Bottom shrimp trawling impacts on species distribution and fishery dynamics; Ungwana Bay fishery Kenya before and after the 2006 trawl ban

The Malindi–Ungwana Bay fishery Kenya is one of the most important marine fisheries of the Western Indian Ocean. There are two fishing grounds: Formosa and Malindi, with a designated 5-nM no-trawl zone offshore. However, the fishery was faced with numerous resource use conflicts and a decline in catches, culminating in a trawl ban in 2006. This study analyses catches and fishery dynamics before and after the 2006 trawl ban. Results show that artisanal landings declined before the ban, but rapidly recovered within 2 years after the ban was imposed. However, shrimp landings in the artisanal fishery remain low. Commercial shrimp landings gradually declined before the ban: ~550 t in 2001 to 250 t in 2006, and the shrimp: fish bycatch ratio was 1:1.5 compared to early reports of 1:7 in 1999. SIMPER analyses shows that 6 and 16 families (groups) accounted for 91.0 and 90.2% of the similarity in catch within the Formosa and Malindi fishing grounds, respectively. Formosa was important for Claridae, Cichlidae and Protopteridae, while Malindi recorded Carangidae, Siganidae, Carcharhinidae and Lethrinidae as the main families. Future studies should therefore embark on analyses of the factors driving the spatio-temporal distributions of the species and assess the impacts of bottom trawling on fishery dynamics before the trawl ban can be lifted.     

Ultrastructural studies in piscine epitheliocystis: evidence for a pleomorphic developmental cycle

Abstract. The existence of a pleomorphic development cycle is demonstrated in epitheliocystis organisms obtained from fish of the following families: Sparidae, Sparus aurata L.; Mugilidae, Liza ramada (Risso), Liza aurata (Risso) and Mugil cephalus L.; Cichlidae, Tilapia mossambica (Peters) and Tilapia aurea × nilotica; and Serranidae, Dicentrarchus labrax L. Ultrastructure of the successive developmental stages, primary long cells, intermediate long cells and small cells are described as well as the division process between stages. An additional stage, the round cell, was found in infected chloride cells. The affinities between epitheliocystis organisms and known chlamydial organisms of vertebrates and invertebrates are discussed.     

Spatial distribution of Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) in relation to spatial distributions of krill in the Ross Sea,Antarctica

The spatial distribution of Antarctic minke whales in the Ross Sea with relation to spatial distributions of their prey – krill – was investigated in this study using generalized additive models (GAMs). Spatial distributions of two species of krill (ice and Antarctic krill) were estimated by GAMs. Three abiotic factors – distance from the continental shelf break (800 m isobaths), the mean temperature and salinity from the surface to 200 m (MTEM‐200 and MSAL‐200), and latitude and longitude – were used as covariates for models of krill. Estimated spatial distributions of krill were then used with other covariates to model the spatial distribution of Antarctic minke whales. In the selected model of Antarctic minke whales, Antarctic krill were more influential than ice krill. The number of Antarctic minke whales increased as the density of Antarctic krill increased to around 1.5 g m^?2. Beyond that, the number of Antarctic minke whales decreased as the density of Antarctic krill increased. High densities of the Antarctic minke whales were estimated along the sea ice edge in the eastern part of the Ross Sea. Specifically, the densities were high in the north of the continental shelf break where low MTEM‐200 and MSAL‐200 and intermediate densities of Antarctic krill were observed. Further data collection is needed to investigate interannual variations and trends in their relationship. The results show that the spatial distribution of Antarctic minke whales is a function of longitude, distance from the shelf break, oceanographic condition (temperature and salinity), and densities of ice and Antarctic krill.     

