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.     

Effect of herbicide application on weed flora under conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe

Increased challenges of weed control in the smallholder farming sector of southern Africa have often resulted in small yields. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different weed control strategies on weed flora and composition under conservation agriculture (CA) systems in Zimbabwe. This study was conducted at three on-station trial sites namely Domboshawa Training Centre (DTC), University of Zimbabwe farm (UZ farm) and Henderson Research Station (HRS) in a maize–soybean rotation for four seasons from 2009–2010 to 2012–2013 seasons. Hand weeding was done whenever weeds were 10 cm tall or 10 cm in circumference for weeds with a stoloniferous growth habit. Weed identification was done up to the weed species level, and the Shannon–Weiner diversity and evenness index was used to determine the response of weed flora to herbicides. Results showed that there were more weeds in the early years which decreased gradually until the final season. Weed species diversity was not affected by herbicide application and the results indicated that weed species diversity was small in CA systems. Annual weed species constituted a greater proportion of species, and species richness decreased with the duration of the study. Richardia scabra L. and Galinsoga parviflora Cav. were the most common dominant weed species at all sites and in all seasons. Moreover, herbicide application had no effect on the evenness of weeds in the plots but site characteristics had a significant effect on the distribution of weed species (weed species evenness). The results presented in this study suggest that herbicide application facilitates a depletion of weed seed bank/number of weeds over time. Thus, herbicide application in CA has potential to reduce weed density, species richness and species diversity in the long term which may lead to more labour savings and larger yields.     

海岛优良树种在浙东沿海推广试验初报

于2013年,在浙东沿海三个生境类似地方,即舟山衢山、宁波象山、台州温岭,研究了保水剂对红楠(M-achilus thunbergii)、普陀樟(Cinnamomun japonicum var.chenii)、全缘冬青(Ilex integra)3树种容器苗造林保存率和生长的影响。结果表明:在舟山衢山,T20处理能显著提高3树种的造林保存率,较CK提高17.2%;而在宁波象山、台州温岭,则没有显著变化。在舟山衢山,T20处理的全缘冬青和普陀樟的苗高增量、地径增量、高增幅和地径增幅显著高于CK(P0.01);而在台州温岭和宁波象山,则没有显著差异(P0.05)。在3处试验地,红楠经过T20处理后苗高增量、地径增量、高增幅和地径增幅显著高于CK(P0.01),而宁波象山与台州温岭两地,该4项指标在P0.05水平上没有显著差异。     

黑龙江烟草病害种类鉴定及发生情况

为了明确黑龙江主要烟区目前病害发生和危害情况，于2010-2013年对黑龙江烟草主产区病害进行普查。鉴定结果表明，黑龙江烟草病害26种，其中真菌病害11种，细菌病害2种，病毒病害7种，寄生性种子植物1种，非侵染性病害5种；发生普遍且危害重的病害主要是烟草普通花叶病、角斑病。     

海南被子植物分布新资料(Ⅱ)

报道了海南岛被子植物5个新记录种。新记录种分别为三室黄麻(Corchorus trilocularis L.)、钻叶紫菀(Symphyotrichum subulatum(Michx.)G.L.Nesom)、光果姜(Zingiber nudicarpum D.Fang)、线纹香茶菜(Isodon lophanthoides(Buch.-Ham.ex D.Don)H.Hara)、狭序泡花树(Meliosma paupera Hand.-Mazz.)。凭证标本保存于中国热带农业科学院植物标本室(ATCH)。     

Seasonal movements of immature Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) in the northern gulf of Mexico

1. Seasonal movements and core habitat areas of immature Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) in the northern Gulf of Mexico were tracked via satellite telemetry. Tagged turtles were incidentally captured by recreational fishermen and rehabilitated at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Mississippi.
2. The average size of the core habitat areas (50% KDE (kernel density estimation)) was 1660.2 km² ± 3438.2 SD. Turtles displayed strong intra‐ and inter‐annual site fidelity to the Mississippi Sound during the spring, summer, and autumn months. During the winter months, most turtles, probably influenced by water temperatures, migrated to nearshore waters of Louisiana on either side of the Mississippi River Delta. However, other migration strategies were also observed.
3. Overall, these data indicate that the Mississippi Sound is an important developmental habitat for this critically endangered species. In addition, their wintering grounds in Louisiana are utilized by adult Kemp's ridleys and other sea turtle species as foraging grounds and migratory corridors. The high use of these areas by sea turtle populations increases the potential for negative impacts from anthropogenic disturbances (e.g. shrimp trawling, oil production, hypoxia) that occur there.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geographic variation in host fish use and larval metamorphosis for the endangered dwarf wedgemussel

