Spawning trigger

Last updated

Spawning triggers are environmental cues that cause marine animals to breed. Most commonly they involve sudden changes in the environment, such as changes in temperature, salinity, and/or the abundance of food. Catfish of the genus Corydoras , for example, spawn immediately after heavy rain, the specific cues being an increase in water level and a decrease in temperature. When water levels rise, it allows many fish access to areas further upstream, that are better suited for reproduction, that were not previously accessible. This can be a dangerous strategy, as if they wait too long, they may get trapped in small pockets of water, and die when the levels recede.Discus will breed when the temperature goes up and there is an overabundance of food such as mosquito larvae. Many fish stock up on energy reserves to ensure they make it through this exhausting period that is very hard on their bodies, while others go without eating during the spawning process because they are so focused on their offspring.

Spawning triggers allow many fish to synchronize their breeding, making it more probable that individual fish will find a mate. In most cases, if these triggers were not present, male and female fish would not meet at the right stage and the number of offspring would be reduced. However, many fish do not respond to specific spawning triggers and will breed either constantly (e.g., guppies); at specific times of the year (e.g., grunion); or only at a certain point in their life cycle (e.g., eels). Some fish, like salmon, spend almost their whole life muaturin in the ocean, then swim many miles up their ancestral rivers, to lay their eggs, commonly dying after spawning. though most commonly associated with fish, spawning triggers also occur in bivalves [1] [2] and corals. [3]

In certain cases, aquarists can trigger spawning by duplicating the natural conditions where fish would breed. This can be done at times of the year that is not the same as typical breeding, indoors, fish can be artificially inseminated, etc. All of this is done by mimicking what conditions these fish go through, in the wild, to prepare and partake in the breeding/spawning process. As stated above, these conditions may include rainfall, water level, an abundance of food, and/or salinity of the water.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brackish water</span> Water with salinity between freshwater and seawater

Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater and fresh water together, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root brak. Certain human activities can produce brackish water, in particular civil engineering projects such as dikes and the flooding of coastal marshland to produce brackish water pools for freshwater prawn farming. Brackish water is also the primary waste product of the salinity gradient power process. Because brackish water is hostile to the growth of most terrestrial plant species, without appropriate management it is damaging to the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brine</span> Concentrated solution of salt in water

Brine is water with a high-concentration solution of salt. In diverse contexts, brine may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% up to about 26%. Brine forms naturally due to evaporation of ground saline water but it is also generated in the mining of sodium chloride. Brine is used for food processing and cooking, for de-icing of roads and other structures, and in a number of technological processes. It is also a by-product of many industrial processes, such as desalination, so it requires wastewater treatment for proper disposal or further utilization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern oyster</span> Species of bivalve

The eastern oyster —also called the Atlantic oyster, American oyster, or East Coast oyster—is a species of true oyster native to eastern North and South America. Other names in local or culinary use include the Wellfleet oyster, Virginia oyster, Malpeque oyster, Blue Pointoyster, Chesapeake Bay oyster, and Apalachicola oyster. C. virginica ranges from northern New Brunswick south through parts of the West Indies to Venezuela. It is farmed in all of the Maritime provinces of Canada and all Eastern Seaboard and Gulf states of the United States, as well as Puget Sound, Washington, where it is known as the Totten Inlet Virginica. It was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the 19th century and is common in Pearl Harbor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tide pool</span> Rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater

A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. These pools typically range from a few inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide, as seawater gets trapped when the tide recedes. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. A tidal cycle is usually about 25 hours and consists of one or two high tides and two low tides.

Broodstock, or broodfish, are a group of mature individuals used in aquaculture for breeding purposes. Broodstock can be a population of animals maintained in captivity as a source of replacement for, or enhancement of, seed and fry numbers. These are generally kept in ponds or tanks in which environmental conditions such as photoperiod, temperature and pH are controlled. Such populations often undergo conditioning to ensure maximum fry output. Broodstock can also be sourced from wild populations where they are harvested and held in maturation tanks before their seed is collected for grow-out to market size or the juveniles returned to the sea to supplement natural populations. This method, however, is subject to environmental conditions and can be unreliable seasonally, or annually. Broodstock management can improve seed quality and number through enhanced gonadal development and fecundity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convict cichlid</span> Species of fish

The convict cichlid is a fish species from the family Cichlidae, native to Central America, also known as the zebra cichlid. Convict cichlids are popular aquarium fish and have also been the subject of numerous studies on fish behaviour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishkeeping</span> Practice of containing fish

Fishkeeping is a popular hobby, practiced by aquarists, concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a piscicultural fishkeeping industry, serving as a branch of agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nursery habitat</span> Marine environment

In marine environments, a nursery habitat is a subset of all habitats where juveniles of a species occur, having a greater level of productivity per unit area than other juvenile habitats. Mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass are typical nursery habitats for a range of marine species. Some species will use nonvegetated sites, such as the yellow-eyed mullet, blue sprat and flounder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fish hatchery</span> Aquaculture facility

A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular. Hatcheries produce larval and juvenile fish, shellfish, and crustaceans, primarily to support the aquaculture industry where they are transferred to on-growing systems, such as fish farms, to reach harvest size. Some species that are commonly raised in hatcheries include Pacific oysters, shrimp, Indian prawns, salmon, tilapia and scallops.

