Drivers for spatial modelling of a critically endangered seabird on a dynamic ocean area: Balearic shearwaters are non-vegetarian

1. Spatial modelling is an important research tool to improve our knowledge about the distribution of wildlife in the ocean. Using different modelling techniques (MaxEnt and a generalized linear mixed model), a predictive habitat suitability model was developed for one of the most threatened seabirds in the world: the Balearic shearwater, Puffinus mauretanicus.
2. Models were developed using a 10-year dataset from the Gulf of Cádiz (on the south-western Iberian Peninsula), a key foraging area for Balearic shearwaters during migration and the non-breeding season.
3. Predictive habitat maps strongly matched the observed distribution patterns, pointing to bathymetric features as the main modelling drivers. The species was concentrated on shallow areas (up to approximately 100 m in depth) of the continental shelf, very close to the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. In contrast with previous studies, Balearic shearwater distribution in the highly dynamic Gulf of Cádiz was not correlated with areas of high chlorophyll a concentration.
4. This lack of spatial correlation probably arises from the delay between the phytoplankton bloom and the response of the zooplankton and small fish that are preyed upon by Balearic shearwaters, which may result in important displacements of this trophic chain across the Gulf of Cádiz.
5. The analysis presented contributes to a better understanding of the spatial distribution and ecology of the critically endangered top predator in the Gulf of Cádiz and offers important information to improve management plans.

     

New invasive predator reduces the abundance of native prey in a cold-temperate marine fouling community

1. Invasive species threaten the conservation of marine environments, and urgent management strategies are needed to prevent their introduction, establishment and spread. Specifically, marine invasive predators destabilize ecological interactions and alter community structure and function. However, most of the evidence showing the effect of these predators is restricted to a few species and regions, while for others the information remains scarce.
2. This study experimentally evaluated the ecological effects of the sea slug Pleurobranchaea maculata, a recently introduced invasive predator, on the fouling communities of a cold-temperate port in the South-western Atlantic.
3. The results show that increasing predation pressure reduces significantly the abundance of sea anemones, which are among the preferred prey items.
4. This study reveals new evidence to help better understand the effects of P. maculata on the biological communities of a recently invaded region. Furthermore, it provides the first experimental evidence supporting the hypothesis that marine invasive predators can induce a significant decrease in the abundance of native species in benthic communities of cold-temperate marine environments in the South-western Atlantic.

     

Detection of Flexibacter maritimus in fish tissue using nested PCR amplification

A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system was developed for the detection of Flexibacter maritimus from fish tissue. The total procedure for the diagnosis of marine flexibacteriosis, from the point of DNA extraction to the electrophoretic analysis, can be performed in < 4 h. This was achieved by the combination of a short thermal cycling programme with a rapid DNA extraction procedure. The assay was extremely sensitive, capable of detecting as few as 75 cfu mg(-1) fish tissue. The accuracy of the nested PCR was confirmed under field conditions using tissue samples recovered during 1993-2002 from fish suffering marine flexibacteriosis. The nested PCR method proved to be efficient for the rapid and sensitive detection of F. maritimus from fish tissues and can be used for routine diagnosis of the disease caused by this pathogen.     

Osmoregulation in juvenile Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii)

The osmoregulation capabilities of juvenile Siberian sturgeon exposed to three experimental osmolalities (22, 250 and 387 mOsmol kg⁻¹) were studied over a 45-day period. Growth performance, haematological parameters, ion concentrations, gill and spiral valve Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activities, as well as gill and spiral valve histology, were measured. At the end of the period, the plasma osmolality of fish kept in 250 and 387 mOsmol kg⁻¹ was higher than that of fish kept in 22 mOsmol kg⁻¹. Similar trends were observed in electrolyte concentrations. Spiral valve and gill Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity varied with exposure time and environmental salinity. Shortly after being transferred to hyperosmotic media, spiral valve Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity fell, while gill Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity remained constant. At the end of the experiment, gill Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activities in fish kept in isosmotic and hyperosmotic media had increased in comparison to those of the control fish. Moreover, spiral valve Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activities recovered and were similar to those recorded in fish kept in hyposmotic environments. Although some of the morpho-physiological mechanisms were operational in juvenile Siberian sturgeon in their adaptation to hyperosmotic media, fish cannot be considered hyperosmotic regulators as they were unable to maintain their plasma osmolality and electrolyte equilibrium in salinities higher than 250 mOsmol kg⁻¹. This suggests that the culture of juvenile Siberian sturgeon in brackish environments is unlikely to be successful. However, our data indicate that in natural environments, juvenile Siberian sturgeon in migratory populations (Ob and Lena Rivers) would be able to migrate successfully into estuarine brackish grounds with a salinity of up to 9%. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Identification and characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), with inhibitory activity against Lactococcus garvieae

A study was conducted to evaluate the probiotic properties of endogenous rainbow trout microbiota against pathogenic Lactococcus garvieae. A total of 335 bacterial strains were isolated from rainbow trout and screened for antagonistic activity against L. garvieae using an agar spot assay. Antagonistic strains were grouped by PCR amplification of repetitive bacterial DNA elements (rep‐PCR) and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The results revealed that the antagonistic strains belonged to the genera Lactobacillus, Lactococcus and Leuconostoc. Further probiotic characteristics, such as specific growth rate, doubling time, resistance to biological barriers, antibiotic resistance, hydrophobicity and production of antimicrobial substances, were also studied. These strains were able to survive low pH and high bile concentrations, showed good adherence characteristics and a broad spectrum of antibiotic resistance. The antagonistic efficacy was maintained after sterile filtration and was sensitive to proteinase K, indicating that proteinaceous extracellular inhibitory compounds were at least partially responsible for pathogen antagonism. Based on these results, these strains should be further studied to explore their probiotic effects in challenge experiments in vivo. This study shows clear evidence that the indigenous trout‐associated microbiota may provide a defensive barrier against L. garvieae.     

