Patterns of movement and habitat use by tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus) in the Upper Zambezi River (Namibia)

Abstract – During 6 November to 24 December 2000, 23 tigerfish [( Hydrocynus vittatus ), 30–54 cm] were tagged with radio transmitters in the Zambezi River (Namibia) to record habitat utilisation during low, rising and high water levels. The fish were tracked, on average, every fourth day during 23 November to 18 May. Two movement patterns were detected. Approximately 50% of the fish moved <1000 m among tracking surveys, staying within 'defined' home ranges. The remaining fish showed consistent site fidelity for periods, with long distance movements (>1000 m) to new areas among residency periods. Overall, mean distance moved between tracking surveys was 1447 m. Home range size varied among individuals, with a 95% probability of localisation within an average area of 276,978 m². The fish utilised a mean river stretch of 18,836 m (range = 90–71,840). All the fish were recorded in the main stem, and on average, 95% of the fixes were in the main stem during low water. However, the fish used temporary flooded areas to an increasing extent during the rising and high water period, but did not undertake long-distance migrations into the floodplains. Fish were sometimes near vegetation, but were never recorded into or under vegetation.     

Diel distribution of age-0 largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, in B. E. Jordan Lake, North Carolina (USA) and its relation to cover

Abstract – We used prepositioned area electrofishers (PAEs, 10×1.5 m) to assess diel differences in distribution of age-0 largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides , in August 1992–1993 in a paired sampling design. PAEs were placed parallel to shore in an embayment of an unvegetated reservoir (B. E. Jordan Lake, North Carolina, USA). The catch per unit effort (CPUE=fish/PAE) was significantly higher at night than during the day in both years, indicating that age-0 largemouth bass exhibit nocturnal inshore movements. Age-0 largemouth bass captured inshore during day were smaller than those captured at night, indicating that movement patterns may change ontogenetically. Inshore-offshore movements of age-0 largemouth bass were significantly reduced in the presence of cover, suggesting that diel movements were influenced by specific habitat components. Diel movements likely were related to foraging, resting and predator avoidance behavior and could affect population dynamics and introduce bias in assessment programs. ^Note     

Change in chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) stomach contents associated with fluctuation of pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) abundance in the central subarctic Pacific and Bering Sea

The abundance and stomach contents of salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) and the biomass of prey organisms were examined in the central subarctic Pacific and Bering Sea in the summer of 1991 and 1992. Salmonids were caught by surface longline using the same level of fishing effort. Chum (O. keta) and pink (O. gorbuscha) salmon were the predominant species, representing 44% and 36% sof the total catch (n = 1275) in 1991. In 1992, chum salmon composed 85% of the total catch (n = 603), but the catch of pink salmon decreased to 1% of the total catch due to the odd/even year fluctuation of Asian pink salmon abundance in the study area. It was found that chum salmon changed their dominant diet from gelatinous zooplankton (pteropods, appendicular-ians, jellyfishes, chaetognaths, polychaetes and unidentified materials) in 1991, when pink salmon were abundant, to a diet of crustaceans (euphausiids, cope-pods, amphipods, ostracods, mysids and decapods) in 1992, when pink salmon were less abundant. Local crustacean biomass (wet weight; mg m^-3) had significant negative correlation with the CPUE (catch number per 30 hachi) of pink salmon in 1991 (r = -0.586; P = 0.026) and that of chum salmon in 1992 (r =–0.616; P = 0.014). There may be a limitation in the available prey resource for production of salmonids.     

Changes in rhodopsin-porphyropsin ratio of chum and pink salmon

ABSTRACT:   In order to investigate the changes in rhodopsin-porphyropsin ratio of chum salmon and pink salmon in relation to the change in their habitat, the ratios were analyzed in individual fish prior to stocking, during the sea run, homing, and upstream migration. The ratio in both the species gradually increased during the sea run. However, the ratio decreased after upstream river migration. Moreover, in the sea, the rhodopsin-porphyropsin ratio of chum salmon was always slightly higher than that of pink salmon. The largest difference in the individual variation was observed in the individuals caught with a set net placed near the mouth of a home river.     

