BLOOD PROPERTIES OF ANADROMOUS ALEWIVES 



149 



The present study of serum cUorides in alewives 

 lias provided an average value of 430 mg. per 100 

 ml. for fish from the sea, taken just before the 

 fresh-water migration. A deci-ease to an average 

 of 395 mg. per 100 ml. was found for fish taken 

 in fresh water just before their seaward migration 

 (fig. 3) . Within the limitations of a small sample 

 size (30 prespawners, 28 postspawners), the rank 

 sum test showed this decrease to be significant. 

 As with serum proteins, individual variations in 

 senmi chlorides were marked (355 rag. to 458 mg. 

 per 100 ml. in prespawners; 302 mg. to 440 mg. 

 per 100 ml. in postspawners) . 



Comparison of these data with those of Keys 

 (1933), which were drawn from nonspawning 

 samples, suggests that the obsen^ed chloride re- 

 ductions in alewife sera were probably associated 

 with lower enviroimaental salinity rather than 

 with spawning activities. The average senmi 

 chloride of alewives in fresh water is quite similar 

 to that of carp (401 mg. per 100 ml.) reported by 



PRESPAWNERS 



5- 



X 



 , m  r 



a. 

 m 



POSTSPAWNERS 



MILLIGRAMS OF CHLORIDE 

 PER 100 CC. SERUM 



Figure 3. — Serum chlorides of prespawning and post- 

 spawning alewives. 



Field, Elvehjem, and Juday (1943), but is some;, 

 what lower than that of brown trout (424 mg. per 

 100 ml.) reported bj' Phillips and Brockway 



(1958). 



SERUM ELECTROPHORETIC PATTERNS 



Elect rophoretic studies of fish sera have dis- 

 closed patterns which apfjear to be species specific 

 ( Deutsch and Goodloe, 1945 ; Moore, 1945 ) . How- 

 ever, Drilhon et al. (1956) noted quantitative 

 changes in albumin and beta-globulins when 

 starved trout were compared with well-fed fish. 

 Sindermann and Maire (1958) found that acute 

 fungus disease caused a drastic reduction in the 

 albumin fraction of sea-herring blood serum. 

 Drilhon, Fine, and Daoulas (1958) reported that 

 neither fresh-water migration nor stage of matu- 

 rity had an effect on elect rophoretic patterns in 

 trout and salmon. 



The present study of prespawning and post- 

 spawning alewives has disclosed no major changes 

 in serum patterns attributable to reproduction or 

 to fresh-water migration. Serum patterns of ale- 

 wives resembled those of other clupeoids and tele- 

 osts in general (Woods and Engle, 1957; Sinder- 

 mann and Mairs, 1958) in that fractions with 

 mobilities similar to human albumin, alpha-globu- 

 lins, and beta-globulins, were consistently present. 

 A characteristic electrophoretic serum pattern for 

 alewives is graphed in figure 4. Fraction I, repre- 

 sented by the lead anodal peak, had a mobility 

 slightly less than hmnan albmnin; fraction II 

 occurred as a peak with mobility similar to human 

 alpha-2 globulin; and fraction III migrated vari- 

 ably in the vicinity of human beta-globulin, in 



Figure 4 — Electrophoretic pattern of alewife serum 

 (shaded curve) compared with pattern of normal 

 human serum. Samples were applied at a ix)int indi- 

 cated by the arrow, and the anode is to the right. 



