Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T16:17:02.924Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Observation of the presence of crypsis in white mullet Mugil curema (Pisces: Mugilidae) juveniles under artificial rearing conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2018

Ana L. Ibáñez*
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186. CP 09340, Ciudad de México, México
Diana Y. Montero
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186. CP 09340, Ciudad de México, México
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Ana L. Ibáñez Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186. CP 09340, Ciudad de México, México e-mail: ana@xanum.uam.mx

Abstract

This study documents the presence of crypsis in Mugil curema juveniles under laboratory culture. Initially, the juveniles were located in one brown tank (BT1), later almost half of the individuals were placed in a white tank (WT) where they showed a pigmentation change to white. After being moved to another brown tank (BT2), the juveniles changed to their brown original colour, but kept a few small white spots on the dorsal axis of the body. The ventral head melanophore pattern also changed in the white specimens. Temperature (°C), oxygen (mg l−1) and Illuminance light (Lux m−2), total length (mm) and total weight (g) were determined by tank. Chromaticity was measured in L*(relative luminance) a*(measurement relating to the redness or greenness of the light) b*(measurement relating to the yellowness or blueness of the light) coordinates where all three values are required to completely describe an object’s colour. One-way ANOVA showed no differences for temperature, oxygen and illuminance light among tanks. Length and weight were similar for BT1 and WT but both were different from BT2. The white juveniles depicted similar L* as the WT background as well as the dorsal area of the brown pigmentation and converted juveniles to the brown tanks BT1 and BT2, respectively. Therefore, the fish's body relative luminance matches the background. To our knowledge this behaviour has not been reported before for any fish mullet either cultured or living in the wild.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alvarez-Lajonchere, L.S. (1976) Contribución al estudio del ciclo de vida de Mugil curema Valenciennes in Cuvier et Valenciennes, 1836 (Pisces: Mugilidae). Revista de Investigaciones Marinas 28, 1130.Google Scholar
Brady, P.C., Gilerson, A.A., Kattawar, G.W., Sullivan, J.M., Twardowski, M.S., Dierssen, H.M., Gao, M., Travis, K.A., Etheredge, R.I., Tonizzo, A., Ibrahim, A., Carrizo, C., Gu, Y., Russell, B.J., Mislinski, K., Zhao, S. and Cummings, M.E. (2015) Open-ocean fish reveal an omnidirectional solution to camouflage in polarized environments. Science 350, 965969. doi: 10.1126/science.aad5284.Google Scholar
Brady, P.C., Travis, K.A., Maginnisb, T. and Cummings, M.E. (2013) Polaro-cryptic mirror of the lookdown as a biological model for open ocean camouflage. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 110, 97649769. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1222125110.Google Scholar
Cambrony, M. (1984) Identification et périodicité du recrutement des juvéniles de Mugilidae dans les étangs littoraux du Languedoc-Roussillon. Vie Milieu 34, 221227.Google Scholar
Cheney, K.L. and Marshall, N.J. (2009) Mimicry in coral reef fish: how accurate is this deception in terms of color and luminance? Behavioral Ecology 20, 459468. doi: 10.1093/beheco/arp017.Google Scholar
Duarte, R.C., Flores, A.V. and Stevens, M. (2017) Camouflage through colour change: mechanisms, adaptive value and ecological significance. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 372, 20160342. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0342.Google Scholar
Eriksson, M.O.G. (1985) Prey detectability for fish-eating birds in relation to fish density and water transparency. Ornis Scandinavica 16, 17.Google Scholar
Fischer, W., Krupp, F., Schneides, W., Sommer, C., Carpenter, K.E. and Niem, U.H. (1995) Guía FAO para la identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Pacífico Centro Oriental. Roma, Parte 2 Vol. III, 1201–1813.Google Scholar
