Live Transport of Striped Bass and Rainbow Trout Using a Hidrostal Pump

Immediate and delayed (96 h) mortality, descaling, and injury rates of striped bass Morone sax-atilis and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss that were inserted into the entrance (suction side) of a Hidrostal pump were compared to those of control fish that were inserted at the exit (pressure side). Comparisons were made in 158-paired trials of striped bass and 86 trials with rainbow trout. The Hidrostal pump had no significant effect on immediate or delayed (96 h) mortality. Immediate mortality for striped bass and rainbow trout averaged 0.1 and 0%, respectively, and delayed mortality averaged 2.9 and 0.1%, respectively. Mean scale loss after passage for striped bass and rainbow trout was low (0.2 and 1.0%, respectively). Frequency of injury to the head, eyes, skin, and tins of pumped striped bass averaged 1.9, 2.8, 1.9, and 18.7%, respectively, and those of rainbow trout averaged 2.3, 0, 2.4, and 3.1%. No significant relationships were detected between fish mortality and pump speed, injected fish density, and debris load. Results suggest that large Hidrostal pumps have the capacity to transport live striped bass and rainbow trout at high density (1-6 fish/L) with little mortality and body injury.     

Oribatid mites in urban zones of West Berlin

Summary A comparison is made between oribatid fauna (Acari, Oribatida) in the urban regions of West Berlin and forest areas. There are characteristic species compositions living in urban soils, in epilithic moss cushions or on the bark of trees. The urban environment obviously causes a change in the species pattern in these types of habitats and minimizes the number of species in central urban regions. The most important regional factors are probably relative aridity, air pollution and habitat isolation, showing a similar increasing tendency from sub-urban to central regions of West Berlin. The effects of air pollution (SO2) on moss-inhabiting oribatid mites are analysed in 13 sites of the urban district of West Berlin. The use of moss- and bark-dwelling mites as bioindicators of air pollution is discussed.Soil oribatids might be useful bioindicators of soil pollution in further research.Dedicated to the late Prof. Dr. M.S. Ghilarov     

Speciation in the parthenogenetic oribatid mite genus Tectocepheus (Acari, Oribatida) as indicated by molecular phylogeny

Despite the lack of universal concepts for species and speciation, both sexual and asexual organisms are expected to diversify into discrete genotypic and morphological clusters. Species-rich clusters of parthenogenetic oribatid mites likely evolved in the absence of sexual reproduction. We used nucleotide sequences of the large and small rDNA genes (18S and 28S) and the coding genes for heat shock protein 82 (hsp82) and elongation factor-1 alpha (ef-1α) for phylogenetic analyses of three morphotypes of the parthenogenetic oribatid mite genus Tectocepheus. DNA sequence divergences of the different morphotypes were similar to those of sexual species in other organisms. Maximum likelihood analyses of single genes and combined data sets were largely congruent in reconstructing the phylogeny of the Tectocepheus species. The results suggest that the different morphotypes of Tectocepheus indeed evolved in the absence of sexual reproduction, and that Tectocepheus minor, Tectocepheus velatus and Tectocepheus sarekensis are best considered distinct species. Further, the results suggest that 18S rDNA, hsp82 and ef-1α are powerful markers for resolving phylogenetic relationships of oribatid mites. Saturation plots indicated that the D3-region of 28S is much more saturated than all other examined genes. This indicates that the D3-region is unsuitable for resolving ancient splits in oribatid mites.     

Heavy metal levels in earthworms of a forest ecosystem influenced by traffic and air pollution

Soils of a forest ecosystem in Berlin (West) are highly polluted by Pb and less polluted by Cd and Cu. Pb levels in earthworm species depend primarily on soil type and only secondarily on the distance from a highway crossing the forest. The dominating species Lumbricus rubellus and Dendrobaena octaedra show different body burdens especially of Cd. Liming the forest soils decreases the Pb concentrations significantly. Only in D. octaedra has body weight been found to be related to Pb; Pb has been increased from 50 mg kg^–1 in small to 250 mg kg^–1 in large specimens; Cu has been regulated at a more or less constant absolute level (about 0.4 pg per specimen). This species obviously regulates or accumulates the three metals in different ways. Centipedes as predators of earthworms in the sites show markedly less pollution of Pb and Cd (about 2.5 and 0.6 mg kg^–1) than the worms, but higher concentrations of the essential Cu (about 40 mg kg^–1). The use of earthworms as indicators of heavy metal pollution should take into account the biology of the various species, the soil type, the type and amount of organic matter as well as chemical parameters such as pH value or basic anions.