Catch-up growth and swimming performance in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus): seasonal changes in the cost of compensation

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 2169-2176 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Álvarez ◽  
N B Metcalfe
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Compensatory Growth ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Growth Depression ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Catch Up ◽  
Time Of Year

Compensatory growth is a phase of unusually rapid growth following a period of growth depression. This response allows animals to achieve the same size-for-age as continuously fed contemporaries. We tested the hypothesis that a period of poor growth followed by compensation reduces the swimming abilities of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), even after the period of rapid growth had ceased; we also investigated how the time of year in which the rapid growth occurred affected the possible costs in swimming performance. The threespine sticklebacks showed a compensatory growth response after a period of food shortage, both in winter and in spring. This change in growth trajectory subsequently caused a reduction in ability to withstand high flows, but only when the period of rapid growth occurred just prior to the breeding season. We suggest that threespine sticklebacks may be willing to incur the swimming costs of catch-up growth just prior to the breeding season to maximize their expected reproductive success.

Compensatory growth in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) inhibited by experimental Schistocephalus infections

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 819-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazel A Wright ◽  
Robert J Wootton ◽  
Iain Barber
Keyword(s):  
Compensatory Growth ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Host Fish ◽  
Growth Depression ◽  
Growth Compensation ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Partial Compensation

Compensatory growth responses are made by individual fish to restore their original growth trajectory following a period of growth depression. Little is known about whether diseases impact a fish's capacity for growth compensation. In this study we investigate the effect of Schistocephalus solidus, a common cestode parasite of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), on the ability of host fish to undertake growth compensation following short-term food deprivation. Placebo-infected controls completely compensated for a 2-week deprivation period after 3 weeks postdeprivation feeding, but experimentally infected sticklebacks showed only partial compensation and after 6 weeks of refeeding had attained only 80% of the weight of continually fed infected fish. A major factor limiting the compensatory growth response of infected fish was their reduced hyperphagic response during the period of refeeding. Feed deprivation had no effect on ultimate parasite size of infected fish. We discuss the possible mechanisms limiting hyperphagia in infected fish and consider the fitness implications — for parasites and hosts — of the reduced ability of infected fish to undertake compensatory growth responses.

Burst swimming and its enzymatic correlates in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus): full-sib heritabilities

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 680-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Garenc ◽  
Frederick G Silversides ◽  
Helga Guderley
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Creatine Phosphokinase ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Considerable Influence ◽  
Paternal Effects ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Burst Swimming ◽  
Intrafamilial Variability

Full-sib heritabilities of burst-swimming capacity and its enzymatic correlates were calculated in juvenile threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, from 25 families raised under constant laboratory conditions. Variation among families in burst-swimming performance, enzyme activities, body size, and condition of the juveniles was considerable. Estimates of full-sib heritabilities of absolute and relative burst-swimming performance decreased during ontogenesis, as they were higher for 2-month-old than for 3.6-month-old sticklebacks. This decline may reflect a decrease in the importance of paternal effects with age, as well as an increase in intrafamilial variability due to the existence of feeding or social hierarachies. Enzymatic correlates of burst-swimming performance measured in 3.6-month-old sticklebacks had higher full-sib heritabilities than burst-swimming performance itself, with the highest values found for cytochrome c oxidase, followed by lactate dehydrogenase and then phosphofructokinase and creatine phosphokinase. These results suggest that genetic factors may have a considerable influence upon burst-swimming performance and muscle metabolic capacities of juvenile threespine sticklebacks, but that this influence may be tempered by biotic interactions.

Seasonal changes in the gonadotropic cells of the male threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L.

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 1961-1967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertil Borg ◽  
Jan Peute ◽  
Göran Paulson
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Synthetic Activity ◽  
Cell Nuclei ◽  
Gonadotropic Cells ◽  
Different Seasons ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

Pituitaries from threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) sampled in the field in different seasons were studied using light and electron microscopy. At the start of breeding in May the gonadotropic cells demonstrated an increase in the amount of dilated granular endoplasmic reticulum cisternae and in the size of Golgi complexes, indicating increased synthetic activity. When the breeding season ended in August these features declined. In the period April to August there was a continuous decrease in the amount and size of granules stored in the gonadotropic cells. The size of the gonadotropic cell nuclei was larger in April than in the breeding season and at the end of breeding it declined further.

scholarly journals Gas-filled urachal abscess with a pinging sound in a heifer calf

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 362-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Sato ◽  
K Yamada ◽  
Y Shinozuka ◽  
H Ochiai ◽  
K Onda
Keyword(s):  
Fistulous Tract ◽  
Failure To Thrive ◽  
Abdominal Distension ◽  
Intravenous Urography ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Growth Depression ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
History Of ◽  
Heifer Calf ◽  
Urachal Abscess

A 6-month-old crossbred of a Holstein and Japanese Black heifer calf weighing 95 kg presented with a history of intermittent abdominal distension and failure to thrive. The physical examination identified a pinging sound over the dorsal left flank. The abdominal radiography showed a huge gas-filled mass. The intravenous urography revealed no communication between the mass and the urinary bladder. Although the visual examination and palpation of the umbilicus did not reveal visible abnormalities, an umbilical disease was suspected because the animal exhibited poor growth, depression, and a hunched back posture. When the eschar adhering to the centre of the umbilicus was removed, the presence of a fistulous tract was revealed. The umbilical ultrasound examination revealed an intra-abdominal abscess and the fistulography demonstrated that the abscess communicated with the umbilicus. The abscess, compressing into the rumen, was observed by computed tomography. From these images, it was diagnosed as an umbilical cord remnant abscess and a definitive diagnosis of a urachal abscess was obtained by open abdominal surgery and the subsequent removal of the mass. The calf was discharged from the university hospital on day 14 after the operation. This case shows that a urachal abscess should be considered when a pinging sound is present, even if the animal exhibits no swelling or pain of the umbilicus.

