Fish Research Articles

Cynthia Klepadlo (1945–2020)

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.

Toshio Asaeda

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.

Dr. Gloria Arratia

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.

Bertha Maria Júlia Lutz

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.

Diversity and Some Biological Aspects of Fishes in Lake Maybahr, Albuko Woreda, Ethiopia

Because fishes live in less-accessible habitats, their remarkable diversity is rarely appreciated. The fishery sector is growing rapidly worldwide with the intention of improving the livelihood in developing nations. Therefore, conservation and management of aquatic resources become eminent. Morphometric measurements of fishes are important tools in fish biology and fisheries assessment and conservation. Ethiopia is one of the developing countries with rich water resources. Although there are plenty of water bodies in the country, they are less explored for their ichthyofaunal documentation. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the diversity and some biological aspects of fishes in Lake Maybahr. The fish sample was collected from selected sampling sites using gill nets with varying mesh sizes. Fish identification was done in the field using relevant taxonomic keys. After identification, the total length (TL) and total weight (TW) of the specimens were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm and 0.1 g, respectively. After measurement, the samples were labeled and preserved in a 10% formalin solution. Two fish species were documented in the study area. The length-weight relationships indicated that both species (C. carpio and O. niloticus) exhibited allometric growth during the wet season. But C. carpio demonstrated an isometric growth in the dry season. The diversity index (H’ = 0.69) revealed that fish diversity in the current study is far less than the result reported in the other studies. The evenness index (J’ = 0.99) showed that each species is fairly represented by a number of individuals. The correlation coefficient value of length and weight parameters is statistically significant at a 1% significance level (s, R2 = 0.85). The mean FCF revealed that both fish species are in good health. Further study on local people’s perception, initiating fishing activities, and organizing and providing training to youth is recommended.

Grand Challenges of Hydrologic Modeling for Food-Energy-Water Nexus Security in High Mountain Asia

Climate-influenced changes in hydrology affect water-food-energy security that may impact up to two billion people downstream of the High Mountain Asia (HMA) region. Changes in water supply affect energy, industry, transportation, and ecosystems (agriculture, fisheries) and as a result, also affect the region's social, environmental, and economic fabrics. Sustaining the highly interconnected food-energy-water nexus (FEWN) will be a fundamental and increasing challenge under a changing climate regime. High variability in topography and distribution of glaciated and snow-covered areas in the HMA region, and scarcity of high resolution (in-situ) data make it difficult to model and project climate change impacts on individual watersheds. We lack basic understanding of the spatial and temporal variations in climate, surface impurities in snow and ice such as black carbon and dust that alter surface albedo, and glacier mass balance and dynamics. These knowledge gaps create challenges in predicting where and when the impact of changes in river flow will be the most significant economically and ecologically. In response to these challenges, the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) established the High Mountain Asia Team (HiMAT) in 2016 to conduct research to address knowledge gaps. This paper summarizes some of the advances HiMAT made over the past 5 years, highlights the scientific challenges in improving our understanding of the hydrology of the HMA region, and introduces an integrated assessment framework to assess the impacts of climate changes on the FEWN for the HMA region. The framework, developed under a NASA HMA project, links climate models, hydrology, hydropower, fish biology, and economic analysis. The framework could be applied to develop scientific understanding of spatio-temporal variability in water availability and the resultant downstream impacts on the FEWN to support water resource management under a changing climate regime.

IS THERE A PROLIFERATIVE ADVANTAGE FOR NORMAL CELLS ASSOCIATED WITH MARKER CHROMOSOMES OVER INTERPHASIC NUCLEI POSITIVE FOR PML-RARA FUSION?