中草药对斑节对虾生长、饲料利用和肌肉营养成分的影响

研究了中草药对斑节对虾Penaeusmonodon(初始体重0.30g.尾-1)生长性能、饲料利用以及肌肉营养成分和氨基酸的影响。6种实验饲料(按顺序分别为1,2,3,4,5和6)中中草药的添加量分别为0,0.5,1.0,2.0,4.0和8.0g·kg-1饲料。除了饲料2之外,斑节对虾的成活率、饲料系数和蛋白质效率都显著(P<0.05)优于对照组(饲料1)。投喂饲料3的斑节对虾增重率与对照组相比,虽然统计学上不存在显著差异,但有较大幅度的提高。投喂添加中草药的饲料对斑节对虾肌肉的水分和蛋白质含量无显著影响,但脂肪含量明显下降。结果表明,斑节对虾饲料中添加适量的中草药能够促进生长、显著提高成活率和降低饲料系数,并改变斑节对虾肌肉中脂肪含量和氨基酸组成。     

基于GIS的绿色农产品基地适宜性评价

建立和完善绿色农产品基地适宜性评价方法,提高评价结果的实用性和准确性,是实现农产品安全的根本保障。研究依据基地认证者、规划者、生产者3种评价主体实际需求,分别引入污染潜在风险指标和经济状况指标,建立面向不同评价主体需求的多种主导因子评价指标体系,并借助GIS的空间分析方法进行定量评价,最后以北京大兴区为例进行了案例分析研究。结果表明,基地与工矿企业距离、与居民地距离等潜在污染风险对基地适宜性限制大,且不同评价主体下建立不同指标体系使评价更具针对性,利用GIS功能可提高效率,评价结果可视化程度好,具有很强的     

基于小波变换和神经网络的短期风电功率预测方法

随着并网风电场规模的不断增大,为保证电力系统运行的稳定性、合理制定调度计划、提高风电场在发电市场的竞争力,需要对短期风电功率进行准确地预测。该文提出一种小波变换和神经网络理论相结合的综合预测方法,将历史风电功率序列和历史风速序列分别进行小波单尺度分解,得到对应的概貌功率、细节功率和概貌风速、细节风速;然后用概貌功率和概貌风速序列训练BP神经网络,预测未来的概貌功率;用细节功率和细节风速序列训练BP神经网络,预测未来的细节功率。在此基础上,将概貌功率和细节功率叠加,得到最终预测结果。对我国某风电场的实际数据     

8份广西产绞股蓝种质的RAPD引物筛选及其遗传多样性分析

本研究的目的在于筛选合适的RAPD随机引物,应用RAPD技术对药用植物绞股蓝进行遗传多样性分析,并构建DNA指纹图谱。研究结果表明,我们利用生物信息学方法挑选出的20条引物中有19条引物的扩增条带清晰且多态性好;在清晰稳定出现的354条带中,294条具有多态性;其中有3条引物的扩增条带可清楚区分绞股蓝与混淆品种乌蔹莓,可建立其DNA指纹图谱。按UPGMA法进行聚类分析,计算其遗传相似系数,结果显示,8份绞股蓝供试材料聚为两类,聚类结果与其地理区域远近和生长环境一致。本研究中筛选出的19条引物适用于绞股蓝遗传多样性分析,且获得的DNA指纹图谱可用于鉴别绞股蓝。     

Bioavailability of organoclay formulations of atrazine in soil

Pesticide formulations based on organoclays have been proposed to prolong the efficacy and reduce the environmental impact of pesticides in soil. This research addressed the question of whether atrazine in organoclay-based formulations is irreversibly sorbed or is bioavailable for bacterial degradation in soil. Different cations of l-carnitine (CAR), tyramine (TYRAM), hexadimethrine (HEXADIM), phenyltrimethylammonium (PTMA), hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA), and Fe(III) were incorporated into Na-rich Wyoming montmorillonite (SWy-2) and Ca-rich Arizona montmorillonite (SAz-1) at 100% of the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the clays as a strategy to enhance the affinity of the clay minerals for atrazine. A Buse loam soil from Becker, MN, was treated with three organoclay-based formulations of 14C-atrazine or free herbicide and incubated for 2 weeks. To determine the bioavailability of 14C-atrazine, the soil was inoculated with Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP, which rapidly mineralizes atrazine. At day 0, and after a 2 week incubation, mineralization and the amount of 14C-atrazine residues distributed between the aqueous-extractable, methanol-extractable, and bound fractions in the soil were determined to characterize the availability of nonaged and aged atrazine residues. By the end of the 2 week incubation, the microorganisms had mineralized >80% of the initial readily available (water-extractable) and >70% of the less readily available (methanol-extractable) 14C-atrazine in the soil. Bound residues increased from <4% at day 0 to ～17% after the 2 week incubation for both the formulated and free forms of atrazine. The results of these incubation experiments show that the bioavailabilities of atrazine were similar in the case of the organoclay formulations and as free atrazine. This indicated that whereas more atrazine was sorbed and less likely to be transported in soil, when formulated as organoclay complexes, it was ultimately accessible to degrading bacteria, so that the herbicide is likely to be naturally attenuated by soil microorganisms.