Dataset Information

Spawning aggregation of white-streaked grouper Epinephelus ongus: spatial distribution and annual variation in the fish density within a spawning ground.

ABSTRACT: White-streaked grouper (Epinephelus ongus) is an important fisheries target and forms spawning aggregations at particular spawning grounds. The aims of the present study were to investigate the ecological characteristics of annual spawning aggregations such as (1) spatial variations in the density of E. ongus at the spawning ground, (2) the relationship between fish density and environmental variables, (3) inter-annual variations in the spawning aggregation, (4) the proportion of males to females at the spawning ground for several days pre-and post-spawning and (5) the relationship between male density and female density at the protected spawning ground, based on observations over five years at an Okinawan coral reef. Although the protected spawning ground area was large (ca. 2,500 m × 700 m), high density of E. ongus (over 25 individuals per 100 m²) was found in a limited area (within c.a. 750 m × 50 m). Current velocity and coverage of rocks had significant positive effects on the spatial distribution of E. ongus at the spawning ground. Inter-annual variation in the degree of aggregation was found and this variation was explained by the annual variation of mean seawater temperature during 40 days before the spawning day. The male-female ratio (male:female) at the spawning ground was ca. 3:1 for three years (May 2012, May 2014 and May 2015) whereas >13:1 for one year (May 2013). Significant positive relationships between male density and female density were found at the aggregation sites. It is suggested that E. ongus use aggregation sites with greater current velocity to reduce the risk of egg predation and seawater temperature is one of the main factors that is responsible for determining the degree of aggregation. It is also suggested that females possibly select sites with a greater density of males and this selection behavior might be the reason why females arrived at the spawning ground after the arrival of the males. For effective management of spawning grounds, precise site selection as well as the duration of the protection period are suggested to be key aspects to protect the spawning aggregations of E. ongus, which have been currently achieved at the spawning ground.

SUBMITTER: Nanami A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5312569 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:As an important protein source, soybean products can cause intestinal inflammation and injury in many animals including human beings, particularly infants and juvenile individuals. Research in this field has been performed for terrestrial animals and fish, but still lacks integrity and systematicness. In this study, the main biological processes in the intestinal tract of marine fish juvenile pearl gentian grouper in the state of soybean meal-induced enteritis (SBMIE) were analyzed. A total of 720 groupers with an approximate initial weight of 12.5 g were randomly divided into three groups: the fish meal (FM) control group, the 20% SBM group (SBM20), and the SBM40 group (n = 4). Three iso-nitrogenous and iso-lipidic diets were prepared and fed to fish for 10 weeks. Each barrel contained a water volume of about 1 m3 in and was exposed to natural light and temperature. Results indicated that the growth and physiology of groupers fed with SBM were significantly negatively affected, with the gene expressions of intestinal structural protein abnormal. 16SrDNA high-throughput sequencing showed that the intestinal microflora played an important role in the pathogenesis of pearl gentian grouper SBMIE, which may activate a variety of pathogen pattern recognition receptors, such as toll-like receptors (TLRs), RIG-I-like receptors, and nod-like receptors. Transcriptome analysis revealed that changes of the SBMIE signaling pathway in pearl gentian groupers were conservative to some extent than that of terrestrial animals and freshwater fish. Moreover, the TLRs-nuclear factor kappa-B signaling pathway becomes activated, which played an important role in SBMIE. Meanwhile, the signal pathways related to nutrient absorption and metabolism were generally inhibited. Metabolomics analysis showed that isoflavones and saponins accounted for a large proportion in the potential biomarkers of pearl gentian grouper SBMIE, and most of the biomarkers had significantly positive or negative correlations with each other; 56 metabolites were exchanged between intestinal tissues and contents, which may play an important role in the development of enteritis, including unsaturated fatty acids, organic acids, amino acids, vitamins, small peptides, and nucleotides, etc. These results provide a basic theoretical reference for solving the intestinal issues of fish SBMIE and research of inflammatory bowel disease in mammals.

Project description:BackgroundOrange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) is an economically important marine fish cultured in China and Southeast Asian countries. The emergence of infectious viral diseases, including iridovirus and betanodavirus, have severely affected food products based on this species, causing heavy economic losses. Limited available information on the genomics of E. coioides has hampered the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie host-virus interactions. In this study, we used a 454 pyrosequencing method to investigate differentially-expressed genes in the spleen of the E. coioides infected with Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV).ResultsUsing 454 pyrosequencing, we obtained abundant high-quality ESTs from two spleen-complementary DNA libraries which were constructed from SGIV-infected (V) and PBS-injected fish (used as a control: C). A total of 407,027 and 421,141 ESTs were produced in control and SGIV infected libraries, respectively. Among the assembled ESTs, 9,616 (C) and 10,426 (V) ESTs were successfully matched against known genes in the NCBI non-redundant (nr) database with a cut-off E-value above 10-5. Gene ontology (GO) analysis indicated that "cell part", "cellular process" and "binding" represented the largest category. Among the 25 clusters of orthologous group (COG) categories, the cluster for "translation, ribosomal structure and biogenesis" represented the largest group in the control (185 ESTs) and infected (172 ESTs) libraries. Further KEGG analysis revealed that pathways, including cellular metabolism and intracellular immune signaling, existed in the control and infected libraries. Comparative expression analysis indicated that certain genes associated with mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), chemokine, toll-like receptor and RIG-I signaling pathway were alternated in response to SGIV infection. Moreover, changes in the pattern of gene expression were validated by qRT-PCR, including cytokines, cytokine receptors, and transcription factors, apoptosis-associated genes, and interferon related genes.ConclusionThis study provided abundant ESTs that could contribute greatly to disclosing novel genes in marine fish. Furthermore, the alterations of predicted gene expression patterns reflected possible responses of these fish to the virus infection. Taken together, our data not only provided new information for identification of novel genes from marine vertebrates, but also shed new light on the understanding of defense mechanisms of marine fish to viral pathogens.

Dataset Information

Spawning aggregation of white-streaked grouper Epinephelus ongus: spatial distribution and annual variation in the fish density within a spawning ground.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets