Effects of radio-transmitter antenna length on swimming performance of juvenile rainbow trout

Abstract –  Technological advances have lead to the production of micro radio-transmitters capable of being implanted in fish as small as c . 5 g. Although the actual tags are small, transmitters are equipped with long antennas that can increase drag and tangle in debris. We examined the effects of radio-transmitter antenna length on the swimming performance of juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss , ( N  = 156, mean mass = 34 g, mean fork length = 148 mm). Although we tested a variety of different antenna lengths up to a maximum of 300 mm, only the longest antenna significantly impaired swimming performance relative to control fish ( P  < 0.001). There was no difference in swimming performance between the sham (surgery, but no transmitter) and the control fish (handled, but no surgery), suggesting that the surgical procedure itself did not negatively affect the fish. Regression analysis, however, indicated that there was a significant decrease in swimming performance associated with increased antenna length ( R ² = 0.11, P  < 0.001). In addition, when held in laboratory tanks, fish with the three longest antennas (150, 225 and 300 mm) frequently became entangled with the standpipe. We suggest that researchers, under the guidance of the tag manufacturer, trim antennas to the shortest possible length required to detect fish in their specific study area. Antenna length is clearly an important issue for small fish, especially for species that inhabit complex habitats where antennas may become entangled, and where fish must attain speeds near limits of their swimming capacity.     

蛹虫草多糖对小鼠抗疲劳作用的研究

采用雄性ICR小鼠随机分组,分别灌胃蒸馏水、不同剂量的蛹虫草(Cordyceps militaris)多糖(低、中、高剂量组分别每天灌胃75、150、450mg/kg BW),40d后建立疲劳模型,比较力竭游泳时间、肝肌糖原水平、乳酸含量和机体相关的乳酸脱氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶活力。结果表明:高剂量蛹虫草多糖能够显著延长小鼠力竭游泳时间,中高剂量多糖显著提高小鼠肝肌糖原水平,有效的遏制运动后小鼠乳酸生成量,而低剂量多糖显著增加运动后小鼠乳酸脱氢酶活力,3个剂量的多糖均能提高运动后小鼠血清中超氧化物歧化酶的活力。     

运动对大鼠食管形态学的影响

探讨有关负重式游泳训练对大鼠食管形态学方面的影响,为运动对消化系统提供形态学方面的依据。采用石蜡切片法,制作食管的石蜡切片。结果表明,运动组比对照组食管壁厚度明显增加,其中肌层和外膜尤为明显。长期训练对哺乳动物的消化系统可能产生良好的影响,提高消化系统对食物的消化和吸收能力。     

Ontogeny of anti-predator behavior in hatchery-reared jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus larvae and juveniles: patchiness formation, swimming capability, and interaction with jellyfish

ABSTRACT:   Laboratory rearing and behavioral observations of larval and juvenile jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus were conducted to elucidate their life-history traits with emphasis on the interaction with the moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita . Jack mackerel were raised from naturally spawned fertilized eggs and they attained 10.3 ± 0.7 (mean ± standard deviation) mm in body length (BL) by 30 days post hatching (dph) and 26.6 ± 1.8 mm BL at 48 dph raised at 19.3–25.0°C. Patchiness (dense aggregation) was confirmed from 5–16 dph (2.9–5.9 mm BL) during the day and from 9–48 dph (4.0–27 mm BL) at night. Cruise and burst swimming speeds were 1.5–1.9 BL/s and 16–24 BL/s, respectively, during larval and juvenile stages, in experimental tanks. Although escape performance from jellyfish was not different between the larvae of jack mackerel and chub mackerel Scomber japonicus , both species showed better survival compared to red sea bream Pagrus major larvae of a similar size. Although jack mackerel were slow in growth, their slow cruise swimming may reduce the chance of encountering predators and fast burst swimming may help escape from gelatinous predators.     

Feeding behaviour of fast- and slow-growing strains of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), during first feeding

The development of feeding behaviour in two rainbow trout strains and their hybrid was compared at the transition from endogenous nutrition to exogenous feeding. After 60 min of acclimatization, the swimming pattern, spatial distribution, agonistic behaviour and snapping of fish were quantified by making 5-min observations on groups of five fish. Behavioural patterns were recorded in four replicate groups per treatment, before and after the introduction of dry trout feed or Artemia nauplii (actometric tests) or extracts of these (olfactometric tests). Fish of the slow growing strain were less active than those of the other two strains. Greater swimming activity observed in the fish of the fast growing strain was associated with more rapid feeding and a higher number of snapping responses. Such behavioural precocity is of interest because it could provide the basis for the growth differences between the fast and slow growing strains.     