Effects of current and future climates on the growth dynamics and distributions of two riverine fishes

1. To facilitate conservation planning, there is a need for improved confidence in forecasts of climate change impacts on species distributions. Towards that end, there have been calls for the development of process-based models to test hypotheses concerning the mechanisms by which temperature shapes distribution and to corroborate forecasts of correlative models.
2. Models of temperature-dependent growth (TDG) were developed for two Australian riverine blackfishes with disjunct longitudinal distributions: Gadopsis marmoratus (occupies lower, warmer elevations) and Gadopsis bispinosus (occupies higher, cooler elevations). The models were used to (a) predict blackfish monthly and annual growth dynamics under current and future climate scenarios within different elevation bands of their current distribution, and (b) test the hypothesis that, under the current climate, the distributions of each species would be positively correlated with predicted TDG.
3. Increases in mean annual growth were forecast for both species under all warming scenarios, across all elevation bands. Both species currently occupy annual habitat temperatures below those optimal for growth. Under certain warming scenarios, the predicted increases in annual growth belie forecasts of within-year dynamics that may interact with the phenology of blackfish to impair recruitment.
4. There was not a significant positive linear relationship between predicted TDG and observed abundance among river segments for either species. Both species were strongly under-represented where annual growth rates were forecast to be optimal and over-represented where growth rates were forecast to be intermediate.
5. Confidence in forecasts of climate change impacts based on correlative models will increase when those forecasts are consistent with a mechanistic understanding of how specific drivers (e.g. water temperature) affect processes (e.g. growth). This process-based study revealed surprises concerning how future climates may affect fish growth dynamics, showing that although the blackfish distributions are correlated with temperature the temperature-dependent mechanisms underpinning that correlation require further investigation.

     

Individual heterozygosity levels and relative growth performance in Oreochromis niloticus (L.) cultured under Fijian conditions

Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) (Pisces: Cichlidae) are important freshwater fishes that are widely cultured worldwide and have been introduced to the Fiji islands as an aquaculture resource. An O. niloticus (L.) ‘Chitralada’ stock cultured under Fijian conditions was studied to assess the potential of using individual multilocus heterozygosity as an indicator of relative growth performance. Allozyme analysis was undertaken in each of three generations (n = 50/generation) of ‘Chitralada’ grow-out. Subsequent correlation and regression analysis of 25 allozyme loci with individual body weights demonstrated no significant association between individual heterozygosity and growth rate in any of the generations. Correlation analysis between heterozygosity based on nine microsatellite loci screened in a subset of ‘Chitralada’ individuals (n = 43, generation 2) and morphological measurements, demonstrated a significant relationship between heterozygosity at locus UNH146. Homozygous individuals at this locus were characterized by larger lengths and weights than heterozygotes. No significant correlations with either length or weight were observed at any of the other eight microsatellite loci. Selecting broodstock therefore based solely on individual allozyme or microsatellite heterozygosity levels is unlikely to increase relative growth performance in the Fijian cultured O. niloticus‘Chitralada’ stock.     

Short range dispersal by a rare,obligate freshwater crustacean Triops cancriformis (Bosc)

1. that there are populations of this species that, because of their unusual life history, remain undetected.
2. that this species is able to disperse over distances of several kilometres.

Incubation of sediment samples demonstrated the presence of T. cancriformis at two previously unknown sites. One further serendipitous discovery of adults at another site is also reported, bringing to eight the number of discrete ponds where this species has been recorded on the north Solway coast since 1907.

Only five natural populations are probably extant in the UK (with a sixth introduced population still extant). Four of these are on the Solway coast suggesting that this area is a conservation hotspot.

The inference from the spatial and temporal pattern of records of T. cancriformis from the Solway coast is that this species is able to disperse between discrete habitat patches over distances of at least several kilometres and successfully colonize new sites.

The mechanisms of this dispersal are unknown but transfer of material during floods or on the feet of deer, livestock, humans, waterfowl, or on farm machinery are all highly possible.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

印度洋西北海域鸢乌贼角质颚长度分析

根据2004~2005年我国鱿钓渔船对印度洋西北海域鸢乌贼资源调查期间采集的103个鸢乌贼角质颚和60枚耳石样本,分析了角质颚长度特征,并与鸢乌贼胴长、体重和日龄建立了关系。结果显示,角质颚长度与胴长呈极显著的线性相关,与体重呈极显著的指数相关;角质颚各部长度随着鸢乌贼日龄增加逐步增大,上、下颚头盖和脊突生长较快,喙部和翼部生长较慢;上颚头盖和脊突较下颚头盖和脊突生长快;上颚翼部呈幂函数生长,上、下颚其余各部均呈线性生长。     