Distribution and feeding habits of juvenile and young John's snapper Lutjanus johnii in the Matang mangrove estuary, west coast of Peninsular Malaysia

ABSTRACT:   The aim of the present paper was to provide some information on the distribution pattern and feeding habits of juvenile and young Lutjanus johnii in the Matang mangrove estuary on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Sampling was carried out at five sites using otter trawl nets from October 1998 to January 2000. Ninety-three individuals of juvenile and young L. johnii were collected during the research period. The range in total length varied from 3.4 to 21.1 cm, and the gonads of all fish were at the immature stage. Fish were caught at the river mouth and neighboring sites in Matang at a water depth of 1.6–7.5 m, salinity of 12.4–28.3, and temperature of 27.3–31.6°C. Individuals fed mainly on Natantia and Mysidacea, although the type of food varied with size. Large-sized individuals fed mainly on Natantia, and small-sized individuals on Mysidacea.     

Surviving the effects of barotrauma: assessing treatment options and a ‘natural’ remedy to enhance the release survival of line caught pink snapper (Pagrus auratus)

A new technique to ameliorate the effects of barotrauma was tested based on observations of pink snapper, Pagrus auratus (Forster), inadvertently piercing their everted stomach with their teeth and releasing trapped swim bladder gases. This technique was termed buccal venting and involved piercing the everted stomach protruding into the buccal cavity or out of the mouth with a 16‐gauge hypodermic needle (a practice previously not encouraged). Short‐term (~3 days) survival of buccal‐vented fish was not significantly different from laterally vented fish nor untreated controls. Both buccal and lateral venting techniques were shown to cause no harm and allowed fish to return to depth. The short‐term (1–3 days) post‐release survival of line caught snapper was 88% with no significant difference in survival across three depth ranges tested (37–50, 51–100 and 101–180 m). Survival of sublegal pink snapper (<35 cm TL) was not significantly different (P > 0.05) from that of legal‐sized fish (≥35 cm TL). Healing of the swim bladder was observed in 27% of pink snapper dissected after ≤3 days in captivity, and healing of stomachs was observed in 64% of pink snapper that had been buccal vented. Relatively high post‐release survival rates of line caught pink snapper may offer some protection for snapper stocks where high fishing pressure and legal size restrictions result in the majority of the catch having to be released.     

Progress in Controlled Maturation and Spawning of Summer Flounder Paralichthys dentatus Broodstock

Abstract— Wild-caught, adult summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus (avg. wt. = 740 g; range = 264–1,540 g; N = 60), collected in northeastern US coastal waters during October 1994, were transported to Vero Beach, Florida in March 1995 and held in 2.6-m³ indoor tanks through November 1995 under two artificial photothermal regimes: (1) natural regime, simulating natural habitat conditions; and (2) accelerated thermal regime, with seasonal temperature changes advanced by one month. A third group of fish was held in outdoor tanks under ambient photothermal conditions. Under all photothermal conditions, onset of vitellogenesis was associated with declining daylength and temperature, beginning in the accelerated group, then progressing to the natural and the ambient groups. From 20 September to 28 November 1995, 23 vitellogenic stage females from the accelerated and natural regimes were implanted with a cholesterol-cellulose pellet containing LHRH-a (100 μg/kg body wt). Females with initial mean oocyte diameters ranging from 258–456 μm spawned voluntarily 2.5–5.5 d postimplantation, while no maturational response was obtained from females with mean diameters ranging from 165–231 μm. Two females were spawned twice during the study period by LHRH-a pellet implantation. Infrequent, natural spawning without hormone intervention was also obtained. Females released from 22.7–396.9 × 10³ eggs on the first day of spawning, with fertilization and hatching rates of 0–93.470 and 0–81.1%, respectively.     

