We investigated the use of the pelvic fins for locomotion along the bottom in the little skate, Leucoraja erinacea by video recording locomotor behavior of skates both in the field and in captivity and by examining various anatomical preparations of their pelvic fins. An external notch or concavity in the lateral margin of the pelvic fins partially separates each fin into anterior and posterior lobes. The skeletal elements and musculature of the anterior lobe are highly modified and comprise a functionally distinct appendage (the crus) that possesses three flexible joints. Locomotion of skates along the bottom is almost always due to the exclusive activity of the crura of the pelvic fins pushing off the substrate synchronously to generate thrust. The skate then glides through the water a short distance as the crura are repositioned for the next thrust phase. This type of thrust and glide locomotion is called punting. We conclude that punting is a significant form of locomotion suited to the benthic lifestyle of skates.

The central projections of first-order lateral line and octavus nerve afferents of the clearnose skate, Raja eglanteria, were determined by nerve degeneration and horseradish peroxidase techniques. The octavolateralis area of the medulla, which receives these afferents, is organized into dorsal, intermediate, and ventral longitudinal columns of cells and neuropil. Fibers that innervate the electroreceptive sense organs enter the dorsal longitudinal column via the dorsal root of the anterior lateral line nerve and terminate within the dorsal nucleus. Mechanoreceptive fibers from neuromasts of the head and trunk are carried by the ventral root of the anterior lateral line nerve and posterior lateral line nerve, respectively. Both nerves enter the intermediate longitudinal column and terminate throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the intermediate nucleus. Fibers of the ventral root of the anterior lateral line nerve are confined to the medial portion of the intermediate nucleus and posterior lateral line nerve fibers to the lateral portion. In addition, ascending mechanoreceptive fibers from both head and trunk neuromasts project to the vestibulolateral lobe of the cerebellum. Octavus nerve afferents enter the medulla and terminate primarily within the four octaval nuclei that comprise the ventral longitudinal column. Rostrocaudally, these nuclei are the anterior, magnocellular, descending, and posterior octaval nuclei. A few ascending axons continue beyond the anterior octaval nucleus and course to the vestibulolateral lobe of the cerebellum. Some descending axons emanate from the descending octaval nucleus and course to the reticular formation and intermediate nucleus. Therefore, electroreceptive lateral line, mechanoreceptive lateral line, and octavus nerve afferents project ipsilaterally and terminate predominantly within separate medullary nuclei. The significance of octavus nerve projections to the intermediate nucleus and overlap of mechanoreceptive and octavus afferents within the vestibulolateral lobe of the cerebellum cannot be determined until it is known which fibers of the inner ear sense organs project to these areas. Retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase results in the labeling of large multipolar cells, both ipsilaterally and contralaterally, within a column of gray that lies dorsolateral to the reticular formation. These cells are interpreted as the cell of origin of the efferent components of the anterior and posterior lateral line nerves.

Landings of the little skate, Leucoraja erinacea, within the territorial waters of the United States are currently regulated by a federal fishery management plan (FMP). For a FMP to be effective, thorough knowledge of a species' reproductive biology is essential. Currently, little information exists on annual fecundity, egg case viability, gestation length, and neonate total length, for the little skate in the Gulf of Maine. To study these reproductive parameters, mature skates and egg cases were housed in fiberglass tanks with an open seawater system that provided natural, seasonal fluctuations in water temperature. Egg case deposition was highest during summer months with a seasonal peak in June. Of the 324 egg cases laid by seven females (c. 46 eggs per year, per female), 74.1% were viable. Gestation lengths ranged from 22 to 54 weeks throughout the four seasons. Egg cases laid in the fall had the longest gestation times (44.9 weeks,±0.13 weeks) and those laid in the spring had the shortest gestation times (24.5 weeks,±0.21 weeks). Total lengths of neonates from spring oviposition were statistically the longest (10.74±0.05 cm) when compared to neonates from other seasons; however, egg viability was statistically the lowest for spring when compared seasonally.

The effects of an opioid agonist, [d-Ala2]methionine enkephalinamide (DAME), administered into the rostral ventrolateral medulla (rVLM) or caudal ventrolateral medulla (cVLM) on cardiovascular responses to isometric muscle contraction were determined in anesthetized rats. A 30-s contraction evoked by tibial nerve stimulation increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) by 34 ± 6 mmHg and 40 ± 7 beats/min, respectively, with a developed tension of 322 ± 30 g, after bilateral insertion of microdialysis probes into the rVLM. Thirty-minute dialysis of DAME (10 and 100 μM) attenuated the contraction-evoked cardiovascular changes dose dependently (10 μM: MAP = 25 ± 4 mmHg, HR = 27 ± 3 beats/min, tension = 333 ± 25 g; 100 μM: MAP = 14 ± 4 mmHg, HR = 16 ± 5 beats/min, tension = 330 ± 34 g). Preadministration of an opioid antagonist, naloxone (100 μM), augmented contraction-evoked MAP and HR responses and blocked effects of 100 μM DAME. Microdialysis of DAME into the cVLM produced no changes in the pressor response to contraction. At end of each experiment, tibial nerve stimulation after neuromuscular blockade evoked no MAP or HR change. Results demonstrate that opioid receptor activation within the rVLM modulates cardiovascular responses to isometric muscle contraction.

No abstract