During the Mauritian period of Dutch Brazil (1637‑1644), a great deal of information about the biota of northeastern Brazil was obtained, consisting of both written records and paintings. Among them ...is an eel-like fish, depicted in two paintings labeled “Caramurû” and “Caramuru”, whose taxonomic identity is controversial. One of them, attributed to Albert Eckhout, is part of the Theatrum Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae collection, stored at the Jagiellonian University Library, in Poland. This painting was possibly a model for the second “Caramuru”, of unknown authorship, which is deposited at the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. These paintings are doubtfully identified as the snake eel Echiophis intertinctus (Ophichthidae, Anguilliformes), a proposal likely induced by the vulgar name “caramuru”, which is applied to muraenids and ophichthids in Brazil. After careful examination of these two paintings regarding the anatomical details depicted, we concluded that the fish corresponds, with great certainty, to Gobioides broussonnetii (Gobiidae, Gobiiformes), popularly known as “aimoré” and “tajasica”. Furthermore, we suggest the possibility that the written counterpart of these paintings is the description associated with the woodcut of the fish labeled as “Tajasica” in the Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (Marggraf in de Laet, 1648). The confusion probably stems from mismatches between Georg Marggraf’s descriptions and the images of organisms produced at the time, perhaps before the return of Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen’s entourage to Europe. In an attempt to support our conclusions about the identity of that fish, as well as for historical purposes, we also discuss the vernacular names applied to G. broussonnetii and the authorship of the notes made on those paintings.
The burrowing goby Trypauchen vagina has been reported from Brazil for the first time. This goby occurs naturally in the Indo‐Pacific region, where it is typically found burrowed in the bottom ...substrata of marine or brackish waters. Given its rapid development, extended longevity and multiple spawning cycles, the species is represented by large populations in Asian countries. The authors discuss the occurrence of this species in Brazilian waters and conclude that it was introduced via the ballast water of vessels arriving from Asia. They also compare this exotic taxon with the native Brazilian gobies, including Akko dionaea, Microdesmus and Gobioides, that have burrowing habits.
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Gut content analyses have found that round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) are highly dependent on dreissenid mussels but stable isotope analysis has often suggested that the dreissenid contribution ...is lower. However, estimation of dietary contributions with stable isotopes relies on accurate discrimination factors (fractionation factors). To test if discrimination values commonly used in aquatic food web studies are suitable for round gobies, we collected round gobies from Oneida Lake, raised them for 63 days under four different diets (Chironomus plumosus, Mytilus chilensis, Dreissenia spp., Euphausia superba) and measured the change in white muscle δ13C and δ15N. Gobies were also collected throughout Oneida Lake for gut content and stable isotope analysis. Diets changed as round gobies grew, with small round gobies (17-42mm) feeding mostly on cladocera and chironomids, intermediate sized gobies (43-94mm) transitioning from chironomid to dreissenid consumption, and larger gobies (95-120mm) predominantly consuming dreissenids, similar to findings in other studies. Discrimination factors were obtained by fitting a commonly used asymptotic regression equation describing changes in fish δ13C and δ15N as a function of time and diet stable isotope ratios. The discrimination factor determined for δ13C (-0.4‰ ± 0.32, SE) was lower than the "standard" value of 0.4‰, while that of δ15N (4.0‰ ± 0.32, SE) was higher than the standard value of 3.4‰. Turnover rates for both δ13C and δ15N were estimated as 0.02 ‰*day-1. The use of experimentally determined discrimination factors rather than "standard" values resulted in model estimates that agree more closely with the observed increasing importance of dreissenids in gut content of larger gobies. Our results suggest that the importance of dreissenid mussels inferred from stable isotope studies may be underestimated when using standard isotopic discrimination values.
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With the onset and increasing frequency of multiple disturbances, the recovery potential of critical ecosystem-building species and their mutual symbionts is threatened. Similar effects to both hosts ...and their symbionts following disturbances have been assumed. However, we report unequal declines between hosts and symbionts throughout multiple climate-driven disturbances in reef-building Acropora corals and cryptobenthic coral-dwelling Gobiodon gobies. Communities were surveyed before and after consecutive cyclones (2014, 2015) and heatwaves (2016, 2017). After cyclones, coral diameter and goby group size (i.e., the number of gobies within each coral) decreased similarly by 28-30%. After heatwave-induced bleaching, coral diameter decreased substantially (47%) and gobies mostly inhabited corals singly. Despite several coral species persisting after bleaching, all goby species declined, leaving 78% of corals uninhabited. These findings suggest that gobies, which are important mutual symbionts for corals, are unable to cope with consecutive disturbances. This disproportionate decline could lead to ecosystem-level disruptions through loss of key symbiont services to corals.
