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(<I>Opsanus Beta</I>) Sonic Muscle Enzyme Activities

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BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, 45(1): 68-75,1989

SCALING AND SEX-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN TOADFISH
(OPSANUS BETA) SONIC MUSCLE ENZYME ACTIVITIES

Patrick J. Walsh, Cindy Bedolla and Thomas P.   Mommsen

ABSTRACT

  • Male toadfishes (genus Opsanus) use a sonic muscle on the swim bladder to produce
  • a

  • mating call-the boatwhistle-for
  • extended periods during the mating season. Previously, we

noted significant differences in sonic muscle mass and activities of metabolic enzymes of the sonic muscles between male and female gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta,  of a limited size range (12-130 grams). Notably, males had larger sonic muscles and elevated aerobic capacity, as indicated by higher mass-specific activities of citrate synthase (CS) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH). The present study examined the patterns of sonic muscle mass and activities of these enzymes (and lactate dehydrogenase) in sonic muscle and skeletal muscle as a function of a larger range of body size (7-400 grams) in an effort to determine the point of growth and development that these mate-female differences occur, and to shed light on the possible functional significances of these differences. Sonic muscle mass differences were apparent in the smallest toadfish, and identical rates of increase in sonic muscle mass in males and females maintained these differences throughout the size range examined. In contrast, mass-specific CS and MDH activities were similar in smaller toadfish and began to diverge when fish were about 2S g, While mass-specific MDH activity increased at different rates in males and females, mass-specific CS activity increased in males and decreased in females. The results are discussed in the context of possible control by steroid sex hormones, size at sexual maturity, and success in mate attraction.

The toadfish (genus Opsa nus,  family Batrachoididae) swimbladder has a sonic muscle which contracts to produce sound. The sonic muscle is used by both sexes to generate grunts when disturbed, but additionally, males are known to sound a

  • mating call-the "boatwhistle" -intermittantly
  • for many hours during the mating

season (Gray and Winn, 1961; Fine et al., 1977). The sonic muscle is characterized by one of the fastest contraction cycles in the animal kingdom (Skoglund, 1959), due in part to several specializations in innervation (Gainer and Klancher, 1965), ultrastructure (Franzini-Armstrong and Nunzi, 1983), and biochemistry of the contractile apparatus (i.e., parvalbumin isozyme proportions and total quantity differ from white skeletal muscle, Hamoir et a1., 1980). In characterizing the metabolic poise of this unique muscle, we discovered that biochemical specializations are apparent at the level of energy metabolism as well (Walsh et al., 1987). The capacity for anaerobic glycolysis in sonic muscle is similar to white skeletal muscle in Opsanus beta,  as judged by high activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LOH) and other enzymes (Walsh et al., 1987). However, sonic muscle possesses a higher potential for aerobic metabolism than toadfish white skeletal muscle as indicated by activities of citrate synthase (CS) and malate dehydrogenase (MOH) (Walsh et al., 1987).
Some details of the mechanisms of the sex-related differences in use ofthe sonic muscle in toadfish species are known. Males have larger sonic muscles than females (Fine, 1975; Walsh et al., 1987). There is a polymorphism in the degree of development of the sonic motor nucleus (SMN) in the posterior medulla and anterior spinal cord; some males have much larger SMN's than other males and females (Fine et al., 1984). At the biochemical level, significant differences in enzyme activities per gram sonic muscle exist for CS, LOH, and MDH between male and females ofa limited body mass range (12-130 grams, Walsh et al., 1987). However,

