Black Sea Fish Research Articles

Study of the Process of Substrate Activation of Ca2+-ATPase of Skeletal Muscle Sarcoplasmic Reticulum of Ectothermic Animals

Substrate activation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase of skeletal muscles of ectothermic (the ground frog Rana temporaria and a Black Sea fish, the chuco Dasyatis pastinaca) and endothermic (rabbit) animals was studied. Comparison of kinetic dependencies (v on [S]) of this process for ectothermic animals with similar dependencies for endothermic animals has revealed their principal similarity. The cooperative character of the studied process in the millimolar ATP concentration range is discussed.

Metal concentrations in tissues of the Black Sea fish Mugil auratus from Sinop-Icliman, Turkey.

Levels of five heavy metals [copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni)] were evaluated in liver and muscle tissues of fish (Mugil auratus) collected from the Black Sea at Sinop-Icliman, Turkey. Sampling and analysis methods are described. Variations of heavy metal concentrations with seasons are discussed. Cr and Ni concentrations were below the limits of detection (< 0.05 and 0.1 microg/g dry weight) in all tissues and seasons. Cu, Pb and Cd were detected within these limits, as microg/kg dry weight, in liver tissue: 0.49-1.30, 0.60-1.21 and 0.15-0.50, and in muscle tissue: 0.30-1.00, 0.57-1.12 and 0.10-0.40, respectively. Cu, Pb and Cd concentrations in these tissues were elevated and the highest heavy metal concentrations were found in the liver. While Cu, Pb and Cd concentrations were highest in fish tissues collected in August 2000, the lowest concentrations of these metals were observed in fish tissues collected in May 2000. Pb had the highest level observed in fish tissues. According to the Turkish Food Codex Regulation's residue limits, the cadmium level determined in fish tissues was high (0.1 microg/g) and the lead level, especially in liver tissue, was high in August (1 microg/g), while other metals (Cu, Cr and Ni) were within the maximum residue limits.

Metabolic Responses of Black Sea Fishes to Long-Term Experimental Hypoxia

Metabolic Responses of Black Sea Fishes to Long-Term Experimental Hypoxia

210Po in the Black Sea hydrobionts

The 210 Po concentrations in the Black Sea hydrobionts are reported and compared with published radioecological data on this natural radionuclide. The distribution of 210 Po in investigated species of the Black Sea pelagic community is the following: mesozooplankton = ctenophore Po concentrations in the Black Sea fishes depend on their belonging to different ecological groups and decrease from pelagic species to demersal and benthic ones. 210 Po concentrations in the Black Sea mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis are as high as such determined in the Black Sea pelagic fishes. 210 Po concentrations in algae were the lowest among benthic hydrobionts.

Natural Radioelement Polonium in Primary Ecological Groups of Black Sea Fishes

Concentrations of 210Po, a natural alpha-radiating radionuclide were determined in various Black Sea fish species sampled along the coastal zone and in the bays of Sevastopol from May to June, 1999. Its value increased in the ecological row from the bottom through the demersal to pelagic region. Among the pelagic species, the Black Sea anchovy and sprat displayed the highest concentrations of 210P. In fishes, the liver was the 210Po accumulating organ.

Metadena phoceae n. sp. (Digenea: Cryptogonimidae), a rectal parasite of the shore rockling Gaidropsarus mediterraneus (Teleostei: Lotidae) in the western Mediterranean.

Metadena phoceae n. sp. is described and figured in detail from the rectum of the shore rockling Gaidropsarus mediterraneus (Lotidae) in the Gulf of Marseilles and off Corsica. It is compared with other cryptogonimids occurring in Mediterranean and Black Sea fishes and is distinguished from its closest relatives, M. depressa (Stossich, 1883) and M. pauli (Vlassenko, 1931), which occur in sparid and sciaenid fishes, respectively, by both morphometrical and biological features. The host-specificity of cryptogonimids occurring in Mediterranean and Black Sea fishes is commented upon.

Activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in black sea fish erythrocytes

The activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) in erythrocytes of the dogfish and 5 other fish species from the Black Sea as well as the activity of monoamine oxidase in the seabream serum are investigated. A short-term intensive swimming, which is a stress for fish, as it produces a 10-fold rise of the monoamine oxidase activity, was the cause of a fall of theG6PD activity level by 43–45 % (p < 0.05) in erythrocytes of the horse mackerel and seabream. The stay of the scorpionfish under hypoxic conditions (15% saturation), which also is a stress for the fish, also produced a decrease of the enzyme activity level in erythrocytes by 62 % (p < 0.001).

Otolith regularities

The masses and the area sizes of the otoliths for the utriculus, sacculus and lagena of 15 species of the Black Sea fish are analyzed. Morphometrical otolith regularities are derived and their functional and ecomorphological explanations are suggested. The otolith regularities are summarized in four otolith rules: (1) the masses of the otoliths gradually increase with the fish growth. (2) The mass ratio of the sacculus and utriculus or the sacculus and lagena otoliths does not change with the fish growth. (3) The ratio between the otolith area s and the otolith mass m is described by the exponential equation s= αm 2/3. (4) The ratio between the otolith and macula sizes does not change with fish growth. Mathematical modeling of the otolith displacement responses to the acoustic and the instant force stimuli is performed. Based on the modeling the functional and ecomorphological explanations of the otolith regularities are suggested: (1) the greater the otolith mass, the higher the acoustic sensitivity at low frequencies and the sharper the frequency–response curve at its maximum. (2) The separation between maxima of the frequency–response curves for the saccular and lagenar otoliths remains virtually constant with the fish growth. (3) The bottom and littoral fish have better auditory capabilities than the pelagic fish. (4) The sensitivity to vestibular stimuli for greater otoliths is higher but the response is slower. The corresponding acceleration resolution for greater otoliths is higher and the range of accelerations in which the otolith organ can operate is narrower. (5) The relative vestibular sensitivities of the utriculus, sacculus and lagena otolith organs remain constant with fish growth. (6) The otolith organs of the bottom and littoral fish are tuned to different accelerations and possess different functional properties. The otolith organs of pelagic fish are adapted to a limited range of accelerations and are less sensitive to low accelerations as compared to the bottom and littoral fish.

The biochemical effects of toxicants in developing eggs and larvae of black sea fish species

The biochemical effects of toxicants in developing eggs and larvae of black sea fish species

A Review of the Black Sea Fish Fauna and General Marine Life Conditions

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