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    P1: Ichthyology, III

    2021-07-26   16:00 - 18:00

    To view the posters go to https://epostersonline.com/jmih2021/. You will be able to chat one-on-one during the Monday poster session, the e-poster platform.



    1.  16:00  Metabolic Scope in Kentucky Stream Fishes in Response to Varied Thermal Conditions. Samuel Bauer*, Northern Kentucky University; Emily Steele, Northern Kentucky University; Olivia Timmerding, Northern Kentucky University; Richard D. Durtsche, Northern Kentucky University   durtsche@nku.edu

    The rapid elevation of temperatures due to climate change may directly alter stream ecosystems. The ability of poikilothermic animals, like stream fishes, to cope with increased temperatures depends, in part, on their phenotypic and genetic responses to the thermal changes. Temperature is a pervasive environmental factor that governs the biochemical and physiological reactions of poikilotherms, with subsequent effects on their behavior and ecology. Increased water temperatures in stream (lotic) systems can alter hydrologic regimes and could impact fish by lowering their fitness under these thermal conditions. We measured the aerobic scope, as a measure of fitness, in three Kentucky stream fish species in response to varied thermal conditions. Aerobic scope is the difference between the maximum metabolic rate [MMR] and the standard metabolic rate [SMR] of the fish. Our research monitored the metabolic rate in fish native to Kentucky streams (Etheostoma caeruleum, Gambusia affinis, and Pimephales notatus)under four different acclimation temperatures (13°C, 18°C, 23°C, and 28°C). A static-flow respirometry system was used to record the fish’s MMR and SMR for determining aerobic scope. Measuring the fish mass (0.01g) allowed for the determination of mass-specific metabolic rates so comparisons could be made among species and thermal conditions. Understanding the fitness response these fish species have to varied environmental temperature conditions allows us to determine how plastic these species are to impending warmer climates in the future.


    2.  16:00  Detection of Nanoplastics Particles in the Brain of Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). Florian Hipper, University of Ulm; Carla van Niekerk, University of Cape Town; Christina Ruopp, University of Tuebingen; Sabine Wintner, KZNSB; Stephanie Ploen, BCRE; Dirk M. Lang*, University of Cape Town   dirk.lang@uct.ac.za

    The imperfect management and disposal of plastic waste in the environment is cause for increasing international concern. As of 2012, the worldwide annual production of plastics was 280 million tons (Rossi, 2013) with >5 million metric tons of plastic waste ending up in the ocean (Chen, 2018). Macroplastics can degrade into microplastics (MP) and nanoplastics (NP) through disintegration, mechanical abrasion, biological degradation and UV radiation (Mattson 2014). Studies of the effects of MPs and NPs have been conducted on aquatic organisms across the food chain that broadly fall into the categories of phytoplankton, crustaceans, gastropods and fishes. These studies have shown MP and NP ingestion can affect fitness of the organism, development, metabolism, inflammation and behavior (Kogel 2020). Sharks are apex marine predators and it is expected that uptake through the surrounding medium and the food chain may lead to substantial deposition of NP in their tissues, including the brain, thereby possibly affecting brain physiology and behavioral patterns. However, there is a scarcity of technological approaches allowing for reliable detection of NP in tissues, and data on NP localization in shark tissues are to date unavailable. We used correlative Raman Imaging and Scanning Electron Microscopy (RISE) to detect and localize NP in preserved brain tissue of adult Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). Our data indicate that RISE is a powerful method for NP detection, and that NP deposition in our shark brain tissue samples is pervasive. Further studies of cell-type specific and subcellular localization of NP are under way.


    3.  16:00  New record of Pseudolaguvia shawi (Sisoridae: Siluriformes) and a reevaluation of Pseudolaguvia species native to Nepal. Kole Kubicek*, Texas A&M University; Heok Hee Ng, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum; Kevin Conway, Texas A&M University   kolekubicek@gmail.com

    Members of the genus Pseudolaguvia are small bodied crypto-benthic sisorid catfishes found in hill streams and large rivers of the Himalayan, Shan Hills and Western Ghats mountain ranges. The genus currently comprises 23 valid species, most of which have been described only within the past 10 years based on morphometric, coloration and external morphology (e.g., shape of the thoracic adhesive apparatus). Despite these diagnosable characters, the identification of Pseudolaguvia species can be complicated by their small body size (~ 30 mm SL) and overall similarities in appearance as well as the relatively few records of occurrence available for each species. The recent examination of Pseudolaguviamaterial collected from the Ganges River drainage of Nepal has led to the discovery of specimens resembling P. shawi, a species which has not previously been reported to occur in Nepal and is found primarily in the Brahmaputra River drainage. To date, only 4 nominal species (P. assula, P. kapuri, P. nepalensis and P. ribeiroi) have been recorded from the Ganges river drainage in Nepal. To aid future identification of the different species of Pseudolaguvia in Nepal, we provide a detailed comparison of the members of this genus known to occur in Nepal using a combination of previously established (traditional morphometrics and external morphology) and novel (osteology) characters. Additionally, based on available data and original species descriptions we suspect that P. nepalensisis a junior synonym of P. assula.


