Differences in oxygen and carbon stable isotope ratios between hatchery and wild pink salmon fry

We examined differences in otolith oxygen (δ¹⁸O_otolith) and carbon (δ¹³C_otolith) stable isotope ratios between hatchery and wild pink salmon fry. The δ¹⁸O_otolith values of hatchery and wild fry were ?7.7 ± 0.2 ‰ and ?8.3 ± 0.3 ‰ (1σ), respectively. This difference reflected differences in temperature conditions experienced by each fry. The δ¹³C_otolith values of hatchery and wild fry were ?19.2 ± 0.3 ‰ and ?11.1 ± 1.8 ‰ (1σ), respectively. The lower δ¹³C_otolith values of hatchery fry were probably related to their intake of artificial diets. Discriminant analysis of δ¹⁸O_otolith and δ¹³C_otolith values demonstrated a highly significant difference between hatchery and wild fry with 95.8 % classification accuracy. Therefore, analysis of δ¹⁸O_otolith and δ¹³C_otolith precipitated in the fry stage may be useful for discriminating the origin of returning adult pink salmon. The discrimination method for returning adult fish would provide important information for evaluating the effect of hatchery release and their impact on the wild population.     

Distribution of different fractions of cadmium,zinc, lead,and copper in unpolluted and polluted soils

McLaren and Crawford's method for fractionating soil Cu was modified, and used to fractionate soil Cd, Zn, Pb, and Cu in 38 soil samples from 11 soil profiles from industrially polluted and nearby unpolluted areas. Pollutant metals, especially Cd and Zn, were more soluble than the native soil metals. On average, approximately 45% of Cd was present in the CaCl₂ soluble (CA) fraction, whereas corresponding values for the other metals were below 10%. The percentages of each metal in the CA fraction followed the order Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu. The same order was observed for the acetic acid soluble (AAC) fraction. Approximately 30% of total Pb and Cu were present in the pyrophosphate soluble (PYR) fraction, and only 10% of total Cd and Zn. Approximately 20% of total Zn or Pb and 10% of Cd or Cu were present in the free oxide (OX) fraction. Only 20% of Cd and between 40–50% of the other 3 metals were present in the residual (RES) fraction. The results show that Cd is more labile than the other 3 metals.     

Rapid, Micro-Methods to Estimate Plant Silicon Content by Dilute Hydrofluoric Acid Extraction and Spectrometric Molybdenum Method

By treating 0.5 g DW of a plant sample directly with 10 ml of a dilute hydrofluoric acid solution (HF solution, 1.5 M HF—0.6 M HCl), all the silica in plant (as much as 150 mg SiO₂) was dissolved within 1 h. After dilution of the extract with 40 mL of distilled water, the silica in the extract was measured by the spectrometric molybdenum yellow method. The molybdenum yellow method, in which silica in 0.1 mL of the diluted extract can be determined in 8 min, is well suited to rapid, micro-estimations of the silica content in plants. In the micro-modification, the size of the plant sample was reduced to 100 mg DW. The analytical procedure was simple, and the analytical time was less than 2 h. The method can save much labor and time, compared with the gravimetric analysis. The dissolution with HF solution and the molybdenum yellow method were also applied to the measurement of the content of silica separated by acid digestion of rice plants. Excellent agreement in the silica measurement of rice plants was confirmed among the direct extraction method, the gravimetric method and the digestion-separation-dissolution method. In the molybdenum yellow method, the addition of boric acid enabled to mask the interference of hydrofluoric acid, and the least amount of citric acid required for the elimination of phosphorus interference was proposed. In conclusion in this report, recommended methods for the rapid estimation of the silica content in rice plants were presented.     

Chemical and Thermal Properties of Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) Meat

Chemical compositions and thermal properties of cultured freshwater prawn meat (FPM) were studied. FPM contained 83.2% protein (dry basis), 62.7% of which was myofibrillar protein. Pepsin-soluble collagen (PSC) and insoluble collagen (ISC) contents were 0.63 and 0.32%, respectively. Both collagens were similar to type V collagen from porcine placenta. Glutamic acid/glutamine, arginine, aspartic acid/?asparagine, and lysine were abundant amino acids in FPM. Glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and aspartic acid/?asparagine were predominant in both collagens. FPM exhibited thermal transition temperatures (T_max) of 48.3 and 64.7°C, whereas T_max of PSC and ISC were 43.0 and 46.0°C, respectively. Textural changes in FPM during post-mortem storage on ice are plausibly dependent upon its compositional and thermal properties.     

