Fast-start swimming performance and reduction in lateral plate number in threespine stickleback

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
C A Bergstrom
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Predatory Fish ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
Plate Number ◽  
Fast Start

Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have colonized freshwater habitats in circumboreal coastal regions, resulting in populations with variable but generally reduced lateral plate numbers compared with marine ancestors. Several abiotic and ecological factors associated with variation in lateral plate number among freshwater populations of G. aculeatus have been found, including large-scale climatic effects, variation in water-flow rates and levels of dissolved calcium, and the presence or absence of predatory fish. In addition, it has been proposed that plate reduction might be an adaptation for evading predator pursuit that enhances fast-start performance. If this hypothesis is correct, one would predict that fast-start performance would improve as lateral plate numbers decrease. I tested this prediction by comparing fast-start performance among stickleback with different numbers of lateral plates within two freshwater populations. Fast-starts of individual stickleback were video-recorded at 60 Hz and maximum velocity, maximum acceleration, displacement, and body curvature were calculated for each fish. Lateral plate number was significantly negatively correlated with velocity and displacement but not with acceleration or curvature. These results suggest that reduction in lateral plate number has the potential to be advantageous in some predation regimes because of its association with enhanced fast-start performance.

Comparison of the fast-start performances of closely related, morphologically distinct threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus spp.)

1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (12) ◽  
pp. 2595-2604 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Law ◽  
R Blake
Keyword(s):  
Angular Velocity ◽  
High Speed ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Biomechanical Study ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
Fast Start

Fast-start escape performances for two species of threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus spp., were investigated using high-speed cinematography (400 Hz). The two fishes (not yet formally described, referred to here as benthic and limnetic) inhabit different niches within Paxton Lake, British Columbia, Canada, and are recent, morphologically distinct species. All escape responses observed for both species were double-bend C-type fast-starts. There were no significant differences between the species for any linear or angular parameter (pooled averages, both species: duration 0.048 s, distance 0.033 m, maximum velocity 1.10 m s-1, maximum acceleration 137 m s-2, maximum horizontal angular velocity 473.6 rad s-1 and maximum overall angular velocity 511.1 rad s-1). Benthics and limnetics have the greatest added mass (Ma) at 0.3 and 0.6 body lengths, respectively. The maximum Ma does not include the fins for benthics, but for limnetics the dorsal and anal fins contribute greatly to the maximum Ma. The deep, posteriorly placed fins of limnetics enable them to have a fast-start performance equivalent to that of the deeper-bodied benthics. Both the limnetic and benthic fishes have significantly higher escape fast-start velocities than their ancestral form, the anadromous threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, suggesting that the high performance of the Paxton Lake sticklebacks is an evolutionarily derived trait. In this biomechanical study of functional morphology, we demonstrate that similar high fast-start performance can be achieved by different suites of morphological characteristics and suggest that predation might be the selective force for the high escape performance in these two fishes.

Do asymmetric sticklebacks make better fathers?

1996 ◽  
Vol 263 (1370) ◽  
pp. 535-539 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Control ◽  
Natural Population ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Plate Number

Lateral plate number phenotypes in the low morph of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus , are under strong genetic control and display fluctuating asymmetry. Results of a survey of a natural population show the nests of asymmetric males were more likely to contain fry than nests of symmetric males. This suggests asymmetric males were more reproductively successful than symmetric males. There is little or no possibility that plate number symmetry can be directly assessed by either potential mates or rival males which compete for mates and attack clutches. Asymmetric males may be slightly larger than symmetric males.