Habitat use and movement of river blackfish (Gadopsis marmoratus R.) in a highly modified Victorian stream, Australia

Abstract –  Movement and habitat use of river blackfish ( Gadopsis marmoratus R.) was studied in a highly modified central Victorian stream (Birch Creek), Australia, using radio telemetry ( N  = 10) and mark–recapture ( N  = 113) between October 2001 to May 2002, and November to December 2002 respectively. Blackfish had a small home range of 10–26 m with strong affinity to a pool. However, small movements within a pool were common which resulted in relatively large cumulative movements. At a diel scale there were no significant differences in blackfish movement between day and night (Kruskal–Wallis test, P  = 0.95). Six of seven blackfish translocated 40 m upstream or downstream of their original positions returned within 48 h, suggesting strong affinity not only to a pool, but also to a small region within a pool. Blackfish utilised slow flowing (0–20 cm s⁻¹) and deep waters (40–60 cm). Blackfish were strongly associated with the instream cover habitats of undercut banks and boulders. Significant differences were recorded in instream cover and water velocity used by blackfish between day and night (Kruskal–Wallis test, P  = <0.01). At night blackfish used open areas with high water velocities whereas during the day blackfish used complex undercut banks with low water velocities.     

南极磷虾中层拖网捕捞参数对CPUE变动的影响

根据中国在南极海洋生物资源养护委员会(CCAMLR)48.1亚区和48.2亚区内2010—2014年南极磷虾拖网渔船的捕捞数据,采用广义可加模型(generalized additive model, GAM)分析各拖网捕捞参数(因子)对南极磷虾汛期单位捕捞努力量渔获量(catch per unit effort, CPUE )的影响。结果表明:2010—2014年我国南极磷虾作业渔场主要位于南极半岛等岛屿的周边海域,CPUE 值月变化明显,2—5月为捕捞高峰期。 CPUE 最高值为2014年,最低值为2012年,年平均CPUE呈略上升趋势。从月变化来看,除6月外,标准化 CPUE 均大于名义 CPUE;且最大值出现在4月或5月,最小值均出现在10月。GAM分析表明各捕捞参数对 CPUE 的影响由大到小依次为:拖网速度、网口高度、网口水平扩张、拖曳水深、曳纲长度;各因子的偏差解释率分别为22.8%、14.5%、12.7%、6.0%、1.6%,所有因子对 CPUE 的总体偏差解释率为57.6%。研究认为,我国南极磷虾捕捞作业中最适拖网速度范围2.6~3.1 kn;最适网口高度范围22~30 m;最适网口水平扩张范围20~25 m;最适曳纲长度范围100~200 m;最适拖曳水深范围0~40 m。     

Movements by wild brown trout in a boreal river: response to habitat and flow contrasts

Abstract  Radio transmitters were implanted in wild brown trout, Salmo trutta L., in the River Måna at low summer water flows ( n  = 18), higher flow in summer ( n  =   20), and variable, peaking flows in autumn ( n  =   20), and tracked two to four times day and night for 4–5 weeks. Individuals were caught and released in a 4-km uniformly channelised section, and in a 4-km natural diverse river section. Substantial individual variation in home range and total movement (924–85 818 m² and 295–7014 m) suggested flexibility to adapt to local environmental conditions. Fish were stationary most of the time (median movement 0 m), but some individuals undertook few and apparently sporadic longer movements, sometimes involving shifts in home range. No consistent diurnal pattern in movements was found. Trout in the uniform habitat section appeared to have larger home ranges and moved more than trout in the natural section. Differences were, however, not statistically significant in most comparisons, due to large individual variation. Similarly, larger home ranges and movements between trials related to higher flow were found, but differences were generally not significant. No consistent effects of sudden, extreme peaking flows on area use or movements by the brown trout were observed.     