Development of EST-SSR markers of Ipomoea nil

Although Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth.) has been used intensively for genetic studies, DNA markers have not been developed in Ipomoea nil sufficient to cover all chromosomes. Therefore, we conducted microsatellite (simple sequence repeats, SSR) marker development in I. nil for future genetic studies. From 92,662 expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences, 514 unique microsatellite-containing ESTs were identified. Primer pairs were designed automatically in 326 SSRs. Of 150 SSRs examined, 75 showed polymorphisms among strains. A phenogram based on the SSR genotypes revealed the genetic relation among seven Japanese morning glories from five different regions of the world and an ivyleaf morning glory (I. hederacea Jacq.). The developed SSR markers might be applicable for genetic studies of morning glories and their relatives.     

Non-ideal Behavior During Complete Dissolution of Organic Immiscible Liquid: 2. Ideal Porous Media

Column experiments were conducted using ideal natural sands and stainless-steel beads to examine the complete dissolution behavior of an organic immiscible liquid. Trichloroethene was used as the representative organic liquid. The elution curves exhibited multi-step behavior, with multiple extended periods of relatively constant contaminant flux. These secondary steady-state stages occurred at concentrations several orders-of-magnitude below aqueous solubility for the well-sorted sands. In contrast, the secondary steady-state stages occurred within 1 log of aqueous solubility for the poorly sorted sand. The non-ideal behavior is hypothesized to result from constraints to hydraulic accessibility of the organic liquid to flowing water, which may be expected to be mediated by the pore-scale configuration of the flow field and the fluid phases.     

Extraction of silver from soils by chloride solutions

Using chloride solutions as extractants, 6.4–18.4% of Ag were extracted from polluted Annaka and Fuchu soils, whereas only 0.06–0.08% Ag were extractable using NH₄OAc, NH₄NO₃ or (NH₄₎₂SO₄ solution. In the case of unpolluted Konosu and Nagano soils, 28.3–47.0% of Ag were extracted by KCl and 0.7–1.0% of Ag were by NH₄OAc. The silver extracted with chloride solution was assumed to be derived from residual fractions.     

Influence of light intensity on feeding, growth, and early survival of leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) larvae under mass-scale rearing conditions

This study investigated the effect of different light intensities on feeding, growth and survival of early stage leopard coral grouper Plectropomus leopardus larvae. Four different light intensities (0, 500, 1000 and 3000 lx) were used and larvae were kept under constant light conditions from 0 day after hatching (DAH) to 5 DAH. The larvae were fed a small S-type of Thai strain rotifers at a density of 20 individuals/mL from 2 DAH. The number of rotifers in larval digestive organ and total length of larvae were examined at 3 h intervals between 04:00 and 22:00 h on 3 DAH, and thereafter at 6 h intervals until the end of the experiment (5 DAH). Four experimental trials of the larval rearing were repeated using by 60 kL mass-scale rearing tanks. The results indicate that coral grouper larvae are visual feeders and their food intake increases with increasing light intensity. Food intake of larvae reared at 3000 lx was significantly higher than those reared at 0–1000 lx on 3 DAH despite being the first-feeding day (P < 0.01). On 4 DAH, total length of larvae reared at 3000 lx was significantly larger than those reared at the lower light intensities (0, 500 and 1000 lx), and thereafter light intensity significantly influenced larval feeding and growth until the end of the experiment. Survival on 5 DAH did not show a significant difference between light intensities, but survival rate at 3000 lx and 1000 lx had a tendency to be higher than those reared at the lower light intensities (0 and 500 lx). In contrast, larvae reared at 0 lx exhibited stagnant and/or negative growth. These results indicate that light intensity is significantly the factor affecting larval feeding, growth, and survival in coral grouper larvae under the rearing conditions.     

Effects of patch cutting on leaf nitrogen nutrition in hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endlicher) at different elevations along a slope in Japan

Leaf nitrogen nutrition of hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endlicher) was investigated at three positions along a slope over a period of 3 years. At each slope position, nitrogen properties were compared in patch-cut plots (0.06–0.09 ha) and uncut control plots (0.04 ha). Nitrogen cycling at the lower slope was characterized by a higher rate of soil nitrogen mineralization, and higher nitrogen concentration in fresh leaves and leaf-litter. The soil nitrogen mineralization rate and fresh-leaf nitrogen concentration in the patch-cut plots were higher than those in the control plots. However, leaf-litter nitrogen concentration did not differ between the patch-cut and control plots. The results suggest that slope position strongly affects leaf nitrogen nutrition of hinoki cypress and soil nitrogen availability. By contrast, patch cutting does not affect leaf-litter nitrogen concentration. These findings indicated that hinoki cypress would not enhance forest nitrogen cycling through changes in leaf-litter nitrogen concentration after patch cutting.