An investigation of avoidance by Antarctic krill of RRS James Clark Ross using the Autosub-2 autonomous underwater vehicle

The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Autosub-2 was deployed on eight missions ahead of RRS James Clark Ross in the northern Weddell Sea and in the Bransfield Strait, Southern Ocean, to assess avoidance of the research vessel by Antarctic krill Euphausia superba. The AUV was equipped with the same type of scientific echosounder as the research vessel (Simrad EK500 operating at 38 and 120 kHz) and measured the density of krill along transect acoustically (g m⁻² wet mass) prior to the ship’s arrival. We hypothesised that if krill avoided the ship, perhaps in response to radiated noise, then the ship should detect less krill than the AUV which is known to have much lower noise levels than the ship. We were unable to detect any significant difference between the density of krill detected by the ship or the AUV, either at the transect level or at finer scales within transects. We conclude, therefore, that avoidance by krill of RRS James Clark Ross will not significantly bias acoustic estimates of krill abundance by this vessel.     

Effects of partial and complete replacement of freshwater shrimp meal (Caridinea niloticus Roux) with a mixture of plant protein sources on growth performance of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) in fertilized ponds

Despite the well‐documented herbivorous food habits, commercial feeds for production of Oreochromis niloticus usually contain between 7% and 15% animal protein. However, animal protein feedstuffs are expensive, hence the need to search for cost‐effective alternatives in plant‐protein sources. Such alternatives are probably more effective in semi‐intensive systems where natural pond food forms part of the diet. This study evaluated the performance of O. niloticus after feeding diets in which fresh shrimp meal (SM) was gradually replaced by a mixture of plant‐protein sources in fertilized ponds. Three isonitronegenous (24% crude protein) diets containing 12 (control), 6% and 0% SM were fed to three groups of O. niloticus in four replicates per group for 250 days. Fish were fed daily at 2% body weight and sampled monthly to monitor growth and make feed adjustments. Growth, yields, survival and feed conversion ratio were not significantly different (P>0.05) among treatments. Growth of males was double that of females, while the sex ratio was skewed towards females. Although complete substitution of SM by plant protein did not affect the growth of tilapia, production cost was reduced by 36%. In conclusion, animal protein is not required in diets for production of O. niloticus in fertilized ponds.     

Spatiotemporal distribution of floral resources in a Brazilian city: Implications for the maintenance of pollinators,especially bees

Cities provide resources for the animals that live in them or their surroundings. There has been an increase in the number of ecological studies in urban areas, including interactions between plants and bees. Bees are pollinators that provide a vital ecosystem service to crops and wild plants. We assessed plant community structure in the campus of Universidade de São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, included in the neotropical Atlantic Forest biome, focusing on floristic composition, pollination syndromes, flowering phenology, and spatiotemporal distribution of floral resources for bees. Currently, the city is surrounded by sugar cane plantations. Once a month, from April 2011 to March 2012, we sampled plant species and individuals in bloom in an area with 500 m radius from the bee-rearing facilities of Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP), totaling 78 hectares. We sampled 289 plant species of 73 families; Leguminosae was the richest family. Plants pollinated by bees predominated (67%), followed by plants pollinated by hummingbirds (18%). Melittophilous species flowered throughout the year and, hence, food availability for bees was continuous. The flowering of plant individuals that provided pollen, nectar, and floral oil was seasonal in all vegetation (except for nectar in shrubs), with peaks in resource availability in the transition from the dry to the rainy season, and also in the rainy season. Our results show that the campus is able to maintain bee populations amid a monoculture matrix, acting as a refuge. In addition, it provides a list of several attractive native plants to different pollinator groups, coupled with a phenogram, that can be used in the design and planning of urban areas.     

A socio-ecological exploration of fear of crime in urban green spaces – A systematic review

Studies have pointed at the negative side of urban green spaces in terms of evoking fear of crime. However research on fear-provoking attributes suggests that there usually is no single attribute that influences fear but that rather a combination of attributes prevails. The aim of the paper is to systematically review those attributes that evoke fear of crime in urban green spaces and to highlight their complex interaction by adopting a social-ecological framework. Results include an overview of the reviewed literature with regard to authorship, journal, geographical distribution of the studies, types of urban green spaces studies, types of landscape stimulus used, applied methods, types of respondents involved and main study findings. Forty-eight studies met the authors’ inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies highlighted that individual factors (such as gender and past experience) were more influential than social and physical factors in evoking fear of crime. A proposed socio-ecological framework highlights the attributes which evoke fear of crime in urban green spaces and its interactions and can help guide future research.     

