Reproductive success and growth of two species of Erpobdellidae: the effect of water temperature

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 1253-1256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick J. Wrona ◽  
L. R. Linton ◽  
Ronald W. Davies

Cocoon production and hatchling growth of two species of Erpobdellidae (Nephelopsis obscura and Erpobdella punctata) were compared at different water temperatures (5–20 °C). Based on the mean number of cocoons produced per individual, mean numbers of eggs per cocoon, cocoon hatching success, and hatchling growth rates, E. punctata has an ecological advantage over N. obscura at 5 and 10 °C. At 15 and 20 °C, neither species displayed a clear advantage over the other in relation to production or growth of offspring. It is suggested that the observed interspecific differences may at least in part explain the numerical dominance of E. punctata in colder lotic ecosystems.

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 516-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. E. Moodie ◽  
N. L. Loadman ◽  
M. D. Wiegand ◽  
J. A. Mathias

A subsample of eggs from 109 walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) from Crean Lake, Saskatchewan, was sieved soon after fertilization to yield four groups of eggs ranging in size from 4.86 to 5.62 mm3. Overall egg size tended to correspond to yolk and oil volumes. At hatching, larvae from the eggs with the least yolk and oil were significantly shorter than larvae from all other egg groups. At the end of the experiment, 13 d after hatching, the larvae from the eggs with the most yolk were significantly larger than larvae from the other egg groups. Differences in the mean amount of food ingested by larvae were related to initial egg size. The yolk of the smallest eggs was deficient in the (n-3) series of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Larvae from these small eggs had a high level of major body deformities and a mortality rate which reached 100% by day 10. Small egg size in itself did not appear disadvantageous; larvae from a different stock (Lake of the Prairies, Manitoba) which produced eggs with a mean size less than that of the smallest sieved eggs, had survival and growth rates comparable with those of the larger Crean Lake eggs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Labuhn ◽  
Franziska Tell ◽  
Ulrich von Grafenstein ◽  
Dan Hammarlund ◽  
Henning Kuhnert ◽  
...  

Abstract. Carbonate shells and encrustations from lacustrine organisms provide proxy records of past environmental and climatic changes. The carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of such carbonates depends on the δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Their oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) is controlled by the δ18O of the lake water and on water temperature during carbonate precipitation. Lake water δ18O, in turn, reflects the δ18O of precipitation in the catchment, water residence time and mixing, and evaporation. A paleoclimate interpretation of carbonate isotope records requires a site-specific calibration based on an understanding of these local conditions. For this study, samples of different carbonate components and water were collected in the littoral zone of Lake Locknesjön, central Sweden (62.99° N, 14.85° E, 328 m a.s.l.) along a water depth gradient from 1 to 8 m. Samples from living organisms and sub-recent samples in surface sediments were taken from the calcifying alga Chara hispida, mollusks from the genus Pisidium, and adult and juvenile instars of two ostracod species, Candona candida and Candona neglecta. Neither the isotopic composition of carbonates nor the δ18O of water vary significantly with water depth, indicating a well-mixed epilimnion. The mean δ13C of Chara hispida encrustations is 4 ‰ higher than the other carbonates. This is due to fractionation related to photosynthesis, which preferentially incorporates 12C in the organic matter and increases the δ13C of the encrustations. A small effect of photosynthetic 13C enrichment in DIC is seen in contemporaneously formed valves of juvenile ostracods. The largest differences in the mean carbonate δ18O between species are caused by vital offsets, i.e. the species-specific deviations from the δ18O of inorganic carbonate which would have been precipitated in isotopic equilibrium with the water. After subtraction of these offsets, the remaining differences in the mean carbonate δ18O between species can mainly be attributed to seasonal water temperature changes. The lowest δ18O values are observed in Chara hispida encrustations, which form during the summer months when photosynthesis is most intense. Adult ostracods, which calcify their valves during the cold season, display the highest δ18O values. This is because an increase in water temperature leads to a decrease in fractionation between carbonate and water, and therefore to a decrease in carbonate δ18O. At the same time, an increase in air temperature leads to an increase in the δ18O of lake water through its effect on precipitation δ18O and on evaporation from the lake, and consequently to an increase in carbonate δ18O, opposite to the effect of increasing water temperature on oxygen-isotope fractionation. However, the seasonal and inter-annual variability in lake water δ18O is small (~0.5 ‰) due to the long water residence time of the lake. Seasonal changes in the temperature-dependent fractionation are therefore the dominant cause of carbonate δ18O differences between species when vital offsets are corrected. Temperature reconstructions based on paleotemperature equations for equilibrium carbonate precipitation using the mean δ18O of each species and the mean δ18O of lake water are well in agreement with the observed seasonal water temperature range. The high carbonate δ18O variability of samples within a species, on the other hand, leads to a large scatter in the reconstructed temperatures based on individual samples. This implies that care must be taken to obtain a representative sample size for paleotemperature reconstructions.