Predicting the dispersion of sprat larvae (Sprattus sprattus (L.)) in the German Bight

Sprat (Sprattus sprattus (L.)) larval dispersal in the German Bight is predicted with a model system consisting of two three-dimensional circulation models and a three-dimensional transport model. Horizontal distribution data for specific length classes of larvae, obtained from field surveys carried out in the German Bight during summer 1991, are used as initial conditions for the starting points of the tracers in the transport model. Sprat larval distributions are predicted and are compared with distributions of the appropriate length class of larvae observed during a subsequent cruise about 3 weeks later. The predicted larval (tracer) distributions compare favourably to observed larvae distributions in the inner model areas but not in the areas close to the coast. Factors contributing to inaccurate predictions are uncertainties in horizontal and vertical larval distributions as well as the model grid resolution, which is too coarse in coastal areas.     

Dynamic regulation of larval fish self‐recruitment in a marine protected area

The factors that regulate the self‐recruitment of fish larvae were explored in Cabrera National Park (CNP), an insular Marine Protected Area (MPA) located off southern Mallorca (Western Mediterranean). Our study attributes the regulation of larval arrival to the MPA to a combination of retention by topographically generated circulation patterns around the island and shelf break frontal dynamics. Specifically, within the shelf, interaction of the wind‐induced oscillatory flow with the island was shown to generate ephemeral recirculation patterns that, over time, favor larval retention in the proximity of the MPA. According to our measurements, oscillatory flows produced by wind‐forced island‐trapped waves (ITWs) dominate the flow around CNP. ITW‐forced dispersion simulations were in agreement with the observed distributions of several typical fish species that breed in the CNP. A second regulator of environmental variability is the influence of boundary currents and open ocean mesoscale structures at the shelf break. These structures generate frontal zones that are comparatively more long‐lived than inner‐shelf circulation patterns, and they were shown to act as barriers to the offshore dispersion of coastal fish larval assemblages. Finally, inferences from larval size distributions around the MPA together with particle‐tracking model simulations suggested the relevance of behavioral processes for larval recruitment to the MPA. Based on these observations, the waters around the CNP can be viewed as a relatively stable system that allows breeding fish populations to rely on self‐recruitment for their long‐term persistence, independent of other source populations along the coast of Mallorca.     

Distribution, zoogeography and biology of the Murchison River hardyhead (Craterocephalus cuneiceps Whitley, 1944), an atherinid endemic to the Indian Ocean (Pilbara) Drainage Division of Western Australia

Abstract – The Murchison River hardyhead ( Craterocephalus cuneiceps ) is endemic to the extremely arid Indian Ocean (Pilbara) Drainage Division of Western Australia, where it is found in the Greenough, Hutt, Murchison, Wooramel, Gascoyne and DeGrey rivers, but is absent from numerous rivers within its range. The most likely explanation for the disjunct contemporary distribution is that C. cuneiceps has simply never inhabited the rivers from which it is conspicuously absent (e.g. Ashburton and Fortescue). Biogeographical, geological and palaeoclimatic evidence is presented to support this hypothesis. In the Murchison River, breeding was extremely protracted with recruitment occurring throughout the year. The largest female and male specimens captured were 96 mm total length (TL; 7.73 g) and 86 mm TL (5.57 g), respectively. Sex ratio was 1.09 females:1 male. Batch fecundity ranged from 46 to 454 (mean 167.5 ± 25.7 SE). Estimates for the length at which 50 and 95% of females first spawned were 36.4 and 44.3 mm TL, respectively. Craterocephalus cuneiceps is essentially a detritivore, but also feeds on aquatic invertebrates. Rainfall in the Murchison River catchment is unpredictable and pH, salinity and temperature are variable. A specialised diet, small size and young age at maturity and protracted spawning period, coupled with serial spawning and high fecundity, allows the numerical dominance of this species in competitive, harsh, arid and unpredictable desert environments.     

