A behavioural sensor for fish stress

Due to water turbidity, fish stress might be difficult to observe. Evaluation of fish stress by blood sampling requires removing a fish from the water, which is in itself a stressful event. Therefore, we designed and built a sensor to detect fish behaviour that reflects stress. The electronic sensor detected early signs of fish stress by scoring the fish's inactivity. LEDs and detectors are embedded on a steel wand that is held underwater by an operator. In this preliminary (feasibility) study, the new sensor was validated for Tilapia (Cichlidae) and Hybrid Striped Bass (Morone). We induced stressful situations in the fish tanks by manipulating oxygen and temperature levels.ResultsLowering the temperature and oxygen levels both significantly increased the average number of signals identified by the sensor, which indicate stress. The effect of reducing water temperature from 24 °C to 15 °C was three times stronger than was the effect of lowering the oxygen saturation level from 85% to 50%. The difference in the number of signals between the good and stressful conditions was statistically significant, amounting to approximately eight sensor signals, 10.57 compared to 2.49 respectively. Lowering the temperature increased the mean number of signals by 5.85 and 6.06 at 85% and 50% oxygen saturation respectively, whereas lowering oxygen levels increased the mean number of signals by 2.02 and 2.23 at 24 °C and 15 °C, respectively. The results indicate that the stress status of cultured fish can be evaluated using the proposed behavioural sensor. The new sensor may provide an earlier indication of a problem in a fish tank or pond than was heretofore possible. This early warning can enable the fish farmer to take action before many fish are harmed.     

Dietary fishmeal levels affect the volatile compounds in cooked muscle of farmed large yellow croaker Larimichthys crocea

A comparative study on the volatile compounds in cooked muscle of wild and farmed large yellow croaker (LYC) was conducted. The two farmed LYC groups were fed with diets containing 44% (CF) and 25% (LF) of fish meal (FM) respectively. Results showed that 48 volatiles, including aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, hydrocarbons, aromatics, acids, esters, furans and miscellaneous compound, were detected in cooked fillets. The LF group had significantly lower amounts of total aldehydes and ketones, higher content of miscellaneous compound in cooked fillets than that in the CF and wild groups (p < .05). Compared with the wild group, the LF group had significantly lower amounts of total alcohols, acids and esters, while the CF group had significantly lower amounts of total aldehydes, higher content of total ketones in cooked muscle (p < .05). According to the principal component analysis (PCA), some volatiles (propanal, nonanal, etc.) could be considered as sensitive indicators to classify cooked muscle samples. In conclusion, differences in the volatiles in the cooked muscle between the wild and farmed LYC have been found. Low level of dietary FM (25%) changed the volatile profiles in cooked fillets of farmed LYC. A PCA may be useful to screen potential volatiles to classify cooked muscle samples in this study.     

Open-design Recirculating Systems for Zebrafish Culture

The zebrafish is an established vertebrate-animal model in biomedical research. Currently, their mass culture is mainly done using systems provided by commercial suppliers. Commercial systems are compact, recirculating, and use auto-cleaning tanks. These features minimize space use, labour cost, and water wastage; thus, facilitating maintenance of a large number of zebrafish using minimal resources. However, the often considered costs associated with these systems often impose a barrier to current and prospective researchers, especially those with limited funds or working in labs with no access to institutional centralized zebrafish culture facilities. In contrast to commercial systems, custom-made zebrafish maintenance systems are also described in the literature. To distinguish custom-made system from commercial systems, we termed them as “open-design” systems. Open-design systems are cost-effective, modular, and frequently being improved by zebrafish researchers. However, for further development and to present them as a viable option for zebrafish researchers around the world, a review of their current status and technical understanding is required. Here, we compile the disparate data on the purpose and technological development of the open-design systems. We believe this review will be a valuable resource for all zebrafish users and help streamline the open-design technology for zebrafish culture.     

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.     