1963 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 882 ◽  
Author(s):  
NM Tulloh

A comparative growth study was made of Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, and beef Shorthorn cattle reared and kept together throughout their lives on irrigated perennial pastures at the Metropolitan Farm, Werribee, Vic. Records of body weight as a function of age were obtained on 404 Hereford, 172 Aberdeen Angus, and 127 Shorthorn cattle, representing cattle born in 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960. At birth, male calves were significantly heavier than females, and Hereford calves were significantly heavier than Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus calves, the birth weights of Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus calves being similar. Up to the age of 5 years, the younger and lighter 2-year-old cows produced lighter calves than cows which were both older and heavier. At weaning age (9.5 months) steers were significantly heavier than heifers. Herefords were significantly heavier than Aberdeen Angus in two years out of three; and in one year out of three, Herefords were significantly heavier than Shorthorns. Shorthorns were significantly heavier than Aberdeen Angus in one year out of three. When the steers were finally weighed off grass at the mean age of either 20 months (1958, 1959, and 1960 cattle) or 25 months (1957 cattle), Herefords were significantly heavier than Aberdeen Angus in four successive years, and in one year out of four the Herefords were significantly heavier than Shorthorns. In three years out of four, Shorthorns were significantly heavier than Aberdeen Angus. Breed differences between the mean weights of breeding cows were not significant and, up to the age of 5 years, as breeding cows grew older they became heavier. Body weight growth curves indicated that the cattle experienced a severe check in growth during the winter months (June, July, August). At other times of the year, growth rates were satisfactory. Cattle born in some years grew better than cattle born in others. This was thought to be due partly to differences between years in the quality and quantity of pasture available, even though the pastures were irrigated. Average absolute and average relative growth rates were calculated for the 1957 and 1958 steers before and after weaning. Breed differences in absolute growth rates before weaning were not statistically significant, but after weaning, rates were significantly the highest for Herefords in both years. The breed differences in average relative growth rates were in the same direction as those for absolute growth rates. However, the pre-weaning relative growth rate of Shorthorns was significantly higher than those of the other breeds among the 1957 steers. When due allowance was made for the smaller size of Aberdeen Angus steers at birth and at weaning, the relative growth rates of this breed were less than those of the other breeds. Absolute and relative growth rates were higher for all breeds before weaning than afterwards. This was mainly a reflexion of low post-weaning growth rates during the winter months. Rank correlation coefficients between birth weight and weight at subsequent ages were low and variable in different breeds and in different seasons. However, coefficients calculated between subsequent ages, beginning at weaning age, were generally highly significant. The breed and sex differences presented in this paper have been compared with the limited data from the literature and, in general, the results are similar.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip L Munday ◽  
Adrian M Cardoni ◽  
Craig Syms

Dominant individuals often grow faster than subordinates because they gain a greater share of important resources. However, dominants should also strategically adjust their growth rates, relative to the size of subordinates, if this improves their reproductive success. Here, we show that individuals in breeding pairs of the coral-dwelling fish Gobiodon histrio regulate their growth to reduce the size difference between partners. In pairs where one individual was larger than the other, the smaller individual increased its growth rate and the larger individual decreased its growth rate, compared to individuals in size-matched pairs. The reproductive success of breeding pairs is limited by the size of the smallest individual in the pair. Therefore, it appears that the larger individual trades-off its own growth against that of the smaller individual, thereby improving the reproductive success of both individuals in the pair. This demonstrates a remarkable ability of individuals to strategically adjust their body size to suit the local social environment, and reveals a novel mechanism for size-assortative mating.