68

WALSH ET AL.: TOADFISH PHYSIOLOGY

69

in spite of these differences, both males and females can be made to produce the boatwhistle by electrically stimulating the SMN in the laboratory (Demski and Gerald, 1974; Fine, 1979). The current working hypothesis (see Pennypacker et aI., 1985) is that the production of the boatwhistle is produced by differential environmental/hormonal stimulation of similar (but not identical) nerve-muscle complexes in males and females. This hypothesis is supported by several lines of evidence: females do not produce the boatwhistle in nature (Gray and Winn, 1961; Fine et aI., 1977), and males produce it only during the summer months with some apparent dependence on water temperature (Fine et aI., 1977; Fine, 1978); testosterone is taken up by specific areas of the toadfish brain believed to be linked to sound production (Fine et aI., 1982). Finally, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone administration to ovariectomized females appears to increase the levels of some sonic muscle enzyme activities (Pennypacker et aI., 1985); however, Walsh et al. (1987) have raised methodological concerns about this study.
With this background in mind, we decided to examine the manner in which the activities ofLDH, CS, and MDH scale versus body mass in order to determine if the sex-related differences (Walsh et aI., 1987) are apparent at all sizes/ages, or if some critical point in development/maturation exists at which these differences appear. This information would supply clues to the mechanisms maintaining these sexual differences, and would help in evaluating the hypothesis (Walsh et aI., 1987) that elevated CS and MDH activities lead to an enhanced capacity for sustained, aerobic sound production. Furthermore, the scaling of enzyme activities in a non-locomotory muscle may add interesting counterpoint to the discovery of size-scaling in enzyme activities in locomotory muscles (for review see Somero and Childress, 1985).
We report significant differences between male and female toadfish in the manner in which CS and MDH scale with body mass. These differences are partly due to differences in enzyme activity established at an early developmental stage, as well as through differential accumulation of enzyme activity during later growth.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Specimens of the gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta.  were captured by local shrimp trawlers in south Biscayne Bay, Florida between June 1986 and July 1987, and were held without feeding in running saltwater aquaria at ambient temperature for no longer than 1 week prior to sacrifice. Fish were anesthetized with 0.5 g per liter tricaine methanesulfonate, weighed, the sonic muscle was dissected from the swimbladder and weighed, and the sex was recorded. Sex is relatively easy to determine in this species in the size range used by simple visual inspection. Ovaries are distinguished by a large ovarian artery and large (0.5 to 4 mm) yellow to orange oocytes. Testis are filled with a clear to offwhite material and no cells are visible to the naked eye. Additionally, a sample of white skeletal muscle was taken from the lateral area just behind the anus from a smaller subset of fish. In some cases the intact swimbladder or skeletal muscle sample was frozen at -80·C for I to 2 months before further processing. Control measurements of enzyme activities before and after freezing demonstrated no significant effect of freezing. Muscles were homogenized in 5 volumes of 50 mM NaHEPES, pH 7.5 (adjusted at room temperature) with glass Duall homogenizers on ice. Following sonication with a Heat Systems Ultrasonics Model WI85 for 15 sec at 50 watts, homogenates were centrifuged at 1,600 x g for 5 min. The resulting crude supernatants were used directly (CS) or diluted I: 10 with HEPES buffer (LDH, MDH) immediately prior to the assays.

  • Enzymes were assayed spectrophotometrically
  • with an LKB Ultrospec 4050 by the methods of

Walsh et al. (I 987). Assay temperature was 22·C, final reaction volume was 2.0 ml, and assays were buffered with 50 mM HEPES. Oxidation ofNADH was monitored at 340 nm (micromolar extinction coefficient E = 6.22) for LDH and MDH, and change in absorbance of 5,5' dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) was monitored at 412 nm (E = 13.6) for CS. Specific assay conditions were as follows (final concentrations): Citrate synthase (E.C. 4.1.3.7)-0.1 mM DTNB, 0.3 mM Acetyl CoA, 20 Itl supernatant, 0.5 mM oxaloacetate, pH 8.0. Lactate dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.1.1.27) (LDH)-O.15 mM NADH, 20 Itll: 10 diluted supernatant, 0.5 mM pyrvate, pH 7.5. Malate dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.1.1.37)

BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOL. 45, NO.1, 1989

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Figure I. A. Sonic muscle mass vs. body mass for males (open squares) and females (closed diamonds) of the gulf toad fish, Opsanus beta. Equations for linear regressions are y = 0.137 + O.Ollx, r = 0.95

(males) and y = 0.116 + 0.008x, r = 0.90 (females). B. Log sonic muscle mass vs. log body mass for male (y = -1. 732 + 0.912x, r = 0.99) and female (y = -1.882 + 0.9l3x, r = 0.97) toadfish. Symbols

as in Figure IA.

(MDH}-O.15 mM NADH, 20111 1:10 diluted supernatant, 0.5 mM oxaloacetate, pH 7.5. The last item for each assay was omitted as a control. In all cases this control activity, which was less than 5%, was subtracted from the activity with substrate. Reactions were initiated with 50 to 100 III of the substrate. Biochemicals were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO) and all other chemicals were reagent grade. One unit is defined as I I1mol product min-I. Results were curve fitted with Cricket Graph ® (Cricket Software, Inc., Philadelphia, PA), and slopes and y-intercepts of linear regressions were compared by two-tailed Student's t-test (Zar, 1974), and P :5 0.05 is considered to indicate significant differences between groups.

