把不确定性引入生物学参考点F0.1和Fmax的估计以评估东海带鱼渔业资源

东海带鱼(Trichiurus haumela)是东海区重要经济鱼类之一,目前还没有研究在生物学参考点F0.1和Fmax的估计中引入不确定性并在此情况下对东海区带鱼渔业资源进行量化评估。文章应用蒙特卡罗模拟方法研究了渔业数据中不同水平的不确定性和不同初次捕捞年龄对F0.1和Fmax估计的影响,用其与现在的捕捞死亡系数Fcur做比较,初步评估了东海带鱼渔业资源。计算结果表明,高水平的不确定性将会增加在F0.1和Fmax估计中的差异,从而使其被定义为过度捕捞的可能性减小。经过比较表明,F0.1比Fmax是一更好的参考点,且东海区带鱼渔业明显处于过度捕捞状态。不同初次捕捞年龄下单位补充量渔获量的变化情况的研究表明,增大初次捕捞年龄可以减小现在的捕捞死亡率大于参考点死亡率的概率,从而增大初次捕捞年龄可以改善现在捕捞过度的资源状况。     

Live microbial feed supplement in aquaculture for improvement of stress tolerance

Two bacterial strains, Lactobacillus fructivorans, isolated from sea bream (Sparus aurata) gut, and Lactobacillus plantarum, isolated from human faeces, were administered simultaneously, during sea bream development, using Brachionus plicatilis and/or Artemia salina as vectors. The probiotic treatment significantly affected gut colonization. To test the probiotic influence on stress responsiveness, sea bream fry, 47 days post-hatching (p.h.), were subjected to pH stress (from 8.6 to 6.3) and cumulative mortality, cortisol levels and HSP70 gene expression were analysed. Cortisol was selected, since under stress conditions its level increases. HSP70 was selected with consideration of its wide involvement in response to a great number of injuries, and because it protects cells probably by binding and refolding damaged proteins. The results obtained indicated that the administration of probiotic to sea bream fry induced higher HSP70 levels, indicating a greater potentiality to respond to the harmful conditions possibly present in fish farms. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the levels of cortisol found were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in both groups under probiotic treatment. When pH was used as a stressor, it induced a higher cumulative mortality in the control; the mortality was found to be significantly lower in both treated groups. Interestingly, a significant increase (P < 0.05) in HSP70 gene expression was observed in all stressed groups. These results suggest an improvement in tolerance to acute stress of fry fed with probiotics.     

Occurrence and present status of coastal dolphins (Delphinus delphis and Tursiops truncatus) in the eastern Ionian Sea

• 1. Boat surveys aimed at studying short‐beaked common dolphins and common bottlenose dolphins in eastern Ionian Sea coastal waters were conducted between 1993 and 2003. During 835 survey days, 24 771 km of total effort was distributed within an area of 480 km², resulting in 428 common dolphin and 235 bottlenose dolphin sightings.
• 2. Individual photo‐identification was performed extensively throughout this study, making it possible to monitor the number of animals seen in the study area each year and their long‐term residency patterns.
• 3. Common dolphins declined across the study period, from 2.18 encounters/100 km in 1997 to 0.40 encounters/100 km in 2003. In contrast, there was a relatively stable presence of bottlenose dolphins, some individuals showing high levels of site fidelity and others using the area only occasionally.
• 4. The local decline of common dolphins and the low density of bottlenose dolphins appeared to reflect the general status of these cetacean species in the wider Mediterranean region, where common dolphins were classified as endangered in the IUCN Red List in 2003.
• 5. Based on the available evidence, we infer that the present unfavourable status of common dolphins in eastern Ionian Sea coastal waters is largely a consequence of prey depletion.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nocturnal feeding reduces sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax, L.) pellet-catching ability