1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1124-1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald W. Davies ◽  
T. E. Gates

Intra- and interspecific differences in survivorship of Nephelopsis obscura and Erpobdella punctata exposed to hyperoxia (200 or 300%) at spring (5 °C) and summer (20 °C) water temperatures were examined in a flow-through system. In general, percent survival and time of 50% survival increased with leech size and decreased with higher temperature for both species. All size classes could survive the maximum recorded duration of hyperoxia in the spring, and we conclude that spring hyperoxia probably does not directly affect the ecological success or microhabitat distribution of either species. At 20 °C, medium and large E. punctata had much higher survivorship than N. obscura. As summer hyperoxia can last for 30 d, these differences could contribute to changes in numerical dominance. Intra- and interspecific differences in response to hyperoxia may also influence seasonal movements between different microhabitats of different size classes of N. obscura and E. punctata. We suggest that seasonal and annual variability in littoral hyperoxia regimes can differentially influence the survivorship, reproductive success, and microhabitat distribution of many macroinvertebrates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-174
Author(s):  
I. S. Butswat ◽  
S. T. Mbap ◽  
G. G. Yibis

The performance of livestock in Wase was assessed using flocks and herds in and outside the Grazing Reserve. Age at first calving of cattle in and outsides the grazing reserve was 5 years. The corresponding calving of 92 for cattle in the grazing reserve was higher (P < 0.05) than that of 54 for cattle outside the grazing reserve. Ages at first lambing of sheep in and outsider were 12.5 and 13 months respectively. Lambing interval however was 8.6 months5 and 71 while corresponding lambing percentage were 71. Average age at first kidding in goats in the grazing reserve was 12 months while outside was 12.5 month. The kidding interval was 8 months while kidding percentage on the other hand was 56 in the reserve and 46 outside the reserve. The average lactation yield of cows (P > 0.05) in the grazing reserve was 401.5 litre while outside was 486.0 litres. The mean growth rates of calves between 6 and 12 months in and outside the grazing reserve were 9.8 and 5.6 kg/month respectively. The mean growth rates of lambs in and outside the grazing reserve were on the other hand 1.9 and 1.7 kg/month respectively, while the corresponding kids growth rates were 1.6 and 1.3 kg/month. Mortality rates recorded in adult cattle, lamb and kids in the grazing reserve were 4.8%, 7 and 7% while the rates outside the reserve were respectively 2, 4, 5 and 18%.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 972-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Conley ◽  
Mark A. Curtis

We conducted laboratory experiments to test whether various temperature and photoperiod regimes had any effect on the duration of egg hatching, swimming activity, and copepodid survival in the parasitic copepod Salmincola edwardsii, commonly found on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Pairs of egg sacs were removed from adult female copepods; one of each pair was exposed to a different photoperiod than the other, at the same temperature. Experiments were conducted at 8, 12, 16, and 20 °C. Temperature had a significant effect on the duration of copepodid swimming activity and survival, and the onset of egg sac hatching was directly related to increasing water temperature. However, hatching duration and hatching success were not affected by temperature over the range tested. Photoperiod had no effect on hatching duration, hatching success, swimming activity, or copepodid survival. Our findings indicate that S. edwardsii copepodids can swim and survive for more than 2 weeks; much longer than the 2 days customarily reported in the literature. This must be accounted for in the development of strategies to control transmission.


1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (01) ◽  
pp. 035-040 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M H P van den Besselaar ◽  
R M Bertina