1. Host fishes play a crucial role in survival and dispersal of freshwater mussels (Unionoida), particularly rare unionids at conservation risk. Intraspecific variation in host use is not well understood for many mussels, including the endangered dwarf wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon) in the USA.
2. Host suitability of 33 fish species for dwarf wedgemussel glochidia (larvae) from the Delaware and Connecticut river basins was tested in laboratory experiments over 9 years. Relative suitability of three different populations of a single host fish, the tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi), from locations in the Connecticut, Delaware, and Susquehanna river basins, was also tested.
3. Connecticut River basin A. heterodon metamorphosed into juvenile mussels on tessellated darter, slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus), and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr. Delaware River basin mussels metamorphosed using these three species, as well as brown trout (Salmo trutta), banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus), mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdii), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), and shield darter (Percina peltata). Atlantic salmon, striped bass, and sculpins were highly effective hosts, frequently generating 5+ juveniles per fish (JPF) and metamorphosis success (MS; proportion of attaching larvae that successfully metamorphose) ≥ 0.4, and producing juveniles in repeated trials.
4. In experiments on tessellated darters, mean JPF and MS values decreased as isolation between the mussel source (Connecticut River) and each fish source increased; mean JPF = 10.45, 6.85, 4.14, and mean MS = 0.50, 0.41, and 0.34 in Connecticut, Delaware, and Susquehanna river darters, respectively. Host suitability of individual darters was highly variable (JPF = 2–11; MS = 0.20–1.0).
5. The results show that mussel–host fish compatibility in A. heterodon differs among Atlantic coastal rivers, and suggest that hosts including anadromous Atlantic salmon and striped bass may help sustain A. heterodon in parts of its range. Continued examination of host use variation, migratory host roles, and mussel–fish interactions in the wild is critical in conservation of A. heterodon and other vulnerable mussel species.

     

黄河干流陕西段鱼类种类组成及群落多样性

为了解黄河陕西段鱼类种类组成及群落结构,2013-2015年调查了黄河陕西段鱼类资源。结果显示:黄河陕西段有鱼类7目15科58种,其中鲤科鱼类最多为36种,占总种类数的61.1%,较20世纪80年代减少了6种。优势种有4种,数量占渔获物总数量50.3%,生物量占65.8%。分析渔获物组成和群落多样性,黄河陕西段鱼类年龄、个体规格小型化趋势明显,不同河段鱼类群落存在明显空间差异,府谷段多样性指数最高,群落结构稳定,港口段丰富度指数最高,资源种类较多,港口和壶口的鱼类群落结构没有相似性。     

Growth characteristics of the endangered thick‐shelled river mussel (Unio crassus) near the northern limit of its natural range

1. The thick‐shelled river mussel, Unio crassus (Bivalvia: Unionoida), is one of Europe's most‐threatened mussels. Finnish populations of U. crassus lie close to the northern limit of its natural distribution. Extirpation of these populations will reduce the range of this endangered species.
2. Growth characteristics of U. crassus were measured in a river running through the Helsinki metropolitan area. Shell dimensions (size‐at‐age data) and annual shell growth increments were used to reconstruct growth rate and its variation during the lifespan of individual mussels and to investigate the relationship between growth rate and longevity (age‐at‐death).
3. Reconstructed growth rates compared well with size‐at‐age data conventionally used to study individual growth in natural populations, and fitted von Bertalanffy growth functions very well. Based on the same function, reconstruction and size‐at‐age methods resulted in similar estimates of growth rate.
4. Shell weight explained the body size more reliably than age, suggesting that growth rate varied significantly among individuals. Comparison of individual growth histories revealed a negative correlation between age‐at‐death and growth rate, i.e. slow‐growing mussels lived longer, and vice versa.
5. In comparison with populations from central and southern Europe, U. crassus populations in the north of its range grew more slowly but lived longer, a phenomenon most likely explained by latitudinal changes in ambient temperature.
6. Although northern populations are expected to benefit from a relatively high number of reproductive periods and lower juvenile mortality, the individuals studied here died earlier and suffered higher mortality than expected and an elevated conservative status is identified. Any management programme should take into account the life‐history traits essential to the recognition of management units of U. crassus.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.