The ecological consequences of storage allocation was studied in the euryhaline topminnow Poecilia latipinna, the sailfin molly. In the first study, fish raised in the laboratories at different temperatures had the highest triacylglycerol levels in the liver and viscera. Liver and testis size were greater in fish from the cold rearing. These effects of juvenile history on tissue size were permanent. In the second study, phenotypic plasticity of tissue biomass and storage level was measured in fish reared under different environmental conditions. Liver-viscera mass was larger, but testis mass smaller in fish reared at 23$\sp\circ$C, and the opposite pattern occurred for fish reared at 29$\sp\circ$C. Triacylglycerol level and content were affected by a population by temperature interaction. Finally, whether differences in resource allocation produce differences in fitness was tested by coupling manipulations of resource allocation in the sailfin molly to field measurements of its fitness. In experiment 1, with a longer photoperiod, fish from the high food level grew the most, and larger fish grew less than smaller fish. Fish from the high food level had the highest storage level, fish from the low food level the least, and untreated fish had an intermediate level. Gonad mass was greatest for fish on the high food level. Food level and size class interacted to affect survivorship in the freshwater pond. Storage level decreased over the winter, and differences caused by the food treatment persisted. In experiment 2, with a shorter photoperiod, fish from the high food level grew the most, and the larger fish grew the least, but there was also an interaction between food level and size class. Fish on the high food level had a greater storage level than the low food level and untreated fish, which had the same storage levels. Fish on the high food level had / greater liver-viscera and soma masses than the low food level and the untreated fish. The acute mortality in the freshwater pond was not related to storage. Storage levels declined in all fish in the saltwater pond over the winter, but the storage differences caused by the food treatment persisted. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: B, page: 6031. / Major Professor: Joseph Travis. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77075 |
| Contributors | McManus, Michael Gerard., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 189 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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