RESULTS

Sonic Muscle Mass.  -Sonic muscle mass increases regularly with body mass in Opsanus beta,  but the mass of the sonic muscle is higher in males than in females (Fig. lA). Although the mean body weights (±SE, N) for the two groups are not significantly different (males = 143.2 grams ± 14.2, N = 50; females = 164.6 ± 17.2, N = 47; t = 0.96), the Sonic Muscle Somatic Index (SMSI = percentage of body weight that is sonic muscle) is significantly different in the two groups (male SMSI = 1.230 ± 0.035; female SMSI = 0.891 ± 0.030; t = 7.39, P ::5 0.001). The increase in sonic muscle mass is best described by a double logarithmic relationship in both sexes (Fig. 1B). The slopes of the linear regressions of log sonic muscle mass vs. log body mass are not significantly different (t = 0.25), but the y-intercepts are (t = 13.22, P ::5 0.00 I). These data indicate that the relative difference in sonic muscle mass between male and female toad fish is determined at a point in development earlier than the smallest (=youngest?) fish we sampled (7.3 grams), and that thereafter sonic muscle mass increases similarly in both sexes.

Sonic Muscle CS Activity. -Mass-specific aerobic capacity, as indicated by citrate synthase activity per gram of sonic muscle, also scales differently for males and females (Fig. 2A). CS activity per gram of sonic muscle increases in males, whereas it decreases in females (Fig. 2A; slopes significantly different, t = 4.21, P::5 0.001). However, CS activities per gram in smaller fish are similar (y-intercepts are not significantly different, t = 1.30) indicating that the differentiation of CS activities occurs during later stages in development and maturation. When the total CS activity per sonic muscle is calculated highly significant logarithmic relationships

WALSH ET AL.: TOADFISH PHYSIOLOGY

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Figure 2. A. Mass-specific citrate synthase activity (units gram sonic muscle mass-I) vs. body mass (grams) for male (y = 1.159 + 0.006x, r = 0.51) and female (y = 1.477 - O.OOlx, r = 0.26) toadfish. B. Log total sonic muscle citrate synthase activity vs. log body mass for male (y = -2.074 + 1.206x, r = 0.91) and female (y = -1.358 + 0.678x, r = 0.78) toadfish. Total sonic muscle enzyme activity is calculated by multiplying mass-specific activity (Fig. 2A) by sonic muscle mass (Fig. IA) for each individual. Symbols as in Figure IA.

with body weight are evident. The regression lines for male and female toadfish cross at a body size of about 25 grams (Fig. 2B).

Sonic Muscle MDH Activity.   - The mass-specific activity of MDH also increases as a function of body weight, and the differing rates of increase in males and females are best described by logarithmic and linear functions, respectively (Fig. 3A). We again compared total activity in the sonic muscle with body mass for MDH and found that these data were best fit by a log-log relationship (Fig. 3B). The slopes of these lines are not significantly different (t = 1.465, P ::: :0;.10), but the y-intercepts are (t = 2.418, P :S 0.02). Apparently, MDH activity is set at a higher titre in males at an earlier stage of development, but males continue to accrete M D H activity at a slightly higher rate than females.

Sonic Muscle LDH Activity.   - In contrast to CS and MDH, the mass-specific

activity ofLDH decreases as a function of body mass (t = 3.01, P ::::; 0.005, males; t = 2.58, P ::::; 0.01, females) but the rates of decrease are not significantly different for the two sexes (t = 1.08) (Fig. 4A). We previously reported significantly higher mass-specific LDH activity in females vs. males of a limited size-range (female LDH = 481.9 ± 126.4 units g-I(7); female body mass = 72.5 ± 27.4 g; male LDH = 333.4 ± 89.0 (6); male body mass = 96.8 ± 21.3; x ± SD (N), Walsh et al., 1987). However, the increased variability in the present data set obscures these differences (y-intercepts not significantly different, Fig. 4A). When the total anaerobic capacities (as indicated by total LDH activity) of the sonic muscles are compared as a function of body mass, highly significant linear log-log relationships are obtained (Fig. 4B), but neither the slopes nor the y-intercepts of the relationship for males and females are significantly different. Thus, the lower LDH activity per gram in males (Walsh et al., 1987; Fig. 4A) is offset by a larger sonic muscle mass resulting in nearly identical total anaerobic capacities in the sonic muscles of the two sexes (Fig. 4B).