European sea bass exhibits a feeding rhythm with seasonal phase inversions: nocturnal feeding is predominant in winter, and diurnal feeding during the rest of the year. This explains the increased growth of sea bass fed at night during the winter months, but to fully assess such feeding practices, it is important to monitor food-catching efficiency in the dark. To evaluate the influence of nocturnal feeding on pellet-capture efficiency under laboratory conditions, we developed an infrared pellet detector linked to on-line recording with a microcomputer. Feed waste was recorded for eight groups of four sea bass (54.6±15.8 g body weight) fed either diurnal or nocturnal meals with long (>60 s) or short (<20 s) feed availability times. With short feed availability times, food-catching efficiency in complete darkness (0 lx) was reduced to 78.6%, compared to 93.5% in diurnally fed fish. This was confirmed in a second experiment, performed during winter, involving 4000 sea bass in four sea cages (1000 per cage) provided with self-feeders and pellets detectors. Feed waste amounted to less than 13% of the food distributed, but nocturnal demands (29% of total feed demands) were accompanied by higher levels of uneaten pellets (68% of the total feed waste) than diurnal demand. This suggests that if the aim is to reduce feed waste, nocturnal feeding should be restricted in sea cages.     

Survival of reared Atlantic salmon and sea trout in relation to marine conditions of smolt year in the Baltic Sea

The marine survival of hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta) was examined in relation to marine conditions during post-smolt migration and in relation to stock traits. In 1970–2001, Carlin-tagged smolts were released in the Iijoki and Oulujoki rivers, the northern Baltic Sea. When both species were analysed together, the abundance of the three prey fish, herring (Clupea harengus), smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) and vendace (Coregonus albula) correlated positively with the survival of salmonids. In addition, the increase in smolt size appeared to improve the survival rate. Sea surface temperature (SST) may have affected indirectly through the abundance of prey fish during the post-smolt migration of salmon and sea trout. The smelt and vendace showed a statistical effect on survival only when the temperature effects were not included in the models. In sea trout, an increasing smolt length was not significantly correlated with the survival in good herring recruitment years, but in poor years survival increased very rapidly with increasing smolt size. The recapture rates of the salmonids tended to decrease between the years 1970 and 2001. During the same time period, the June SST slightly decreased. The positive correlation between the annual summer SST and recapture rate of salmon may partly explain the decreasing trend in recapture rates. An increase in smolt size did not compensate for the decline in the recapture rate of either species.     

Early- to late-summer population growth and prey consumption by age-0 pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), in two years of contrasting pollock abundance near the Pribilof Islands, Bering Sea

Acoustic survey data were used to estimate the abundance and distribution of age-0 walleye pollock and zooplankton near the Pribilof Islands, Bering Sea, nursery area at two time periods in two consecutive years: the beginning of August, and mid-September, of 1996 and 1997. The 1996 pollock year class ultimately produced a large adult cohort in the eastern Bering Sea, while the 1997 year class produced a below-average adult cohort. Acoustic densities of age-0 pollock were significantly lower in August – and declined more strongly from August to September – in 1997 than in 1996, indicating that the trend to adult cohort strength was already set by August. Diet composition analyses revealed that age-0 pollock ate a much higher proportion of euphausiids in 1997 than in 1996, despite lower acoustic abundance of euphausiids in 1997. We infer that in 1996, age-0 pollock experienced greater feeding success by August, with high concentrations of copepods available for smaller fish to consume, and high concentrations of euphausiids available for larger individuals. In 1997, age-0 pollock had lower body condition in August and may have been limited by the availability of small (<2 mm) copepods. Bioenergetic modeling of prey consumption did not indicate a likelihood that age-0 pollock would begin to deplete euphausiids until late August in 1996, and not at all between August and mid-September in 1997.     

