Riparian defoliation by the invasive green alder sawfly influences terrestrial prey subsidies to salmon streams

Invasive species in riparian forests are unique as their effects can transcend ecosystem boundaries via stream‐riparian linkages. The green alder sawfly (Monsoma pulveratum) is an invasive wasp whose larvae are defoliating riparian thin‐leaf alder (Alnus tenuifolia) stands across southcentral Alaska. To test the hypothesis that riparian defoliation by this invasive sawfly negatively affects the flow of terrestrial prey resources to stream fishes, we sampled terrestrial invertebrates on riparian alder foliage, their subsidies to streams and their consumption by juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Invasive sawflies altered the composition of terrestrial invertebrates on riparian alder foliage and as terrestrial prey subsidies to streams. Community analyses supported these findings revealing that invasive sawflies shifted the community structure of terrestrial invertebrates between seasons and levels of energy flow (riparian foliage, streams and fish). Invasive sawfly biomass peaked mid‐summer, altering the timing and magnitude of terrestrial prey subsidies to streams. Contrary to our hypothesis, invasive sawflies had no effect on the biomass of native taxa on riparian alder foliage, as terrestrial prey subsidies, or in juvenile coho salmon diets. Juvenile coho salmon consumed invasive sawflies when most abundant, but relied more on other prey types selecting against sawflies relative to their availability. Although we did not find effects of invasive sawflies extending to juvenile coho salmon in this study, these results could change as the distribution of invasive sawflies expands or as defoliation intensifies. Nevertheless, riparian defoliation by these invasive sawflies is likely having other ecological effects that merits further investigation.     

Experimental investigation on the transport of different fish species in a jet fish pump

A jet fish pump with a throat of ø60 mm was designed to study its performance in the transport of different fish species and the physiological changes in fish thereafter. Experiments were conducted to investigate the fish transport rate and energy required to transport each ton of fish when transporting Carassius auratus, commonly known as the Chinese goldfish, Megalobrama amblycephala, or Wuchang bream, and Ctenopharyngodon idella, the grass carp. Fish were examined for external injuries as well as for several important enzymes and hormones which are indicators of tissue injury and stress. The results showed that the transport rate for all three species of fish rose dramatically with an increase in the primary stream rate. In this experiment, the transport rates of C. auratus, M. amblycephala and C. idella reached 2357 ± 37.2 kg ∙ h⁻¹, 2888 ± 41.6 kg ∙ h⁻¹, and 2060 ± 40.2 kg ∙ h⁻¹, respectively. However, both injury rate and energy required to transport each ton of fish increased no matter whether the primary stream rate was too low or too high. Considering both transport rate and injury rate, the mean primary stream rate of 80 m³ ∙ h⁻¹ was determined to be the optimal operating condition in this experiment. Fish were stressed and most likely some of their organs were damaged. However, most physiological indexes almost fully recovered after several hours.     

Assessing vulnerability of New Zealand lakes to loss of conservation value from invasive fish impacts

1. Predictions of invasion risk for seven non‐indigenous fish species, ecological impact scores for individual species, and lake conservation rankings were linked to develop Invasion Risk Impact (IRI) and Lake Vulnerability (LV) indices that help identify New Zealand lakes most at risk of loss of conservation value from potential multi‐species invasions.
2. Species‐specific IRI scores (the product of predicted invasion risk and species impact) highlighted Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) and the brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus), as the species most likely to spread and cause ecological harm in lakes. For 3431 lakes >1 ha throughout New Zealand, total IRI tended to be highest for lowland riverine and dune lakes most of which are already colonized by multiple invasive fish species.
3. The LV index indicated that lakes most at risk of loss of conservation value from invasive fish impacts were predominantly (i) in the northern half of the North Island where several uncommon lake types occur, and (ii) along the west coast of the South Island where conservation value is often greater, largely because of low catchment modification.
4. The IRI and LV indices can be used to assist with setting priorities for surveillance monitoring, advocacy, and response planning targeted at preventing the establishment of invasive fish in moderate‐to‐high value lakes most susceptible to ecological impacts. Both indices can be adapted to accommodate alternative impact and conservation scoring systems, providing a flexible tool for local‐ and national‐scale assessments of lake vulnerability to fish invasion impacts.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Responses of Australian sea lions,Neophoca cinerea,to anthropogenic activities in the Perth metropolitan area,Western Australia

