Experimental manipulation of perceived predation risk and cortisol generates contrasting trait trajectories in plastic crucian carp.

Most animals constitute potential prey and must respond appropriately to predator-mediated stress in order to survive. Numerous prey also adaptively tailor their response to the prevailing level of risk and stress imposed by their natural enemies, i.e. they adopt an inducible defence strategy. Predator exposure may activate the stress axis, and drive the expression of anti-predator traits that facilitate survival in a high-risk environment (the predation-stress hypothesis). Here, we quantified two key morphological anti-predator traits, body morphology and coloration, in crucian carp reared in the presence or absence of a predator (pike) in addition to experimental manipulation of physiological stress via implants containing either cortisol or a cortisol inhibitor. We found that predator-exposed fish expressed a deeper-bodied phenotype and darker body coloration as compared with non-exposed individuals. Skin analyses revealed that an increase in the amount of melanophores caused the dramatic colour change in predator-exposed fish. Increased melanization is costly, and the darker body coloration may act as an inducible defence against predation, via a conspicuous signal of the morphological defence or by crypsis towards dark environments and a nocturnal lifestyle. By contrast, the phenotype of individuals carrying cortisol implants did not mirror the phenotype of predator-exposed fish but instead exhibited opposite trajectories of trait change: a shallow-bodied morphology with a lighter body coloration as compared with sham-treated fish. The cortisol inhibitor did not influence the phenotype of fish i.e. neither body depth nor body coloration differed between this group and predator-exposed fish with a sham implant. However, our results illuminate a potential link between stress physiology and morphological defence expression.

Dark eyes in female sand gobies indicate readiness to spawn.

In animals, colorful and conspicuous ornaments enhance individual attractiveness to potential mates, but are typically tempered by natural selection for crypsis and predator protection. In species where males compete for females, this can lead to highly ornamented males competing for mating opportunities with choosy females, and vice versa. However, even where males compete for mating opportunities, females may exhibit conspicuous displays. These female displays are often poorly understood and it may be unclear whether they declare mating intent, signal intrasexual aggression or form a target for male mate preference. We examined the function of the conspicuous dark eyes that female sand gobies temporarily display during courtship by experimentally testing if males preferred to associate with females with artificially darkened eyes and if dark eyes are displayed during female aggression. By observing interactions between a male and two females freely associating in an aquarium we also investigated in which context females naturally displayed dark eyes. We found that dark eyes were more likely to be displayed by more gravid females than less gravid females and possibly ahead of spawning, but that males did not respond behaviorally to dark eyes or prefer dark-eyed females. Females behaving aggressively did not display dark eyes. We suggest that dark eyes are not a signal per se but may be an aspect of female mate choice, possibly related to vision.

Internal pigment cells respond to external UV radiation in frogs.

Fish and amphibians have pigment cells that generate colorful skins important for signaling, camouflage, thermoregulation and protection against ultraviolet radiation (UVR). However, many animals also have pigment cells inside their bodies, on their internal organs and membranes. In contrast to external pigmentation, internal pigmentation is remarkably little studied and its function is not well known. Here, we tested genotoxic effects of UVR and its effects on internal pigmentation in a neotropical frog, Physalaemus nattereri We found increases in body darkness and internal melanin pigmentation in testes and heart surfaces and in the mesenterium and lumbar region after just a few hours of UVR exposure. The melanin dispersion in melanomacrophages in the liver and melanocytes in testes increased after UV exposure. In addition, the amount of melanin inside melanomacrophages cells also increased. Although mast cells were quickly activated by UVR, only longer UVR exposure resulted in genotoxic effects inside frogs, by increasing the frequency of micronuclei in red blood cells. This is the first study to describe systemic responses of external UVR on internal melanin pigmentation, melanomacrophages and melanocytes in frogs and thus provides a functional explanation to the presence of internal pigmentation.

The coelomic epithelium transcriptome from a clonal sea star, Coscinasterias muricata.

Coscinasterias is a cosmopolitan genus of large asteroid sea stars with the ability of somatic fission as a clonal reproductive strategy. During fission, the animals tear themselves apart across their central disc, where the lost body parts are regenerated afterwards. Here, we have sequenced and subsequently analysed the transcriptome of the coelomic epithelium of a clonal Coscinasterias muricata specimen from New Zealand. Out of the total 389,768 raw reads, 11,344 contigs were assembled and grouped into functions. Raw read and assembled contig sequences are available at NCBI (BioSample: SAMN03371637), while the annotated assembly can be accessed through the project transcriptome browser (compgen.bio.ub.edu/gbrowse/starfish_transcriptome/). Our data is valuable for future detailed exploration of the coelomic epithelium functions as well as for a better understanding of sea star physiology.

