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Perry BW, McGowan KL, Arias-Rodriguez L, Duttke SH, Tobler M, Kelley JL. Nascent transcription reveals regulatory changes in extremophile fishes inhabiting hydrogen sulfide-rich environments. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240412. [PMID: 38889788 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Regulating transcription allows organisms to respond to their environment, both within a single generation (plasticity) and across generations (adaptation). We examined transcriptional differences in gill tissues of fishes in the Poecilia mexicana species complex (family Poeciliidae), which have colonized toxic springs rich in hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in southern Mexico. There are gene expression differences between sulfidic and non-sulfidic populations, yet regulatory mechanisms mediating this gene expression variation remain poorly studied. We combined capped-small RNA sequencing (csRNA-seq), which captures actively transcribed (i.e. nascent) transcripts, and messenger RNA sequencing (mRNA-seq) to examine how variation in transcription, enhancer activity, and associated transcription factor binding sites may facilitate adaptation to extreme environments. csRNA-seq revealed thousands of differentially initiated transcripts between sulfidic and non-sulfidic populations, many of which are involved in H2S detoxification and response. Analyses of transcription factor binding sites in promoter and putative enhancer csRNA-seq peaks identified a suite of transcription factors likely involved in regulating H2S-specific shifts in gene expression, including several key transcription factors known to respond to hypoxia. Our findings uncover a complex interplay of regulatory processes that reflect the divergence of extremophile populations of P. mexicana from their non-sulfidic ancestors and suggest shared responses among evolutionarily independent lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blair W Perry
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Kerry L McGowan
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa, Tabasco 86150, México
| | - Sascha H Duttke
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Michael Tobler
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St Louis, St Louis, MO 63121, USA
- Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St Louis, St Louis, MO 63121, USA
- WildCare Institute, Saint Louis Zoo, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Joanna L Kelley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
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Pacher K, Hernández-Román N, Juarez-Lopez A, Jiménez-Jiménez JE, Lukas J, Sevinchan Y, Krause J, Arias-Rodríguez L, Bierbach D. Thermal tolerance in an extremophile fish from Mexico is not affected by environmental hypoxia. Biol Open 2024; 13:bio060223. [PMID: 38314873 PMCID: PMC10868586 DOI: 10.1242/bio.060223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The thermal ecology of ectotherm animals has gained considerable attention in the face of human-induced climate change. Particularly in aquatic species, the experimental assessment of critical thermal limits (CTmin and CTmax) may help to predict possible effects of global warming on habitat suitability and ultimately species survival. Here we present data on the thermal limits of two endemic and endangered extremophile fish species, inhabiting a geothermally heated and sulfur-rich spring system in southern Mexico: The sulfur molly (Poecilia sulphuraria) and the widemouth gambusia (Gambusia eurystoma). Besides physiological challenges induced by toxic hydrogen sulfide and related severe hypoxia during the day, water temperatures have been previously reported to exceed those of nearby clearwater streams. We now present temperature data for various locations and years in the sulfur spring complex and conducted laboratory thermal tolerance tests (CTmin and CTmax) both under normoxic and severe hypoxic conditions in both species. Average CTmax limits did not differ between species when dissolved oxygen was present. However, critical temperature (CTmax=43.2°C) in P. sulphuraria did not change when tested under hypoxic conditions, while G. eurystoma on average had a lower CTmax when oxygen was absent. Based on this data we calculated both species' thermal safety margins and used a TDT (thermal death time) model framework to relate our experimental data to observed temperatures in the natural habitat. Our findings suggest that both species live near their thermal limits during the annual dry season and are locally already exposed to temperatures above their critical thermal limits. We discuss these findings in the light of possible physiological adaptions of the sulfur-adapted fish species and the anthropogenic threats for this unique system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korbinian Pacher
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12487 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Natalia Hernández-Román
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - Alejandro Juarez-Lopez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | | | - Juliane Lukas
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12487 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Yunus Sevinchan
- Science of intelligence cluster has the state of a department at TU Berlin, Excellence Cluster Science of Intelligence, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12487 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Science of intelligence cluster has the state of a department at TU Berlin, Excellence Cluster Science of Intelligence, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodríguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12487 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Science of intelligence cluster has the state of a department at TU Berlin, Excellence Cluster Science of Intelligence, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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Lukas J, Krause J, Träger AS, Piotrowski JM, Romanczuk P, Sprekeler H, Arias-Rodriguez L, Krause S, Schutz C, Bierbach D. Multispecies collective waving behaviour in fish. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220069. [PMID: 36802783 PMCID: PMC9939262 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Collective behaviour is widely accepted to provide a variety of antipredator benefits. Acting collectively requires not only strong coordination among group members, but also the integration of among-individual phenotypic variation. Therefore, groups composed of more than one species offer a unique opportunity to look into the evolution of both mechanistic and functional aspects of collective behaviour. Here, we present data on mixed-species fish shoals that perform collective dives. These repeated dives produce water waves capable of delaying and/or reducing the success of piscivorous bird attacks. The large majority of the fish in these shoals consist of the sulphur molly, Poecilia sulphuraria, but we regularly also found a second species, the widemouth gambusia, Gambusia eurystoma, making these shoals mixed-species aggregations. In a set of laboratory experiments, we found that gambusia were much less inclined to dive after an attack as compared with mollies, which almost always dive, though mollies dived less deep when paired with gambusia that did not dive. By contrast, the behaviour of gambusia was not influenced by the presence of diving mollies. The dampening effect of less responsive gambusia on molly diving behaviour can have strong evolutionary consequences on the overall collective waving behaviour as we expect shoals with a high proportion of unresponsive gambusia to be less effective at producing repeated waves. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Lukas
