Effects of Environmental Calcium and Replacement Therapy on the Killifish,<i>Fundulus heteroclitus</i>, After the Surgical Removal of the Corpuscles of Stannius

Abstract

The removal of Stannius corpuscles elicited hypercalcemia in male killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, maintained in calcium rich sea water. Such a response was absent in fish adapted to calcium-poor fresh water or artificial calciumdeficient sea water. The presence of calcium in food also affected the degree of hypercalcemia. Transplants of the corpuscles or injections of a homogenate of the gland corrected the rise in serum calcium. (Endocrinology93: 705, 1973)