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.     

Docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n‐3) alters cortisol response after air exposure in Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes) larvae fed on enriched Artemia

This study investigated the effect of different proportions of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) on the growth, survival and stress response of curimba (Prochilodus lineatus Valenciennes) larvae, an omnivorous freshwater species, fed on enriched Artemia. Six different experimental emulsions were formulated to have two levels of ARA (A‐0.5 and A‐1.0), two levels of DHA (D‐0.5 and D‐1.0) two combinations of ARA and DHA (AD‐3:1 and AD‐1:3). There were no significant effects of treatments on curimba standard length and survival at the end of the experiment. The results showed a negative correlation between dietary DHA and whole‐body cortisol after 60 s of air exposure. The resting concentration of cortisol was not affected by the diets (p = .424). After air exposure, all treatments except for D‐1.0 (p = .137) and D‐0.5 (p = .545) exhibited a marked cortisol rise. These results showed that DHA supplementation can have an attenuating effect on cortisol response after air exposure.     

Effect of fish meal replacement by Chlorella meal with dietary cellulase addition on growth performance,digestive enzymatic activities,histology and myogenic genes’ expression for crucian carp Carassius auratus

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of fish meal (FM) replacement by Chlorella meal (CM) with dietary cellulase supplementation on growth performance, digestive enzymatic activities, histology and myogenic genes’ expression in crucian carp Carassius auratus (initial body weight: 2.90 ± 0.02 g, mean ± SEM). Six isonitrogenous diets were formulated at two cellulase levels (0 and 2 g kg^?1). At each cellulase level, CM was added at three levels of 0, 533.1 and 710.8 g kg^?1 to substitute 0, 75 and 100% of dietary FM respectively. Each experimental diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups with 25 juvenile fish per fibreglass tank for 8 weeks. Dietary CM substitution significantly increased growth, feed utilization, amylase activity and the expression of Myod, Mrf4 and Myf5, but reduced the Myog expression. Dietary cellulase addition increased hepatosomatic and viscerosomatic index, lipase activity and the expression of Mrf4, but reduced trypsin activity and the expression of Myog and Myf5. Dietary CM substitution enlarged the cell size and also caused some karyopyknosis in liver. Our results showed that CM could totally replace FM in diets; dietary cellulase supplementation at the level of 2 g kg^?1 played a subtle role in improving growth and feed utilization for crucian carp.     

Temperature modulates liver lipid accumulation in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fed low dietary levels of long‐chain n‐3 fatty acids

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were fed five graded levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n‐3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n‐3), from 1.4 to 5.2% of total fatty acids (FA, 5–17 mg kg^?1 feed), and grew from ~160 g to ~3000 g, with the period from 1450 g onwards conducted both at 6 °C and at 12 °C. All fish appeared healthy, and there were no diet‐related differences in haematological or plasma parameters, as well as intestinal histological or gut microbiota analysis. Fish reared at 6 °C had higher accumulation of storage lipids in the liver compared to fish reared at 12 °C. Liver lipids also increased with decreasing dietary EPA + DHA at 6 °C, while there was no such relationship at 12 °C. Gene expression of SREBP1 and 2, LXR, FAS and CPT1 could not explain the differences in liver lipid accumulation. In liver polar lipids, DHA was found to be reduced when dietary EPA + DHA was <2.7% of FAs, while the level of EPA in the membranes was not affected. In conclusion, reducing dietary EPA + DHA from 5.2 to 1.4% of total FAs had a minor impact on fish health. Temperature was the factor that most affected the liver lipid accumulation, but there was also an interaction with dietary components.     