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is usually related to a good prognosis, however, about 20% of patients whose outcome is not favorable, early complications cause mortality in 10%, and disease relapse or drug resistance affects the other 10%. Prompt diagnosis and early initiation of treatment are critical to lowering the risk of early mortality. Although the hallmark of APL is the PML-RARA fusion, generated from t(15;17)(q24;q21), it is common to observe additional chromosomal abnormalities, with a clinical impact not yet established, associated with this neoplasm, which arouses the interest of different study groups in the literature about additional (cryptic) anomalies related to the disease. In this work, we present a FISH positive PML-RARA case, but negative in chromosome banding analysis, associated with a very poor prognosis in an adolescent with APL. A 14-year-old girl was admitted to the pediatric hematology service of the Lagoa Federal Hospital, with a history of 30 days of edema, pain, and intense gingival bleeding, associated with fever and pancytopenia. A bone marrow (BM) sample was referred to the Laboratory of Cytogenetics of CEMO – INCA. FISH and molecular biology tests confirmed the PML-RARA fusion, helping to define the diagnosis of AML-M3, and the patient was treated under the BFM-AIOPE-2012 protocol. Treatment with ATRA was initiated, but on the fourth day, she evolved with pulmonary condensation and desaturation and chemotherapy was suspended. Computed tomography revealed multiple hemorrhage sites. Hydreia was administrated to reduce white blood cell count and treatment with ATRA and ATO was resumed. However, on the fourth day of treatment, the adolescent evolved with low saturation being then intubated, in addition to worsening of bleeding even with intense transfusional support. The patient died 20 days after the initial diagnosis. The patient's BM sample was studied by G-banding and FISH assays. The karyotype was 46,XX, with a marker chromosome. FISH analysis revealed the PML-RARA gene fusion in 90% of the interphase nuclei analyzed, besides an extra RARA gene signal, but this abnormality was not observed in metaphase spreads. Complementary FISH with the RARA break apart probe showed a RARA gene rearrangement in 90% of the interphase nuclei analyzed, without the involvement of the secondary chromosomal abnormality. Molecular studies detected a breakpoint within PML intron 3 (bcr 3) producing a short PML-RARA isoform. Although secondary cytogenetic abnormalities occur in about 30% of cases of APL, their prognostic importance has not been determined, and these additional cytogenetic abnormalities are often complex. We could not eliminate the secondary alteration as a cryptic abnormality, however, through FISH (in interphase nuclei), the gold standard method, we showed the PML-RARA fusion. In the past, before the advances brought by FISH methodology for detecting PML-RARA fusion, the hallmark of APL, there was controversy about the culture time needed to diagnose the t(15;17)(q24;q21). In our patient, we observed a chromosome marker that may confer a proliferative advantage for normal cells over aberrant interphasic nuclei positive for PML-RARA. Our findings confirm that FISH, regardless of the culture time used, is the fastest and most effective method to confirm the diagnosis of this hematologic urgency. However, molecular studies in metaphases with the observed marker chromosome will be important to elucidate/eliminate the involvement of cryptic abnormalities present in the karyotype of the patient in this study. Besides, the influence of PML-RARA isoform on patient outcomes remains controversial.

Influence of environmental factors on biology and catch composition of Barbonymus schwanenfeldii in a tropical lake, northern Malaysia: implications for conservation planning.

Very little work has determined the relative importance of uncontrolled environmental factors for affecting fish biology, and how these might influence gillnet catches. This study addresses this deficit for an important Southeast Asian cyprinid (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii). Fish were caught monthly for 12 months using gillnets of three different mesh sizes, each of which was deployed in duplicate at the surface of one of three randomly selected sites in Lake Kenyir, Malaysia, concurrent with determining various environmental parameters and the abundance of phytoplankton (chlorophyll-a). Results indicated that growth co-efficient of B. schwanenfeldii was positively influenced by dissolved oxygen and negatively influenced by total inorganic nitrogen, whereas an opposite result was observed in case of the hepatosomatic index of fish. Water turbidity was a limiting factor only for small fish (mean total length: 15.74±1.10 cm). B. schwanenfeldii could best be caught during the period of high phytoplankton abundance or at the location of high phytoplankton density in the water. Water temperature negatively influenced the gillnet catches of the fish. The remaining environmental factors such as water depth, pH, and phosphate had a weak and insignificant influence (P >0.05) on the biology and gillnet catches of fish. The observed results can be very useful for the ecological monitoring and conservation plans for this species in relation to climate change. Furthermore, the utility of the similar data for other species would be useful not only forregional but also forinternational fishery by optimizing catches considering environmental conditions.

Characterization of feeding and downstream migration of juvenile chum salmon in the Kichiga river (north-eastern kamchatka)

Analysis of the data of fish biology spring-summer researches in the Kichiga river basin in the period 2017–2019 for the first time brought results as next: characterized dynamics of chum salmon juvenile downstrean migration, including daily dynamics, revealed qualitative characteristics of the underyearlings, described diet of the juvenile migrants, demonstrated effects of the spring-summer hydrological regime on the intensity of the underyearling feeding. Also noted, that the conditions for the downstream migration of chum salmon in 2018 were maximum favouravle, and most likely that could enhance later juvenile survival.

