Assessing Knowledge Production for Agrosilvopastoral Systems in South America

In recent decades agroforestry has undergone significant development in Latin America. South America generates the most scientific research on the topic in the region. We conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of knowledge production for South American agroforestry that includes livestock grazing, known as agrosilvopastoralism (AS), examining how different sociopolitical factors such as sources of funding, institutional priorities, and international cooperation can bias the direction and objectives of scientific research. We assessed the major attributes of scientific publications on the topic (25 articles per country; overall n = 210) and the potential factors underlying the processes of research and development in the region. The tree component was the most studied, while the livestock component received less attention. Studies were mainly focused on the production of goods and services (monetary or nonmonetary approaches), except in Brazil, where conservation was the major study objective. Stakeholders were involved in more than half of the studies (60%), and they were mostly ranchers and local producers. More than half (70%) of the studies offered recommendations based on their results, and such recommendations were mostly concerned with the management of agrosilvopastoral system components. In general, studies were led just as often by local as foreign first authors and coauthored by more than three people as part of interinstitutional working groups. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Chile had more frequent cooperation among institutions and countries but mainly used their own funding. In contrast, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru had almost 100% of their studies supported by foreign countries (North America and Europe). Countries with greater internal funding of research generated more long-term studies. Besides this, two clear trends were detected: 1) conservation and social aspects were mainly supported by sources from external countries led by foreign principal investigators, and 2) production issues were supported from sources within countries and supported high levels of cooperation among institutions.     

Effects of dietary arginine on hematological parameters and innate immune function of channel catfish

The effects of elevated dietary arginine on the hematology and immune function of juvenile channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were evaluated by means of in vivo and in vitro experiments. Healthy juvenile channel catfish (average weight, 34.8 g) were fed casein-gelatin-based diets containing 28% crude protein and supplemented with crystalline L-arginine (ARG) at 0.5, 1, 2, or 4% of diet. An intact-protein diet containing 1.3% arginine also was included to investigate the effects of amino acid form (crystalline-free amino acids versus intact protein). Each purified diet was fed to apparent satiation to triplicate groups of fish for 6 weeks. At the end of the experimental feeding period, the fish were injected intraperitoneally with two doses (3 d apart) of 2 mg lipopolysaccharide/kg body weight. Six days after the initial injection, the fish were anesthetized and tissue samples were obtained to evaluate hematological and humoral and cellular immune parameters, including phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), blood cell counts, plasma protein, and hepatic superoxide dismutase activity. High dietary levels (4% ARG) resulted in significantly higher levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and circulating erythrocytes. Dietary ARG did not significantly affect MCV and the number of circulating leukocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and monocytes. In vitro, a moderate level (2 mM) of ARG in the culture media was found to be ideal in significantly enhancing phagocytosis. This study demonstrates that some aspects of the immune system of channel catfish are sensitive to changes in dietary ARG.     

Measured Soil Water Concentrations of Cadmium and Zinc in Plant Pots and Estimated Leaching Outflows from Contaminated Soils

Soil water concentrations of cadmium and zinc were measured in plant pots with 15 contaminated soils which differed in origin, texture, pH (5.1 – 7.8) and concentrations of cadmium (0.2 – 17 mg Cd kg-¹) and zinc (36 – 1300 mg Zn kg-¹). The soil waters contained total concentrations of 0.5 to 17 µg Cd L-¹ and 9 to 3600 µg Zn L-¹, which were dominated by free metal ions as measured by an ion exchange-resin method. Annual leaching outflows were estimated from soil water concentrations to be 0.5 – 17 g Cd ha-¹ y-¹ and 9 – 3600 g Zn ha-¹ y-¹ per 100 mm of net percolation, corresponding to 0.1% per year of the total soil content of cadmium and zinc. The measured soil water concentrations of cadmium and zinc did not correlate linearly with the corresponding soil concentrations but correlated fairly well with concentrations measured in Ca(NO₃)₂ extracts of the soils and with soil water concentrations estimated from soil concentrations and pH. Such concentration estimates may be useful for estimating amounts of cadmium and zinc being leached from soils.     

The effects of tank colours on the growth and survival of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis,Linnaeus 1758) hatchlings and juveniles

The effects of different tank colours (white, yellow sandy and black) on the growth, mortality and biomass production were studied for hatchling and early juvenile cuttlefish. For hatchlings, the use of different colour tanks did not promote differences in growth due to the higher variability (standard deviation) found in the white‐ and sand‐coloured tanks. Black tanks promoted the lowest and highest values for total mortality and biomass respectively. For juveniles, the use of different tank colours promoted different growth (P<0.05), but not mortality. Black tanks promoted the best results in terms of growth and biomass. The results obtained in the present study advise the use of black (or dark colour) tanks in the hatchling and early juvenile stages to reduce the standard deviations associated with growth, mortality and biomass production. This will contribute to minimize problems associated with slow and fast growers and competition.     