Effect of body colour of Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) on predation by largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepède)

Abstract. Fifty each of F₂-generation gold ( gg ), bronze ( Gg ), and black ( GG ) Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) and either zero, four or eight largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides , (Lacepède) were stocked in 20-m² concrete tanks. After 7 days, water in all tanks was drained, and fish in each tank were censused. Largemouth bass ate 18% of the tilapia in the four-bass treatment (1 tilapia/bass/day) and 60% of the tilapia in the eight-bass treatment (1·6 tilapia/bass/day); the difference was significant (P=0–05). In the four-bass treatment there was a greater observed mean predation rate on gold than that on black or on bronze tilapia, but the difference was not significant: largemouth bass ate 25% of the gold tilapia, 16% of the bronze tilapia, and 13% of the black tilapia. In the eight-bass treatment, predation on the gold tilapia was significantly greater than that on both bronze (P=0·05) and on black (P=0·06) tilapia; predation on bronze and black tilapia was similar: largemouth bass ate 80% of the gold tilapia, 48% of the bronze tilapia, and 51% of the black tilapia. Overall average total predation (both treatments combined) on gold tilapia was significantly (P=0·06) greater than that on both bronze and on black tilapia, which did not differ: largemouth bass ate 52% of the gold tilapia, 32% of the bronze tilapia, and 32% of the black tilapia. The increased vulnerability of gold tilapia to predation was a negative pleiotropic effect of the gg genotype.     

Diurnal variation in thermal environment experienced by salmonids in the North Pacific as indicated by data storage tags

Eight temperature-recording data storage tags were recovered from three salmonids in Alaska (pink and coho salmon and steelhead trout) and five chum salmon in Japan after 21–117 days, containing the first long-term records of ambient temperature from Pacific salmonids migrating at sea. Temperature data imply diel patterns of descents to deeper, cooler water and ascents to the surface. Fish were found at higher average temperatures at night, with narrower temperature ranges and fewer descents than during the day. Fish tagged in the Gulf of Alaska were at higher temperatures on average (10–12°C) than chum salmon tagged in the Bering Sea (8–10°C). Chum salmon were also found at a wider range of temperatures (−1–22°C vs 5–15°C). This is probably related both to the different oceanographic regions through which the fish migrated, as well as species differences in thermal range and vertical movements. Proportions of time that individual fish spent at different temperatures seemed to vary among oceanographic regions. Steelhead trout may descend to moderate depths (50 m) and not be limited to the top few metres, as had been believed. Japanese chum salmon may seek deep, cold waters as they encounter warm surface temperatures on their homeward migrations. Temperature data from all fish showed an initial period (4–21 days) of day and night temperatures near those of sea surface temperatures, suggesting a period of recuperation from tagging trauma. A period of tagging recuperation suggests that vertical movement data from short-term ultrasonic telemetry studies may not represent normal behaviour of fish. The considerable diurnal and shorter-term variation in ambient temperatures suggests that offshore ocean distribution may be linked more to prey distribution and foraging than to sea surface temperatures.     

Models for forecasting sandfish catch in the coastal waters off Akita Prefecture and the evaluation of the effect of a 3-year fishery closure

SUMMARY: The sandfish Arctoscopus japonicus in the coastal waters off Akita Prefecture had been landed in amounts of more than 10 000 t continuously from 1963 to 1975. From 1976, however, it began to decrease sharply and fell to only 74 t in 1984. The fishery society of Akita Prefecture closed the fishing from 1 September 1992 to 30 September 1995. Since 1995, the total allowable catch (TAC) allocated in each year has increased. However, the mechanism behind the increment of catch has not been clearly demonstrated. The aim of this study is to elucidate the mechanism behind the increase of catch using catch forecasting models constructed with past water temperature and catch data. The results were as follows: (i) the effect of water temperature in the depth strata 200–300 m, September of year t –1, t –2 and t –3 of station 1 would be important for forecasting the catch in year t; (ii) coastal catch in year t –1 and t –2 would be important for forecasting the catch in year t; (iii) the effect of a fishery closure would be significantly related to the period of the closure and the environmental condition such as water temperature; and (iv) the TAC system would be important for the recovery of stock and to avoid the depletion of abundance.     

