Fish eggs can hatch after being eaten and pooped out by ducks | |
|
|
|
For fish eggs, getting gobbled by a duck kicks off a harrowing journey that includes a pummeling in the gizzard and an attack by stomach acids. But a few eggs can exit unscathed in a duck’s excrement, possibly helping to spread those fish, including invasive species, to different places, a new study finds.
It’s been an “open question for centuries how these isolated water bodies can be populated by fish,” says fish biologist Patricia Burkhardt-Holm of the University of Basel in Switzerland, who was not involved with the work. This study shows one way that water birds may disperse fish, she says.
Birds’ feathers, feet and feces can spread hardy plant seeds and invertebrates (SN: 1/14/16). But since many fish eggs are soft, researchers didn’t expect that they could survive a bird’s gut, says Orsolya Vincze, an evolutionary biologist at the Centre for Ecological Research in Debrecen, Hungary. |
|
|
In the lab, Vincze and her colleagues fed thousands of eggs from two invasive carp species to eight mallard ducks. About 0.2 percent of ingested eggs, 18 of 8,000, were intact after defecation, the team found. Some of those eggs contained wriggling embryos and a few eggs hatched, the team reports June 22 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It’s not clear yet whether eggs survive in this way in the wild.
Most of the viable eggs were pooped out within an hour of being eaten, while one took at least four hours to pass. Migratory ducks could travel dozens or possibly hundreds of kilometers before excreting those eggs, the scientists suggest.
Though the surviving egg count is low, their numbers may add up, making bird poop a possibly important vehicle for spreading fish. A single carp can release hundreds of thousands of eggs at a time, Vincze says. And there are huge numbers of mallards and other water birds throughout the world that may gorge themselves on those eggs. |
|
|
|
News Id | | Source | Stamp | country |
751 | Рыболовный туризм на Полесьи | ohotniki | 2024-02-17 | BR |
752 | Nordic Aqua expect to harvest 3,400 tonnes of salmon from China RAS this year | thefishsite | 2024-02-22 | CN |
753 | Is Lewis set for a 90,000 tonne underground salmon farm? | thefishsite | 2024-02-22 | UK |
754 | I Caught That Fish Legally and Honestly | outdoorlife | 2024-02-16 | US |
755 | We filmed moment we landed a huge 600lb grouper fish…it felt like we were reeling in a crocodile, say Brit backpackers | thesun | 2024-01-28 | AU |
756 | The pet Ill never forget: Charlotte, the goldfish who rose from the dead | theguardian | 2024-01-29 | UK |
757 | How Dubai doctor turned passionate Koi fishkeeper with collection worth Dh2 million | gulfnews | 2024-01-29 | SA |
758 | Red handfish taken into captivity to protect them | abc | 2024-01-30 | AU |
759 | Fisherman earns several awards by catching a 62-pound catfish | yahoo | 2024-01-31 | US |
760 | Disappointment, frustration, and questions after Virginia lawmakers | yourerie | 2024-02-01 | US |
761 | Nemo clownfish drive away species with same stripes, study suggests | theguardian | 2024-02-01 | UK |
762 | How trophy fishing can have a sustainable future | theconversation | 2024-02-02 | PG |
763 | Endangered fish can live longer after cataract surgery | umontreal | 2024-01-26 | CA |
764 | Unacceptable greenwashing: Call to remove organic labelling from farmed salmon | yahoo | 2024-01-30 | UK |
765 | The nations top lakes and rivers for fishing include several California waterways | mercurynews | 2024-02-19 | US |
766 | New welfare standard announced for farmed salmon | thefishsite | 2024-02-19 | CL |
767 | 1,700 EU fishing boats still plundering British seas says furious former Brexit MEP | express | 2024-01-31 | UK |
768 | Fish eater dies after cooking deadly pufferfish given to him as present | yahoo | 2024-01-30 | JP |
769 | Surströmming: The Fermented Swedish Herring Banned By Several Airlines | yahoo | 2024-01-21 | SW |
770 | 109-pound halibut caught through the ice in the name of science | yahoo | 2024-01-24 | CA |
771 | Plans to stop Far North, Doubtless Bay, fishing contest are under way | nzherald | 2024-02-19 | NZ |
772 | How to recognise and counter Streptococcus outbreaks in aquaculture | thefishsite | 2024-02-19 | IL |
773 | Успешная рыбалка в глухозимье | ohotniki | 2024-02-14 | RU |
774 | BioMar expands SmartCare supplement range | thefishsite | 2024-02-19 | UK |
775 | Pollution that killed 100,000 fish still a mystery | BBC News | 2024-01-27 | UK |
|
|
|
|
|