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Gobiidae is the most specious fish family in the world with almost 2000 species, however only 11% of them have been described for their larval stages. The entire life cycle information is essential ...to understand the biology and ecology of this important fish group. Previous studies on zooplankton samples from Ensenada de La Paz, Mexico, have shown the presence of several Gobiidae larvae and juveniles which were identified as Evermania zosterura. The main objective of this work was to describe the larval stages of this species, widely distributed in the Eastern tropical Pacific. Our conclusion is that the most useful characters to distinguish this species early-larval stages from those of similar species in the area, are the number of myomeres, the large melanophores (approximately uniformly in size) on the post anal ventral margin, and the elongate internal pigment under the notochord, anterior to the gas bladder.Original Abstract: La familia Gobiidae es la mas diversa de los peces en el mundo con casi 2000 especies, sin embargo solo el 11% de ellos han sido descritos en sus estadios larvarios. El conocimiento del ciclo de vida completo es esencial para entender la biologia y ecologia de este importante grupo de peces. Muestras de zooplancton obtenidas de la Ensenada de La Paz, Mexico, mostraron la presencia de varias larvas y juveniles de Gobiidae, las cuales fueron identificadas como Evermania zosterura. El principal objetivo de este trabajo fue describir los estadios larvarios de esta especie ampliamente distribuida en el Pacifico tropical Oriental. Se describio el desarrollo larvario de E. zosterura con base en 66 especimenes recolectados en la Ensenada de La Paz, Mexico. Solo 53 especimenes se usaron para describir la morfometria y el patron de pigmentacion, mientras que 13 ejemplares transparentados y tenidos se utilizaron para obtener las caracteristicas meristicas. Los especimenes transparentados tuvieron de 30 a 31 vertebras totales; los elementos de las aletas dorsales fueron IV; I, 13-14, los de la aleta anal 1, 13-14 y la mayoria tuvo una formula pterigioforica de 4-111100. La combinacion de estas caracteristicas, confirmo que pertenecen a E. zosterura. El patron de pigmentacion es muy similar a lo largo del desarrollo. Las larvas se caracterizan por tener de tres a cinco melanoforos de tipo dendritico sobre el borde ventral post-anal, de cuatro a nueve melanoforos mas pequenos sobre el borde ventral pre-anal, entre el istmo y el ano, otro melanoforo se presenta a la mitad del margen dorsal de la cola. Hay una pequena mancha de pigmento en el angulo de la maxila y otra en la punta del labio inferior. Hay un pigmento interno alargado por debajo de la notocorda, entre la cabeza y la vejiga natatoria. La flexion de la notocorda se inicia a los 3.5mm BL y termina a los 4.6mm BL; la transformacion al estadio juvenil es cercana a los 13.6mm BL. Nuestra conclusion es que los caracteres mas importantes para distinguir las larvas de esta especie de aquellas similares en el area son el numero de miomeros, los melanoforos grandes (aproximadamente iguales en tamano) en el margen ventral post-anal y el pigmento intemo alargado debajo de la notocorda, anterior a la vejiga gaseosa.
Acoustic communication is an important part of social behaviour of fish species that live or breed in shallow noisy waters. Previous studies have shown that some fish species exploit a quiet window ...in the background noise for communication. However, it remains to be examined if hearing abilities and sound production of fish are adapted to marine habitats presenting high hydrodynamism. Here we investigated whether the communication system of the painted (
and the marbled (
gobies is adapted to enhance sound transmission and reception in Atlantic shallow water environments. We recorded and measured the sound pressure levels of social vocalizations of both species, as well as snapshots of ambient noise of habitats characterised by different hydrodynamism. Hearing thresholds (in terms of both sound pressure and particle acceleration) and responses to conspecific signals were determined using the Auditory Evoked Potential recording technique. We found that the peak frequency range (100-300 Hz) of acoustic signals matched the best hearing sensitivity in both species and appeared well adapted for short-range communication in Atlantic habitats. Sandy/rocky exposed beaches presented a quiet window, observable even during the breaking of moderate waves, coincident with the main sound frequencies and best hearing sensitivities of both species. Our data demonstrates that the hearing abilities of these gobies are well suited to detect conspecific sounds within typical interacting distances (few body-lengths) in Atlantic shallow waters. These findings lend support to the acoustic adaptive hypothesis, under the sensory drive framework, proposing that signals and perception systems coevolve to be effective within local environment constraints.
DNA barcoding enhances the prospects for species-level identifications globally using a standardized and authenticated DNA-based approach. Reference libraries comprising validated DNA barcodes (COI) ...constitute robust datasets for testing query sequences, providing considerable utility to identify marine fish and other organisms. Here we test the feasibility of using DNA barcoding to assign species to tissue samples from fish collected in the central Mediterranean Sea, a major contributor to the European marine ichthyofaunal diversity.