Patterns of movement of adult northern pike (Esox lucius L.) in a regulated river

Abstract –  We performed a tagging study on one of the spawning populations of northern pike ( Esox lucius L.) of the River Kajaaninjoki in Finland. Northern pike is the main predator in many lakes and rivers in the northern hemisphere. Previous tagging studies have shown a general tendency to sedentary behaviour by pike. Whether individuals in a fish population adapt a sedentary or moving strategy may affect population persistence. To study if the spawning population consists of sedentary or moving individuals and the pattern of movements, we tagged 40 pike with radio transmitters and followed them from May 2002 to June 2003. Pike were caught and tagged during the spawning season in the mouth of the River Kajaaninjoki which flows into one of the largest lakes in Finland, Lake Oulujärvi. Our results suggest that the pike spawning population consisted of sedentary pike ( N  = 16) dwelling the whole year in the river, and moving pike ( N  = 24) which moved to Lake Oulujärvi after the spawning period. Pike exhibited homing behaviour, as most of the migrating pike returned to the same spawning area in the following year. Large pike had a higher movement rate than small pike during the summer and seasonally the movement rate was lowest during the spring and highest during the summer.     

Blood and liver biopsy for the non‐destructive screening of tilapia lake virus

Detection of tilapia lake virus (TiLV) in tilapines is mainly from visceral organs of killed fish. However, lethal sampling might not be viable to broodstock and economically important ornamental cichlids. To contribute towards screening of the virus in asymptomatic infected fish, a subclinically infected population of Nile tilapia adults obtained from a local farm was preliminarily tested to compare different non‐lethal sampling methods, for example liver biopsy, gill biopsy, fin clip, mucus, faeces and blood for detection of TiLV. Only liver and blood samples gave positive results by PCR. Since blood sampling is relatively simpler, it was further used for five naturally co‐cultured juvenile fish species from above‐mentioned farm including 40 red tilapia broodstock and 20 Nile tilapia adults from two other different farms. The results showed that from the tested fish, 4 of 5 Nile tilapia, 2 of 5 hybrid red tilapia and 3 of 5 giant gourami blood samples tested positive, while 38 of 40 blood samples of red tilapia tested positive for TiLV in second‐step PCR. Sequencing representative PCR amplicons of positive samples confirmed sequence identity to TiLV. In conclusion, both blood and liver biopsy are practical non‐destructive sampling platforms for TiLV screening in cichlids with blood being more convenient, especially for tilapia broodstock.     

Seasonal spatial distribution of juvenile lake sturgeon in Muskegon Lake,Michigan, USA

We examined seasonal spatial distribution and diel movements of juvenile lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens in Muskegon Lake, Michigan (a protected, drowned river mouth lake that links the Muskegon River to Lake Michigan). We surgically implanted ultrasonic tags in 20 juveniles (age 1–7) captured in gill nets to track their locations during August–December 2008/2009 and September 2010–October 2011. Most juveniles were observed ≤1.5 km from the mouth of the Muskegon River in Muskegon Lake at a mean depth of 7.5 m (SE = 1.3 m) during summer. In fall, juveniles moved away from the river mouth to the deepest part of Muskegon Lake and were observed at a mean depth of 15.8 m (SE = 1.3 m) during winter. The shift in spatial distribution coincided with fall turnover (i.e., loss of thermal stratification) and with changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in the hypolimnion. During summer, DO concentrations in the hypolimnion were typically <4 mg·l^?1 in the deepest part of Muskegon Lake and DO concentrations at locations of tagged lake sturgeon were >7 mg·l^?1 in 94% of instances. Tracking in 2009 revealed no significant change in depth distribution or movement over the diel cycle. We only observed two tagged juveniles immigrating to Lake Michigan, suggesting that juveniles use Muskegon Lake for multiple years. Our results suggest that: (i) Muskegon Lake serves as an important nursery habitat for juvenile lake sturgeon that hatched in the Muskegon River before they enter Lake Michigan and (ii) seasonal changes in DO concentration in the hypolimnion likely affect the spatial distribution of juveniles in Muskegon Lake.     