Skeletal Muscle Enzyme   Activities. -In the limited group of toadfish tested, no

apparent differences existed between the sexes in skeletal muscle MDH, LDH, or CS activities (Table I). Correlations with body mass were weak for MDH and

BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOL. 45, NO. I, 1989

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Figure 3, A, Mass-specific malate dehydrogenase activity vs, body mass for male (y = 43,8 I2XO.369

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r = 0.54) and female (y = 116.418 + 0,339x, r = 0.50) toadfish. B. Log total sonic muscle malate dehydrogenase activity vs. log body mass for male (y = -0.111 + 1.293x, r = 0.91) and female (y = -0.054 + 1.092x, r = 0.90) toadfish. Symbols and calculations as in Figures 1 and 2.

LDH; however, a significant negative slope was noted for skeletal CS activity/ gram versus body mass with no difference between males and females (Table 1).

DISCUSSION

The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis advanced by Walsh et al. (1987), that the ability to sustain the mating call in male toadfish (Opsanus beta) may be linked to aerobic metabolic capacity in the sonic muscle. Male toadfish possess significantly larger sonic muscles than females (Fig. lA). This difference already is apparent early in development, and sonic muscle mass is added equally and incrementally with body mass in both sexes; the exponents (b) in the allometric growth equation, Sonic Muscle Mass = a(body mass)b are equivalent for males and females and close to 1.0 (Fig. IB). Aerobic metabolic capacity, as indicated by CS activity, is similar in sonic muscles of smaller toadfish (~50 g), but increases in the two sexes at different rates (Fig. 2A, B) CS activity per gram increases in males and decreases in females (Fig. 2A), and, taking into consideration the increased sonic muscle mass with body mass in both sexes, total tissue CS increases more rapidly in males than in females (Fig. 2B). The exponent in the allometric equation total CS activity = a(body mass)b is greater than 1.0 in males and less than 1.0 in females, and the plots of log total CS activity vs. log body weight for the two sexes cross at a body weight of about 25 grams (Fig.

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    Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology †Zappaichthys Harzhauseri, Gen. Et

    This article was downloaded by: [Smithsonian Institution Libraries] On: 11 September 2014, At: 05:17 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujvp20 †Zappaichthys harzhauseri, gen. et sp. nov., a new Miocene toadfish (Teleostei, Batrachoidiformes) from the Paratethys (St. Margarethen in Burgenland, Austria), with comments on the fossil record of batrachoidiform fishes Giorgio Carnevalea & Bruce B. Colletteb a Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso, 35 I-10125 Torino, Italia b NMFS Systematics Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 153, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Published online: 09 Sep 2014. To cite this article: Giorgio Carnevale & Bruce B. Collette (2014) †Zappaichthys harzhauseri, gen. et sp. nov., a new Miocene toadfish (Teleostei, Batrachoidiformes) from the Paratethys (St. Margarethen in Burgenland, Austria), with comments on the fossil record of batrachoidiform fishes, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 34:5, 1005-1017 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.854801 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis.
  • Scientific Articles