1. Tourist‐based activities, partly due to their rapid increase, have raised concerns regarding the impacts of anthropogenic activity on marine fauna. Documented effects on pinnipeds in proximity to humans include changes in behaviour, site use and potentially higher aggression levels towards people. Effects vary considerably between populations and sites, thus requiring separate assessment of human impacts on activity and energy budgets.
2. Responses of the endangered Australian sea lion, Neophoca cinerea, to human visitation were recorded from November 2013 through April 2014. Exposure levels and response types to anthropogenic activities were assessed at two easily accessible locations with different management schemes, Seal (landing prohibited) and Carnac (landing permitted) islands, Western Australia. Exposure levels were measured as both stimulus type (i.e. ‘People’, ‘Paddlers’, ‘Small’, ‘Medium’, and ‘Large vessels’, ‘Tour vessels’, and ‘Jet skies’), and people (‘Direct’, ‘Attract’, ‘Interact’, ‘View’, ‘Incidental’, ‘Water’, ‘Low‐level’), and vessel activities (‘Interact’, ‘Approach/Follow’, ‘Anchor noise’, ‘Engine noise’, ‘Close to beach’, ‘Moderate/Fast travel’, ‘Slow travel’, ‘Transit’, ‘Drift/At anchor’, ‘Aircraft noise’).
3. Exposure levels varied significantly between the islands in numbers, stimuli type, duration and minimum approach distances. The instantaneous behaviours of ‘Lift head’, ‘Interact’ and ‘Sit’ were the most frequent responses. ‘Aggressive’ and ‘Retreat’ responses, the highest disturbance levels measured, occurred on Carnac approximately once per day, but rarely on Seal Island. ‘Aggressive’ behaviour towards ‘People’ was observed only on Carnac Island and elicited only by ‘People’. ‘People’, ‘Tour vessels’, and scenic ‘Aircrafts’ on both islands as well as ‘Jet skis’ on Carnac Island had the highest probability of triggering responses. Owing to their relatively high visitation at Seal Island, ‘Paddle powered vessels’, followed by ‘Tour vessels’ elicited the highest number of responses, compared with ‘People’, ‘Small’, and ‘Medium vessels’ at Carnac Island. The majority of responses occurred when any stimulus type was at short‐range (≤10 m), and ‘People’ ‘Viewing’ N. cinerea elicited most. Vessels triggered more responses at larger ranges than ‘People’.
4. To limit close‐range access to N. cinerea, one possibility is to close the beach at Carnac Island to human visitation and increase the minimum approach distance by vessels and ‘People’ by installing marker buoys at least 15 m from the shore.

© 2016 The Authors. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

千岛银珍茶适制品种筛选研究

[目的]筛选出适合加工千岛银珍茶的无性系茶树良种。[方法]对中白1号白化茶品种和茂绿、中茶108、春雨1号、杭茶21、鸠坑早等10个品种的产能性状和制得茶样的感官品质、理化成分、香气成分等进行比较分析。[结果]中白1号、茂绿和浙农117品种芽头肥壮,产能较高,且制得的茶样品质较好,审评总分高于对照鸠坑群体种2分以上。[结论]中白1号、茂绿和浙农117等品种较为适合加工千岛银珍茶。     

Characterizing the pigmented traditional rice cultivars grown in temperate regions of Kashmir (India) for free and bound phenolics compounds and in vitro antioxidant properties

The purpose of the research was to identify the phenolic and flavonoid compounds of seven different traditional pigmented whole rice cultivars grown in the temperate regions of Kashmir so as to study their relationship with in vitro antioxidant capacities. The completely pigmented rice cultivars were found to have higher phenolic, flavonoid, anthocyanin contents and exhibited higher antioxidant capacities than the light colored and sparely colored rice cultivars. A total of 40 compounds had been identified in the analyzed rice cultivars that were found to be distributed in 6 major categories with 6-phenolics, 6-flavonoids, 11-hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, 7-hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives, 3-anthocyanins and 7-flavonoid glucosides of different flavonoid compounds. Among the free and bound fractions for each cultivars the light and sparsely colored depicted higher content of phenolics and in vitro antioxidant properties in bound faction, while the completely pigmented cultivars showed higher antioxidant properties in free fractions. The anthocyanins quercetin-3-O-galactoside, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside and pelargonidin-3-O-diglucoside had been identified by LC-MS existing in the free fractions of the analyzed rice cultivars whereas, the free fraction of acetone + H₂O possessed higher percentage of phenolic compounds as compared to methanolic extracts and bound fractions. The black colored cultivars possessed higher DPPH scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation inhibition.     

