Evaluating Sediment Accretion on a Relic Oyster Reef in Mobile Bay,Alabama

Abstract

Sediment traps were deployed at Fish River Reef (FRR), a relic oyster reef on the eastern side of Mobile Bay, and at Cedar Point Reef (CPR), a productive oyster reef on the western side of Mobile Bay, Alabama, from July through October 1999. Sediment accretion at FRR was two to three times greater than sediment accretion at CPR. The proportions of particulate organic matter and ash in the sediment at the two sites were similar. The proportion of coarse to fine sediment at CPR was greater than at FRR. Also, the sediment at FRR was black and had a sulfide odor suggesting anoxia, while the sediment at CPR was brown and odorless. Various fishes and invertebrates colonized the sediment traps at CPR, while those at FRR were devoid of live organisms. Oyster spat had settled on the shells in the traps at CPR but not on those at FRR. Results suggest that in order to restore oysters at FRR, cultch material should be dispersed during periods of peak larval settlement to prevent inhibitory levels of siltation on cultch before spat settle.     

不同水平的亚硒酸钠对鸡心肌组织硒沉积及组织结构的影响

通过在公鸡日粮中添加不同水平的亚硒酸钠,研究硒在公鸡心肌组织中的沉积量和对其组织结构功能的影响,以期为亚硒酸钠在禽类生产中的应用提供参考依据。试验选取80只体重接近、健康无疾病的海兰白成年公鸡,随机分成4组,每组20只,分别在日粮中添加0、0.3、0.6和1.0 mg/kg的亚硒酸钠。试验结束时,采集心组织样本,测定硒含量,并通过HE染色观察组织细胞结构。结果表明,公鸡心肌组织中硒含量随日粮硒含量的增加而升高。由此得出,公鸡心肌组织的硒含量随着日粮硒水平的增加而逐渐升高,高硒日粮对心肌组织的结构有一定影响,但由于硒在心肌组织中的沉积能力与其他组织相比较差,因此影响并不明显。     

Distribution and Dynamics of Phosphorus in an Agricultural Watershed with a Long-Term History of Poultry Waste Application

The objective of this research is to investigate the effects of long-term broiler litter application on soil phosphorus (P) and water quality and examine the spatial variations of soil P at a private poultry farm in Mississippi. Results indicated that the littered soil had 86 times more Mehlich III–extractable P in the surface horizon compared to the nonlittered soil. When compared to the runoff from nonlittered soil, mean soluble phosphate (PO₄)-P concentrations in the littered soil's runoff were 85 times greater throughout the study. Mass loss of P from the littered field was significantly greater than from the nonlittered field, and it decreased with each sequential runoff event. There were no linear relationships between the spatial variations of litter application rates and the P spatial variability in the littered soil; however, the variations in soil P levels could be a result of the cumulative effects of more than 20 years of litter application.     

Diurnal Vertical Migrations of Meiofauna in an Estuarine Sand Flat

Diurnal vertical migrations of meiofauna were observed in an estuarine sand flat and these were related primarily to desiccation and temperature. The migrations, which occurred in the top 10 cm of the sediment, had a mean range of 5 cm and were most strongly exhibited by the interstitial flatworms, polychaetes and oligochaetes, followed by the nematodes and harpacticoid copepods. It is concluded that vertical migrations are restricted to areas experiencing some degree of desiccation and would not be significant in waterlogged areas such as mud flats.     

Coastal sea surface temperature and coho salmon production off the north-west United States

A time series of mean weekly sea surface temperature (SST) images was used to investigate the relationship between fluctuations in the marine survival of hatchery-reared coho salmon and coastal ocean dynamics off the north-western United States (51° to 37°N) between 1985 and 1996, using univariate and nonlinear bivariate regression analysis. Ocean conditions were matched against survival for a number of different annual time frames according to the sum of negative or positive weekly SST anomalies. From the univariate analyses, the sum of negative anomalies from April to June, when the juvenile salmon first enter the ocean, was found to have an R ² of 0.88 against survival with 1991 excluded as an outlier. The bivariate multiple regressions used the sum of negative anomalies from April to June as the first independent variable. When the sums of positive anomalies from the following periods during the fishes' second calendar year in the ocean were each used as the second independent variable, the R ² values were all greater than or equal to 0.92 (with no data points excluded): January to June, February to June, April to June, March to June. These results are discussed within the context of coastal ocean processes. It is concluded that the analysis of SST image time series might allow management to make reasonable forecasts of hatchery-reared coho salmon survival.     

