JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.Abstract. Feeding strategies of the little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus, were investigated in southern New Hampshire USA from early May through late August 1974. Nightly food consumption was estimated by comparing mean prefeeding body weights with postfeeding weights taken as individuals returned to the roost from their first feeding period (at 2200 to 2400 h) and from a subsequent foraging period (at 0330 to 0500 h). Pregnant bats consumed an average of 2.5 g of insects (2.72 kJ/g prefeeding body weight) nightly, lactating females ate 3.7 g (4.23 kJ/g), and juveniles ingested 1.8 g (2.47 kJ/g). Increased food consumption in lactating bats accommodated reproductive energy demands and was facilitated by rising food availability. Increasing levels of independent food consumption in juveniles accompanied weaning.Fecal analysis revealed that diets of individual bats were diverse. All available insects 3 to 10 mm in body length were accepted as food items. Nematoceran Diptera were by far the most common insects taken in light-trap samples, and constituted a major portion of the diet throughout the summer. Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Ephemeroptera, and Neuroptera were also consumed in appreciable numbers.Comparison of dietary composition with prey availability indicates that pregnant bats consumed 3-10 mm prey in approximate proportions encountered during June, when insect availability was low and unpredictable. However, lactating, postlactating, and nonreproductive Y Y exhibited more selective feeding in July, when insects were more abundant. This increase in selectivity reflected exploitation of beetles and mayflies, which were uncommon in trap samples. In August, juveniles approximated random feeding patterns, as they learned to forage. We suggest that increased resource availability allowed selective feeding in adult bats during July, as predicted by prey selection models. However, reduced discriminatory abilities may prevent similar levels of prey selection in juveniles.

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The insectivorous bat Myotis lucifugus typically apportions the night into two foraging periods separated by an interval of night roosting. During this interval, many bats occupy roosts that are used exclusively at night and are spatially separate from maternity roosts. The proportion of the night which bats spend roosting, and thus the proportion spent foraging, vary both daily and seasonally in relation to the reproductive condition of the bats, prey density, and ambient temperature. A single, continuous night roosting period is observed during pregnancy. During lactation, females return to maternity roosts between foraging bouts, and night roosts are used only briefly and sporadically. Maximum use of night roosts occurs in late summer after young become volant. Superimposed upon these seasonal trends is day-to-day variation in the bats' nightly time budget. Long night roosting periods and short foraging periods are associated with cool nights and low prey density. This behavioral response may minimize energetic losses during periods of food scarcity.

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Acrolein was examined as an alternative fixative to formaldehyde for immunocytochemical localization of neuropeptides in the rat brain. A brief (5 min) vascular perfusion with a 5% acrolein solution allowed the identification of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), somatostatin (SRIF), neurotensin (NT), methionine enkephalin (Menk), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) in fibers and perikarya within the central nervous system of the rat using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique. Acrolein appears to be particularly valuable for immunocytochemistry, as it 1) stabilizes heterogeneous peptides and proteins rapidly and effectively, 2) retains antigenicity, and 3) preserves morphological detail.

The role of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in mammalian reproduction has been studied extensively; however, the role of a structurally different, but related, decapeptide is not well characterized in the most primitive class of vertebrates, Agnatha. Utilizing an antiserum directed to the recently characterized lamprey GnRH, we examined immunoreactive neuronal perikarya and nerve fibers in sections from the brain of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, using the unlabeled peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. Neuronal perikarya and fibers were immunopositive with antisera generated to lamprey GnRH and also to certain antisera generated to mammalian GnRH. Immunopositive neuronal perikarya were detected in an arc-shaped population extending from ventral to dorsal preoptic areas. Fibers from these cells projected to the neurohypophysis via the preoptico-hypophyseal tract, but in addition also protruded into the third ventricle. Additionally, some fibers coursed along the external surface of the brain, and may also release GnRH into meningeal compartments. The presence of fully processed, mature decapeptide is indicated within neuronal perikarya, as well as in projecting nerve fibers and terminals. No reaction product was detected in sections incubated with an antiserum to the interior amino acid sequences of mammalian LHRH. This finding supports the structure reported for lamprey GnRH by Sherwood et al. (1986).

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LRH) may be synthesized as part of a larger prohormone, as are several other neuropeptides. In this study, we sought not only to define the distribution and morphological characteristics of LRH neurons within the human preoptic area and hypothalamus, but also to identify sites of initial synthesis, posttranslational conversion to the decapeptide, and storage of LRH in these neurons. Immunoreactive molecular forms were differentiated using a series of antisera with distinct specificities in the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique. These antisera were capable of detecting the fully processed hormone as well as extended decapeptide sequences. Immunopositive LRH neurons were more abundant in the infundibular area of the hypothalamus than in the preoptic area. Numbers of immunopositive perikarya and subcellular distribution of reaction product varied with binding requirements of the antisera. After treatment with an antiserum that requires the fully processed decapeptide for binding, the reaction product was associated almost entirely with granules in perikarya and processes, while very little was associated with either rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) or Golgi apparatus. In contrast, with an antiserum capable of detecting extended forms of the decapeptide, the RER and Golgi were labeled in addition to granules. From these data, we infer that in humans, mature decapeptide is present in granules within LRH neuronal perikarya and processes. Furthermore, the molecular forms associated with RER and Golgi may be precursors in which the decapeptide sequence is extended.

To characterize the nature of CRF-like immunoreactivity (CRF-LI) in the dog adrenal, adrenal medullary, adrenal cortical, or hypothalamic tissue was extracted and subjected to RIA after partial purification on C-18 cartridges or Sephadex G-50. Using N- and C-terminal-directed antisera against rat/human (r/h) CRF, significant levels of CRF-LI were found in the adrenal medulla and hypothalamus, but not in the adrenal cortex. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed that CRF-immunoreactive cells were located in the adrenal medulla, many of them concentrated in the vicinity of blood vessels and at the border between adrenal medulla and cortex. However, the cortex was devoid of any CRF-positive cells. On reverse phase HPLC, CRF-LI in the adrenal medulla coeluted with synthetic r/hCRF. In a bioassay system, using dispersed rat anterior pituitary cells, purified adrenal CRF caused a dose-dependent increase in ACTH secretion parallel to the r/hCRF standard, indicating that dog adrenal medulla contains authentic r/hCRF. Evidence of CRF-LI secretion from the adrenal was supported by its presence in adrenal venous, but not in peripheral arterial, plasma. Adrenal venous plasma CRF-LI coeluted with r/hCRF on reverse phase HPLC after affinity chromatographic purification. The CRF-LI secretory rate in conscious trained dogs was 68 +/- 19 pg/min (concentration, 27 +/- 5 pg/ml). In response to 20% hemorrhage, the CRF-LI secretion rate rose 3-fold within 15 min and was associated with increased catecholamine secretion. The existence of a biologically active CRF-like substance in the dog adrenal medulla and its secretion in conjunction with catecholamines after a hemorrhage suggest a physiological role for this peptide other than pituitary or central nervous system regulation.