Microarrays are invaluable high-throughput tools used to snapshot the gene expression profiles of cells and tissues. Among the most basic and fundamental questions asked of microarray data is whether individual genes are significantly activated or repressed by a particular stimulus. We have previously presented two Bayesian statistical methods for this level of analysis, collectively known as v...

This first comprehensive study of the peripheral olfactory organ from a representative of the large and economically important order of teleost fishes, the Perciformes, shows a compact structure with olfactory sensory neurons distributed widely throughout the olfactory chamber. The spatial organization of the nasal cavity in the bottom-dwelling round goby (Gobiidae, Neogobius melanostomus) was ...

As an effect of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, the chemistry of the world's oceans is changing. Understanding how this will affect marine organisms and ecosystems are critical in predicting the impacts of this ongoing ocean acidification. Work on coral reef fishes has revealed dramatic effects of elevated oceanic CO2 on sensory responses and behavior. Such effects may be widespread but have almos...

The saccule is known to play an important role in hearing in fishes. In this study we investigated spatial frequency selectivity of single saccular afferents in a teleost fish (the sleeper goby, Dormitator latifrons) to acoustic particle motion at 50-400 Hz. Saccular afferents have similar distributions of best sensitivity (-90.0 to -54.8 dB re. 1 g, mean +/- s.d.=-81.1+/-8.0 dB) and characteri...

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), round gobies (Neogobius melanostomas), yellow walleye (Stizostedion vitreum), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were given Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin type E (BoNT/E) at four doses (0, 800, 1500, and 4000 mouse lethal doses). BoNT/E was sought in the fish tissues at death or at the conclusion of the experiment (10 days after treatment). Fish were divi...

Animal personalities are an important factor that affects the dispersal of animals. In the context of aquatic species, dispersal modeling needs to consider that most freshwater ecosystems are highly fragmented by barriers reducing longitudinal connectivity. Previous research has incorporated such barriers into dispersal models under the neutral assumption that all migrating animals attempt to a...

San Francisco Bay is contaminated by mercury (Hg) due to historic and ongoing sources, and has elevated Hg concentrations throughout the aquatic food web. We monitored Hg in forage fish to indicate seasonal and interannual variations and trends. Interannual variation and long-term trends were determined by monitoring Hg bioaccumulation during September-November, for topsmelt (Atherinops affinis...

The role and function of molecular chaperones has been widely studied in model systems (e.g. yeast, Escherichia coli and cultured mammalian cells), however, comparatively little is known about the function of molecular chaperones in eurythermal ectotherms. To investigate the thermal sensitivity of molecular chaperone function in non-model ectotherms, we examined the in vitro activity of Hsc70, ...

Matrix population models have proved popular and useful for studying stage-structured populations in quantitative ecology. The goal of this paper is to develop and analyze a general matrix population model that is applicable to the population dynamics of the invasive round goby fish that incorporates both stage structure—larvae, juveniles, and adults—and dispersion. Specifically, we address the...