George W. Chamberlain

Electrical stimulation of spermatophore expulsion in marine shrimp, Penaeus spp

Abstract Electrical stimulation (4–6 V AC) applied near the male gonopores at the base of the fifth pereopods caused expulsion of the spermatophore in Penaeus setiferus, P. stylirostris , and P. vannamei . For healthy animals, some degree of spermatophore expulsion occurred in 80% of the attempts. Complete expulsion of one or both spermatophores occurred in only 47% (29–65%, depending on species). Shrimp with melanized terminal ampullae generally did not expel a spermatophore following electrical stimulation. The technique needs further refinement for routine use with penaeids.

Vertical responses of Atlantic croaker to gas supersaturation and temperature change

Abstract Vertical responses of juvenile Atlantic croakers (Micropogon undulatus) to acute supersaturation of nitrogen and oxygen and to changing temperature were observed in a 2.5-m-tall test cylinder supplied with flowing estuarine water. Supersaturation of nitrogen caused an initial upward movement of fish, although a compensatory downward response seemed to occur after 2–4 hours of exposure. Supersaturation of oxygen resulted in an almost immediate downward movement of fish. Abrupt upward displacement of fish followed water-temperature changes, especially increases. Similarities between the behavior of croakers in these experiments and the behavior of other physoclists after swim-bladder volume manipulation suggested that gas supersaturation caused the swim bladders of our fish to inflate, resulting first in upward drift and then in downward swimming to restore neutral buoyancy. A nonlinear response model incorporating this hypothesis accounted for 62% of the variation (over all experiments) in mean ve...