Postglacial evolution in lateral plate morphs in Norwegian freshwater populations of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 898-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Klepaker
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Evolutionary Stage ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Land Uplift ◽  
Founding Population ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback ◽  
Age Range

Norwegian freshwater stickleback populations were founded after the last glacial period, and the progressive uplift of the land has produced an age range (1000 – 13 000 years) of the stickleback habitats. Most of the freshwater populations of today have probably been formed by isolation of marine sticklebacks in the process of land uplift. The freshwater threespine stickleback is known for its great morphological variability. Three distinct morphs ("low," "partial," and "complete") are recognized on the basis of variation in the lateral row of plates. Among the Norwegian populations, all three morphs were found, but the low morph was by far the most common and occurred mostly in monomorphic populations. The presence of the complete and partial morphs was mostly restricted to young lakes near the sea. It is likely that the plate polymorphism in this region is a transitionary evolutionary stage from a founding population dominated by complete to a monomorphic low population. The hypothesis of a polytypic origin of the low morph is discussed, and an alternative hypothesis is proposed. Within each plate morph, the number of plates also varied, and populations with exceptionally low plate numbers were mostly confined to three different areas. Within these areas, populations with plateless specimens also occurred. These plateless specimens tended to inhabit old lakes. The low plate number and plateless populations were found in parts of Norway that were deglaciated early. The advanced plate reduction can therefore be a result of a longer period of isolation and freshwater evolution. Other populations may be on their way towards extreme plate reduction, but have not yet reached the level of platelessness.

scholarly journals Lateral plate number in low‐plated threespine stickleback: a study of plasticity and heritability

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 3154-3160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Truls H. Hansson ◽  
Barbara Fischer ◽  
Anna B. Mazzarella ◽  
Kjetil L. Voje ◽  
Leif Asbjørn Vøllestad
Keyword(s):  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Plate Number

Reproductive Isolation Among Lateral Plate Phenotypes (Low, Partial, Complete) of the Threespine Stickleback, Gasterosteus Aculeatus, From the White Sea Basin and the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

Behaviour ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (15-16) ◽  
pp. 1173-1181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valery V. Ziuganov
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
White Sea ◽  
Kamchatka Peninsula ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
The White Sea ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Freshwater Pond ◽  
White Sea Basin

AbstractReproductive isolation was investigated among sympatric lateral plate morphs of threespine stickleback from the White Sea basin and also among phenotypically similar morphs from the distant Kamchatka River basin (Lake Azabachije). Female choice tests show that gene flow is restricted among the completely plated and low plated morphs at both locations; behavioural isolation between these morphs is complete among Lake Azabachije fish, and nearly so (93% positive assortative mating) among White Sea basin fish. However, the experiments also demonstrate that there are no barriers to reproduction among the Azabachije and White Sea complete morphs, among the Azabachije low and White Sea complete morphs, nor among the Azabachije complete and White Sea low morphs. In addition, there is no evidence of barriers to gene flow among the low and partially plated morphs. Therefore, although gene flow is restricted among the extreme morphs within each locality, nevertheless gene exchange is possible, either directly or secondarily, among all phenotypes. The reproductive isolation between the complete and low morphs from the White Sea basin developed in situ no more than eight generations after the sticklebacks were introduced into an isolated freshwater pond. Therefore behavioural isolation can evolve very rapidly among the lateral plate phenotypes of Gasterosteus aculeatus.

Spatial, sexual, and rapid temporal differentiation in neuromast expression on lateral plates of Haida Gwaii threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (11) ◽  
pp. 988-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.P. Planidin ◽  
T.E. Reimchen
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Predatory Fish ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Haida Gwaii ◽  
Temporal Differentiation ◽  
Lateral Lines ◽  
Lateral Plates

Lateral lines, a major sensory modality in fishes, are diverse among taxa, but their intraspecific variation has received limited attention. We examined numbers of superficial neuromasts on the buttressing lateral plates (LP) of 1910 threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758) from 26 ecologically and morphologically diverse populations on the Haida Gwaii archipelago, western Canada. Extending from previous studies, we predicted that (i) highly stained dystrophic localities would have threespine stickleback with elevated numbers of neuromasts per plate due to a greater reliance on non-visual sensory modalities and (ii) that LP count and neuromast numbers per plate would functionally covary with predatory assemblage. We found that there were no differences in neuromast count across major habitats (marine, lake, stream), but clear-water populations and those with predatory fish had significantly more neuromasts per plate than most populations in highly stained dystrophic lakes, the effects being accentuated on the first buttressing plate (LP4). We also report the first evidence that neuromast counts per plate are sexually dimorphic, with males having a greater density of neuromasts in most populations. Two transplant experiments between ecologically opposite habitats indicate that within 12 generations, neuromast counts per plate can rapidly shift in response to a change in habitat.