深水网箱和池塘养殖凡纳滨对虾肌肉营养成分的比较分析

对深水网箱和池塘养殖凡纳滨对虾(Litopenaeus vannamei)肌肉常规营养成分、氨基酸和脂肪酸质量分数进行了比较分析。结果显示:1)网箱养殖对虾肌肉粗蛋白质量分数显著高于池塘养殖(P0.05),而水分、粗脂肪和粗灰分质量分数无显著差异(P0.05);2)肌肉中检测到18种常见氨基酸,网箱养殖对虾肌肉氨基酸总量(TAA)、天门冬氨酸(Asp)、异亮氨酸(Ile)、精氨酸(Arg)和脯氨酸(Pro)质量分数显著高于池塘养殖(P0.05),而必需氨基酸(EAA)、半必需氨基酸(HEAA)、鲜味氨基酸(DAA)和虾味氨基酸(PFAA)两者无显著差异(P0.05);3)肌肉中检测到30种常见脂肪酸,两者的饱和脂肪酸(SFA)、单不饱和脂肪酸(MUFA)、多不饱和脂肪酸(PUFA)、n-3多不饱和脂肪酸(EPA和DHA)质量分数差异显著(P0.05),以网箱养殖对虾较高;两者的棕榈酸(C16∶0)质量分数最高,且网箱养殖对虾EPA+DHA质量分数是池塘养殖的1.90倍。结果表明,网箱养殖对虾营养成分要优于池塘养殖,具有较高的营养价值。     

Observation of three‐dimensional flow structures and effluent transport around fish cages using a towed ADCP and free‐fall multi‐parameter profiler

A field campaign was conducted around salmon cages, using a combination of a towed ADCP and a free‐fall multi‐parameter profiler, in order to investigate flow structures and the possible distribution of effluent materials. Two transect observations showed that hydrographic conditions changed dramatically within 5 days, from highly stratified open water conditions to weak stratification. Three‐dimensional observation revealed that flow was blocked behind the cages and that the blockage was reduced as the distance from the cages increased. The flow speed was positively correlated with the intensity of the backscattering signal. The R² value was high immediately behind the cages and decreased with distance from the cages. The flow time series behind the cages exhibited a k^–2 power law spectrum that was consistent with a typical internal wave spectrum. This suggests that eddies shed from the cages were highly influenced by stratification. We estimated the rate of kinetic energy dissipation, , from YODA Profiler data based on the Thorpe scale approach. We also estimated the eddy diffusivity coefficient, . Both and followed a lognormal probability density function. The mean was consistent with a one‐dimensional diffusion model assessed from the R² values of flow speed and backscatter intensity.     

Dietary organic acids blend alone or in combination with an essential oil on the survival,growth, gut/liver structure and de hemato‐immunological in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus

This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation of organic acids blend (OAB) alone or in combination with essential oil, Lippia origanoides (OAE) for Nile tilapia fed supplemented diets for 30 days. Fish (1.1 ± 0.04 g) were fed control (Control), or OAB 0.5% or OAB 0.5% + essential oil 0.125% (OAE) respectively. At the end of the experiment, samples were collected for de hemato‐immunological, histological analysis of the intestine and liver, as well as microbiology of the intestine. The pH of the diets supplemented with OAB and OAE reduced 0.92 and 0.19 respectively. The growth and FCR were unaffected by the treatments, but survival was significantly higher in the OAB treatment. Fish fed the OAB diet showed reduced concentration of total heterotrophic bacteria and Pseudomonas sp. in the intestine. Increased glucose in fish fed OAB and high number of circulating monocytes in fish fed OAE diet were observed. The anterior intestine of fish fed OAE diet showed larger number of goblet cells and increased villi height. The diet supplemented with OAB, mainly, improved the intestinal health and survival of tilapia juveniles and can be used in juvenile production.     