Use of diet and body condition assessments as intermediate indicators of translocation success in the Critically Endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis)

1. Intermediate metrics of translocation success are useful for long-lived, slow to mature species where survival and reproduction happen over decades.
2. With fewer than 150 individuals in the wild, the Critically Endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is one of the most threatened species on Earth. This study presents the first analysis of diet and body condition of wild Philippine crocodiles and headstarted (i.e. captive-reared) individuals released into the wild over the last decade, and uses these results to show how diet and body condition can be pertinent intermediate metrics of translocation success.
3. Analyses of stomach contents revealed 17 different aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate and vertebrate prey species. Interestingly, 70% of Philippine crocodiles showed snails to be the predominent prey type, followed by fish (36.7%), birds (33.3%) and reptiles (33.3%). More than 50% of crocodiles consumed the invasive golden apple snail, a leading agricultural pest. Regardless of crocodile history (wild vs. headstarted) or size class (juvenile vs. adult), no evidence was found for dietary differences in percentage occurrence, percentage composition or prey diversity.
4. Body condition was significantly higher in wild compared with headstarted individuals when analysed together in a pooled group, although neither group differed significantly from the standardized expectation, and headstarted individuals were not significantly different when body condition was derived independently for the two groups.
5. This study provides a working example of how assessing the convergence of diet and body condition between translocated and wild individuals can provide complementary monitoring parameters to demonstrate post-release establishment of translocated crocodylians. The congruent dietary composition and comparable body condition observed in this study suggest that headstarted crocodiles adapt well following release.
6. Crocodylus mindorensis survives in an agricultural landscape and is likely to play an ecologically important role by exploiting invasive species, reinforcing the importance of this species to local communities.

     

Sertoli cell proliferation and FSH signalling in African catfish, Clarias gariepinus

Sertoli cell proliferation occurs mainly during the phase of rapid spermatogonial proliferation, allowing the cyst-forming Sertoli cells to form an increasingly large space for housing the growing germ cell clone. There is no information in fish on the regulation of Sertoli cell proliferation; follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) stimulates Sertoli cell proliferation in mammals. Increasing or decreasing FSH and FSH receptor expression experimentally in male African catfish was associated with respective changes in Sertoli cell proliferation or testis growth, suggesting that also in fish, one role of FSH may be to regulate Sertoli cell numbers.     

The persistence of infectivity of Tetracapsulabryosalmonae-infected water for rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum)

Proliferative kidney disease (PKD) is caused by the infection of susceptible salmonid fish with spores of the myxozoan Tetracapsula bryosalmonae , a parasite harboured and released by several species of bryozoans. Under natural conditions, PKD is a water-borne infection of fish, whose outcome and spatio-temporal dissemination depend on the viability of spores present in the water. In order to evaluate the duration of parasite infectivity, juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss , were exposed for 20 h to T. bryosalmonae -infected water at various times post-water collection or after different filtration procedures. When infected water was held in a temperature range of 14.5–17 °C for up to 14 days, PKD was transmitted to the fish only between 0 and 12 h post-water collection and its infectivity vanished between 12 and 24 h. Similarly, the infectivity of water passed through 25 μm but not through 1 μm mesh filters, and was lost in the material eluted from the 1 μm filtration membrane although the parasite's DNA was amplified from this material. The parasitic infectivity in water appears to be fragile and this may offer opportunities to decrease the impact of PKD in trout farms by the implementation of management procedures aimed at reducing the number of the bryozoan-holding surfaces located in the river, immediately upstream from these farms.     

Effects of temperature and salinity on the reproductive success of Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.): egg composition, milt characteristics and fry survival

The effects of temperature and salinity on the reproductive success of Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.), were examined by holding broodstock under the following conditions from mid‐May until the end of September: fresh water at ambient temperature (NFW; 8–16 °C); salt water (25–30‰) at ambient temperature (NSW; 4–10 °C); fresh water cooled to saltwater temperature (CFW; 4–10 °C); or salt water heated to freshwater temperature (HSW; 8–16 °C). The relative fecundity of females was similar among groups (P > 0.05; 2685 ± 706 eggs), but females reared in NSW produced significantly larger eggs than those raised in NFW. The highest spermatozoa concentrations were found in milt from males reared in SW and the highest milt glucose concentration was from males kept under coldwater conditions (CFW, NSW). Eggs from NSW and HSW females contained more proteins than eggs produced by NFW females. Eggs from NSW females also contained 40% more lipids than was observed in the other groups, and total energy content was 27% higher in eggs from NSW females than in eggs from NFW females. When FW was cooled (CFW), females produced eggs with protein contents similar to those in NSW, but the lipid contents remained 30% lower. Finally, the best survival at the eyed stage and at hatch was observed in families produced by NSW broodstock. Intermediate values were observed in families from NFW or CFW while the highest mortality occurred in families from the HSW group. All these results suggest that, under the experimental conditions used in the present study, coastal seawater conditions offered the most favourable summer rearing conditions with respect to the reproductive success of Arctic charr.