Ethylene evolution and ammonium accumulation by tomato plants under water and salinity stresses. Part II

Foliar wilting, epinasty, abscission, chlorosis, and necrosis are common symptoms in plants affected by water and salinity stresses. Ethylene evolution and ammonium accumulation frequently accompany the expression of the symptoms of stresses from various origins. These symptoms and physiological phenomena have been associated with other environmental stresses, such as ammonium toxicity. Intact and excised tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. ‘Heinz 1350’ and neglecta‐1) were subjected to stresses of waterlogging, water‐deficit, or saline conditions (NaCl or CaCl₂). In soil culture in the greenhouse, tomato plants subjected to waterlogging developed epinasty and chlorosis and had increased ethylene evolution and ammonium accumulation. The application of aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) ameliorated the symptoms and reduced ethylene evolution and ammonium accumulation. Tomato subjected to drought developed chlorosis and had enhanced ammonium accumulation, but no increased ethylene evolution was observed. The chlorotic and necrotic symptoms were observed for plants receiving NaCl or CaCl₂. Application of ammonium nutrition or water stress aggravated the development of toxic symptoms. Ammonium accumulation and ethylene evolution were enhanced with intact plants or excised seedlings under these stresses. Application of AOA through stems of excised seedlings suppressed the enhancement. ‘Heinz 1350’ receiving CaCl₂ accumulated more Ca⁺⁺ and had higher ethylene evolution than those receiving NaCl or the neglecta‐1 receiving CaCl₂. Neglecta‐1 accumulated more Na⁺ with the NaCl treatment and had higher ethylene evolution than ‘Heinz 1350’. The results indicate that environmental stresses stimulate ammonium accumulation and initiate ethylene evolution, which may function in development of stress induced symptoms.     

Evaluation of the Dietary Zinc Requirement of Penaeus vannamei and Effects of Phytic Acid on Zinc and Phosphorus Bioavailability

Experiments were conducted to determine the dietary zinc requirement of Penaeus vannomri and evaluate the effects of phytate on zinc bioavailability. Prior to initiation of the growth trial, 20-day-old P. vonnamei postlarvae (mean weight 0.0032 g) were fed a casein-gelatin based semi-purified diet lacking zinc supplementation but containing 18 mg Zn/kg diet for one week. Subsequently, juveniles (mean weight 0.058 g) were fed one of seven diets containing either supplemental zinc (0, 15, 30, 60 mg/kg diet) without phytate or supplemental zinc (0, 60, 200 mg/kg diet) with 1.5% phytate for 33 days. Weight gain was greatest in shrimp fed 15 mg supplemental Zn/kg diet. In the absence of dietary phytate, zinc concentrations in the hepatopancreas of shrimp were maximized when zinc was supplemented at levels greater than or equal to 15 mg Zn/kg diet (33 mg total Zn/ kg). Supplementation of 1.5% phytate to the diet did not have a significant effect on growth or zinc concentrations in the carapace; however, it did depress zinc levels in the hepatopancreas. Supplementation of 200 mg Zn/kg diet was required to overcome the depressed bioavailability of zinc caused by the presence of dietary phytate and return zinc levels of the hepatopancreas to that observed when phytate was not present. Based on apparent digestibility values phytate phosphorus was unavailable to the shrimp and the presence of phytate depressed the bioavailability of phosphorus and zinc.     

Plankton dynamics: observed and modelled responses to physical conditions in Prince William Sound,Alaska

Plankton populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska, exhibited pronounced seasonal, annual and longer‐period variability in composition and standing stock in response to physically influenced differences in nutrient availability, and possibly currents that modify local biomass by exchanges with water from the bordering Gulf of Alaska. During springs in which early, strong physical stratification developed, intense, short‐lived phytoplankton blooms occurred. These blooms had relatively short residence times in the water column. In contrast, during springs in which slower, weaker stratification developed, phytoplankton blooms were prolonged and took longer to peak. These slower blooms prolonged the period of phytoplankton production, prolonged interaction with the springtime grazing community and led to the incorporation of more organic matter into pelagic food webs. A coupled biological‐physical simulation of plankton production was used to examine the implications of seasonally varying air and mixed‐layer temperatures, surface winds and incident light on the timing, duration, annual production and standing stock of plankton. Our modelling results reproduced the observed characteristics of the springtime production cycle, and the magnitude of zooplankton stocks for the period 1992–97 but not for 1981–91. These results suggest that for most of the 1990s, bottom‐up influences on nutrient supplies controlled levels of primary consumers, whereas for the 11 years before that, other unknown factors dominated this process. We present the results of a comprehensive, multiyear study of relationships between plankton and physical limitations, and a retrospective analysis of earlier conditions to explore the possible causes for these differences.     

