Effect of low ambient mineral concentrations on the accumulation of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus by early life stages of the air-breathing armoured catfish Megalechis personata (Siluriformes : Callichthyidae)
Jh. Mol et al., Effect of low ambient mineral concentrations on the accumulation of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus by early life stages of the air-breathing armoured catfish Megalechis personata (Siluriformes : Callichthyidae), J EXP BIOL, 202(15), 1999, pp. 2121-2129
The accumulation of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus Has measured during a
n 8-week period in the early life stages of the air-breathing armoured catf
ish Megalechis personata acclimated to low-mineral fresh water (0.073 mmol
l(-1) calcium, 0.015 mmol l(-1) magnesium, <0.001 mmol l(-1) phosphate) and
high-mineral fresh water (0.59 mmol l(-1) calcium, 1.94 mmol l(-1) magnesi
um, <0.001 mmol l(-1) phosphate), The fish accumulated calcium twice as fas
t and phosphorus 1.5 times as fast in low-mineral fresh water (LMF) as in h
igh-mineral fresh water (HMF), while the rate of accumulation of magnesium
did not differ in LMF and HMF. The difference in the rates of accumulation
of calcium and phosphorus between LR IF and HMF was independent of the grow
th performance (food intake) in LMF and HMF. The mineral content of young M
. personata from natural swamps and rainforest creeks in Suriname followed
the LMF accumulation curves. The transition from aquatic respiration to bim
odal respiration in the third week after hatching did not affect rates of m
ineral accumulation. The high rates of accumulation of calcium and magnesiu
m of M. personata in LMF of 654 and 58 mu mol h(-1) kg(-1), respectively, e
xceed the rates of uptake of calcium and magnesium of teleosts reported in
the literature, The high rates of mineral accumulation in the early life st
ages of M. personata reflect the exponential growth during the first 8 week
s after hatching and the requirements of the juveniles while building their
dermal armour, M. personata is well-adapted to neotropical fresh waters wi
th an extremely low mineral content. The accumulation of calcium and phosph
orus is discussed in relation to the function of the bony armour of M. pers
onata.