新疆博尔塔拉河冬季鱼类群落空间分布及其与环境因子的关系

为完善新疆博尔塔拉河流域的渔业生态评估及体系养护,2016年11月在博尔塔拉河流域展开资源调查,于干流设置4个监测断面,对该水域鱼类群落结构进行研究。本调查共采集鱼类1515尾,隶属于3目5科14属,共计15种,均为硬骨鱼类;通过相对重要性指数(IRI指数)获得的博尔塔拉河干流的鱼类优势种共计3种,分别为麦穗鱼(Pseudorasbora parva)、棒花鱼(Abbottina rivularis)和新疆高原鳅(Triplophysastrauchii)。基于Bray-Curtis相似性指数的二维聚类分析结果显示,在60%相似水平上空间聚类,可将博尔塔拉河分为上游及下游2组,物种聚类在50%相似水平上可分为Ⅰ～Ⅳ共计4组。典范对应分析(CCA)表明,影响冬季鱼类群落空间结构的主要环境因子为海拔、温度和溶氧。对照历史资料结果表明,博尔塔拉河流域的土著鱼类种类减少;外来鱼类种类逐年增加;经济鱼种减少;鱼类群落小型化明显。本研究可为该流域生态环境评估、水资源开发利用及渔业资源养护提供基础数据,具有一定的参考价值。     

复合动植物蛋白部分替代鱼粉对大菱鲆幼鱼生长、体成分及生理生化指标的影响

本研究设计5组等氮等能(粗蛋白为53%,能量为25KJ/g)的实验饲料,以60%的鱼粉饲料组作为对照(D1),豆粕∶花生粕∶鱼溶浆粉∶鸡肉粉(2∶1∶3∶2)的复合蛋白替代40%(D2)、50%(D3)、60%(D4)和70%(D5)的鱼粉,养殖大菱鲆幼鱼(Scophthalmus maximus L.)初始体重(53.0±0.2) g,养殖周期84 d,每天定时(08:00,16:30)投喂2次,投喂量为体重的1.5%～2%。实验结果显示,各处理组之间幼鱼存活率、饲料系数和摄食率均无显著性差异(P0.05);与对照组相比,D4和D5组增重率显著降低(P0.05);肥满度在D2组达到最高值,显著高于D3、D4和D5组(P0.05);脏体比(VSI)、肝体比(HSI)和肠体比(ISI)均在D2组达到最低值,均显著低于D5组(P0.05);复合动植物蛋白替代鱼粉对大菱鲆幼鱼全鱼水分和粗蛋白含量均无显著影响(P0.05);各替代组全鱼粗脂肪含量显著高于对照组(P0.05);全鱼灰分含量在D5组显著低于对照组(P0.05);各组间背肌水分、粗蛋白、粗脂肪和灰分含量均无显著性差异(P0.05);复合动植物蛋白替代鱼粉对鱼体肌肉非必需氨基酸和必需氨基酸总量无显著影响(P0.05);各替代组均显著提高了血清谷草转氨酶和谷丙转氨酶活性(P0.05);总蛋白浓度在D2组显著高于D4和D5组(P0.05);血糖浓度在D2和D3组显著低于其他3组(P0.05);D3、D4和D5组甘油三酯浓度和高密度脂蛋白浓度均显著低于对照组和D2组(P0.05);各替代组胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白浓度均显著低于对照组(P0.05);各组之间碱性磷酸酶浓度无显著差异(P0.05)。研究结果表明,复合动植物蛋白可有效替代50%鱼粉而不影响大菱鲆幼鱼生长性能和部分生理生化指标。     

Monitoring shrimp growth with control charts in aquaculture

This work proposes a method for the statistical monitoring of the weekly weight of shrimp in a fish farm. The design of control charts for shrimp growth presents several challenges, the main ones being the presence of trend and autocorrelation. Several control charts are proposed, the most efficient being a chart based on the residuals of a second order autoregression whose parameters vary with the week. A control chart with less computational complexity is also provided. It is simply based on growth rates and works well at detecting negative weight changes. Real data from a large shrimp farm has been used for both the design and the evaluation.