the 3 main AQPs (AQP1, AQP4 and AQP9), with a special focus on AQP4, the most abundant AQP in the central nervous system.

Major conclusions

AQP4 was most studied in several brain pathological conditions ranging from acute brain injuries (stroke, traumatic brain injury) to the chronic brain disease with autoimmune neurodegenerative diseases. To date, no specific therapeutic agents have been developed to either inhibit or enhance water flux through these channels. However, experimental results strongly underline the importance of this topic for future investigation. Early inhibition of water channels may have positive effects in prevention of edema formation in brain injuries but at later time points during the course of a disease, AQP is critical for clearance of water from the brain into blood vessels.

General significance

Thus, AQPs, and in particular AQP4, have important roles both in the formation and resolution of edema after brain injury. The dual, complex function of these water channel proteins makes them an excellent therapeutic target. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Aquaporins.