Antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation in Artemia nauplii enriched with DHA‐rich oil emulsion and the effect of adding an external antioxidant based on hydroxytyrosol

Artemia nauplii catabolize polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA); in particular, they retroconvert docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n‐3), so enrichment is a continuous quest towards increasing PUFA through the use of PUFA‐rich enrichment products. However, optimal conditions during enrichment (aeration, illumination and temperatures around 28°C) tend to accelerate autoxidation of PUFA and the formation of potentially toxic oxidation products. Water‐soluble antioxidants like the polyphenolic compound hydroxytyrosol (3,4‐dihydroxyphenylethanol), a polar molecule found in the water fraction resulting after the milling process of olives, arise as promising compounds to prevent oxidation during Artemia enrichments. We investigated the antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation in Artemia nauplii during enrichment and the effect of adding an external antioxidant based on hydroxytyrosol during the enrichment with a PUFA‐rich emulsion (M70). For this purpose, the activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione‐S‐transferase, glutathione peroxidase), as well as lipid peroxidation, was determined in enriched and unenriched Artemia nauplii. To validate antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation, in a first experiment, nauplii were enriched with microalgae (Tetraselmis suecica), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and M70 emulsion. In a second experiment, enrichment with a commercial emulsion (DC Super Selco), M70, and a combination of M70 and hydroxytyrosol (Hytolive, HYT) added as an external antioxidant were performed. The combination of M70 with HYT produced the best results, in terms of activity of antioxidant enzymes. The analysis of the fatty acids from total lipids showed that the addition of hydroxytyrosol preserved the DHA percentage of enriched nauplii.     

High fluid shear strain causes injury in silver shark: Preliminary implications for Mekong hydropower turbine design

The Lower Mekong Basin is facing unprecedented threats to fish diversity from hydropower development. There is increasing pressure on developers and construction authorities to design solutions to improve fish survival through turbines, thus protecting the resources in regions being developed for hydropower. A hydraulic characteristic of hydropower turbines with known fisheries impacts is fluid shear stress. Elevated shear stress occurs where rapidly flowing water passes near spillways, screens and within turbine draft tubes. Shear stress can have adverse impacts on fish, but no work has assessed whether this holds true for Mekong River species. A flume was used to determine critical tolerances of silver shark, Balantiocheilos melanopterus (Bleeker), to shear stress rates at a high‐velocity jet which simulated a hydropower turbine. Fish were assessed for injury or mortality following exposure. Results were compared against a no‐shear control. Injury and mortality were greater at higher shear stress exposures. Injuries occurred at all shear exposure levels with mortality at shear levels higher than 600/s. This approach should help design future hydropower turbines if data on other species demonstrate similar results. If the likelihood of adverse impact is high, then shear stress will need to be considered in the design of future hydropower facilities.     

Partial nomadism in large‐bodied bream (Abramis brama)

The recent focus on a common movement ecology paradigm has increased awareness about the importance of distinguishing different movement patterns for understanding their specific impact on animal ecology and evolution. One specific form of movement is nomadism, where animals move between habitats in an arrhythmic fashion. Although not yet described in detail for freshwater fish, nomadism between lakes within drainage systems could affect local lake food webs in an otherwise unpredictable fashion. In this study, we used passive telemetry to describe inter‐lake movements of 1,280 individually tagged adult benthivorous bream (Abramis brama) over nine contiguous years in a drainage system with two paired lakes. The movements can best be described as partial nomadism, where a part of the population is neither resident nor migratory, but instead moves between lakes in a variable, arrhythmic fashion, often with long residency in one lake before moving to the other. We found extensive between‐year variation in the proportion and direction of bream moving, with higher movement propensity being partly associated with lower somatic condition. Notably, movements out of lakes were significantly more in direction of the neighbouring lake than away from the paired lakes, suggesting that at least direction was not random. Since bream are important ecosystem engineers, fluctuating densities of adult bream could affect ecological stability in lakes. Our study suggests that fish populations in interconnected lakes within drainages should not be treated as isolated units, and we discuss this in relation to lake ecology and the importance for lake ecosystem management.     

Death of a neonatal lamb due to Clostridium perfringens type B in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Case history and clinical findings: A flock of 20 sheep was kept within three paddocks on a single property. None of the animals in the flock had been vaccinated against any disease for at least three years. Abdominal bloating and haemorrhagic diarrhoea were observed in Lamb 1 at 24 hours-of-age. The lamb subsequently died within an hour of the onset of clinical signs. Lamb 2 was 3-days-old when observed to be recumbent with opisthotonus. The lamb was treated with dextrose, vitamins B1 and B12, and penicillin G, but died 4 hours later.