    4.  16:00  Rapid Radiation of Zeiformes Revealed Through Comparison of Jaw Morphology Using a Micro-CT Scanner. Jeff Peters*, Loyola University Chicago   jpeters4@luc.edu

    Zeiformes (e.g., Dories, Lookdown dories, Tinselfishes, Oreos) are a deep (1000 m) to mid-water (100 m) marine order of acanthomorph fishes with a circumpolar distribution, and a fossil record extending back to the Late Cretaceous. The order consists of 33 species across six families. The phylogenetic placement of the Zeiformes within Teleostei has been debated, but more recent studies based on both molecular and morphological data place Zeiforms within Paracanthopterygii closely related to Gadiformes. Zeiformes are characterized by anal and dorsal profiles that contain a variable number of fin rays and spines. They are mostly deep bodied, highly compressed fishes that exhibit a unique type of jaw protrusibility. This type of jaw protrusibility enables these fishes to capture smaller and more elusive prey and could be an important factor in their evolutionary success. This study investigates the jaw morphologies among zeiform families, the variation in jaw protrusion among the taxa, and the evolution of jaw protrusion in the various zeiform lineages. Micro CT- scanning technology and three-dimensional geometric morphometrics was employed to observe jaw variation across taxa by using landmarks. Preliminary morphometric results revealed radiation in the morphospace with three diverging trends that support similar studies on overall body shape. This study will better help scientists to understand how these fishes are able to live in such a wide variety of habitats and oceans around the world. Understanding the jaw morphology and mechanics of zeiforms can also help suggest differences in foraging behavior and predator-prey interactions among the different species.


    5.  16:00  Development of Digital Fish Identification and Education Tools. Christina Braswell, FishAngler; Kimberlee Denesha, Wye Foundation; Guy Eroh*, Wye Foundation; Thomas Wye, FishAngler   gderoh@gmail.com

    Accurate fish identification is one of the most fundamental skills required of both fisheries professionals and fishermen, impacting research and management efforts. Problems with misidentification can arise when working with unfamiliar species or with multiple species that closely resemble one another at one or more life stages. Failure to properly identify fishes can result in the gathering of inaccurate scientific data or the improper harvest of fish. The Wye Foundation is developing a set of fish identification and education tools that will aid anyone interested in identifying or learning about fishes. These tools use user inputs, such as morphological filtration and side-by-side comparison, as well as artificial intelligence technology to reliably identify fish species and teach users how to identify fishes. A pilot project is being developed for Alaskan fishes in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and will be expanded to other regions if successful. The developers also seek to create of the world’s largest open-source labeled fish image database as well as an open-source fish identification AI algorithm that will be able to identify fish species within newly presented images. The open-source nature of this database will help spur innovation in the field of artificial intelligence fish identification by providing developing parties with a free, well-vetted library to train their algorithms. The developers hope that these tools will be fun, educational, and most importantly, improve the quality of fish identification data.


    6.  16:00  Data, Data, Everywhere, but Not a DOI in Cite. Hannah Owens*, University of Copenhagen; Cory Merow, University of Connecticut; Brian Maitner, University of Connecticut; Jamie Kass, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University; Vijay Barve, University of Florida; Robert Guralnick, University of Florida   hannah.owens@gmail.com

    Available observational and specimen-based biodiversity data is increasing at an exponential rate, but the ability to manage and cite large, complex biodiversity datasets is not keeping pace. This management and citation gap impedes reproducibility for data users and the ability for primary data publishers to track use and accumulate citations, ultimately harming the longer-term sustainability of the still-emerging enterprise of research data sharing. While the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)has made great strides in facilitating the provenance pipeline by maintaining an ongoing literature tracking program that pulls primary provider citations from published manuscripts, these links are not possible if researchers do not cite provider DOIs.Here, we present an R package, occCite, to aid researchers in querying large species occurrence data aggregators (such as GBIF), and store metadata such as primary data providers, database accession dates, DOIs, and the taxonomic source used for search terms. occCite also includes tools to summarize and visualize query results and generate citation lists of all data providers and software packages used during the query process. Our aim is to efficiently close the gap in the citation cycle between primary data providers and final research products, allowing researchers to meet best-practice dataset documentation standards without sacrificing time and resources to the demands of providing increasing levels of detail on their datasets.


    7.  16:00  No Bones About It; Variation in the Skeletal Counts of Clearnose Skates Using X-Ray Radiography. Lindsey Nelson*, Virginia Institute of Marine Science; College of William & Mary; Eric Hilton, Virginia Institute of Marine Science; College of William & Mary; Christian Jones, NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Jan McDowell, Virginia Institute of Marine Science; College of William & Mary   lnnelson@vims.edu

    The Clearnose Skate, Rostroraja eglanteria (Bosc 1800), is a flat, benthic elasmobranch that iswidely distributed in thecoastal waters of the western North Atlantic Ocean and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The description of this species in Fishes of the Western North Atlanticnoted regional differences in their physical appearance and those authors suggested possible taxonomic variation (i.e., subspecies differentiation); this observation, however, has not been further addressed.We investigated the population structure of the Clearnose Skate by examining seven counts of skeletal elements.A total of 126 specimens were collected by fisheries-independent surveys and categorized into one of three study regions: U.S. East Coast north of Cape Hatteras (NOR, n = 49); U.S. East Coast from Cape Hatteras to Florida (SOU, n = 29); and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM, n = 22). The results from Kruskal-Wallis tests and Dunn’s tests indicate that, for both males and females, specimens from the GOM have significantly higher number of pectoral fin radial elements than specimens from the NOR and SOU regions. This finding is consistent with the results of genetic population structure analyses and suggests Clearnose Skate from the GOM are morphologically distinct from those in either NOR and SOU regions. Such information regarding population structure can strengthen scientific, conservation, and management efforts.




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