    Scientific Articles

    Scientific articles Abed-Navandi, D., Dworschak, P.C. 2005. Food sources of tropical thalassinidean shrimps: a stable isotope study. Marine Ecology Progress Series 201: 159-168. Abed-Navandi, D., Koller,H., Dworschak, P.C. 2005. Nutritional ecology of thalassinidean shrimps constructing burrows with debris chambers: The distribution and use of macronutrients and micronutrients. Marine Biology Research 1: 202- 215. Acero, A.P.1985. Zoogeographical implications of the distribution of selected families of Caribbean coral reef fishes.Proc. of the Fifth International Coral Reef Congress, Tahiti, Vol. 5. Acero, A.P.1987. The chaenopsine blennies of the southwestern Caribbean (Pisces, Clinidae, Chaenopsinae). III. The genera Chaenopsis and Coralliozetus. Bol. Ecotrop. 16: 1-21. Acosta, C.A. 2001. Assessment of the functional effects of a harvest refuge on spiny lobster and queen conch popuplations at Glover’s Reef, Belize. Proceedings of Gulf and Caribbean Fishisheries Institute. 52 :212-221. Acosta, C.A. 2006. Impending trade suspensions of Caribbean queen conch under CITES: A case study on fishery impact and potential for stock recovery. Fisheries 31(12): 601-606. Acosta, C.A., Robertson, D.N. 2003. Comparative spatial geology of fished spiny lobster Panulirus argus and an unfished congener P. guttatus in an isolated marine reserve at Glover’s Reef atoll, Belize. Coral Reefs 22: 1-9. Allen, G.R., Steene, R., Allen, M. 1998. A guide to angelfishes and butterflyfishes.Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. 250 p. Allen, G.R.1985. Butterfly and angelfishes of the world, volume 2.Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. Allen, G.R.1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 6.
  • Novel Vocal Repertoire and Paired Swimbladders of the Three-Spined Toadfish, Batrachomoeus Trispinosus: Insights Into the Diversity of the Batrachoididae

    Novel Vocal Repertoire and Paired Swimbladders of the Three-Spined Toadfish, Batrachomoeus Trispinosus: Insights Into the Diversity of the Batrachoididae

    1377 The Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 1377-1391 Published by The Company of Biologists 2009 doi:10.1242/jeb.028506 Novel vocal repertoire and paired swimbladders of the three-spined toadfish, Batrachomoeus trispinosus: insights into the diversity of the Batrachoididae Aaron N. Rice* and Andrew H. Bass Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA *Author for correspondence (e-mail: [email protected]) Accepted 23 February 2009 SUMMARY Toadfishes (Teleostei: Batrachoididae) are one of the best-studied groups for understanding vocal communication in fishes. However, sounds have only been recorded from a low proportion of taxa within the family. Here, we used quantitative bioacoustic, morphological and phylogenetic methods to characterize vocal behavior and mechanisms in the three-spined toadfish, Batrachomoeus trispinosus. B. trispinosus produced two types of sound: long-duration ‘hoots’ and short-duration ‘grunts’ that were multiharmonic, amplitude and frequency modulated, with a dominant frequency below 1 kHz. Grunts and hoots formed four major classes of calls. Hoots were typically produced in succession as trains, while grunts occurred either singly or as grunt trains. Aside from hoot trains, grunts and grunt trains, a fourth class of calls consisted of single grunts with acoustic beats, apparently not previously reported for individuals from any teleost taxon. Beats typically had a predominant frequency around 2 kHz with a beat frequency around 300 Hz. Vocalizations also exhibited diel and lunar periodicities. Spectrographic cross- correlation and principal coordinates analysis of hoots from five other toadfish species revealed that B. trispinosus hoots were distinct. Unlike any other reported fish, B. trispinosus had a bilaterally divided swimbladder, forming two separate swimbladders.
  • Fishes of the Indian River Lagoon and Adjacent Waters, Florida

    Fishes of the Indian River Lagoon and Adjacent Waters, Florida

    FISHES OF THE INDIAN RIVER LAGOON AND ADJACENT WATERS, FLORIDA by R. Grant Gilmore, Jr. Christopher J. Donohoe Douglas W. Cooke Harbor Branch Foundation, Inc. RR 1, Box 196 Fort Pierce, Florida 33450 and David J. Herrema Applied Biology, Inc. 641 DeKalb Industrial Way Decatur, Georgia 30033 Harbor Branch Foundation, Inc. Technical Report No. 41 September 1981 Funding was provided by the Harbor Branch Foundation, Inc. and Florida Power & Light Company, Miami, Florida FISHES OF THE INDIAN RIVER LAGOON AND ADJACENT WATERS, FLORIDA R. Grant Gilmore, Jr. Christopher Donohoe Dougl as Cooke Davi d Herrema INTRODUCTION It is the intent of this presentation to briefly describe regional fish habitats and to list the fishes associated with these habitats in the Indian River lagoon, its freshwater tributaries and the adjacent continental shelf to a depth of 200 m. A brief historical review of other regional ichthyological studies is also given. Data presented here revises the first regional description and checklist of fishes in east central Florida (Gilmore, 1977). The Indian River is a narrow estuarine lagoon system extending from Ponce de Leon Inlet in Vol usia County south to Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County (Fig. 1). It lies within the zone of overlap between two well known faunal regimes (i.e. the warm temperate Carolinian and the tropical Caribbean). To the north of the region, Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928), Fowler (1945), Struhsaker (1969), Dahlberg (1971), and others have made major icthyofaunal reviews of the coastal waters of the southeastern United States. McLane (1955) and Tagatz (1967) have made extensive surveys of the fishes of the St.
  • Nitrogen Metabolism and Excretion in Allenbatrachus Grunniens (L): Effects of Variable Salinity, Confinement, High Ph and Ammonia Loading