Temperature Effects on Acceleration of Rainbow Trout, Salmo gairdneri

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 1417-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Webb
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Temperature Effects ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Salmo Gairdneri ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
Acceleration Rate ◽  
Velocity Flow ◽  
Fast Start ◽  
Shock Stimulus ◽  
Stimulus Temperature

Acceleration performance during and immediately following fast-starts was measured at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C for rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) of mean mass 23.5 g. Fast-start responses were initiated by an electric shock stimulus. Temperature had little effect on fast-start kinematics. Response latency and duration of propulsion strokes decreased with temperature. Latencies decreased from 23 ms at 5 °C to 6 ms at 25 °C. Times to complete the first two principal acceleration strokes in a fast-start decreased from 116 ms at 5 °C to 65 ms at 25 °C. Distance traveled in a given time increased with temperature. For an elapsed time of 100 ms, the distance traveled was 3.5 cm at 5 °C increasing to 11.3 cm at 25 °C. Velocity increased with time at each temperature to reach maximum values by the end of the third propulsive stroke and thereafter declining. Maximum velocity increased with temperature from 0.99 m∙s−1 at 5 °C to 1.71 m∙s−1 at 15 °C. Maximum velocity was independent of temperature from 15 to 25 °C. Similar trends were found for maximum acceleration rate which increased from 16 m∙s−2 at 5 °C to 41 m∙s−2 over the 15–25 °C range. Temperature effects on acceleration performance would alter the ability of fish to traverse short areas of high velocity flow, the effectiveness of predators, and vulnerability of prey fish. Key words: trout, acceleration, swimming, fast-start, temperature, predation, locomotion

Fast-start Performance and Body Form in Seven Species of Teleost Fish

1978 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. WEBB
Keyword(s):  
Lepomis Macrochirus ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Salmo Gairdneri ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
Body Form ◽  
Fast Start ◽  
Major Variable ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Depth Enhancement

Fast-start kinematics and performance were determined for Etheostoma caeruleum, Cottus cognatus, Notropis cornutus, Lepomis macrochirus, Perca flavescens, Salmo gairdneri and a hybrid Esox sp. at an acclimation and test temperature of 15 °C. Normal three-stage kinematic patterns were observed for all species. Fast-start movements were similar in all species, except Lepomis, which had slightly higher amplitudes than expected for its length. The duration of kinematic stages was a major variable among the seven species but was a linear function of length. Acceleration rates were not functions of size. Maximum acceleration rates ranged from 22-7 to 39-5 m. s−2 with mean rates from 6.1 to 12.3 m.s−2 averaged to the completion of kinematic stage 2. Maximum velocity and distance covered in each fast-start stage varied among species but were related to length. Fast-start performance depended primarily on compromise between muscle mass as a percentage of body mass, and lateral body and fin profile. Optimal profiles provide large depth distant from the centre of mass to maximize thrust, and anterior depth enhancement to minimize recoil. The body form of Lepomis is considered optimal for multiple swimming modes.

Effect of a sprint-training protocol on acceleration performance in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 578-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kurt Gamperl ◽  
Dan L. Schnurr ◽  
E. Don Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Control Fish ◽  
Salmo Gairdneri ◽  
Sprint Training ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
Fast Start ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Training Protocol

Fast-start acceleration performance of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) was measured after 9 weeks of sprint training (30°s duration, every 2nd day). Response latency and time required to complete the first two stages of a fast start were unaffected by the sprint-training protocol. Maximum acceleration (trained 1985 ± 176 (SE) cm/s2; control 1826 ± 144 cm/s2) and maximum velocity (trained 130 ± 7 cm/s; control 134 ± 14 cm/s) were also not significantly different following training. However, trained fish reached high rates of acceleration before control (untrained) fish. Thus, acceleration was higher in trained fish from 20 to 35 ms postshock. When fish are separated by start type, trained fish consistently had greater acceleration than control fish between 30 and 45 ms postshock. Alterations in fast-start performance due to sprint training may improve predator avoidance ability. Sprint training did not change critical swimming speed as measured using two separate protocols.

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