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Neiße N, Santon M, Bitton PP, Michiels NK. Small benthic fish strike at prey over distances that fall within theoretical predictions for active sensing using light. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2020; 97:1201-1208. [PMID: 33448392 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Small, benthic, cryptic fishes represent a species-rich guild on marine substrates. Most of them are micropredators that feed on crustaceans that are often smaller than 1 mm. Typical examples are seahorses and pipefishes (Syngnathidae), most gobies (Gobiidae), dragonets (Callionymidae) and triplefins (Tripterygiidae). Previous work on the yellow black-headed triplefin Tripterygion delaisi demonstrated that it actively redirects downwelling sunlight sideways using its iris and can use this to locally illuminate objects of interest. We call this form of active sensing using light "diurnal active photolocation". Visual modelling predicted that light redirection can be sufficient to induce a perceivable change in luminance in the eyes of one of its prey species, a cryptic gammarid crustacean (Cheirocratus sp.), over distances of 1-2 cm. Empirical validation, however, was not possible because measurements of predation distances have not been quantified for free-ranging, small, benthic fishes before. Here, we present interaction distances measured from videos of T. delaisi approaching and striking at prey in the field. Out of 160 recordings, we were able to quantify 78 prey approaching distances and 100 striking distances. Approaching distances ranged from 2.1 to 4.1 cm (interquartile range, IQR) and involved one to five approaching steps before the actual strike occurred. The distance over which the final strike took place varied from 0.7 to 1.6 cm (IQR). Both approaching and striking distances increased with fish body size. We conclude that most approaching sequences started too far away to be explained by prey detection through light redirection. Striking distances, however, fell well with the distances predicted by the model. We conclude that if diurnal active photolocation plays a role in prey detection, it is during the final decision whether to strike or not.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niklas Neiße
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Matteo Santon
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Pierre-Paul Bitton
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - Nico K Michiels
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Adrian-Kalchhauser I, Blomberg A, Larsson T, Musilova Z, Peart CR, Pippel M, Solbakken MH, Suurväli J, Walser JC, Wilson JY, Alm Rosenblad M, Burguera D, Gutnik S, Michiels N, Töpel M, Pankov K, Schloissnig S, Winkler S. The round goby genome provides insights into mechanisms that may facilitate biological invasions. BMC Biol 2020; 18:11. [PMID: 31992286 PMCID: PMC6988351 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-019-0731-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The invasive benthic round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is the most successful temperate invasive fish and has spread in aquatic ecosystems on both sides of the Atlantic. Invasive species constitute powerful in situ experimental systems to study fast adaptation and directional selection on short ecological timescales and present promising case studies to understand factors involved the impressive ability of some species to colonize novel environments. We seize the unique opportunity presented by the round goby invasion to study genomic substrates potentially involved in colonization success. Results We report a highly contiguous long-read-based genome and analyze gene families that we hypothesize to relate to the ability of these fish to deal with novel environments. The analyses provide novel insights from the large evolutionary scale to the small species-specific scale. We describe expansions in specific cytochrome P450 enzymes, a remarkably diverse innate immune system, an ancient duplication in red light vision accompanied by red skin fluorescence, evolutionary patterns of epigenetic regulators, and the presence of osmoregulatory genes that may have contributed to the round goby’s capacity to invade cold and salty waters. A recurring theme across all analyzed gene families is gene expansions. Conclusions The expanded innate immune system of round goby may potentially contribute to its ability to colonize novel areas. Since other gene families also feature copy number expansions in the round goby, and since other Gobiidae also feature fascinating environmental adaptations and are excellent colonizers, further long-read genome approaches across the goby family may reveal whether gene copy number expansions are more generally related to the ability to conquer new habitats in Gobiidae or in fish. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12915-019-0731-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser
- Program Man-Society-Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland. .,University of Bern, Institute for Fish and Wildlife Health, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Austria.
| | - Anders Blomberg
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 9C, 41390, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Tomas Larsson
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 9C, 41390, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Zuzana Musilova
- Department of Zoology, Charles University, Vinicna 7, 12844, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Claire R Peart
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, 82152 Planegg-, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Martin Pippel
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Monica Hongroe Solbakken
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, Blindernveien 31, 0371, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jaanus Suurväli
- Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Strasse 47a, 50674, Köln, Germany
| | - Jean-Claude Walser
- Genetic Diversity Centre, ETH, Universitätsstrasse 16, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joanna Yvonne Wilson
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Magnus Alm Rosenblad
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 9C, 41390, Gothenburg, Sweden.,NBIS Bioinformatics Infrastructure for Life Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 9C, 41390, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Demian Burguera
- Department of Zoology, Charles University, Vinicna 7, 12844, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Silvia Gutnik
- Biocenter, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50/70, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Nico Michiels
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tuebingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mats Töpel
- University of Bern, Institute for Fish and Wildlife Health, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Austria
| | - Kirill Pankov
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Siegfried Schloissnig
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sylke Winkler
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307, Dresden, Germany
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Santon M, Bitton PP, Dehm J, Fritsch R, Harant UK, Anthes N, Michiels NK. Redirection of ambient light improves predator detection in a diurnal fish. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192292. [PMID: 31964304 PMCID: PMC7015323 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cases where animals use controlled illumination to improve vision are rare and thus far limited to chemiluminescence, which only functions in darkness. This constraint was recently relaxed by studies on Tripterygion delaisi, a small triplefin that redirects sunlight instead. By reflecting light sideways with its iris, it has been suggested to induce and detect eyeshine in nearby micro-prey. Here, we test whether 'diurnal active photolocation' also improves T. delaisi's ability to detect the cryptobenthic sit-and-wait predator Scorpaena porcus, a scorpionfish with strong daytime retroreflective eyeshine. Three independent experiments revealed that triplefins in which light redirection was artificially suppressed approached scorpionfish significantly closer than two control treatments before moving away to a safer distance. Visual modelling confirmed that ocular light redirection by a triplefin is sufficiently strong to generate a luminance increase in scorpionfish eyeshine that can be perceived by the triplefin over 6-8 cm under average conditions. These distances coincide well with the closest approaches observed. We conclude that light redirection by small, diurnal fish significantly contributes to their ability to visually detect cryptic predators, strongly widening the conditions under which active sensing with light is feasible. We discuss the consequences for fish eye evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Santon
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Pierre-Paul Bitton
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St John's, NL Canada, A1B 3X9
| | - Jasha Dehm
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,School of Marine Studies, Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment, University of the South Pacific, Laucala Bay Rd, Suva, Fiji
| | - Roland Fritsch
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ulrike K Harant
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nils Anthes
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nico K Michiels
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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