scholarly journals Learned recognition and avoidance of invasive mosquitofish by the shrimp, Paratya australiensis

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua D. Bool ◽  
Kristen Witcomb ◽  
Erin Kydd ◽  
Culum Brown
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Gambusia Holbrooki ◽  
Invasive Fish ◽  
Y Maze ◽  
Nocturnal Foraging ◽  
Paratya Australiensis ◽  
Random Control

Little is known about the learning ability of crustaceans, especially with respect to their anti-predator responses to invasive species. In many vertebrates, anti-predator behaviour is influenced by experience during ontogeny. Here, predator-naïve glass shrimp (Paratya australiensisis) were exposed to a predatory, invasive fish species, Gambusia holbrooki, to determine whether shrimp could learn to: (1) avoid the scent of Gambusia via classical conditioning; and (2) restrict their activity patterns to the night to reduce predatory encounters. Conditioned shrimp were placed in containers in aquaria containing Gambusia for 3 days during which time they could be harassed but not consumed by Gambusia. When tested in a Y-maze, conditioned shrimp showed a long delay before making a choice between Gambusia scented water and aged tap water but chose an arm at random. Control shrimp showed a brief delay in emergence and also chose at random. In a second experiment, we housed shrimp with a single Gambusia and observed their activity patterns. In the presence of Gambusia, shrimp switched from diurnal to nocturnal foraging. These results show that naïve shrimp learn to recognise novel predatory species via chemical cues and adjust their activity patterns to coincide with periods when Gambusia are inactive.

scholarly journals Ocean acidification disrupts the orientation of postlarval Caribbean spiny lobsters

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. Gravinese ◽  
Heather N. Page ◽  
Casey B. Butler ◽  
Angelo Jason Spadaro ◽  
Clay Hewett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Episodic Acidification ◽  
Anthropogenic Inputs ◽  
Seawater Ph ◽  
Y Maze ◽  
The Caribbean

Abstract Anthropogenic inputs into coastal ecosystems are causing more frequent environmental fluctuations and reducing seawater pH. One such ecosystem is Florida Bay, an important nursery for the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus. Although adult crustaceans are often resilient to reduced seawater pH, earlier ontogenetic stages can be physiologically limited in their tolerance to ocean acidification on shorter time scales. We used a Y-maze chamber to test whether reduced-pH seawater altered the orientation of spiny lobster pueruli toward chemical cues produced by Laurencia spp. macroalgae, a known settlement cue for the species. We tested the hypothesis that pueruli conditioned in reduced-pH seawater would be less responsive to Laurencia spp. chemical cues than pueruli in ambient-pH seawater by comparing the proportion of individuals that moved to the cue side of the chamber with the proportion that moved to the side with no cue. We also recorded the amount of time (sec) before a response was observed. Pueruli conditioned in reduced-pH seawater were less responsive and failed to select the Laurencia cue. Our results suggest that episodic acidification of coastal waters might limit the ability of pueruli to locate settlement habitats, increasing postsettlement mortality.

Stable isotope analyses reveal predation on amphibians by a globally invasive fish(Gambusia holbrooki)

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 724-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Remon ◽  
Deborah S. Bower ◽  
Troy F. Gaston ◽  
John Clulow ◽  
Michael J. Mahony
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Gambusia Holbrooki ◽  
Invasive Fish ◽  
Stable Isotope Analyses ◽  
Isotope Analyses

scholarly journals Are juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) becoming less social?

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. i170-i176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Childress ◽  
Katherine A. Heldt ◽  
Scott D. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Conspecific Attraction ◽  
Dominance Status ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Movement Rates ◽  
Y Maze ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Commercially Important

Abstract Caribbean spiny lobsters are one of the most commercially important fisheries due in large part to their highly gregarious nature that facilitates their harvest by the use of traps or aggregation devices containing conspecifics. Aggregation in this species has been shown to be due to strong attraction to conspecific chemical cues that influence movement rates, discovery of crevice shelters, and den sharing behaviours. Although aggregation has been shown to have many potential benefits (reduction in exposure time and predation risk), it may also have significant costs as well (increase in predator encounters, disease transmission, and fishing mortality). We compared the results of three published and three unpublished Y-maze chemical cue choice experiments from 1996 to 2012 to determine if there has been a decrease in conspecific attraction by early benthic juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters (15–55 mm carapace length, CL). We found that attraction to conspecific chemical cues decreased since 2010 and was significantly lower in 2012. Lobsters showed individual variation in conspecific attraction but this variation was unrelated to size, sex, or dominance status. We also found localized regional variation in conspecific attraction with lobsters from high shelter/high disease areas showing significantly lower conspecific attraction than those from low shelter/low disease areas. Given that conspecific attraction varies among individuals and potentially increases mortality through either natural (increased disease transmission) or fishery-induced (attraction to traps) mechanisms, we should play close attention to this loss of conspecific attraction in juvenile lobsters. Future studies should investigate both the causation and the ecological significance of changes in conspecific attraction in regions that vary in intensity of disease (PaV1) and fishing pressure.

The Effects of Idazoxan and Efaroxan Improves Memory and Cognitive Functions in Rats Experimental research

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1411-1415
Author(s):  
Gabriela Rusu-Zota ◽  
Daniel Vasile Timofte ◽  
Elena Albu ◽  
Petronela Nechita ◽  
Victorita Sorodoc
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Receptor Antagonists ◽  
Weight Group ◽  
Imidazoline Receptor ◽  
Maze Test ◽  
Group I ◽  
Y Maze

Investigating the effects of idazoxan and efaroxan imidazoline receptor antagonists on cognitive functions with the rat Y-maze test; an internationally recognized experimental pattern of behavior, is to be used in order to evaluate the effects of test substances on the simple spatial memory of the laboratory animals. Our experimental evaluation tested the influence induced by idazoxan and efaroxan on the short-term memory on rats. In the experiment were used eighteen (18) male Wistar rats which were randomly divided into three groups (I - Control, II - IDZ and III - EFR) comprising of 6 animals each, treated intraperitoneally according to the following protocol: group I (Control): distilled water 0.5 mL/100 g body weight; group II (IDZ): idazoxan 3 mg/kg body weight; group III (EFR): efaroxan 1 mg/kg body weight. The purpose of this research was to assess the eligibility using the Y-maze test, involving: latency of the first arm visited, the number of arms visited, and the time spent into the arms, the number of returns of the experimental animals in the same arm, the number of alternations, percentage of spontaneous alternation. In this work, manifestations of the natural behavior of the animals tested was expressed by their choice of goal arm alternation. Statistical data processing reveals that: the administration of IDZ, as well as of EFR was accompanied by a tendency to enter a less recently visited arm and reduced the total number of arms visited, statistically significant (p[0.05) compared to control group. In this experiment, the use of these two imidazoline receptor antagonists did not considerably influence the reference memory, when pursuing the latency of the first arm visited, compared to the group treated with distilled water. The effects of IDZ and EFR on the percentage of time spent in the arms were sorted in descending order in this behavioral experimental model (IDZ]Control]EFR). The results demonstrate that the treatment with imidazoline agents optimizes the cognitive function of the animals, improving their learning ability, in the rat Y-maze Test. Regular exercise can reduce depression-, anxiety-, and impaired cognitive-like behaviors, and in conclusion these substances would be a useful pharmacological agents for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction.

scholarly journals Neuroprotective Effects of Probiotic-Supplemented Diet on Cognitive Behavior of 3xTg-AD Mice

2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Chenxi Tan ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Huiyi Zhang ◽  
Cihan Di ◽  
Dechao Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Western Blot ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Intestinal Flora ◽  
Gene Sequencing ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Y Maze