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Acidic Calcium Sulfate (Vitoxal) on Growth,Survival, Immune Response and Gut Microbiota of the Pacific White Shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

Dietary acidifiers have been recognized as beneficial in animal production including aquacultural production of fish where they confer such benefits as improved feed utilization, growth, and resistance to bacterial pathogens. If improvements in growth and immune responses by acidifier supplementation can be confirmed in shrimp, then mortalities due to diseases could be minimized, limiting the emergence of disease‐resistant bacterial pathogens as a potential result of antibiotic misuse. With this in mind, a 35‐d feeding trial was conducted to evaluate growth, enteric microbiota populations, and nonspecific immune responses of Litopenaeus vannamei fed diets containing the commercial acidifier Vitoxal, based on acidic calcium sulfate in an indoor temperature‐controlled, recirculating culture system without any natural productivity. Experimental diets were formulated to contain 0 (basal), 0.4, 1.2, 1.6, or 2.0% acidic calcium sulfate (ACS) by weight. Shrimp fed in excess, 15 times a day using automatic feeders. Weight gain and survival among treatments were excellent, but not significantly different (P > 0.05). Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that the enteric microbial community of shrimp fed the basal diet differed markedly from those fed the acidifier on the basis of 64.9% similarity coefficient. Shrimp fed the commercial acidifier at 1.2 and 2.0% responded significantly (P < 0.05) better to reduced stress and displayed enhanced immune responses including hemocyte phagocytic capacity, hemolymph protein concentration, hyaline cell counts, and hemolymph glucose, compared with shrimp fed the basal diet. These results point to an enhanced performance in terms of positive shifts in the composition of enteric microbial communities as well as improved immune performance, with no changes in growth or survival.     

Macroalgal meadow habitats support fish and fisheries in diverse tropical seascapes

Canopy‐forming macroalgae can construct extensive meadow habitats in tropical seascapes occupied by fishes that span a diversity of taxa, life‐history stages and ecological roles. Our synthesis assessed whether these tropical macroalgal habitats have unique fish assemblages, provide fish nurseries and support local fisheries. We also applied a meta‐analysis of independent surveys across 23 tropical reef locations in 11 countries to examine how macroalgal canopy condition is related to the abundance of macroalgal‐associated fishes. Over 627 fish species were documented in tropical macroalgal meadows, with 218 of these taxa exhibiting higher local abundance within this habitat (cf. nearby coral reef) during at least one life‐history stage. Major overlap (40%–43%) in local fish species richness among macroalgal and seagrass or coral reef habitats suggest macroalgal meadows may provide an important habitat refuge. Moreover, the prominence of juvenile fishes suggests macroalgal meadows facilitate the triphasic life cycle of many fishes occupying diverse tropical seascapes. Correlations between macroalgal canopy structure and juvenile abundance suggests macroalgal habitat condition can influence levels of replenishment in tropical fish populations, including the majority of macroalgal‐associated fishes that are targeted by commercial, subsistence or recreational fisheries. While many macroalgal‐associated fishery species are of minor commercial value, their local importance for food and livelihood security can be substantial (e.g. up to 60% of landings in Kenyan reef fisheries). Given that macroalgal canopy condition can vary substantially with sea temperature, there is a high likelihood that climate change will impact macroalgal‐associated fish and fisheries.     

Anti HSV-1 Activity of Halistanol Sulfate and Halistanol Sulfate C Isolated from Brazilian Marine Sponge Petromica citrina (Demospongiae)

The n-butanol fraction (BF) obtained from the crude extract of the marine sponge Petromica citrina, the halistanol-enriched fraction (TSH fraction), and the isolated compounds halistanol sulfate (1) and halistanol sulfate C (2), were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on the replication of the Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1, KOS strain) by the viral plaque number reduction assay. The TSH fraction was the most effective against HSV-1 replication (SI = 15.33), whereas compounds 1 (SI = 2.46) and 2 (SI = 1.95) were less active. The most active fraction and these compounds were also assayed to determine the viral multiplication step(s) upon which they act as well as their potential synergistic effects. The anti-HSV-1 activity detected was mediated by the inhibition of virus attachment and by the penetration into Vero cells, the virucidal effect on virus particles, and by the impairment in levels of ICP27 and gD proteins of HSV-1. In summary, these results suggest that the anti-HSV-1 activity of TSH fraction detected is possibly related to the synergic effects of compounds 1 and 2.     

The effects of using crab zoeae (Maja brachydactyla) on growth and biochemical composition of Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier 1797) paralarvae

Octopus vulgaris farming at large scale can only be attained using live prey during the paralarvae stage. Presently, only Artemia complies with this requirement. Nevertheless, its sole use delivers poor paralarvae growth and survival. Some species of marine zooplankton are better prey for marine fish larvae compared to Artemia, since its composition is richer in several important nutritional components. Among these are phospholipids and specific fatty acids, namely docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and arachidonic acid. During the present experiment, octopus paralarvae were fed a co-feeding scheme of spider crab (Maja brachydactyla) zoeae and Artemia (1:2, Artemia/Crab zoeae). The use of spider crab zoeae was justified by their availability in commercial facilities, where adult spider crabs are maintained to be sold to the public. There, fecund and spawning females are present in large numbers, and zoeae availability is often high and implies no production or zoeae collection costs. O. vulgaris paralarvae fed on Artemia and crab zoeae grew larger (3.00 ± 0.56 mg dw^?1) after 30 days, compared to previous published papers. Also, the paralarvae lipid content was substantially enhanced in highly unsaturated fatty acids and phospholipids. However, survival after 30 days was still very low (1.75 % after 30 days) and needs to be greatly improved.