Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay
Maintaining optimal visual performance is a difficult task in the photodynamic coastal and estuarine waters in which western North Atlantic sciaenid fishes support substantial commercial and recreational fisheries. Unavoidable tradeoffs exist between visual sensitivity and resolution, yet sciaenid v...
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ftwilliammarycol:oai:scholarworks.wm.edu:vimsarticles-1977 2023-06-11T04:14:56+02:00 Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay Horodysky, AZ Brill, Richard Warrant, EJ Musick, JA Latour, RJ 2008-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/977 doi: 10.1242/jeb.023358 https://scholarworks.wm.edu/context/vimsarticles/article/1977/viewcontent/3601.full.pdf unknown W&M ScholarWorks https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/977 doi: 10.1242/jeb.023358 https://scholarworks.wm.edu/context/vimsarticles/article/1977/viewcontent/3601.full.pdf VIMS Articles Coral-Reef Fishes Spectral Sensitivity Sea Fishes Critical Illumination Environmental Light Sensory Development Underwater Light Teleost Fishes Pigments Marine Fisheries Science Peer-Reviewed Articles Aquaculture and Fisheries text 2008 ftwilliammarycol https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.023358 2023-05-04T17:57:23Z Maintaining optimal visual performance is a difficult task in the photodynamic coastal and estuarine waters in which western North Atlantic sciaenid fishes support substantial commercial and recreational fisheries. Unavoidable tradeoffs exist between visual sensitivity and resolution, yet sciaenid visual systems have not been characterized despite strong species-specific ecomorphological and microhabitat differentiation. We therefore used electroretinographic techniques to describe the light sensitivities, temporal properties, and spectral characteristics of the visual systems of five sciaenids common to Chesapeake Bay, USA: weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) and spot (Leiostomus xanthurus). Benthic sciaenids exhibited higher sensitivities and broader dynamic ranges in white light V/logI experiments than more pelagic forms. Sensitivities of the former were at the lower (more sensitive) end of an emerging continuum for coastal fishes. Flicker fusion frequency experiments revealed significant interspecific differences at maximum intensities that correlated with lifestyle and habitat, but no specific differences at dimmer intensities. Spectral responses of most sciaenids spanned 400-610 nm, with significant diel differences in weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Weakfish, a crepuscular predator, also responded to ultraviolet wavelengths; this characteristic may be more useful under less turbid conditions. Collectively, these results suggest that sciaenids are well adapted to the dynamic photoclimate of the coastal and estuarine waters they inhabit. However, the recent anthropogenic degradation of water quality in coastal environments, at a pace faster than the evolution of visual systems, has amplified the importance of characterizing visual function in managed aquatic fauna. Text North Atlantic Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus W&M ScholarWorks Journal of Experimental Biology 211 22 3601 3612 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
W&M ScholarWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftwilliammarycol |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Coral-Reef Fishes Spectral Sensitivity Sea Fishes Critical Illumination Environmental Light Sensory Development Underwater Light Teleost Fishes Pigments Marine Fisheries Science Peer-Reviewed Articles Aquaculture and Fisheries |
spellingShingle |
Coral-Reef Fishes Spectral Sensitivity Sea Fishes Critical Illumination Environmental Light Sensory Development Underwater Light Teleost Fishes Pigments Marine Fisheries Science Peer-Reviewed Articles Aquaculture and Fisheries Horodysky, AZ Brill, Richard Warrant, EJ Musick, JA Latour, RJ Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay |
topic_facet |
Coral-Reef Fishes Spectral Sensitivity Sea Fishes Critical Illumination Environmental Light Sensory Development Underwater Light Teleost Fishes Pigments Marine Fisheries Science Peer-Reviewed Articles Aquaculture and Fisheries |
description |
Maintaining optimal visual performance is a difficult task in the photodynamic coastal and estuarine waters in which western North Atlantic sciaenid fishes support substantial commercial and recreational fisheries. Unavoidable tradeoffs exist between visual sensitivity and resolution, yet sciaenid visual systems have not been characterized despite strong species-specific ecomorphological and microhabitat differentiation. We therefore used electroretinographic techniques to describe the light sensitivities, temporal properties, and spectral characteristics of the visual systems of five sciaenids common to Chesapeake Bay, USA: weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) and spot (Leiostomus xanthurus). Benthic sciaenids exhibited higher sensitivities and broader dynamic ranges in white light V/logI experiments than more pelagic forms. Sensitivities of the former were at the lower (more sensitive) end of an emerging continuum for coastal fishes. Flicker fusion frequency experiments revealed significant interspecific differences at maximum intensities that correlated with lifestyle and habitat, but no specific differences at dimmer intensities. Spectral responses of most sciaenids spanned 400-610 nm, with significant diel differences in weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Weakfish, a crepuscular predator, also responded to ultraviolet wavelengths; this characteristic may be more useful under less turbid conditions. Collectively, these results suggest that sciaenids are well adapted to the dynamic photoclimate of the coastal and estuarine waters they inhabit. However, the recent anthropogenic degradation of water quality in coastal environments, at a pace faster than the evolution of visual systems, has amplified the importance of characterizing visual function in managed aquatic fauna. |
format |
Text |
author |
Horodysky, AZ Brill, Richard Warrant, EJ Musick, JA Latour, RJ |
author_facet |
Horodysky, AZ Brill, Richard Warrant, EJ Musick, JA Latour, RJ |
author_sort |
Horodysky, AZ |
title |
Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay |
title_short |
Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay |
title_full |
Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay |
title_fullStr |
Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay |
title_full_unstemmed |
Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay |
title_sort |
comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting chesapeake bay |
publisher |
W&M ScholarWorks |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/977 https://scholarworks.wm.edu/context/vimsarticles/article/1977/viewcontent/3601.full.pdf |
genre |
North Atlantic Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus |
op_source |
VIMS Articles |
op_relation |
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/977 doi: 10.1242/jeb.023358 https://scholarworks.wm.edu/context/vimsarticles/article/1977/viewcontent/3601.full.pdf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.023358 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Biology |
container_volume |
211 |
container_issue |
22 |
container_start_page |
3601 |
op_container_end_page |
3612 |
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1768371339245125632 |