SummaryFour thromboplastin reagents were tested by 18 laboratories in Europe, North-America, and Australasia, according to a detailed protocol. One thromboplastin was the International Reference Preparation for ox brain thromboplastin combined with adsorbed bovine plasma (coded OBT/79), and the second was a certified reference material for rabbit brain thromboplastin, plain (coded CRM 149R). The other two thromboplastin reagents were another rabbit plain brain thromboplastin (RP) with a lower ISI than CRM 149R and a rabbit brain thromboplastin combined with adsorbed bovine plasma (RC). Calibration of the latter two reagents was performed according to methods recommended by the World Health Organization (W. H. O.).The purpose of this study was to answer the following questions: 1) Is the calibration of the RC reagent more precise against the bovine/combined (OBT/79) than against the rabbit/plain reagent (CRM 149R)? 2) Is the precision of calibration influenced by the magnitude of the International Sensitivity Index (ISI)?The lowest inter-laboratory variation of ISI was observed in the calibration of the rabbit/plain reagent (RP) against the other rabbit/plain reagent (CRM 149R) (CV 1.6%). The highest interlaboratory variation was obtained in the calibration of rabbit/plain (RP) against bovine/combined (OBT/79) (CV 5.1%). In the calibration of the rabbit/combined (RC) reagent, there was no difference in precision between OBT/79 (CV 4.3%) and CRM 149R (CV 4.2%). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the precision of the ISI of RC obtained with CRM 149R (ISI = 1.343) and the rabbit/plain (RP) reagent with ISI = 1.14. In conclusion, the calibration of RC could be performed with similar precision with either OBT/79 or CRM 149R, or RP.The mean ISI values calculated with OBT/79 and CRM 149R were practically identical, indicating that there is no bias in the ISI of these reference preparations and that these reference preparations have been stable since their original calibration studies in 1979 and 1987, respectively.International Normalized Ratio (INR) equivalents were calculated for a lyophilized control plasma derived from patients treated with oral anticoagulants. There were small but significant differences in the mean INR equivalents between the bovine and rabbit thromboplastins. There were no differences in the interlaboratory variation of the INR equivalents, when the four thromboplastins were compared.


1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (04) ◽  
pp. 1073-1114 ◽  

SummaryIn collaborative experiments in 199 laboratories, nine commercial thromboplastins, four thromboplastins held by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBS & C), London and the British Comparative Thromboplastin were tested on fresh normal and coumarin plasmas, and on three series of freeze-dried plasmas. One of these was made from coumarin plasmas and the other two were prepared from normal plasmas; in each series, one plasma was normal and the other two represented different degrees of coumarin defect.Each thromboplastin was calibrated against NIBS&C rabbit brain 70/178, from the slope of the line joining the origin to the point of intersection of the mean ratios of coumarin/normal prothrombin times when the ratios obtained with the two thromboplastins on the same fresh plasmas were plotted against each other. From previous evidence, the slopes were calculated which would have been obtained against the NIBS&C “research standard” thromboplastin 67/40, and termed the “calibration constant” of each thromboplastin. Values obtained from the freeze-dried coumarin plasmas gave generally similar results to those from fresh plasmas for all thromboplastins, whereas values from the artificial plasmas agreed with those from fresh plasmas only when similar thromboplastins were being compared.Taking into account the slopes of the calibration lines and the variation between laboratories, precision in obtaining a patient’s prothrombin time was similar for all thromboplastins.


1985 ◽  
Vol 54 (04) ◽  
pp. 739-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Delaini ◽  
Elisabetta Dejana ◽  
Ine Reyers ◽  
Elisa Vicenzi ◽  
Germana De Bellis Vitti ◽  
...  

SummaryWe have investigated the relevance of some laboratory tests of platelet function in predicting conditions of thrombotic tendency. For this purpose, we studied platelet survival, platelet aggregation in response to different stimuli, TxB2 and 6-keto-PGFlα production in serum of rats bearing a nephrotic syndrome induced by adriamycin. These animals show a heavy predisposition to the development of both arterial and venous thrombosis. The mean survival time was normal in nephrotic rats in comparison to controls. As to aggregation tests, a lower aggregating response was found in ADR-treated rats using ADP or collagen as stimulating agents. With arachidonic acid (AA) we observed similar aggregating responses at lower A A concentrations, whereas at higher AA concentrations a significantly lower response was found in nephrotic rats, despite their higher TxB2 production. Also TxB2 and 6-keto-PGFlα levels in serum of nephrotic rats were significantly higher than in controls. No consistent differences were found in PGI2-activity generated by vessels of control or nephrotic rats.These data show that platelet function may appear normal or even impaired in rats with a markedly increased thrombotic tendency. On the other hand, the significance of high TxB2 levels in connection with mechanisms leading to thrombus formation remains a controversial issue.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document