Response of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) populations to seasonally unpredictable perturbations

Technical Report · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6507706· OSTI ID:6507706

Horn, M J; Stewart, A J

Many questions remain unresolved about the linkages between life history attributes of fishes and the tactics that these organisms employ in response to environmental uncertainty. Such questions include (1). If a perturbation affects the entire ecosystem, what are the consequences for a given population of fish (2) What tactics can a fish employ to increase its chances of leaving offspring (3) Do fish respond differently to such perturbations depending on the season (4) How do these changes relate to the overall resilience of the population The research reported here was designed to address such questions. Mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) populations in thirteen experimental ponds at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were sampled ten times between June 1988, and July 1989 in response to a series of chemical disturbances. During each sampling period the population size and total biomass of Gambusia in each pond was estimated using photographs and a length weight regression. Size-frequency histograms were used to examine seasonal and dose-related changes in population structure. Lipid content and reproductive allotment were measured for a series of fish from each pond on all dates to explore the energy allocation patterns at the individual. 106 refs., 38 figs., 16 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6507706
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-11469; ON: DE91001011
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550100 -- Behavioral Biology
560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AROMATICS
COMPETITION
CORRELATIONS
FISHES
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
LIPIDS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORNL
PHENOLS
POPULATION DYNAMICS
POPULATIONS
REPRODUCTION
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
TOXICITY
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VARIATIONS
VERTEBRATES