Neuroprotective Metabolites from Vietnamese Marine Derived Fungi of Aspergillus and Penicillium Genera

Low molecular weight secondary metabolites of marine fungi Aspergillus flocculosus, Aspergillus terreus and Penicillium sp. from Van Phong and Nha Trang Bays (Vietnam) were studied and a number of polyketides, bis-indole quinones and terpenoids were isolated. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS techniques. Stereochemistry of some compounds was established based on ECD data. A chemical structure of asterriquinone F (6) was thoroughly described for the first time. Anthraquinone (13) was firstly obtained from a natural source. Neuroprotective influences of the isolated compounds against 6-OHDA, paraquat and rotenone toxicity were investigated. 4-Hydroxyscytalone (1), 4-hydroxy-6-dehydroxyscytalone (2) and demethylcitreoviranol (3) have shown significant increasing of paraquat- and rotenone-treated Neuro-2a cell viability and anti-ROS activity.     

Factors influencing the abundance of three common nearshore fishes in south‐west Lake Michigan

Variation in the distribution and abundance of nearshore fishes is critical to understand food web processes and fishery management issues in Lake Michigan. This study characterised patterns in abundance of three common nearshore species, yellow perch Perca flavescens (Mitchell), round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas) and alewife Alosa pseudoharengus (Wilson), in relation to spatio‐temporal, abiotic and biotic factors using gillnet sampling conducted across 5 years at multiple locations representing different substrates. Significant variations were observed in alewife and round goby catches between locations. A negative relationship between round goby and age‐0 yellow perch catch was observed, indicating potential competition between the two species. This study demonstrates that variability in nearshore fish communities can be driven by factors including substrate and interspecific interactions. Given the prominent role these species play in Lake Michigan's food web and thus their importance to fishery production, a thorough understanding of these factors is warranted.     

白藜芦醇对绵羊冷冻精液质量的影响

试验旨在研究白藜芦醇对绵羊冷冻精液质量的改善效果。采用假阴道法采集6只云南半细毛羊精液，用含不同浓度（0、0.1、1、10、20 μmol/L）白藜芦醇的Optidyl稀释液稀释后进行细管分装，低温平衡和液氮气相预冻后，在液氮中保存30 d。解冻后测定精子活力、质膜完整性、磷脂酰丝氨酸（PS）分布、顶体完整性和活性氧等指标。结果表明，解冻后10 μmol/L白藜芦醇组精子总活力、直线运动百分率、精子弯尾率分别为76.14%±0.97%、43.56%±0.91%、43.24%±1.68%，均显著高于其他各组（P<0.05）；而20 μmol/L白藜芦醇组精子总活力、直线运动百分率、精子弯尾率分别为21.78%±0.79%、25.23%±1.34%、4.84%±0.68%，均显著低于其他各组（P<0.05）。10 μmol/L白藜芦醇组精子顶体完整性最高，为50.47%±0.91%，显著高于其他各处理组（P<0.05）。PS分布结果表明，10 μmol/L白藜芦醇组正常精子百分率为46.43%±2.95%，显著高于20 μmol/L组（31.14%±3.56%，P<0.05），与其他各组无显著性差异（P>0.05）。20 μmol/L白藜芦醇组PS标记率（39.82%±3.38%）显著高于其他处理组（P<0.05）。活性氧试验结果表明，10 μmol/L白藜芦醇组正常精子（63.57%±0.71%）显著高于其他各组（P<0.05）；而20 μmol/L白藜芦醇组正常精子（32.45%±1.42%）显著低于其他各组（P<0.05）。综上，在冷冻稀释液中添加白藜芦醇可以改善绵羊冷冻精液品质，这与白藜芦醇的抗氧化特性有关。但是，白藜芦醇的冷冻保护效果具有明显的浓度依赖性，其最佳作用浓度为10 μmol/L，过高浓度的白藜芦醇反而加重精子的冷冻损伤。此外，对于白藜芦醇对绵羊精子的抗冻保护效果仍然需要体外受精或人工授精验证。