Moving on up: Vertical distribution shifts in rocky reef fish species during climate-driven decline in dissolved oxygen from 1995 to 2009.

Anthropogenic climate change has resulted in warming temperatures and reduced oxygen concentrations in the global oceans. Much remains unknown on the impacts of reduced oxygen concentrations on the biology and distribution of marine fishes. In the Southern California Channel Islands, visual fish surveys were conducted frequently in a manned submersible at three rocky reefs between 1995 and 2009. This area is characterized by a steep bathymetric gradient, with the surveyed sites Anacapa Passage, Footprint and Piggy Bank corresponding to depths near 50, 150 and 300 m. Poisson models were developed for each fish species observed consistently in this network of rocky reefs to determine the impact of depth and year on fish peak distribution. The interaction of depth and year was significant in 23 fish types, with 19 of the modelled peak distributions shifting to a shallower depth over the surveyed time period. Across the 23 fish types, the peak distribution shoaled at an average rate of 8.7 m of vertical depth per decade. Many of the species included in the study, including California sheephead, copper rockfish and blue rockfish, are targeted by commercial and recreational fisheries. CalCOFI hydrographic samples are used to demonstrate significant declines in dissolved oxygen at stations near the survey sites which are forced by a combination of natural multidecadal oscillations and anthropogenic climate change. This study demonstrates in situ fish depth distribution shifts over a 15‐year period concurrent with oxygen decline. Climate‐driven distribution shifts in response to deoxygenation have important implications for fisheries management, including habitat reduction, habitat compression, novel trophic dynamics and reduced body condition. Continued efforts to predict the formation and severity of hypoxic zones and their impact on fisheries dynamics will be essential to guiding effective placement of protected areas and fisheries regulations.

Spermatozoon of the wild scalloped perchlet, Ambassis nalua (Hamilton, 1822): Ultrastructure and morphometric analysis

The description of sperm morphology is fundamental in the reproductive biology of fishes, but this information is limited in the family Ambassidae. Our report hence focused on the ultrastructure and morphometric analysis of spermatozoa in a pelagic fish Ambassis nalua. All fish (n = 75) were obtained during January and March 2017 from the Estuarine Pranburi River, Thailand. The standard length of fish used in this study was 3.4 ± 0.12 cm (mean ± standard deviation). All specimens were considered mature based on the abundance of spermatozoa in the testis. The testicular organs were collected and observed using standard histology and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ultrastructural observation associated with morphometric analysis showed that spermatozoa are structurally long cells of approximately 51.17 ± 4.54 µm total length, composed of a head, a midpiece and a tail. The head had no acrosome, and the granular structure of condensed chromatin was observed within the ovoid nucleus. The midpiece consisted of a short cylindrical region with the length of 1.29 ± 0.87 µm in diameter, having the centriolar complex organization and eight mitochondria (approx. 0.32 ± 0.02 µm each). The uniflagellar tail was clearly identified with a classical 9+2 arrangements of microtubules. Based on these characteristics, the spermatozoon of wild scalloped perchlet are considered as uniflagellate anacrosomal aquqsperm. The morphological features, including the number of mitochondria, may be used for further cryopreservation and in the evolutionary biology of this species.

Ecological Traits Influencing Anthropogenic Debris Ingestion by Herbivorous Reef Fishes