A dataset of 1278 DNA barcodes, representing 218 marine fish species, was used to test the utility of DNA barcodes to assign species from query sequences. We tested query sequences against 1) a reference library of ranked DNA barcodes from the neighbouring North East Atlantic, and 2) the public databases BOLD and GenBank. In the first case, a reference library comprising DNA barcodes with reliability grades for 146 fish species was used as diagnostic dataset to screen 486 query DNA sequences from fish specimens collected in the central basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Of all query sequences suitable for comparisons 98% were unambiguously confirmed through complete match with reference DNA barcodes. In the second case, it was possible to assign species to 83% (BOLD-IDS) and 72% (GenBank) of the sequences from the Mediterranean. Relatively high intraspecific genetic distances were found in 7 species (2.2%-18.74%), most of them of high commercial relevance, suggesting possible cryptic species.
We emphasize the discriminatory power of COI barcodes and their application to cases requiring species level resolution starting from query sequences. Results highlight the value of public reference libraries of reliability grade-annotated DNA barcodes, to identify species from different geographical origins. The ability to assign species with high precision from DNA samples of disparate quality and origin has major utility in several fields, from fisheries and conservation programs to control of fish products authenticity.
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A single specimen (17.0 mm in standard length) of Priolepis goldshmidtae Goren and Baranes, 1995, collected at 120 m depth off Okinawa Island, southern Japan, represents the first record of the ...species from the Pacific Ocean. The species was previously only known from the original description, and being regarded as an endemic Red Sea species.
Otoliths represent a well-established tool to reconstruct bony fish faunas of the past. However, they have remained underexplored in many regions of the world. Here we describe the first ...otolith-based fish fauna from the Neogene of India and the entire Indian Ocean, from the Burdigalian (Quilon Formation) of Kerala, southern India. The faunal composition is dominated by the Apogonidae and Gobiidae. The depositional environment is interpreted as a seagrass meadow in a sheltered back-reef environment, less than 10 m water depth, with no open marine influence, and possibly with mangroves on land. Some shared faunal elements observed in the Gobiidae with the coeval western Tethys and Paratethys suggest a possible faunal exchange during the late stages of the Tethyan Seaway. Coeval faunas from Indonesia (Java and Borneo) also show shared faunal elements, thus indicating that the typical Indo-West Pacific fish fauna was firmly established in the Burdigalian, at least for the Apogonidae and Gobiidae. The Quilon fauna is more diverse in Apogonidae than in any other contemporary region, and this aspect is briefly discussed with respect to the tropical Neogene marine diversity development. A total of 29 otolith-based taxa have been identified in the Quilon Formation, of which the following 11 species are described as new to science:
Jaydia
?
quilonica
,
Siphamia minor
,
Fibramia keralensis
,
Acentrogobius matsya
,
Ancistrogobius indicus
,
Drombus thackerae
,
Gobiodon burdigalicus
,
Amblyeleotris kireedam
,
Fusigobius
?
venadicus
,
Cirripectes biconvexus
, and
Callionymus vyali
.
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Managing eutrophied systems using only nutrient decreases to impose bottom–up control can be economically and ecologically challenging. Top–down controls through increased consumption have sometimes ...effectively controlled phytoplankton blooms. However, mechanistic insights, especially on possible trophic cascades, are less understood in brackish, species‐poor coastal waters, where large cladocera are absent. In this study, we set‐up large mesocosms for three consecutive years during the growing season. One set of mesocosms contained mesopredators (gobies and shrimps), whereas the other mesocosms had no such mesopredator present. The results were standardized to monitoring data from the ecosystem to track possible differences between treatments and the system. We found that mesopredator mesocosms showed lower turbidity, phytoplankton biomass and nutrients compared to no‐mesopredator mesocosms, and compared to the ecosystem. This decrease allowed macrophytes to colonize water depths only sparsely colonized in the ecosystem. Rotifer biomass increased in mesopredator mesocosms compared to the ecosystem and to the no‐mesopredator mesocosms. Likewise, copepod biomass that potentially grazes upon rotifers and other microzooplankton decreased in mesopredator mesocosms. No‐mesopredator mesocosms were colonized by an omnivorous mesograzer Gammarus tigrinus, potentially creating additional pressure on macrophytes and increasing grazing‐mediated nutrient release. Zooplankton was not able to control the non‐nutrient limited phytoplankton. We propose a new mechanism, where a higher mesopredator density will increase grazing on phytoplankton by promoting microzooplankton capable of grazing on picophytoplankton. This proposed mechanism would contrast with freshwater systems, where a decrease of zooplanktivorous fish would promote larger phytoplankton grazer like cladocera. Biomanipulation in such species‐poor eutrophic coastal waters may be more successful, due to less trophic pathways, that can cause complex top–down controls like in other systems. Stocking eutrophic coastal waters with gobies and shrimps may be an alternative biomanipulative approach rather than selectively removing large piscivorous or omnivorous fish from eutrophic coastal waters.
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