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Circadian Rhythms of Retinomotor Movement in a Marine Megapredator, the Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus

Many ecologically and economically important marine fish species worldwide spend portions of their lives in coastal regions that are increasingly inundated by artificial light at night. However, while extensive research illustrates the harmful effects of inappropriate light exposure on biological ti...

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Autores principales: Kopperud, Kristin L., Grace, Michael S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5666750/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28956858
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms18102068
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author Kopperud, Kristin L.
Grace, Michael S.
author_facet Kopperud, Kristin L.
Grace, Michael S.
author_sort Kopperud, Kristin L.
collection PubMed
description Many ecologically and economically important marine fish species worldwide spend portions of their lives in coastal regions that are increasingly inundated by artificial light at night. However, while extensive research illustrates the harmful effects of inappropriate light exposure on biological timing in humans, rodents and birds, comparable studies on marine fish are virtually nonexistent. This study aimed to assess the effects of light on biological clock function in the marine fish retina using the Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) as a model. Using anti-opsin immunofluorescence, we observed robust rhythms of photoreceptor outer segment position (retinomotor movement) over the course of the daily light–dark cycle: cone outer segments were contracted toward the inner retina and rods were elongated during the day; the opposite occurred at night. Phase shifting the daily light–dark cycle caused a corresponding shift of retinomotor movement timing, and cone retinomotor movement persisted in constant darkness, indicating control by a circadian clock. Constant light abolished retinomotor movements of both photoreceptor types. Thus, abnormally-timed light exposure may disrupt normal M. atlanticus clock function and harm vision, which in turn may affect prey capture and predator avoidance. These results should help inform efforts to mitigate the effects of coastal light pollution on organisms in marine ecosystems.
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spelling pubmed-56667502017-11-09 Circadian Rhythms of Retinomotor Movement in a Marine Megapredator, the Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus Kopperud, Kristin L. Grace, Michael S. Int J Mol Sci Article Many ecologically and economically important marine fish species worldwide spend portions of their lives in coastal regions that are increasingly inundated by artificial light at night. However, while extensive research illustrates the harmful effects of inappropriate light exposure on biological timing in humans, rodents and birds, comparable studies on marine fish are virtually nonexistent. This study aimed to assess the effects of light on biological clock function in the marine fish retina using the Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) as a model. Using anti-opsin immunofluorescence, we observed robust rhythms of photoreceptor outer segment position (retinomotor movement) over the course of the daily light–dark cycle: cone outer segments were contracted toward the inner retina and rods were elongated during the day; the opposite occurred at night. Phase shifting the daily light–dark cycle caused a corresponding shift of retinomotor movement timing, and cone retinomotor movement persisted in constant darkness, indicating control by a circadian clock. Constant light abolished retinomotor movements of both photoreceptor types. Thus, abnormally-timed light exposure may disrupt normal M. atlanticus clock function and harm vision, which in turn may affect prey capture and predator avoidance. These results should help inform efforts to mitigate the effects of coastal light pollution on organisms in marine ecosystems. MDPI 2017-09-28 /pmc/articles/PMC5666750/ /pubmed/28956858 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms18102068 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Kopperud, Kristin L.
Grace, Michael S.
Circadian Rhythms of Retinomotor Movement in a Marine Megapredator, the Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus
title Circadian Rhythms of Retinomotor Movement in a Marine Megapredator, the Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus
title_full Circadian Rhythms of Retinomotor Movement in a Marine Megapredator, the Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus
title_fullStr Circadian Rhythms of Retinomotor Movement in a Marine Megapredator, the Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus
title_full_unstemmed Circadian Rhythms of Retinomotor Movement in a Marine Megapredator, the Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus
title_short Circadian Rhythms of Retinomotor Movement in a Marine Megapredator, the Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus
title_sort circadian rhythms of retinomotor movement in a marine megapredator, the atlantic tarpon, megalops atlanticus
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5666750/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28956858
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms18102068
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