Sampling performance and operational quality of a frame trawl used to catch juvenile fish

SUMMARY: A sampling trawl with a rigid mouth; that is, the frame trawl, was designed so as to catch the large larval and juvenile fish more efficiently. The net consisted of four 13 m panels (nylon multifilament and twine diameter φ 0.75 mm, mesh size 8 mm). The frame of the net's mouth was composed of four stainless steel pipes (length 4 m, diameter φ 76 mm, thickness 5 mm). Several operations were conducted to investigate the capability of catching juveniles. A lot of Sardinops melanostictus juveniles, which are generally difficult to catch, were caught during every operation. Underwater observations proved that juveniles could not elude the capture. The frame trawl requires no special handling and is possible to operate in a rough sea.     

Comparative analysis of ichthyoplankton sampling gear for early life stages of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma)

Comparative gear tows were conducted during the summers of 1987–1990 in the Gulf of Alaska. Efficiencies of four types of ichthyoplankton sampling gear were compared with respect to total catch and size distribution of larval fish. Fish were sampled using the bongo net (333 and 505 μm mesh), 1 m Tucker net, 3 m Tucker net and the Methot frame net. Results indicate that the bongo and the 1 m Tucker nets caught similar numbers and size distribution of fish. The larger 3 m Tucker and Method frame nets caught a larger size class of fish but a smaller total catch. Although there was a slightly significant diel difference in total catch detected in the smaller nets, no diel differences in size distribution of fish caught were detected for any of the nets.     

越冬期体色变异红罗非鱼差异表达miRNA的鉴定

为了探究红罗非鱼越冬期体色变异的分子机制，实验构建了其2种体色(正常粉红体色和变黑体色)皮肤组织的小RNA文库，每组4个重复，组装后平均每组分别获得12 190 544和11 891 890条过滤后的读长(clean reads)，获得miRNA成熟序列669个，其中337个是已知的miRNAs。鉴定出越冬期变黑体色相对于正常粉红体色鱼的差异表达miRNAs 26个，其中上调11个，下调15个，且12个为已知的miRNAs，可能在红罗非鱼越冬期体色变异过程中发挥重要作用。富集分析发现了大量代谢和体色调控相关的通路。研究表明，红罗非鱼越冬期的体色变异可能是色素细胞的增殖和迁移形成的，与代谢相关的调控通路在其中发挥重要作用，为解析红罗非鱼越冬期体色变异的机制奠定了基础。     

Winter distribution and movements of northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) along the Newfoundland—Labrador continental shelf edge derived from observations on commercial trawlers

Catch-effort data recorded by observers aboard commercial trawlers fishing the Newfoundland-Labrador continental shelf during the winters of 1980–1991 were used to define the distribution and movements of pre-spawning and spanning Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. Although cod were widely distributed over the outer continental shelf in the months of January to April, commercial concentrations were consistently located in three areas along the shelf edge. These three areas, constituting only 16% of the 190000 km² fishing ground for northern cod, were centred north-east of Belle Isle Bank, north-east of Funk Island Bank, and between Funk Island Bank and the northern Grand Bank Tow positions with catch rates 5000 kg h^-1 were plotted on a weekly basis to define movements of cod schools during the winters of 1986–1988. It was assumed that change in the collective position of trawlers taking large quantities of cod reflected shoal movements. Analyses indicate that cod moved southeast along the shelf edge in January and February of each year, crossing from NAFO Division 2J into 3K Each March, cod in Division 3K apparently moved northwest against prevailing ocean currents into the Hamilton Bank region of 2J. These movements do not appear to be a direct response to ocean temperature or pack ice conditions, although cod moving along the shelf break were generally in bottom waters of 24°C. We suggest these patterns reflect the migratory behaviour of pre-spawning and spawning cod.