Rapid color change in fish and amphibians - function, regulation, and emerging applications.

Physiological color change is important for background matching, thermoregulation as well as signaling and is in vertebrates mediated by synchronous intracellular transport of pigmented organelles in chromatophores. We describe functions of and animal situations where color change occurs. A summary of endogenous and external factors that regulate this color change in fish and amphibians is provided, with special emphasis on extracellular stimuli. We describe not only color change in skin, but also highlight studies on color change that occurs using chromatophores in other areas such as iris and on the inside of the body. In addition, we discuss the growing field that applies melanophores and skin color in toxicology and as biosensors, and point out research areas with future potential.

Embryonic response to long-term exposure of the marine crustacean Nephrops norvegicus to ocean acidification and elevated temperature.

Due to anthropogenic CO2 emissions, our oceans have gradually become warmer and more acidic. To better understand the consequences of this, there is a need for long-term (months) and multistressor experiments. Earlier research demonstrates that the effects of global climate change are specific to species and life stages. We exposed berried Norway lobsters (Nephrops norvegicus), during 4 months to the combination of six ecologically relevant temperatures (5-18°C) and reduced pH (by 0.4 units). Embryonic responses were investigated by quantifying proxies for development rate and fitness including: % yolk consumption, mean heart rate, rate of oxygen consumption, and oxidative stress. We found no interactions between temperature and pH, and reduced pH only affected the level of oxidative stress significantly, with a higher level of oxidative stress in the controls. Increased temperature and % yolk consumed had positive effects on all parameters except on oxidative stress, which did not change in response to temperature. There was a difference in development rate between the ranges of 5-10°C (Q 10: 5.4) and 10-18°C (Q 10: 2.9), implicating a thermal break point at 10°C or below. No thermal limit to a further increased development rate was found. The insensitivity of N. norvegicus embryos to low pH might be explained by adaptation to a pH-reduced external habitat and/or internal hypercapnia during incubation. Our results thus indicate that this species would benefit from global warming and be able to withstand the predicted decrease in ocean pH in the next century during their earliest life stages. However, future studies need to combine low pH and elevated temperature treatments with hypoxia as hypoxic events are frequently and increasingly occurring in the habitat of benthic species.

Gender differences in health and aging of Atlantic cod subject to size selective fishery.

We have analyzed health and physiological aging parameters in male and female Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, captured in Kattegat, Skagerrak and in Öresund. Gender differences were clearly evident in a number of variables. Males had longer liver telomeres and higher catalase activities than females, while females had higher superoxide dismutase activity, liver somatic index and condition factor. Effects of age were found for males where levels of the antioxidant glutathione and telomere length declined with age, indicating physiological aging. Liver somatic index increased and percentage oxidized glutathione decreased with age. Between-site comparisons of males show that percentage oxidized glutathione and catalase were lowest in Kattegat, whereas protein carbonyls and condition factor were higher in Skagerrak. Females, on the other hand, showed no differences between sites or indications of somatic aging or age-related effects in egg quality, indicating that older and larger female cod are healthy and show no changes in eggs with age. In contrast, males showed indications of physiological aging and lower condition than females. The results emphasize the importance of conserving old mature fish, in particular high egg-productive females, when managing fisheries.

Potential for clonal animals in longevity and ageing studies.

Ageing is defined as a decline in reproductive and/or somatic performance over time, and as such is experienced by most organisms. Evolutionary theories explain ageing as a consequence of reduced selection pressure against mutations and reduced allocation to somatic maintenance in post-reproductive individuals. In addition, the fecundity of younger age-groups makes a more significant contribution than infinite maintenance of the parental body to the production of subsequent generations. However, in clonal animals, as well as in plants that reproduce by agametic cloning, the adult body is itself a reproductive unit that increases its fitness as a function of genet size. Given the apparent longevity of many such clonal organisms, species undergoing agametic cloning are often assumed to be non-ageing and even potentially immortal. Here, we present a brief overview of ageing in organisms undergoing agametic cloning, focusing on animals and molecular investigation. We discuss molecular and evolutionary aspects of ageing or non-ageing with respect to selection in clonal species. Of particular relevance to the search for potential mechanistic processes behind longevity is the notion that clonal organisms are frequently smaller than their obligate sexual counterparts. In conclusion, we find that while clonal animals also commonly age, evolutionary arguments together with empirical evidence suggest that they are likely to be long-lived and stress resistant at the genet level. However, theoretical modeling continues to predict the possibility of immortality, if the contribution from sexual reproduction is low. Future in-depth study of long-lived clones should present an excellent opportunity to discover novel mechanisms for renewal and long-term somatic maintenance and health.