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is recognized as one of the most common types of senile dementia. AD patients first suffer memory loss for recent events (short-term memory impairment). As the disease progresses, they are deprived of self-awareness. This study aims to explore the effects of a probiotic-supplemented diet on the cognitive behaviors and pathological features of mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Mice in the control group and the 3xTg-AD group were fed a regular diet and a probiotic-supplemented diet, respectively, for 20 weeks. Behavioral experiments like Morris’s water maze and Y maze were conducted. Then, feces of mice were collected for 16S sRNA gene sequencing for microorganisms. In the end, soluble and insoluble Aβ40 and Aβ42 in the hippocampus and cortex of mice in each group were quantitatively analyzed with a double-antibody Sandwich ELISA. The expression levels of tau protein and gliocyte in the hippocampus and cortex were detected using the Western Blot method. The result of the Morris water maze experiment indicated that, in the place navigation test, the mice in the 3xTg-AD group experienced a significant decline in the learning ability and a longer escape latency and in the space exploration test, the swimming time of mice in the 3xTg-AD group in the target quadrant decreased and after being treated with the probiotic diet, mice in the 3xTg-AD group had improved learning and memory ability. The result of Y maze showed that the probiotic diet can improve the spontaneous alternation accuracy of mice in the 3xTg-AD group. The result of 16s rRNA gene sequencing showed that, compared with mice in the WT group, those in the 3xTg-AD group experienced a change in the intestinal flora. The Western Blot result displayed a decreased expression level of tau (pS202) ( P < 0.05 ) and decreased expression levels of Iba-1 and GFAP ( P < 0.05 ). The result of the ELISA experiment showed decreased levels of soluble and insoluble Aβ40 and Aβ42 in 3xTg-AD mice ( P < 0.05 ). In conclusion, a probiotic diet can prevent and treat AD by improving the intestinal flora of 3xTg-AD.

scholarly journals The occurrence, distribution and biology of invasive fish species in fresh and brackish water bodies of NE Morocco

2020 ◽  
pp. 59-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Taybi ◽  
Y. Mabrouki ◽  
I. Doadrio
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Fundulus Heteroclitus ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Gambusia Holbrooki ◽  
Invasive Fish ◽  
Field Sampling ◽  
Native Communities ◽  
Eastern Morocco ◽  
Eastern Mosquitofish

Monitoring the presence and expansion of alien species and upgrading their biological and ecological knowledge seems crucial to mitigate their possible impact on native communities. Within inland superficial waters, alien fish represent an important threat to the biodiversity and studies on their impact on native communities have increased around the world in the last years. However, little is known about their occurrence, biology and influences in North Africa in general, and more specifically in Morocco. In the present work we aimed to: 1) investigate the presence of any native Aphanius species, especially the Mediterranean killifish Aphanius fasciatus recorded from the lower basin of the Moulouya River (NE Morocco); 2) monitor the presence and expansion of two invasive species, the eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki and the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus; and 3) contribute to the understanding of the ecological and abiotic affinities that govern the distribution of these alien fishes in North Africa. To achieve these goals, several field sampling campaigns were carried out between 2014 and 2018 across eastern Morocco, comprising the administrative Oriental Region and the Moulouya River Basin and covering an area of 119,268 km2. No native Aphanius species were found. The eastern mosquitofish has invaded the freshwater hydrosystems of the northern part of Morocco, including the study area, while the mummichog is currently limited to the brackish and salty wetlands of Lower Moulouya. Our results show that the known ranges of these two alien species have expanded. Data published through GBIF (Doi:10.15470/2qed9o)

scholarly journals Females of the four-eyed frog, Pleurodema thaul (Anura, Leptodactylidae), respond behaviourally to conspecific male scent

Herpetozoa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 115-120
Author(s):  
Valentina Rojas ◽  
Antonieta Labra ◽  
José Luis Valdés ◽  
Nelson A. Velásquez
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Communication ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Conspecific Male ◽  
Chemical Sense ◽  
Y Maze ◽  
Male Scent ◽  
Intraspecific Communication ◽  
Natural Breeding

Among amphibians, conspecific chemical communication has been widely studied in Caudata. Adult anurans, by contrast, have received less attention. Recently, it was shown that chemical scents are also relevant for adult anuran intraspecific communication. In this context, we evaluate whether females of the four-eyed frog (Pleurodema thaul) respond to conspecific male scents. We carried out a double choice experiment in a Y-maze. Females were repeatedly presented with the scents of several males versus distilled water. To extract the scent from males, we acoustically stimulated males and then used the water from their aquaria for the experiments. Our data suggest that females are capable of responding behaviourally to male scents, since they spent longer periods in the zones with male scent, rather than in zones with water. We propose that under natural breeding conditions, females of P. thaul may use either their chemical sense or chemical cues to facilitate their encounters with males.

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