Benthic microbial indicators of fish farm impact in a coastal area of the Tyrrhenian Sea

We studied the impact of organic loads due to the biodeposition of a fish farm in a non-impacted coastal area of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean). Sediment chemistry and benthic microbial community were investigated from July 1997 to February 1998 on monthly basis at two stations: one was located under the fish farm, while the second was about 1 km away, and served as a reference site. The presence of the cage induced rapid changes in the benthic conditions: the sediments were rapidly (after 6 weeks) reduced. A significant accumulation of biopolymeric carbon was observed beneath the cage both 2 weeks after the initial cage deployment, on non-impacted sediments, and 5–7 months after, and appeared to be related to the fish farm production cycle. The density of microbial communities beneath the fish farm increased only during the first month of farming activity (July) and partially 7 months after cage disposal (i.e. in January), when there was a significant sediment organic enrichment. Additional evidence of rapid impact of the fish farm on the benthic bacterial communities is provided by the increase in the numbers of autofluorescent microbial cells. The photosynthetic eukaryotic cells displayed a highly reduced contribution to total autofluorescent microbial density, indicating that their decrease is related with biopolymeric carbon accumulation, and probably was due also to “shadow effect” induced by suspended material, coming from the fish farm, on the environment below. We propose here, to apply the ratio of culturable heterotrophic bacteria to microbial direct counts (CFU/MDC) to detect fish farm impact. In cage sediments, organic enrichment and the consequent modification of the characteristics of the benthic environment, determined an increase in aerobic heterotrophic bacteria and vibrio density indicating that they are efficient colonizers of organic-rich sediments. Densities of Escherichia coli and Enterococci were not significantly higher than in the reference site, and are likely of terrestrial origin. Thus they cannot be used as specific indicators of fish farm impact.     

钓鱼岛近海的涡旋及其与马面鲀渔场的关系

本文根据1981—1984年各年春季(4月),绿鳍马面鲀产卵场的调查资料及产量统计资料,通过水温、盐度、密度σ_t比容偏差10~((?)δ)和地转流等海况要素,对钓鱼岛近海的涡旋特征、强度、位置变化及结合渔况进行分析研究。初步认为钓鱼岛东北海区即黑潮及其分支处附近,存在一气旋型涡旋,涡旋边缘的北侧和西侧流速较小,是马面鲀的过路渔场和产卵场。春季马面鲀的产卵场基本集中在钓鱼岛近海(26°N断面)的涡旋区及其西侧边缘的近底层,水温为17—18℃,盐度为34.6—34.8‰,比容偏差10~((?)δ)为270一290。若以涡旋底部的比容偏差10~((?)δ)作为衡量外洋水强弱的指标,则它与上海、舟山渔业公司4—5月份的马面鲀产量之间的相关系数为0.913;与马面鲀年总产量的相关为0.812。故认为该水文要素可提供渔获量预报的一项指标。马面鲀仔鱼基本沿涡旋周围的海流逐步向东北方向漂移。     

东海区刺鲳生长、死亡及资源利用状况评价

利用2001-2005年东海区26°30′～32°30′N，禁渔区线外200水深以浅的东海区大陆架海域底层拖网调查资料和生物学测定资料，利用ELEFAN I软件估算生长参数，拟合von-Bertalanffy生长方程,估算死亡系数，利用Beverton和Holt模型评价资源利用状况。研究结果表明：东海刺鲳的Von Bertalanffy生长方程的生长参数为:L_∞ =267.8 mm；K=0.45/a；t₀=-0.63 a。从生长速度看其生长过程是变化的，小时生长较快，当叉长达到178.5 mm时生长速度开始下降，此时年龄为1.81 a。利用Pauly公式和詹秉义等推导的M和最大年龄t_λ的线性回归方程求得自然死亡系数M=0.81，用FiSAT II软件中的长度变换渔获曲线法、BH模式和用CPUE估算总死亡系数，得到Z=3.87，捕捞死亡系数F=3.06。根据Beverton和Holt的单位补充量等渔获量曲线，现行渔业点即F=3.06，t_c=1.10 a位于最适产量区内，表明目前对刺鲳的资源利用较为合理，接近最大产量。保持目前的捕捞强度F=3.06和捕捞规格L_c=145 mm不变，不仅能够保持目前渔获量稳定，而且能够保护刺鲳的资源。刺鲳渔获量稳定且缓慢增长的重要原因在于开捕年龄较为合理，也就是网目尺寸较为合适，这对东海区主要经济鱼类资源的管理和保护具有很大的借鉴作用。