Biochemical and immunological markers for the discrimination of three Tilapia species: T. zillii Gervais T. guineensis Bleeker and T. dageti Thys v.d. Audenaerde (Pisces: Cichlidae) from West Africa

General muscle proteins and parvalbumins of Tilapia dageti (Thys van den Audenaerde), T. guineensis (Bleeker) and T. zillii (Gervais) (Pisces, Cichlidae) which occur sympatrically in Ghana were subjected to various electrophoretic and immunological assays, and erythrocytes of the species underwent agglutination tests. These investigations aimed to identify species-specific markers, as discrimination of the three closely related species based on morphology has been difficult. A positive agglutination reaction of T. zillii erythrocytes with the soy bean lectin distinguished this species from the other two. Allozyme screening of general muscle proteins revealed loci at which the three species were monomorphic and fixed for different alleles. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelec-trofocussing of parvalbumins revealed species-specific protein profiles for the three tilapias. Immunoelectrophoresis and Western blot tests of parvalbumins with an antiserum to T. guineensis parvalbumins also produced species-specific band patterns. The results offer alternative options for the unambiguous identification of the investigated species as well as of closely related organisms in general. This is a prerequisite for the study, conservation or breeding of any species.     

The utility of otolith weight as a predictor of age in the emperor Lethrinus mahsena and other tropical fish species

This study examines the potential use of otolith weight as a proxy for age in the lethrinid Lethrinus mahsena from different sites in the tropical Indian Ocean: the banks of Seychelles, Mauritius and British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT, Chagos Archipelago). The reliability of age–frequency distributions and individual ages estimated using otolith weight–age relationships was examined through comparison with those estimated through the standard method of ageing using otolith increments. Two other methods for estimating age–frequencies using age-slicing via an estimated growth curve were also examined; these used growth curves estimated by a length-based method (ELEFAN), or by fitting directly to length-at-age data (an ‘age-based’ method). Age-slicing using length-based growth parameters failed to produce reliable age–frequencies, due to inaccuracies in the growth parameter estimates. The use of age-based growth parameter estimates improved the results of age-slicing, however, age–frequencies remained significantly different from those obtained from ageing using otolith increments in two locations. The use of otolith weight–age relationships resulted in estimated age–frequency distributions that in all locations were not significantly different from those assessed through otolith increment counts. In contrast, L. mahsena otolith weight–age relationships could not be used to estimate individual ages accurately, due to the level of overlap in otolith weight between age classes. Where otolith increments are routinely used to age commercial fish species, the fact that otolith weight–age relationships could not be used to age individuals accurately may limit its application. However, where routine ageing of individuals through otolith increments is considered impractical, for instance because of its cost, the use of otolith weight–age relationships to derive catch age–frequencies represents a viable alternative approach. With this in mind, this study has also demonstrated that there is the potential to use otolith weight–age relationships for five other species caught around the Seychelles, following the validation of their otolith increments.     

Climate impacts on the landings of Indian oil sardine over the south‐eastern Arabian Sea

The landings of Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps, Clupeidae) along the south‐eastern Arabian Sea are about 43.8% of total Indian oil sardine production. The annual landings of this species exhibit large‐scale variability with prolonged years of surplus or deficit landings without identified reason. Evaluating Indian oil sardine landings along the Kerala coast during 1961–2017 in relation to environmental variations, we have elucidated a putative link between variability in landings versus environmental parameters and climate indices. The variables examined in this study, such as salinity and temperature along with physical indices such as upwelling and mixed layer depth (MLD) of the ocean help to propose a mechanism to temporal variability in the landings of Indian oil sardine. Colder temperature and timely intense upwelling lead to nutrient enrichment in the surface water, which promotes the growth of phytoplankton (chl‐a) and thereby food availability to Indian oil sardine are found during years with surplus catch. Less saline surface waters and shoaling of MLD at these times could lead to the aggregation of fish at particular depths and thereby a good catches. The reverse mechanism, such as more surface saline water, warm temperature, downwelling or weak upwelling, and less nutrient enrichment, leads to deficit landings. Further, it was noticed that the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation have a more pronounced impact on Indian oil sardine landings over the coast of south‐eastern Arabian Sea than previously reported ENSO associated impacts. All these point towards climate change implications for the Indian oil sardine fishery.     