Undulatory fish swimming: from muscles to flow

Undulatory swimming is employed by many fish for routine swimming and extended sprints. In this biomechanical review, we address two questions: (i) how the fish's axial muscles power swimming; and (ii) how the fish's body and fins generate thrust. Fish have adapted the morphology of their axial musculature for high power output and efficiency. All but the superficial muscle fibres are arranged along curved trajectories, and the myomeres form nested cones. Two conflicting performance goals shape the fibre trajectories of the axial muscles. Maximum power output requires that all fibres contract uniformly. In a bending fish, uniform contraction in a single myomere can be ensured by curved fibre trajectories. However, uniform strain is only desirable if all muscle fibres have the same contractile properties. The fish needs several muscle‐fibre types that generate maximum power at different contraction speeds to ensure effective muscle power generation across a range of swimming speeds. Consequently, these different muscle‐fibre types are better served by non‐uniform contractions. High power output at a range of swimming speeds requires that muscle fibres with the same contractile properties contract uniformly. The ensuing helical fibre trajectories require cone‐shaped myomeres to reduce wasteful internal deformation of the entire muscle when it contracts. It can be shown that the cone‐shaped myomeres of fish can be explained by two design criteria: uniform contraction (uniform strain hypothesis) and minimal internal deformation (mechanical stability hypothesis). So far, only the latter hypothesis has found strong support. The contracting muscle causes the fish body to undulate. These body undulations interact with the surrounding water to generate thrust. The resulting flow behind the swimming fish forms vortex rings, whose arrangement reflects the fish's swimming performance. Anguilliform swimmers shed individual vortex rings during steady swimming. Carangiform swimmers shed a connected chain of vortex rings. The currently available sections through the total flow fields are often not an honest representation of the total momentum in the water – the wake of carangiform swimmers shows a net backward momentum without the fish accelerating – suggesting that our current picture of the generated flow is incomplete. To accelerate, undulatory swimmers decrease the angle of the vortex rings with the mean path of motion, which is consistent with an increased rate of backward momentum transfer. Carangiform swimmers also enlarge their vortex rings to accelerate and to swim at a higher speed, while eel, which are anguilliform swimmers, shed stronger vortex rings.     

Differences in swimming performance and energetic costs between an endangered native toothcarp (Aphanius iberus) and an invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)

Swimming performance is a key feature that mediates fitness and survival in many fish species. Using a swim tunnel respirometer, we compared prolonged swimming performance and energy use for two competing species: an endangered, endemic toothcarp (Aphanius iberus) and a worldwide invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). Critical (U_crit) and optimal swimming speeds, standard and maximal metabolic rates, absolute aerobic scope, as well as the minimum cost of transport were estimated and compared between species and sexes. Body streamlining and caudal peduncle depth were also measured to explain the differences in swimming performance and efficiency. Both sexes of A. iberus presented similar swimming capacity and metabolic traits, whereas males of G. holbrooki showed higher critical swimming speeds, maximal metabolic rate and absolute aerobic scope than females. We also found marked differences between species in most of the response variables examined. Aphanius iberus showed lower swimming capacity (U_crit mean <10 cm s⁻¹), higher maximal metabolic rate and absolute aerobic scope than the invasive species. By contrast, G holbrooki swam faster and had lower cost of transport at a given fish mass and speed, thereby leading to a higher swimming efficiency. The observed differences in swimming efficiency were closely related to differences in morphological characteristics and therefore to drag pressures and propulsion. Our results add a mechanistic basis to the ecological understanding of these two species and suggest that although both are poor swimmers compared to many other similarly sized species, the native species likely has more restricted water flow tolerance and dispersal capacities.     

柑橘溃疡病菌gpd1基因在致病性中的功能分析

 甘油作为微生物重要的能量来源及抗逆因子,对其生存具有重要作用。gpd1基因编码甘油-3-磷酸脱氢酶(glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, G3PDH),是甘油合成代谢途径中关键的限速酶。本研究分析了gpd1基因在柑橘溃疡病菌(Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri, Xcc)致病性中的功能。对Xcc强毒菌株Xcc021和弱毒菌株Xcc049E分别进行了gpd1的缺失突变,发现gpd1缺失仅影响强毒菌株Xcc021在感病柑橘寄主上的毒性以及gpd1缺失影响Xcc在营养贫乏培养基中的生长能力,功能互补子能够恢复毒性和生长能力至野生型水平。其他毒性相关表型显示:与野生型Xcc021相比,gpd1突变体菌体的沉降能力增加,游动性降低,生物膜形成能力增强,功能互补子能够恢复这些表型至野生型水平。这表明gpd1基因在强毒菌株中是重要的毒性因子,其涉及的甘油代谢途径可能在强弱毒菌株对于寄主柑橘的毒性具有不同的作用。