The impact of predation on survival of juvenile sea scallops Placopecten magellanicus has important implications for the population dynamics and aquaculture of this species. In field experiments using tethered juvenile scallops, we examined the effect of biological and physical factors, such as prey size, predator and prey densitv, water temperature (season) and site, on mortality rates of scallops in Lunenburg Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. The major predators of juvenile scallops were crabs Cancer irroratus and sea stars Asterias spp. In an experiment manipulating scallop density, crab predation rate increased significantly with scallop density, but crab density did not, suggesting a functional response. Sea star predation rate on scallops was not affected by scallop density. In a series of experiments with different slze classes of scallops tethered at different sites and seasons, and In different densities of surrounding scallops and predators, the effects of covariates on scallop survival times were assessed using the statistical procedure of survival analysis. Since the tethering technique affected crab and sea star predation differently, the competing causes of scallop mortality were analysed separately. Water temperature, site, and scallop density were the important variables affecting crab predation. There was a significant interaction between temperature and site, such that crab predation on scallops increased with temperature at one site and was independent of temperature at the other site. Predation by crabs also increased with scallop density and, to a lesser extent, with crab density. Water temperature and scallop size were the primary variables affecting sea star predation. Sea star predation on scallops increased with temperature and decreased with scallop size. The results of this study suggest options for minimizing predation of scallops by crabs and sea stars in bottom culture operations.

Patterning, cellular differentiation, and developmental sequences of dermal denticles (denticles) are described for the skate Leucoraja erinacea. Development of denticles proceeds caudo-rostrally in the tail and trunk. Once three rows of denticles form in the tail and trunk, denticles begin to appear in the region of the pelvic girdle, medio-caudal to the eyes and on the pectoral fins. Although timing of cellular differentiation of denticles differs among different locations of the body, cellular development of a denticle is identical in all locations. Thickening of the epidermis as a denticle lamina marks initiation of development. A single lamina for each denticle forms, and a small group of mesenchymal cells aggregates underneath it. The lamina then invaginates caudo-rostrally to form the inner-and outer-denticle epithelia (IDE and ODE, respectively). Before nuclei of IDE cells are polarized, enameloid matrix appears between the basement membrane of the IDE and the apical surface of the pre-odontoblasts. Pre-dentin is then laid down along with collagenous materials. Von Kossa stain visualizes initial mineralization of dentin, but not enameloid. During the growth of a denticle, dense fibrous connective tissue of the dermis forms the deep dermal tissue over the dorsal musculature. Attachment fibers and tendons anchor denticles and dorsal musculature, respectively, on deep dermal tissue. Basal tissue of the denticles develops as the denticle crown grows. If the basal tissue is bone of attachment, then the cells along the basal tissue would be osteoblasts. However, these cells could not be distinguished from odontoblasts using immunolocalization of type I pro-collagen (Col I), alkaline phosphatase (APase), and neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM). Well-developed dentin, (not pre-dentin), the enameloid matrix (probably when it begins to mineralize), and deep dermal tissue are Verhoeff stain-positive, suggesting that these tissues contain elastin and/or elastin-like molecules. Our study demonstrates that the cellular development of denticles resembles tooth development in elasmobranchs, but that dermal denticles differ from teeth in forming from a single denticle lamina. Whether the basal tissue of denticles is bone of attachment remains undetermined. Confirmation and function of Verhoeff-positive proteins in enameloid, dentin, and deep dermal tissue remain to be determined. We discuss these issues along with an analysis of recent findings of enamel and enameloid matrices.

This paper describes the development and tissues in mineralized ossicles in the musculature of Perca flavescens infected with metacercariae of the trematode Apophallus brevis. Analysis involved light microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray scanning electron microprobe analysis, and tetracycline labelling. Two to 14 days post-infection, fibroblast-like host cells stream towards the parasite cyst forming a fusiform cellular capsule. By 14 days post-infection the capsule differentiates into an inner hypertrophied layer, an extensive middle layer of fibroblast-like cells, and a thin outer layer of flattened fibroblast-like cells forming a fibrous sheath at the capsule/muscle interface. From 21-35 days post-infection, a bony tissue is deposited periosteally in an equatorial ring around the cyst. With time, additional tissue is secreted over the ring increasing its thickness and advancing the matrix front towards the poles of the ossicle. Plump osteoblast-like cells cover the developing ossicle and may become trapped within the matrix in lacunae encapsulated by collagen. By 63 days post-infection, medium-sized ossicles are morphologically similar to large cysts from perch captured in the wild; ovoid with two polarized canals, but lacking acellular or lamellar bone-like tissue. Mineralized ossicles contain calcium, phosphorus and oxygen. Large ossicles retrieved from perch given multiple doses of tetracycline revealed discrete fluorescent bands, indicative of incremental growth. Fully developed ossicles are composed of two skeletal tissues, an inner region of chondroid bone and an outer region of acellular, lamellar bone.

No abstract

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were exposed to cercariae of Apophallus brevis collected from naturally infected snails and maintained for up to 63 d postinfection (PI). Histochemistry revealed that attachment, penetration, migration, and encystment were complete by 2 d PI. By 14 d PI, a precursor to a host ossicle capsule surrounded the encysted metacercaria. Between 14 and 63 d PI a calcified matrix aggregated in a specific developmental pattern of islets, crescent, band, then ring, within an equatorial band at the cyst–capsule interface. The result was an ossicle ring of calcified tissue separating two uncalcified-matrix poles. Ossicle rings thickened and advanced over the cyst, but did not seal it off completely, forming an intermediate ossicle 49 d PI with two polarized canals. Pigmentation of ossicles through the appearance of melanocytes was not consistent between infections of the same age. Scanning electron microscopy revealed two distinct regions within fully developed ossicles. Randomly distributed interstitial fibres and ovoid and tubular lacunae surrounded by perilacunar collars formed the inner cellular region. The interstitial fibres within the outer region formed acellular/lamellar bands.