乙纶经编网片断裂强力特性研究

本研究以国家有关测试标准为依据，采用裂区模型实验设计方法对多种系列乙纶单丝经编网片测样进行测定，数据采用多元方差分析方法，分析了网片纵横向之间、干湿态之间的断裂强力和断裂伸长率的差异性，找出了影响网片断裂强力和断裂伸长率的主要因素，分析了各主要因素影响的程度和趋势，回归各因素与断裂强力和断裂伸长率间的关系。研究分析结果表明，乙纶经编网片的断裂强力和断裂伸长率均与目脚总丝数、编织密度和成圈丝数有高度显著的线性关系。     

Simulating the dispersion of vertically migrating sprat larvae (Sprattus sprattus (L.)) in the German Bight with a circulation and transport model system

A model system consisting of two three-dimensional circulation models and a three-dimensional transport model is used to simulate the dispersal of sprat larvae (Sprattus sprattus (L.)) in the German Bight. A Northwest European shelf sea model simulates the currents of the North Sea and provides sea surface elevation data for the open boundaries of the German Bight circulation model. The German Bight circulation model has a horizontal grid resolution of 2.75 km and a vertical resolution of 5 m except for the bottom layer. The driving forces of the circulation models are the M2-tide, six-hourly time-dependent wind stress and air pressure fields as well as monthly climatological density fields. The simulated currents serve as input to the transport model. The model area, grid size and the vertical resolution of the transport model are in accordance with the German Bight circulation model. The transport model simulates advection and diffusion using a Monte Carlo method. Furthermore it incorporates a simulation of active vertical movement of the larvae. The vertical migration pattern is dependent on the time of day and size of the larvae and is based on field data from the German Bight. Horizontal larvae distribution data, gained from two out of five field surveys carried out in the German Bight during spring and summer 1991, are used as initial values for the starting points of the tracers in the transport model. Simulated tracer distributions are compared with larval distributions observed during subsequent cruises about 3 weeks later. Discrepancies and similarities between tracer and larval distributions are discussed.     

Relationships between CPUE fluctuation of southern bluefin tuna and ocean temperature variability in the Central Indian Ocean

In this study, catch and effort data of southern bluefin tuna (SBT) from Taiwan longliners operating in the Central Indian Ocean (CIO) during 1982 to 2003 were compiled and their catch per unit effort (CPUE) was standardized using the generalized linear model (GLM). The GLM includes factors such as year, season, by-catch, latitude, sea surface temperature (SST) and the interactive effects among factors. The standardized CPUE and its relationship with SST fluctuation were then analyzed to understand the effects of fishing ground SST variations on CPUE of SBT, as well as their connection to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. The standardized CPUE in the CIO seemed to oscillate with the sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) between 30 and 50°S where SSTA fluctuations were prolonged and slower than the ENSO cycle. It is then very likely that fishing conditions at the CIO fishing ground were influenced by the expansion of the cold water mass from the Southern Ocean, and the colder SST is beneficial to increasing SBT catch rate.     

Analysis of cod catch data from Icelandic groundfish surveys using generalized linear models

Catch data from the Icelandic groundfish surveys are analyzed using generalized linear models (GLM). The main goal is to test the effects of environmental variables on the expected cod catch and to distinguish between the gamma and log-normal distributions for the error structure. Only positive catch data are included in this work, i.e. only the positive part of a delta–gamma or delta–log-normal distribution is examined. The distributions are compared via a Kolmogorov–Smirnov goodness of fit test. Polynomials are used to describe the relationship between each environmental variable and the cod catch and their effects are tested within the GLM framework (a continuous model). Finally, an attempt is made to locate temperature fronts in the ocean by estimating the temperature gradient vector at each data point. The effect of the size of this gradient vector is then tested within in the GLM framework. A stratification model with only spatial and time effects explains 80% of the variation but that comes with a high cost of degrees of freedom. Most of the tested effects are found to be significant but the continuous model only captures 45% of the total variation. The size of the temperature gradient vector is found to be statistically significant though only a small portion of the variation in the data is explained by this term.     