Ex situ Culture of Colonial Marine Ornamental Invertebrates: Concepts for Domestication

The worldwide market for ornamental saltwater invertebrates supplies the needs of millions of aquarium hobbyists, as well as for public exhibition (zoos, aquaria), universities, and research institutions. The large-scale continuous collection of marine organisms is responsible, in many places, for the destruction of habitats, including coral reefs. The perceived expansion of the animal trade further threatens these fragile habitats. In the present paper, several concepts for the domestication of marine ornamental invertebrates (mainly colonial species) are discussed, offering an alternative commercial approach. The major rationale is based on future ex situ propagation, not field collections; a strategy aimed to circumvent the need for wild-harvested animals. This strategy is based on: (1) collection, settlement and metamorphosis of large numbers of larvae from marine organisms or of naturally shed germ cells under aquarium conditions, where survivorship exceeds several orders of magnitude than that in nature; (2) fragmentation of very small pieces (such as the size of a single polyp in colonial corals or blood vessel ampullae in tunicates) for the production of new colonies; (3) the development of replicates and inbred-lines from chosen ornamental species; (4) the use of cryopreservation of larvae and germ cells which will support the supply of material year-round; (5) several concepts for husbandry methods. Some benefits and deficiencies associated with the strategy for ex situ cultures are discussed, revealing its importance to the future of the trade.     

A dynamic mass-balance model for marine protected areas

A modified Ecosim model was used to investigate the impact of establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) in ecosystems defined by existing Ecopath models. The impact of MPAs of various sizes was simulated, and changes in biomass and catch over a range of years observed. The response of biomass and catch to MPA size depended on the time period examined. For some ecosystem groups, the initial response was negative, but for all groups there were increases after 10 years. The greater the biomass exchange rate across the MPA boundary, the larger the MPA required to increase biomass levels. Within the range of exchange rates simulated, the maximum increases in catch and overall biomass levels were reached when 20% of the system was protected.     

船舶柴油机曲轴臂距差电子测量仪的研制

为了解决用传统的拐档表测量臂距差费时、操作不方便而且测量数据不精确的问题,提出一种以单片机为处理芯片的数字显示测量仪方案.选定差动变压器为传感部分,同时设计了仪器的硬件与软件.经曲轴臂距差测量实验得知,本仪器较传统测量方法速度更快,准确度更高,并且实现了数据的存储、显示、打印、通讯等功能.     

A meta‐analysis of the effects of dietary marine oil replacement with vegetable oils on growth,feed conversion and muscle fatty acid composition of fish species

The effects of the replacement of marine oils (MO) with canola oil (CO), linseed oil (LO) and soybean oil (SO) on growth, feed conversion and major muscle fatty acid (FA) classes were quantified using a meta‐analysis of published results. There was an absence of relationships between levels of MO replaced and effect sizes for all outcomes. High heterogeneity when combining effects sizes according to fixed effects models imposed the stratification of values in MO replacement categories and the use of random effect models to calculate the summary statistics. Limited values at 50% and 60% hampered clear tendencies when compared to 100% MO replacement. A medium mean effect size (?0.3773, 95% confidence intervals = ?0.7325 to ?0.0222, n = 22) for growth was obtained when replacing all MO with CO, whereas LO (?1.5609, 95% confidence intervals = ?2.3584 to ?0.7633, n = 19) and SO (?1.0589, 95% confidence intervals = ?1.7197 to ?0.3980, n = 22) resulted in high negative effect sizes. This study quantified the extent of differences in production parameters caused by dietary MO replacement with VO and could serve as reference for future experimental studies.     

有机质对大型富营养化浅水湖泊沉积物磷吸附特征的影响

以大型浅水湖泊（太湖和巢湖）为研究对象,系统分析了沉积物有机质（OM）含量和组成、磷吸附参数、磷形态及间隙水溶解反应性磷（SRP）浓度在水平方向上的分布。吸附解吸平衡浓度（EPC0）与SRP浓度的比较结果表明,在太湖北部与巢湖南淝河入湖口等污染较严重的区域,沉积物仍表现出吸附磷的功能;OM与土壤有效磷（Olsen-P）、磷吸附指数和碱性磷酸酶活性均显著正相关,有机质分解所产生的小分子物质可增加磷的吸附容量;添加小分子有机质的室内模拟试验进一步证实了上述假设,糖类主要影响磷的吸附能,而氨基酸主要增加最大吸附量。有机质自身及其降解产物以不同方式影响沉积物对磷的吸附能力,并据此调节湖泊富营养化过程。