Effects of a hook ring on catch and bycatch in a Mediterranean swordfish longline fishery: small addition with potentially large consequences

1. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a circle hook ring on catch rates of target fish species and bycatch rates of sea turtles, elasmobranchs, and non‐commercial fish in a shallow‐set Italian swordfish longline fishery.
2. Results were compared from 65 sets from six commercial fishing vessels totalling 50 800 hooks in which ringed and non‐ringed 16/0 circle hooks with a 10° offset were alternated along the length of the longline. In total, 464 individuals were caught in the 4 years of experiment, with swordfish (Xiphias gladius) comprising 83% of the total number of animals captured. Catch rates of targeted swordfish were significantly higher on ringed hooks (CPUE_{ringed hooks} = 8.465, CPUE_{non‐ringed hooks} = 6.654).
3. Results indicate that ringed circle hooks captured significantly more small‐sized swordfish than non‐ringed circle hooks (27.7% vs. 19.5%, respectively).
4. For species with sufficient sample sizes, the odds ratio (OR) of a capture was in favour of ringed hooks; significantly for swordfish (OR = 1.27 95%CI 1.04–1.57), and not significantly for bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) (OR = 1.50, 95%CI 0.68–3.42) nor for pelagic stingray (Pteroplatytrigon violacea) (OR = 1.13, 95%CI 0.54–2.36). All six loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and three of the four blue sharks (Prionace glauca) were captured on ringed hooks, however, the small sample sizes prevented meaningful statistical analysis.
5. In summary, results from this study suggest that the addition of a ring to 16/0 circle hooks confers higher catchability for small‐sized commercial swordfish, and does not significantly reduce catch rate of bycatch species and protected species in a Mediterranean shallow pelagic longline fishery.
6. These findings should motivate fisheries managers to consider factors in addition to hook shape when aiming to promote sustainable fishing practices. The presence of a ring has the potential to negate some conservation benefits.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First evidence of spawning migration by goldfish (Carassius auratus); implications for control of a globally invasive species

Goldfish (Carassius auratus) was one of the first fishes to be domesticated and has been widely introduced across the globe, but is now considered one of the world's worst invasive aquatic species. Surprisingly, there is a dearth of information on its spatial and temporal movement patterns, which hampers the development of effective control programmes. We examined the movement patterns of an introduced population of C. auratus in a south‐western Australian river using passive acoustic telemetry. The study population had a high residency index within the array (i.e. proportion of all days at liberty that, on average, each fish was detected by a receiver) with fish being detected on 64% of days. The individuals were also reasonably mobile, travelling a mean of 0.30 km (linear river kilometres).day^‐1 within the array, and one fish moved 231.3 km over the 365‐day study period (including 5.4 km in a 24 hr period). Importantly, C. auratus displayed significant seasonal movement patterns including a clear shift in habitats during its breeding period with most mature individuals being detected in an off‐channel wetland during that time. The results of this study strongly suggest that C. auratus undertook a spawning migration into a lentic habitat. These results have important implications for developing control programmes for the species, such as targeting connections to off‐channel lentic systems during its breeding period.     

鱼类miRNAs研究新进展

正MicroRNAs(miRNAs)是一类内生性的、进化上高度保守的单链成熟非编码RNA,长度约21~25个核苷酸,广泛存在植物、动物及微生物中~[1-2],参与生物体的胚胎形成、个体生长发育、机体免疫、疾病防御以及繁殖和糖脂类代谢等生命过程~[3-8]。目前,基于生物信息学预测,miRNAs约占整个基因组的2%~3%~[9]。自Lee等~[10]利用定位克隆法从秀丽隐杆线虫(Caenorhabditis elegans)中克隆到     

Impacts of diet on hindgut microbiota and short‐chain fatty acids in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)