Pathological findings: Examination of Lamb 1 revealed markedly increased gas within the peritoneum and within dilated loops of intestine. The intestines were dark red and contained large quantities of haemorrhagic fluid. Histology of the intestines revealed peracute mucosal necrosis with minimal accompanying inflammation. The intestinal lumen contained cell debris, haemorrhage, and myriad large Gram-positive bacilli. The intestines of Lamb 2 did not appear bloated or reddened. However, multiple fibrin clots were visible within the pericardial sac. Histopathological examination revealed small foci of necrosis within the mucosa of the distal intestine. The necrotic foci were often associated with large numbers of large Gram-positive bacilli.

Immunohistochemsitry and molecular biology: Intestinal samples from Lamb 1 were processed for Clostridium perfringens immunohistochemistry, which revealed large numbers of intralesional, positively immunostained rods. Fragments corresponding to the expected sizes for genes encoding alpha, beta, and epsilon C. perfringens typing toxins were amplified by PCR from DNA extracted from formalin-fixed sections of intestine.

Diagnosis: Lamb dysentery due to C. perfringens type B.

Clinical relevance: C. perfringens bacteria have a worldwide distribution, but disease due to C. perfringens type B has only been diagnosed in a small number of countries and has never been reported in New Zealand or Australia. C. perfringens type B produce both beta toxin and epsilon toxins, therefore both haemorrhagic enteritis and systemic vascular damage can develop. As many animals are exposed to C. perfringens without developing disease, there must be additional unknown factors that resulted in disease in these particular sheep. Vaccines that specifically protect against C. perfringens type B are available and may be recommended for use in smaller non-commercial flocks, as in the present case.     

Contrasting time-scale effects of land-use legacy on species richness,diversity and composition in Mediterranean scrubland communities

Context

It is known that land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes affect plant community assembly for decades. However, both the short- and the long-term effects of contrasting LULC change pathways on this assembly are seldom explored.

Objectives

To assess how LULC change pathways affect woody plant community parameters (i.e. species richness, diversity and evenness) and species’ presence and abundance, compared with environmental factors and neutral processes.

Methods

The study was performed in Mediterranean limestone scrublands in NE Spain. Cover of each woody species was recorded in 150 scrubland plots belonging to five LULC change pathways along the past century, identified using land-cover maps and fieldwork. For each plot, total woody and herbaceous vegetation cover, local environmental variables and geographical position were recorded. Effects of these pathways and factors on plant community parameters and on species presence and abundance were assessed, considering spatial effects potentially associated to neutral processes.

Results

Species richness and diversity were associated with LULC change pathways and elevation, while evenness was only associated with this last. Pathways and environmental variables explained similar variance in both species’ presence and cover. In general, while community parameters were affected by recent-past (1956) use, species presence and abundance were associated with far-past (pre-1900) cropping. No relevant spatial effect was detected for any studied factor.

Conclusions

Historical LULC changes and current environmental factors drive local-scale community assembly in Mediterranean scrublands to an equal extent, while contrasting time-scale effects are found at community and species level. Neutral, dispersal-based processes are found to be non-relevant.

     

A KCNJ10 mutation previously identified in the Russell group of terriers also occurs in Smooth-Haired Fox Terriers with hereditary ataxia and in related breeds

Background

Hereditary ataxias with similar phenotypes were reported in the Smooth-Haired Fox Terrier, the Jack Russell Terrier and the Parson Russell Terrier. However, segregation analyses showed differing inheritance modes in these breeds. Recently, molecular genetic studies on the Russell group of terriers found independent mutations in KCNJ10 and CAPN1, each associated with a specific clinical subtype of inherited ataxia. The aim of this study was to clarify whether or not Smooth-Haired Fox Terriers with hereditary ataxia and dogs of other related breeds harbor either of the same mutations. A sub goal was to update the results of KCNJ10 genotyping in Russell group terriers.

Findings

Three Smooth-Haired Fox Terriers with hereditary ataxia and two Toy Fox Terriers with a similar phenotype were all homozygous for the KCNJ10 mutation. The same mutation was also found in a heterozygous state in clinically unaffected Tenterfield Terriers (n = 5) and, in agreement with previous studies, in Jack Russell Terriers, Parson Russell Terriers, and Russell Terriers.

Conclusions

A KCNJ10 mutation, previously associated with an autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia in Jack Russell Terriers, Parson Russell Terriers, and Russell Terriers segregates in at least three more breeds descended from British hunting terriers. Ataxic members of two of these breeds, the Smooth-Haired Fox Terrier and the Toy Fox Terrier, were homozygous for the mutation, strengthening the likelihood that this genetic defect is indeed the causative mutation for the disease known as “hereditary ataxia” in Fox Terriers and “spinocerebellar ataxia with myokymia, seizures or both” in the Russell group of terriers.