Effect of aging in adult Monochamus alternatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) on the susceptibility of the beetle to Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales)

To clarify the effect of aging in adult Monochamus alternatus on the susceptibility of the beetle to Beauveria bassiana, we inoculated the fungus into adult beetles 0, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days after emergence. The number of days from B. bassiana inoculation to M. alternatus death increased with the number of days from beetle emergence to inoculation up to 14 days after emergence. This indicated that the susceptibility of adult beetles to the fungus decreased with aging. However, B. bassiana-inoculated beetles 28 days after emergence died earlier after inoculation than those inoculated with the fungus 14 days after emergence; i.e., the beetle’s susceptibility to the fungus increased again. We considered this phenomenon to be the result of senescence of adult beetles. We concluded that the susceptibility of M. alternatus to B. bassiana decreased first and then increased again with aging.     

Proposal for stock-recruitment relationship for Japanese sardine <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sardinops melanostictus</Emphasis> in North-Western Pacific

ABSTRACT:   This study assessed the stock-recruitment relationship (SRR) for the Japanese sardine Sardinops melanostictus in the North-western Pacific. Of the 20 SRR models investigated, the Akaike information criterion (AIC) was the minimum (AIC = 551.2) when the data were separated into two groups (A and B) and the log-normal distribution was applied as the error term. Group A was constructed with SRR data from 1976–1987 and 1992–2004. Group B consisted of data from 1988–1991. The AIC minimum model was R  = 22.8 S  ×  e ^ε for Group A, where R , S , and ε denote the recruitment of sardine (individual number of 0-year old fish), spawning stock biomass (SSB), and error term, respectively. This model indicated that recruitment was proportional to the SSB and that no density-dependent effect operated over the range of SSB investigated (51 000–11.3 million t). Recruitment was markedly higher (lower) when the sea surface temperature (SST) of the Kuroshio Extension area in February was low (high). The essential SRR can simply be expressed as R  = 22.8 S  ×  e ^ε with the level of recruitment deviating from the model to a greater or lesser degree depending on the environmental conditions.     

Effects of low pH on the reproductive behavior of salmonid fishes

In northern Europe and America, the acidification of lakes and rivers induced by acid precipitation has damaged fish populations. At present, rapidly expanding industrial activities in East Asia have led to continuous increases in the quantity of emission of acidic pollutants, and rain of acidic levels of pH4 has precipitated throughout Japan. In this way, the effects of acid rain on fish populations have also been manifested in Japan. In order to examine the effects of low pH on the reproductive behavior of salmonids which are known to be acid-sensitive species, changes in the frequency of upstream behavior and spawning-related female nest-digging behavior in response to changes in pH were observed in mature hime salmon (land-locked sockeye salmon) Oncorhynchus nerka, brown trout Salmo trutta and Japanese char Salvelinus leucomaenis. Digging and upstream behavior were significantly inhibited in weakly acidic water of pH 5.8–6.4 formulated using sulfuric acid. Land-locked sockeye salmon was the most sensitive to changes in pH among the three species.     

Performance of a closed recirculating system with foam separation, nitrification and denitrification units for intensive culture of eel: towards zero emission

The development of a closed recirculating aquaculture system that does not discharge effluents would reduce a large amount of pollutant load on aquatic bodies. In this study, eel were reared in a closed recirculating system, which consisted of a rearing tank, a foam separation unit, a nitrification unit and a denitrification unit. The foam separation unit has an inhalation-type aerator and supplies air bubbles to the rearing water. The growth of eel, which were fed a commercial diet, was satisfactory, with gross weight increases of up three times in 3 months. The survival rate under the congested experimental conditions was 91%. The foam separation unit maintained oxygen saturation in the rearing water at about 80%. Furthermore, fine colloidal substances were absorbed on the stable foam formed from eel mucus and were removed from the rearing water by foam separation. Ammonia oxidation and the removal of suspended solids were accomplished rapidly and simultaneously in the nitrification unit. The ammonia concentration and turbidity were kept at less than 1.2 mg of N per litre and 2.5 units, respectively. When the denitrification process was operated, nitrate that accumulated in the rearing water (151 mg of N per litre) was reduced to 40 mg of N per litre. The sludge was easily recovered from the nitrification and denitrification tanks, and the components were found suitable as compost. Based on these results, the intensive aquaculture of freshwater fish such as eel can be achieved using a closed recirculating system without emission.     

Annual dynamics of marine birnavirus (MABV) in cultured Japanese flounder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paralichthys olivaceus</Emphasis> and sea water

ABSTRACT:   Seasonal changes in the infection state of marine birnavirus (MABV) in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and in rearing sea water are described. Sea water and 10–11 healthy fish were sampled monthly from April 2002 to February 2003. The MABV genome was detected throughout the year in > 80% of the fish examined at each sampling. The virus was isolated from the liver, kidney, and spleen, but not from the brain. The detection rate in each organ increased from April to October, and then decreased. Detection of virus antigen by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique also showed that the virus was present from spring to autumn (June–September) in the liver, kidney, and spleen, but not the brain. Sequence analysis of the MABV genome at the VP2–NS region revealed two specific mutations compared to the standard yellowtail strain (Y-6). It is suggested that the infection state of MABV in Japanese flounder changes to a latent or persistent infection after autumn. MABV was detected in sea water between September and February, suggesting that virus particles in the environment are relatively higher during cool seasons.     

Accumulation of organotin compounds and marine birnavirus detection in Korean ascidians

ABSTRACT:   Recently, a serious disease spread extensively in aquaculture sites of the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi in Korea. To understand circumstances of ascidians in Korean aquaculture sites, residue levels of organotin compounds were analyzed, and detection of a marine birnavirus (MABV) in tissues of H. roretzi was attempted. Korean H. roretzi showed high concentrations of butyltins (mono, di, and tributyltins), especially in the gill, hepatopancreas, and digestive tract. However, there was no significant difference in the residues of butyltins in the hepatopancreas between diseased and non-diseased ascidians. The positive rate of MABV detection was high in the hepatopancreas, but also no significant difference was observed between diseased and non-diseased individuals. These observations suggest that an accumulation of tributyltin and a latency of MABV in H. roretzi tissues does not directly relate to the occurrence of the disease.     

Identification of ommastrephid squid paralarvae collected in northern Hawaiian waters and phylogenetic implications for the family Ommastrephidae using mtDNA analysis

ABSTRACT:   A total of 110 adult individuals from four ommastrephid (family Ommastrephidae) squid species ( Ommastrephes bartramii, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, Eucleoteuthis luminosa, and Hyaloteuthis pelagica ) were used to obtain diagnostic DNA markers for species identification. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of a partial segment (855 bp) of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed that the restriction profiles of two endonucleases ( Alu  I and Tsp 509 I) were diagnostic for species identification. The restriction assay partially supplemented with nucleotide sequence analysis successfully assigned 69 damaged and morphologically equivocal ommastrephid paralarvae collected in northern Hawaiian waters, identifying 60 O. bartramii , eight S. oualaniensis , and one E. luminosa . The family Ommastrephidae appears to be monophyletic. Although the phylogenetic relationships among genera were not resolved well due to apparent homoplasy and large genetic divergence between species, COI sequence data without transitions provided support for subfamily level relationships.