Growout of Pacific White Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, Stocked into Production Ponds at Three Different Ages

This study was designed to determine the production characteristics of the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, stocked into grow‐out ponds at three different sizes and ages. To meet this goal, three groups of postlarvae (PL) were obtained. The first group was placed in a nursery system for 21 d (N21), the second for 14 d (N14), and the third was stocked directly into ponds (DS). Shrimp from each nursery treatment (three tanks per treatment) were pooled and then subdivided for stocking into four replicate 0.1 ha ponds per treatment, another four ponds were stocked directly (DS) with PL₈. All 12 ponds were stocked on the same day at a density of approximately 35 PL/m², and cultured over a 16‐wk period and then drain harvested. After harvest, mean average weights (15.4, 16.9, and 14.9 g), survivals (63, 62, and 64%), FCRs (2.7, 2.5, and 2.7), and average yields (3592, 4005, and 3374 kg/ha) were determined for N21, N14, and DS, respectively. No significant (P > 0.05) differences were observed among treatments. Regardless of nursing time, nursed juveniles did not differ significantly in production characteristics from shrimp stocked directly from the hatchery.     

Influence of Nursery Period on the Growth and Survival of Litopenaeus vannamei Under Pond Production Conditions

Techniques for head starting or nursing postlarvae (PL) has received considerable attention with regards to nursery protocols, yet there is little data pertaining to the effects of nursery period on the final growout of shrimp to marketable size. This study was performed to investigate the influence of nursery duration on survival and growth of Litopenaeus vannamei during subsequent pond culture. For this research, a single population of high health PL were received from a commercial hatchery and held in a tank for acclimation, quantification, and distribution to nursery tanks or ponds. Treatments included direct stocking of 10-d-old postlarvae (PL₁₀) into production ponds as well as the nursing of PL in a covered greenhouse nursery system for an additional 10 or 20 d. After nursing, the PL were harvested, quantified, and transferred to growout ponds. All ponds were stocked at a density of 35 PL/m² and maintained under standardized conditions. Shrimp were fed with a 35% protein shrimp feed, twice daily during the 112-d growth trial. Ponds were aerated as needed using a maximum of 19 hp/ha to maintain adequate dissolved oxygen (DO > 3.0). No statistical differences (P >0.05) were found in survival, yield, or growth between treatments. At harvest, survivals during growout were generally higher in ponds with nursed shrimp (77% for PL₂₀ and 79% for PL₃₀) than in ponds receiving PL₁₀ shrimp (67%). Yields were similar between treatments, ranging from 3,525 for direct stocked shrimp to 3,747 kg/ha for those that were nursed for 10 d. Although growth rates of PL under pond conditions will be faster than that of a nursery system, results suggest that a nursery period of at least 10 d helps improve survival during pond production and promotes better size uniformity. Shrimp nursed for 20 d showed little improvement in survival over shrimp nursed for 10 d but did result in a more uniform size of shrimp at harvest.     

Early detection of triploidy in the larvae of Pacific oysters,Crassostrea gigas,by flow cytometry

Triploidy may provide a means to neuter the Pacific oyster, C. gigas, genetically thereby increasing survival and marketability during periods of reproduction. Pressure treatments administered 10 min after fertilization for 10 min duration at 6000–8000 psi consistently produced triploids. The highest proportion obtained was 57%. Triploidy was assayed in all experiments at the larval stage and again as spat (metamorphosed larvae) using flow cytometry. A technique to assay larvae as small as 250 μm is described. Results obtained by flow cytometry were verified by chromosome counts. Analysis of triploidy at the larval stage provides reliable estimates of the proportion of triploids, eliminating several weeks of culture time.     

The essential amino acid requirements of the Dungeness crab, Cancer magister

The essential amino acid requirements for juveniles of the Dungeness crab Cancer magister were determined by the radiometric method. Both the protein and free amino acids were quantified and their specific activities compared.Injection of five crabs with [U-¹⁴C] glucose resulted in the labelling of the amino acids cysteine, aspartate, serine, glutamate, proline, alanine, and glycine. One crab injected with [U-¹⁴C] glutamate showed results similar to the glucose-injected crabs, with the notable exception that proline did not become labelled. An animal injected with [U-¹⁴C] phenylalanine produced radioactive tyrosine, alanine, and glutamate. Since fumarate is one of the breakdown products of phenylalanine in those species that have been studied, the lack of labelled aspartate is of interest.These results suggest that cysteine, aspartate, serine, glutamate, alanine, proline, and glycine are dispensable and that tyrosine is dispensable if phenylalanine is supplied. The non-labelled amino acids threonine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, lysine, histidine, and arginine are inferred to be essential.