Application of acoustic Doppler current profiler combined with a scientific echo sounder for krill Euphausia pacifica density estimation

ABSTRACT:   An application of the acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP, 153.6 kHz) in combination with a scientific echo sounder (EK60, 38 and 200 kHz) was investigated to estimate the density of krill Euphausia pacifica . The acoustic backscattering strength from sound scattering layers was compared with biomass estimates from midwater trawls. Euphausia pacifica was targeted among mixed species populations in the sound scattering layer in the offshore Funka Bay area of Hokkaido, Japan. The frequency characteristics of acoustic backscattering by krill were calculated using a distorted wave Born approximation scattering model at three frequencies. Krill aggregations identified from the EK60 data were extracted as the mean volume backscattering strength difference between two frequencies. They were then used to identify similar aggregations in the ADCP data by matching observation times and depths for the two methods, which were applied simultaneously. Results from the comparison of the mean volume backscattering strength and the density calculated from the ADCP and EK60 showed that ADCP can be used to measure density and spatial–temporal distribution of krill aggregations. Current speed and direction at the study site were found to be 16.1 cm/s and 187.0°, respectively, and krill speed and direction (including the current component) were found to be 19.8 cm/s and 172.2°, respectively. Based on the ADCP data, the net speed and direction of the krill aggregations were found to be 5.9 cm/s and 128.0°, respectively.     

Expression of a recombinant crustacean hyperglycemic hormone of the kuruma prawn Penaeus japonicus in methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

ABSTRACT:   Until now, six crustacean hyperglycemic hormones (CHH) designated Pej-SGP-I, -II, -III, -V, -VI and -VII have been characterized in the kuruma prawn Penaeus japonicus . All CHH consist of 72 amino acid residues and have an amidated carboxyl (C)-terminus. In the present study, we expressed Pej-SGP-III in methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris in order to obtain a large quantity of recombinant CHH possessing biological activity. A cDNA encoding Pej-SGP-III that had been previously cloned was processed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the resulting product was ligated into an expression vector. Pichia pastoris was transformed with this vector after which a recombinant Pej-SGP-III was expressed having an additional amino acid residue (glycine) at the C-terminus (rPej-SGP-III-Gly), a form considered to be a putative precursor of this hormone. rPej-SGP-III-Gly secreted into the culture medium was purified by reversed-phase HPLC, and amidated using a peptidylglycine alpha-amidating enzyme. The amidated rPej-SGP-III (rPej-SGP-III) showed hyperglycemic activity in in vivo bioassay almost comparable to that of the natural Pej-SGP-III. rPej-SGP-III thus obtained will be a useful tool not only for its physiological study but also for the determination of its 3-D structure.     

Pueruli of Panulirus longipes bispinosus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Palinuridae) stranded on the beach of Kuroshima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, southern Japan

ABSTRACT: Stranded organisms were observed on the sandy beach of Kuroshima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, in the early morning of 28 January 1993. Stranded organisms of 525 individuals were classified into 74 species. These organisms included 13 individuals of Panulirus pueruli, which were identical to P. longipes bispinosus. Kuroshima Island is located near Ishigakijima and Iriomote islands, Ryukyu Archipelago, where coral reefs develop. Coral reefs are common and develop in the Ryukyu Archipelago, southern Japan, with the exception of Yakushima and Tanegashima islands. Panulirus japonicus in Japanese waters has not been found in coral reef regions where P. longipes bispinosus are mainly found. The present study describes and identifies to species level puerulus specimens that were stranded on the beach of Kuroshima Island.