scholarly journals Diversity and sexual dimorphism in the head lateral line system in North Sea populations of threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus (Teleostei: Gasterosteidae)

Zoomorphology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Ahnelt ◽  
David Ramler ◽  
Maria Ø. Madsen ◽  
Lasse F. Jensen ◽  
Sonja Windhager
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Lateral Line ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Marine Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

AbstractThe mechanosensory lateral line of fishes is a flow sensing system and supports a number of behaviors, e.g. prey detection, schooling or position holding in water currents. Differences in the neuromast pattern of this sensory system reflect adaptation to divergent ecological constraints. The threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is known for its ecological plasticity resulting in three major ecotypes, a marine type, a migrating anadromous type and a resident freshwater type. We provide the first comparative study of the pattern of the head lateral line system of North Sea populations representing these three ecotypes including a brackish spawning population. We found no distinct difference in the pattern of the head lateral line system between the three ecotypes but significant differences in neuromast numbers. The anadromous and the brackish populations had distinctly less neuromasts than their freshwater and marine conspecifics. This difference in neuromast number between marine and anadromous threespine stickleback points to differences in swimming behavior. We also found sexual dimorphism in neuromast number with males having more neuromasts than females in the anadromous, brackish and the freshwater populations. But no such dimorphism occurred in the marine population. Our results suggest that the head lateral line of the three ecotypes is under divergent hydrodynamic constraints. Additionally, sexual dimorphism points to divergent niche partitioning of males and females in the anadromous and freshwater but not in the marine populations. Our findings imply careful sampling as an important prerequisite to discern especially between anadromous and marine threespine sticklebacks.

Effects of constant and fluctuating temperatures on egg production in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1599-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vital Boulé ◽  
Gerard J. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Reproduction Number ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Spawning Grounds ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Fluctuating Temperatures

Female threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) spend only 9–15 days on the spawning grounds, an intertidal salt marsh at Isle Verte, Quebec, during a 2-month breeding season. Individuals average only one spawning. However, in the laboratory they lay clutches of several hundred eggs every 3–5 days for several months. We designed laboratory experiments to determine (i) whether daily temperature fluctuations similar to those encountered in the marsh affect reproduction (number of clutches, number of eggs per clutch, and size of eggs) and (ii) whether the amplitude of the fluctuations encountered by the fish affects reproduction. We compared the reproduction of females held in fluctuating temperatures with that of females kept at 20 °C. Fish kept under fluctuating conditions produced more eggs per clutch but had longer interspawning intervals than those at 20 °C. Total seasonal egg production and egg size did not differ between the two groups. Fish in fluctuating temperatures survived longer and were in better condition than those at 20 °C. We conclude that the amplitude of the fluctuations is less important than mean temperature in determining reproductive performance. Fluctuating temperatures on the spawning grounds are not responsible for the short residency there.

Negative feedback effects of oestradiol-17ß on luteinizing hormone in female rhesus monkeys under different seasonal conditions

1985 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
J. G. Herndon ◽  
M. S. Blank ◽  
D. R. Mann ◽  
D. C. Collins ◽  
J.J. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Luteinizing Hormone ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Feedback Effects ◽  
Female Rhesus ◽  
Time Of Year

Abstract. Suppression of luteinizing hormone (LH) by sc implanted oestradiol-17ß (E2) pellets was examined in 4 ovariectomized female rhesus monkeys during the breeding season, the non-breeding season and during the transition between the breeding and non-breeding season. Immunoreactive LH was suppressed to 58, 78 and 75% of untreated levels for the respective seasonal conditions. Bioactive LH was suppressed to 29, 49 and 33% of baseline. Bioactive LH (determined by testoster-one release from rat interstital cells) was significantly correlated (r = 0.84) with immunoactive LH from the same samples. It is concluded that E2 treatment of ovariectomized female rhesus monkeys results in suppressed levels of LH, regardless of the time of year.

Flexibility of nuptial colouration in a unique ecotype of Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Corney ◽  
Anne Haley ◽  
Laura Weir
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Colour Change ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Mate Quality ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Potential Signal ◽  
Intersexual Competition

Nuptial colouration in animals may serve as a signal of competitor and/or mate quality during breeding. In many temperate fishes, nuptial colouration develops during discrete breeding seasons and is a target of sexual selection. We examine nuptial colouration and behaviour of a unique ecotype of Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758), wherein males turn from dull brown-grey to pearlescent white during the breeding season. The main goal of this work was to determine the relative role of white colouration in intersexual competition and mate choice. In a combination of a field and laboratory work, we found that males are brightest white when engaging in courtship activities in the presence of a female; this indicates that white colouration may be primarily related to enhancing signalling during mate attraction. White colouration intensity increased as the breeding season progressed and may be related to an influx of conspecifics. Colour change from cryptic grey to bright white occurred rapidly (< 90 seconds) and may be deployed to enhance behavioural signals. We conclude that bright white colouration in the white ecotype is a potential signal of mate quality and may have evolved from a previously existing capacity for colour plasticity in common Threespine Stickleback.

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