Optomotor studies have shown that three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are more sensitive to red during summer than winter, which may be related to the need to detect the red breeding colour of males. This study aimed to determine whether this change of red light sensitivity is specifically related to reproductive physiology. The mRNA levels of opsin genes were examined in the retinae of sexually mature and immature fish, as well as in sham-operated males, castrated control males, or castrated males implanted with androgen 11-ketoandrostenedione (11 KA), maintained under stimulatory (L16:D8) or inhibitory (L8:D16) photoperiods. In both sexes, red-sensitive opsin gene (lws) mRNA levels were higher in sexually mature than in immature fish. Under L16:D8, lws mRNA levels were higher in intact than in castrated males, and were up-regulated by 11 KA treatment in castrated males. Moreover, electroretinogram data confirmed that sexual maturation resulted in higher relative red spectral sensitivity. Mature males under L16:D8 were more sensitive to red light than males under L8:D16. Red light sensitivity under L16:D8 was diminished by castration, but increased by 11 KA treatment. Thus, in sexually mature male sticklebacks, androgen is a key factor in enhancing sensitivity to red light via regulation of opsin gene expression. This is the first study to demonstrate that sex hormones can regulate spectral vision sensitivity.

Catadromous fishes migrate between ocean and freshwater during particular phases of their life cycle. The dramatic environmental changes shape their physiological features, e.g. visual sensitivity, olfactory ability, and salinity tolerance. Anguilla marmorata, a catadromous eel, migrates upstream on dark nights, following the lunar cycle. Such behavior may be correlated with ontogenetic changes in sensory systems. Therefore, this study was designed to identify changes in spectral sensitivity and opsin gene expression of A. marmorata during upstream migration. Microspectrophotometry analysis revealed that the tropical eel possesses a duplex retina with rod and cone photoreceptors. The λmax of rod cells are 493, 489, and 489 nm in glass, yellow, and wild eels, while those of cone cells are 508, and 517 nm in yellow, and wild eels, respectively. Unlike European and American eels, Asian eels exhibited a blue-shifted pattern of rod photoreceptors during upstream migration. Quantitative gene expression analyses of four cloned opsin genes (Rh1f, Rh1d, Rh2, and SWS2) revealed that Rh1f expression is dominant at all three stages, while Rh1d is expressed only in older yellow eel. Furthermore, sequence comparison and protein modeling studies implied that a blue shift in Rh1d opsin may be induced by two known (N83, S292) and four putative (S124, V189, V286, I290) tuning sites adjacent to the retinal binding sites. Finally, expression of blue-shifted Rh1d opsin resulted in a spectral shift in rod photoreceptors. Our observations indicate that the giant mottled eel is color-blind, and its blue-shifted scotopic vision may influence its upstream migration behavior and habitat choice.

Ocean acidification, resulted from high level of carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolved in seawater, may disturb the physiology of fish in many ways. However, it is unclear how acidification may impact the growth rate and/or growth hormones of marine fish. In this study, we exposed juvenile orange‐spotted groupers (Epinephelus coioides) to seawater of different levels of acidification: a condition predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pH 7.8–8.0), and a more extreme condition (pH 7.4–7.6) that may occur in coastal waters in the near future. After 6 weeks of exposure, the growth rates of fish in pH 7.4–7.6 were less than those raised in control water (pH 8.1–8.3). Furthermore, exposure at pH 7.4–7.6 increased blood pCO2 and HCO3− significantly; exposure at pH 7.8–8.0, meanwhile, did not affect acid–base chemistry. Moreover, exposure to pH 7.4–7.6 resulted in lower levels of hepatic igf1 (insulin‐like growth factor I) mRNA, but did not affect levels of pituitary gh (growth hormone) or hypothalamus psst2 and psst3 (prepro‐somatostatin II and III). The results show that highly acidified seawater suppresses growth of juvenile grouper, which may be a consequence of reduced levels of IGF‐1, but not due to diminished growth hormone release.