    Nitrogen Metabolism and Excretion in Allenbatrachus Grunniens (L): Effects of Variable Salinity, Confinement, High Ph and Ammonia Loading

    Journal of Fish Biology (2004) 65, 1392–1411 doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2004.00538.x,availableonlineathttp://www.blackwell-synergy.com Nitrogen metabolism and excretion in Allenbatrachus grunniens (L): effects of variable salinity, confinement, high pH and ammonia loading P. J. WALSH*†, Z. WEI‡, C. M. W OOD*§,A.M.LOONG‡, K. C. HIONG‡, S. M. L. LEE‡, W. P. W ONG‡, S. F. CHEW{ AND Y. K. IP ‡ *NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Universityof Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, U.S.A., ‡Department of Biological Sciences, National Universityof Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 117543, Republic of Singapore, §Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada and {Natural Sciences, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Republic of Singapore (Received 26 February2004, Accepted 29 July2004) The nitrogen metabolism and excretion patterns of the grunting toadfish Allenbatrachus grunniens and the effects of salinity on these processes were examined. Individuals of A. grunniens were subjected to several experimental treatments, including variable salinity (2 to 30), high pH (8Á5 compared to 7Á0 for controls), high environmental ammonia (10 mM) and confinement to small water volumes, and measurements were made of activities of selected enzymes of nitrogen metabolism, ammonia and urea excretion rates, and tissue and plasma contents of ammonia, urea and amino acids. Activities of key ornithine-urea cycle enzymes were rather low (e.g. livercarbamoylphosphate synthetase III activity was 0Á001 mmols minÀ1 gÀ1), and A. grunniens consistently demonstrated a low capacity for urea excretion despite significant elevations of plasma and tissue ammonia contents by the high pH and high ammonia treatments.
  • Fishes of the World

    Fishes of the World

    Fishes of the World Fishes of the World Fifth Edition Joseph S. Nelson Terry C. Grande Mark V. H. Wilson Cover image: Mark V. H. Wilson Cover design: Wiley This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be createdor extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation.

  • Acoustic Characteristics and Variations in Grunt Vocalizations in the Oyster Toadfish Opsanus Tau

    Environ Biol Fish (2009) 84:325–337 DOI 10.1007/s10641-009-9446-y Acoustic characteristics and variations in grunt vocalizations in the oyster toadfish Opsanus tau Karen P. Maruska & Allen F. Mensinger Received: 28 June 2008 /Accepted: 12 January 2009 / Published online: 30 January 2009 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract Acoustic communication is critical for structure, duration, and frequency components, and reproductive success in the oyster toadfish Opsanus were shorter and of lower fundamental frequency than tau. While previous studies have examined the the pulse repetition rate of boatwhistles. Higher water acoustic characteristics, behavioral context, geograph- temperatures were correlated with a greater number of ical variation, and seasonality of advertisement boat- grunt emissions, higher fundamental frequencies, and whistle sound production, there is limited information shorter sound durations. The number of grunts per on the grunt or other non-advertisement vocalizations day was also positively correlated with daylength and in this species. This study continuously monitored maximum tidal amplitude differences (previously sound production in toadfish maintained in an entrained) associated with full and new moons, thus outdoor habitat for four months to identify and providing the first demonstration of semilunar vocal- characterize grunt vocalizations, compare them with ization rhythms in the oyster toadfish. These data boatwhistles, and test for relationships between the provide new information on the acoustic repertoire incidence of grunt vocalizations, sound characteristics and the environmental factors correlated with sound and environmental parameters. Oyster toadfish pro- production in the toadfish, and have important duced grunts in response to handling, and spontane- implications for seasonal acoustic communication in ous single (70% of all grunts), doublet (10%), and this model vocal fish.