Harrison, I.J. (2002) Mugilidae. In Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes, Volume 2. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Special Publication No. 5. Rome: FAO, pp. 10711085.Google Scholar
Harrison, I.J., Nirchio, M., Oliveira, C., Ron, E. and Gaviria, J. (2007) A new species of mullet (Teleostei: Mugilidae) from Venezuela, with a discussion on the taxonomy of Mugil gaimardianus. Journal of Fish Biology 71(Suppl. A), 7697. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2007.01520.xGoogle Scholar
Ibáñez-Aguirre, A.L. (1993) Coexistence of Mugil cephalus and M. curema in a coastal lagoon in the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Fish Biology 42, 959961. ISSN: .Google Scholar
Ibáñez-Aguirre, A.L. and Gallardo-Cabello, M. (2004) Reproduction of Mugil cephalus and M. curema (Pisces: Mugilidae) from a coastal lagoon to the northwest of the Gulf of Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science 75, 3749.Google Scholar
Ibáñez-Aguirre, A.L., Gallardo-Cabello, M. and Chiappa-Carrara, X. (1999) Growth analysis of striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, and white mullet, M. curema (Pisces: Mugilidae) in the Gulf of Mexico. Fishery Bulletin 97, 861872.Google Scholar
Johnsen, S. (2003) Lifting the cloak of invisibility: the effects of changing optical conditions on pelagic crypsis. Integrative and Comparative Biology 43, 580590. doi: 10.1093/icb/43.4.580.Google Scholar
Koutrakis, E. (2016) Biology and ecology of fry and juveniles of Mugilidae. In Crosetti, D. and Blaber, S.J.M. (eds) Biology, ecology and culture of grey mullets (Mugilidae). Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis, pp. 264292.Google Scholar
Minos, G., Katselis, G., Ondrias, I. and Harrison, I.J. (2002) Use of melanophore patterns on the ventral side of the head to identify fry of grey mullet (Teleostei: Mugilidae). Israeli Journal of Aquaculture–Bamidgeh 54, 1226.Google Scholar
Northmore, D., Volkmann, F.C. and Yager, D. (1978) Vision in fishes: color and pattern. In Mostofsky, D.I. (ed.) The behavior of fish and other aquatic animals. New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Pacheco-Almanzar, E., Simons, J., Espinosa-Pérez, H., Chiappa-Carrara, X. and Ibáñez, A.L. (2016) Can the name Mugil cephalus (Pisces: Mugilidae) be used for the species occurring in the north western Atlantic? Zootaxa 4109, 381390. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4109.3.8.Google Scholar
Powles, H. (1981) Distribution and movements of neustonic young of estuarine dependent (Mugil spp., Pomatomus saltatrix) and estuary independent (Coryphaena spp.) fishes off the southeastern United States. Rapports et Proces-verbaux des Réunions. Conseil International pour l’Éxploration de la Mer 178, 207209.Google Scholar
Reay, P.J. and Cornell, V. (1988) Identification of grey mullet (Teleostei: Mugilidae) juveniles from British waters. Journal of Fish Biology 32, 9599.Google Scholar
Ruxton, G.D., Sheratt, T.N. and Speed, M.P. (2004) Avoiding attack: the evolutionary ecology of crypsis, warning signals and mimicry. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Stevens, M. (2007) Predator perception and the interrelation between different forms of protective coloration. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 274, 1457–1146.Google Scholar
Sumner, F.B. (1934) Does protective coloration protect? Results from some experiments with fishes and birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 20, 559564.Google Scholar
Thomson, J.M. (1997) The Mugilidae of the world. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 41, 457562.Google Scholar
Wente, W.H. and Phillips, J.B. (2003) Fixed green and brown color morphs and a novel color-changing morph of the Pacific tree frog Hyla regilla. American Naturalist 162, 461473.Google Scholar
Yonemura, G.T. (1970) Opponent-color-theory treatment of Cie 1960 (U, V) diagram – chromaticness difference and constant-hue loci. Journal of the Optical Society of America 60, 14071409.Google Scholar
Zismann, L. (1981) Means of identification of grey mullet fry for culture. In Oren, O.H. (ed.) Aquaculture of grey mullets. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 155184.Google Scholar