<i>Mayaheros urophthalmus</i> A species of large cichlid, indigenous to Middle America, with a tail eye spot.

Mayaheros urophthalmus, also known as the Mayan cichlid or Mexican mojarra is a species of cichlid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European flounder</span> Species of fish

The European flounder is a flatfish of European coastal waters from the White Sea in the north to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south. It has been introduced into the United States and Canada accidentally through transport in ballast water. It is caught and used for human consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldfish</span> Freshwater fish, common in aquariums

The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have become an invasive pest in parts of North America and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spawn (biology)</span> Eggs and sperm released into water

Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, to spawn refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water ; the physical act is known as spawning. The vast majority of aquatic and amphibious animals reproduce through spawning. These include the following groups:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet goby</span> Species of fish

The violet goby is a species of goby native to marine, fresh and brackish waters near the Atlantic coast of North and South America from South Carolina in the United States of America, to northern Brazil. It prefers bays, estuaries and river mouths with muddy substrates. It is often marketed as the dragon goby or dragon fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Cloud Mountain minnow</span> Species of freshwater fish

The White Cloud Mountain minnow is a hardy species of freshwater fish and coldwater fish often kept in an aquarium. The species is a member of the carp family of the order Cypriniformes, native to China. The White Cloud Mountain minnow is practically extinct in its native habitat, due to pollution and tourism. It was believed to be extinct for over 20 years in 1980, but an apparently native population of this fish was discovered on Hainan Island, well away from the White Cloud Mountain. They are bred in farms and are easily available through the aquarium trade. However, inbreeding in farms has led to genetically weak stock that is vulnerable to disease and prone to physical deformities.

Flexible or opportunistic breeders mate whenever the conditions of their environment become favorable. Their ability and motivation to mate are primarily independent of day-length (photoperiod) and instead rely on cues from short-term changes in local conditions like rainfall, food abundance and temperature. Another factor is the presence of suitable breeding sites, which may only form with heavy rain or other environmental changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert pupfish</span> Species of fish

The desert pupfish is a rare species of bony fish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is a small fish, typically less than 7.62 cm (3 in) in length. Males are generally larger than females, and have bright-blue coloration, while females and juveniles are silvery or tan. A notable attribute of the desert pupfish is their ability to survive in environments of extreme salinity, pH, and temperature, and low oxygen content. The desert pupfish mates in a characteristic fashion, wherein compatible males and females will come in contact and collectively jerk in an s-shape. Each jerk typically produces a single egg that is fertilized by the male and deposited in his territory. Breeding behavior includes aggressive arena-breeding and more docile consort-pair breeding.

The match/mismatch hypothesis (MMH) was first described by David Cushing. The MMH "seeks to explain recruitment variation in a population by means of the relation between its phenology—the timing of seasonal activities such as flowering or breeding - and that of species at the immediate lower level". In essence, it is a measure of reproductive success due to how well the phenology of the prey overlaps with key periods of predator demand. In ecological studies, a few examples include timing and extent of overlap of avian reproduction with the annual phenology of their primary prey items, the interactions between herring fish reproduction and copepod spawning, the relationship between winter moth egg hatching and the timing of oak bud bursting, and the relationship between herbivore reproductive phenology with pulses in nutrients in vegetation

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fish:

Saltwater fish, also called marine fish or sea fish, are fish that live in seawater. Saltwater fish can swim and live alone or in a large group called a school.

References

  1. Bernard, I; Massabuau, J-C; Ciret, P.; Sow, M; Sottolichio, A.; Pouvreau, S; Tran, D (2016). "In situ spawning in a marine broadcast spawner, the Pacific oyster Crassostrea Gigas: Timing and environmental triggers". Limnology and Oceanography. 61 (2): 635–647. Bibcode:2016LimOc..61..635B. doi: 10.1002/lno.10240 . JSTOR   26628439. S2CID   53463761.
  2. Reuter, Kim E.; Levitan, Don R. (2010). "Influence of Sperm and Phytoplankton on Spawning in the Echinoid Lytechinus variegatus". The Biological Bulletin. 219 (3): 198–206. doi:10.1086/BBLv219n3p198. PMID   21183441. S2CID   16637278.
  3. Mullius, Susan (12 March 2011). "Blue twilight may trigger spawning". Science News. 179 (6): 10. doi:10.1002/scin.5591790609 . Retrieved 13 March 2021.