One of the most conspicuous marks of the Anthropocene worldwide is the ubiquitous pollution by long lifespan materials (e.g., plastic). In marine habitats, anthropogenic debris are observed from floating on the surface to deposited on the substrate or ingested by wildlife at different food web levels. However, the link between feeding strategy types and debris ingestion by reef fishes remains poorly explored. We analyzed the gut contents of three nominally herbivorous fishes along the Brazilian coast: the doctorfish Acanthurus chirurgus, the parrotfish, Sparisoma axillare, and the chub Kyphosus vaigiensis. Individual [i.e., total length (TL)] and species-level functional traits, as well sites with distinct environmental features (i.e., tourism activity intensity, fishing pressure, and distance from the coast), were tested as predictors of the concentration of debris found inside individual fish guts. Debris found were quantified, measured, and classified accordingly to color and shape. We found debris in 52.7% of individuals. Debris ranged from 0.10 to 11.75 mm, and the frequency of occurrence and ingestion rate (number of debris per individual) varied among species, being higher for the scraper species S. axillare (95.7% and 4.9 ± 1.2, respectively) and A. chirurgus (74.6% and 1.64 ± 0.34), than for the browser K. vaigiensis (55.8% and 0.83 ± 0.24). TL, scraping feeding mode, and the most impacted location were positively related to debris ingestion rate. Our work revealed a higher vulnerability of an ecologically important trophic group to debris ingestion and of an already threatened species according to Brazilian red list. Besides the increasing number of species contaminated by anthropogenic debris, its effect on fish biology and physiology remains poorly understood. Understanding these links would improve conservation planning as species contamination could act as a proxy for environmental pollution on marine habitats.

Comparative study of length-weight relationships and biological indices of Himalayan snow trout, Schizothorax labiatus, inhabiting two lotic water bodies in the Kashmir Valley

Abstract The length-weight relationship (LWR) plays an important role in fishery management as it can be used to estimate the average weight of a specific length group. The results of the current study revealed that the mean values of regression coefficient b for both sexes of Schizothorax labiatus (McClelland) in the Jhelum River indicated positive allometric growth, while in the Sindh River, the b value for males indicated positive allometric growth and for females negative allometric growth. The value of coefficient of determination r2 for both sexes of S. labiatus was equal to or greater than 0.90 in both water bodies, except for females in the Sindh River. Higher significant (P &lt; 0.05) average values of Fulton’s condition factor (K) and the hepatosomatic index (HSI) for both sexes of S. labiatus were noted in the Jhelum River than in the Sindh River. In contrast, higher significant (P &lt; 0.05) values of the gonadosomatic index (GSI) were recorded in the Sindh River. The data generated during the current study provide basic information for researchers and fish biologists for the conservation and sustainable management of this commercially important food fish species in the Kashmir Valley.

Discussion on “Living on the rocks: substrate mineralogy and the structure of subtidal rocky substrate communities in the Mediterranean Sea”

The present paper provides correlative evidence that the mineralogical composition of rocks may influence marine assemblages in Mediterranean shallow sublittoral rocky habitats. They point out that direct effects on sessile organisms (e.g. macroalgae) may cascade up through the entire community and aff ect higher trophic levels (e.g. carnivorous fi shes). Indeed, in seawater, aggregates, concrete or any natural or artifi cial substrata quickly become fouled [1–3] Colonization surface can be divided into two main stages, micro-fouling and macro-fouling. They are respectively characterized by the formation of bacterial biofilm on the surface and the adhesion of macro-organisms such as algae, barnacles and larvae (macro-fouling) [2,4,5]. The nature of the substrate strongly acts on material’s biorecptivity according to the literature [6,7].

Intra- and interspecific variability among congeneric Pagellus otoliths

Otolith features are useful tools for studying taxonomy, ecology, paleontology, and fish biology since they represent a permanent record of life history. Nevertheless, the functional morphology of otoliths remains an open research question that is useful to completely understand their eco-morphology. This study aims to deepen the knowledge of intra- and interspecific variation in sagitta morphology in three congeneric seabreams, to understand how such variability could be related to the lifestyles of each species. Therefore, the sagittae (n = 161) of 24 Pagellus bogaraveo, 24 Pagellus acarne, and 37 Pagellus erythrinus specimens, collected from the south Tyrrhenian Sea, were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and a stereomicroscope to assess morphometric features, variability between otolith pairs and the external crystalline structure the of sulcus acusticus. Statistical analysis demonstrated that, between the species, variability in sagittal otolith rostral length growth and sulcus acusticus features, correlated with increased fish total length and body weight. Moreover, slight differences between otolith pairs were detected in P. acarne and P. erythrinus (P < 0.05). The results confirm changes in otolith morphometry and morphology between different congeneric species and populations of the same species from different habitats.

John Widgeon

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.

EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.

William Alonzo Gosline and the Classification of Fishes

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.

Lizards of the World: Natural History and Taxon Accounts

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.

Dr. Michael Franklin

<i>Ichthyology & Herpetology</i> (formerly <i>Copeia</i>) publishes work on the biology of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, or work using those organisms as models for testing hypotheses of broad significance.