Environmental factors and megafauna spatio‐temporal co‐occurrence with purse‐seine fisheries

Tropical tuna purse‐seine fisheries spatially co‐occur with various megafauna species, such as whale sharks, dolphins and baleen whales in all oceans of the world. Here, we analyzed a 10‐year (2002–2011) dataset from logbooks of European tropical tuna purse‐seine vessels operating in the tropical Eastern Atlantic and Western Indian Oceans, with the aim of identifying the principle environmental variables under which such co‐occurrence appear. We applied a Delta‐model approach using Generalized Additive Models (GAM) and Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) models, accounting for spatial autocorrelation using a contiguity matrix based on a residuals autocovariate (RAC) approach. The variables that contributed most in the models were chlorophyll‐a concentration in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as depth and monsoon in the Indian Ocean. High co‐occurrence between whale sharks, baleen whales and tuna purse‐seine fisheries were mostly observed in productive areas during particular seasons. In light of the lack of a full coverage scientific observer on board program, the large, long‐term dataset obtained from logbooks of tuna purse‐seine vessels is highly important for identifying seasonal and spatial co‐occurrence between the distribution of fisheries and megafauna, and the underlying environmental variables. This study can help to design conservation management measures for megafauna species within the framework of spatial fishery management strategies.     

DNA barcoding reveals clear delineation between spawning sites for neritic versus oceanic fishes in the Gulf of Mexico

We combined research‐vessel cruises of opportunity with DNA barcoding to survey planktonic, percomorph fish eggs at 40 stations distributed across and around the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The objectives were (a) to determine whether eggs of fishes that are potential candidates for the daily egg production method (DEPM) can be readily barcoded, (b) to identify taxa that are spawning in the GoM, (c) to determine encounter rates for eggs of economically valuable taxa, and (d) to characterize individual egg taxa as being primarily neritic, primarily oceanic, or primarily mixed (i.e., both neritic and oceanic). Of the 1,144 eggs that were individually barcoded, 709 (62%) were definitively identified to species (62 species from 42 families), with an additional 20 taxa identified to genus or subfamily level. The eggs of 15 economically important species were identified, most of which had intermediate encounter rates and moderately dispersed spatial distributions, as indicated by an index of aggregation. SIMPROF analysis of stationwise cluster analysis identified eight significant groups within the 35 stations that yielded percomorph eggs; a corresponding specieswise analysis identified six groups of stations as having a neritic egg community and two groups as having an oceanic community, with a community transition located at the shelf break. Although the neritic and oceanic stations did not share important species, it remains possible that coastal pelagic species have mixed neritic–oceanic distributions. Together, these results indicate DEPM fish‐egg surveys based on DNA barcoding are feasible at the large marine ecosystem scale.     

Marine temperatures experienced by postsmolts and the survival of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in the North Sea area

The survival of two Atlantic salmon stocks that inhabit rivers confluent with the North Sea was examined in respect to historical distributions of sea surface water temperatures. The rivers Figgjo and North Esk are relatively small salmon rivers in southern Norway and eastern Scotland, respectively. Wild salmon smolts have been tagged in these rivers since 1965. Tag returns were used to evaluate the survival of salmon in the North Sea. Survival rates of one-sea-winter (1SW) and 2SW fish were correlated within stocks, as well as between stocks. Survival rates were compared with the areal extent of thermal habitat in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean. A positive correlation was found between the area of 8–10°C water in May and the survival of salmon. A reciprocal negative correlation was also found between survival and 5–7°C water in the same month. An analysis of sea surface temperature distributions for periods of good vs. poor salmon survival showed that when cool surface waters dominate the Norwegian coast and North Sea during May, salmon survival has been poor. Conversely, when the 8°C isotherm has extended northward along the Norwegian coast during May, survival has been good. The effect of water temperature distributions on the growth of postsmolts and other survival factors are discussed.