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Arabella Sophie Träger
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonas Marc Piotrowski
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstrasse 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Henning Sprekeler
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Software Engineering and Theoretical Computer Science, Berlin Institute of Technology, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - Stefan Krause
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Christopher Schutz
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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Fish waves as emergent collective antipredator behavior. Curr Biol 2021; 32:708-714.e4. [PMID: 34942081 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The collective behavior of animals has attracted considerable attention in recent years, with many studies exploring how local interactions between individuals can give rise to global group properties.1-3 The functional aspects of collective behavior are less well studied, especially in the field,4 and relatively few studies have investigated the adaptive benefits of collective behavior in situations where prey are attacked by predators.5,6 This paucity of studies is unsurprising because predator-prey interactions in the field are difficult to observe. Furthermore, the focus in recent studies on predator-prey interactions has been on the collective behavior of the prey7-10 rather than on the behavior of the predator (but see Ioannou et al.11 and Handegard et al.12). Here we present a field study that investigated the anti-predator benefits of waves produced by fish at the water surface when diving down collectively in response to attacks of avian predators. Fish engaged in surface waves that were highly conspicuous, repetitive, and rhythmic involving many thousands of individuals for up to 2 min. Experimentally induced fish waves doubled the time birds waited until their next attack, therefore substantially reducing attack frequency. In one avian predator, capture probability, too, decreased with wave number and birds switched perches in response to wave displays more often than in control treatments, suggesting that they directed their attacks elsewhere. Taken together, these results support an anti-predator function of fish waves. The attack delay could be a result of a confusion effect or a consequence of waves acting as a perception advertisement, which requires further exploration.
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Owens GL, Veen T, Moxley DR, Arias-Rodriguez L, Tobler M, Rennison DJ. Parallel shifts of visual sensitivity and body coloration in replicate populations of extremophile fish. Mol Ecol 2021; 31:946-958. [PMID: 34784095 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Visual sensitivity and body pigmentation are often shaped by both natural selection from the environment and sexual selection from mate choice. One way of quantifying the impact of the environment is by measuring how traits have changed after colonization of a novel habitat. To do this, we studied Poecilia mexicana populations that have repeatedly adapted to extreme sulphidic (H2 S-containing) environments. We measured visual sensitivity using opsin gene expression, as well as body pigmentation, for populations in four independent drainages. Both visual sensitivity and body pigmentation showed significant parallel shifts towards greater medium-wavelength sensitivity and reflectance in sulphidic populations. Altogether we found that sulphidic habitats select for differences in visual sensitivity and pigmentation. Shifts between habitats may be due to both differences in the water's spectral properties and correlated ecological changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory L Owens
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Thor Veen
- Quest University, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Dylan R Moxley
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - Michael Tobler
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
| | - Diana J Rennison
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
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Lukas J, Romanczuk P, Klenz H, Klamser P, Arias Rodriguez L, Krause J, Bierbach D. Acoustic and visual stimuli combined promote stronger responses to aerial predation in fish. Behav Ecol 2021; 32:1094-1102. [PMID: 34949958 PMCID: PMC8691536 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bird predation poses a strong selection pressure on fish. Since birds must enter the water to catch fish, a combination of visual and mechano-acoustic cues (multimodal) characterize an immediate attack, while single cues (unimodal) may represent less dangerous disturbances. We investigated whether fish could use this information to distinguish between non-threatening and dangerous events and adjust their antipredator response to the perceived level of risk. To do so, we investigated the antipredator behavior of the sulphur molly (Poecilia sulphuraria), a small freshwater fish which is almost exclusively preyed on by piscivorous birds in its endemic sulfide spring habitat. In a field survey, we confirmed that these fish frequently have to distinguish between disturbances stemming from attacking birds (multimodal) and those which pose no (immediate) threat such as bird overflights (unimodal). In a laboratory experiment, we then exposed fish to artificial visual and/or acoustic stimuli presented separately or combined. Sensitivity was high regardless of stimulus type and number (more than 96% of fish initiated diving), but fish dove deeper, faster, and for longer when both stimuli were available simultaneously. Based on the system's high rates of bird activity, we argue that such an unselective dive initiation with subsequent fine-tuning of diving parameters in accordance to cue modality represents an optimal strategy for these fish to save energy necessary to respond to future attacks. Ultimately, our study shows that fish anticipate the imminent risk posed by disturbances linked to bird predation through integrating information from both visual and acoustic cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Lukas
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’ (SCIoI), Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Haider Klenz
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pascal Klamser
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Av. Universidad s/n, 86150 Villahermosa, Tabasco, México
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’ (SCIoI), Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’ (SCIoI), Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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