Diet is known to influence intestinal microbiota in fish, but the specifics of these impacts are still poorly understood. Different protein/fibre ratio diets may result in differing structures and activities of gut microbiota. We examined the hindgut microbiome of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) fed three different diets: fish meal (FM, high protein – low fibre), Sudan grass (SG, high fibre – low protein) and compound feed (CF, intermediate). Microbial profiles of fish fed on FM were significantly different from profiles of fish fed CF and SG (F = 18.85, p < .01). Cetobacterium, known to be positively associated with protein digestion, was the dominant microbial group in FM samples (approximately 75.7%), while Lachnospiraceae and Erysipelotrichaceae, thought to be involved in fermentation of plant polysaccharides, were dominant in CF and SG samples (46.8% and 42.9% respectively). Network analyses indicated that the abundance of Lachnospiraceae and Erysipelotrichaceae was in a significantly positive correlation (r = .895, p = .001). Short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels may indicate that the digestibility of diet by microbiota in the grass carp gut decreased from FM to SG (FM>CF>SG). Overall low SCFA levels indicate that hindgut fermentation probably provides a low proportion of energy requirements in grass carp.     

Local adaptation studies and conservation: Parasite–host interactions between the endangered freshwater mussel Unio crassus and its host fish

1. Parasite–host interactions can involve strong reciprocal selection pressure, and may lead to locally adapted specializations. The highly threatened unionoid mussels are temporary parasites on fish, but local adaptation has not yet been investigated for many species.
2. Patterns of local adaptation of one of Europe's most threatened unionoids, the thick‐shelled river mussel (Unio crassus) were investigated. Eurasian minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) from two rivers (separate drainage areas) were cross‐infested in the laboratory with sympatric and allopatric mussel larvae, while bullheads (Cottus gobio), inhabiting only one of the rivers, were infested with sympatric or allopatric mussel larvae. Larval encystment, juvenile mussel excystment and survival were measured.
3. For one river, but not the other, juvenile excystment from P. phoxinus was highest when infested with sympatric mussels. The opposite pattern was found for C. gobio in this river, where juvenile excystment and post‐parasitic juvenile survival from allopatric C. gobio were highest. The results thus cannot confirm local adaptation of U. crassus to P. phoxinus in the study rivers, as excystment was not consistently higher in all sympatric mussel–host combinations, whereas there were potential maladaptive signs of U. crassus in relation to C. gobio. There was no loss of encysted larvae 3 days after infestation until juvenile excystment. Most juveniles were excysted between 17 and 29 days after infestation, and the numbers of excysted juveniles increased with fish size.
4. The results have implications for parasite–host ecology and conservation management with regard to unionoid propagation and re‐introduction. This includes the need to (1) test suitability and adaptation patterns between U. crassus and multiple host fish species, (2) evaluate the suitability of certain unionoids and host fish strains after more than 3 days, and (3) determine whether large fish produce more juvenile mussels than smaller fish.

     

杂草环境下转EPSPS基因大豆NZL06-698的生态适应性研究

为研究转EPSPS基因大豆NZL06-698在杂草环境中的生态适应性,试验设置杂草处理模拟野外环境,研究转基因大豆NZL06-698(GT698)的生存竞争能力以及外源EPSPS蛋白表达情况。结果表明:在相同处理下转基因大豆GT698的株高(R8期)、百粒重显著高于亲本大豆蒙豆12(MD12),但单株产量、单株籽粒数、结实率显著低于亲本大豆,说明外源基因的存在并未增强转基因大豆的生存竞争力,且转基因大豆在野外的生存竞争能力与亲本大豆相比较弱。试验注意到,杂草环境对转EPSPS基因大豆的生长有明显的限制作用,杂草处理下转基因大豆的单株产量、单株籽粒数、百粒重、结实率等指标均显著低于对照处理。ELISA检测结果表明,转基因大豆叶片及籽粒中外源EPSPS蛋白在杂草处理及对照中均正常表达,且两种处理下的EPSPS蛋白表达量无显著差异。以上结果表明杂草环境中转基因大豆的EPSPS蛋白正常表达,正常提供抗草甘膦性状,但是外源基因的存在并没有增加转基因大豆的生存竞争能力,且转基因大豆的生长受到杂草环境的显著抑制,由此得出结论:与亲本大豆相比,转EPSPS基因大豆NZL06-698在野外环境中生态适应能力较弱。