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Onset of estivation in western sand lance Ammodytes japonicus is not solely triggered by elevating water temperature

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Abstract

Western sand lance Ammodytes japonicus exhibits dormancy in summer known as estivation, a distinctive ecology among teleosts. Estivation starts in early summer and continues until winter even water temperature lowered than the initiation threshold. In this study, we examined the onset of estivation in western sand lance reared under two experimental conditions of 14–25 °C-shift or 12 °C-constant. Our observations revealed that estivation in this species can be induced by intrinsic circannual rhythms other than either high or fluctuating water temperatures.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to deeply appreciate the Ikuha-Ura Fishery Cooperative, Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture for the great effort to collect experimental fish. Thanks are also due to Drs. Tetsuya Nishikawa, Kaori Uozumi, Minoru Tanda, and Shigeyoshi Okamoto of the Fisheries Technology Institute, Hyogo Prefectural Technology Centre for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Akashi, Hyogo, Japan for their help to maintain the experimental fish. We wish to thank two anonymous reviewers who gave us helpful comments and advices to improve our manuscript. Mr. Shiro Kagawa of the NHK Enterprises, Japan supported obtaining fish. This study was partially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grants 17K15325 to NA and 19K06195 to TY.

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Contributions

SH and NA designed the experiments. SH performed the observations and data analysis with technical support from NN and RT. SH, NA, and TY prepared the first draft with input from MA. All authors interpreted the data and co-wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noriko Amiya.

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The authors declare no relevant financial interests that may influence the interpretation of our results.

Ethical approval

All the experiments were conducted in accordance with the guidelines for animal experimentation of Kitasato University.

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Hibino, S., Amiya, N., Nakano, N. et al. Onset of estivation in western sand lance Ammodytes japonicus is not solely triggered by elevating water temperature. J Ethol 42, 131–135 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-023-00805-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-023-00805-1

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