Something old,something new: Historical perspectives provide lessons for blue growth agendas

The concept of “blue growth,” which aims to promote the growth of ocean economies while holistically managing marine socioecological systems, is emerging within national and international marine policy. The concept is often promoted as being novel; however, we show that historical analogies exist that can provide insights for contemporary planning and implementation of blue growth. Using a case‐study approach based on expert knowledge, we identified 20 historical fisheries or aquaculture examples from 13 countries, spanning the last 40–800 years, that we contend embody blue growth concepts. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that blue growth has been investigated across such broad spatial and temporal scales. The past societies managed to balance exploitation with equitable access, ecological integrity and/or economic growth for varying periods of time. Four main trajectories existed that led to the success or failure of blue growth. Success was linked to equitable rather than open access, innovation and management that was responsive, holistic and based on scientific knowledge and monitoring. The inability to achieve or maintain blue growth resulted from failures to address limits to industry growth and/or anticipate the impacts of adverse extrinsic events and drivers (e.g. changes in international markets, war), the prioritization of short‐term gains over long‐term sustainability, and loss of supporting systems. Fourteen cross‐cutting lessons and 10 recommendations were derived that can improve understanding and implementation of blue growth. Despite the contemporary literature broadly supporting our findings, these recommendations are not adequately addressed by agendas seeking to realize blue growth.     

Antibody-hapten interactions in vivo in mice and sheep.

From 5 min to 5 h after an intravenous injection of one of the haptens, elipson-dinitrophenyl-lysine, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), or procaine, mice that were actively immunised against these haptens held more of the hapten in their plasma than did normal mice. Over the same time interval, mice that had been passively immunised with sheep anti-procaine antisera and then treated with procaine held more procaine in their plasma than did mice treated with normal sheep serum. When procaine or DNP was administered orally or intraperitoneally to sheep with circulating antibody to the hapten, the antibody titre was usually reduced 1 h after dosing but returned to the pre-dosing titre by 24 h. Experiments indicated that the reduction in antibody titre was due to in vivo neutralisation of antibody by the hapten.     

A set of standard area diagrams to assess severity of frogeye leaf spot on soybean

European Journal of Plant Pathology - A set of standard area diagrams (SADs) was developed and validated to aid visual assessment of severity of frogeye leaf spot (FLS) caused by Cercospora sojina....     

Falling through the cracks: the fading history of a large iconic predator

Human impact on the oceans predates scientific observation, which for many animal populations has captured only recent changes. Such a limited knowledge can hamper finding optimal management and conservation strategies including setting appropriate recovery targets. Sawfishes are among the most endangered marine vertebrates in the ocean. Historical human impacts have resulted in sawfish extinction in many coastal areas around the world; however, in the Mediterranean Sea, their past presence and possible extinction have been debated for decades. Recently, it was concluded that the region never hosted resident populations because of unsuitable environmental conditions. Through an extensive bibliographic and archival search and an extinction analysis, we reconstructed the history of sawfishes in the Mediterranean Sea. Between 1576 and 1959, there were 48 independent accounts of the occurrence of two sawfish species (Pristis pristis, Pristidae and Pristis pectinata, Pristidae), including 24 documented catches. Sawfishes were mainly recorded in the western Mediterranean, in areas close to large rivers with light human impact. Most of the documented individuals were juveniles, suggesting local parturition. Extinction analyses yielded variable results and were affected by the sparseness of records but suggested that both species went extinct in the Mediterranean Sea in the 1960s–1970s. Our results challenge current assumptions on sawfish ecology and biogeography, offer new options for sawfish conservation in the Atlantic and highlight the importance of historical analyses for reconstructing ecosystem baselines and setting recovery targets.     

Histological and antioxidant responses in Rhamdia quelen sedated with propofol

Morphometry of gills and antioxidant/oxidant status in gills, brain, liver and blood of Rhamdia quelen sedated with propofol were studied. The purpose was to investigate structural and functional responses upon administration of the drug in order to validate its use for the species. The fish were exposed to 0, 0.4 or 0.8 mg L^?1 propofol for 1, 6 or 12 h, which are times normally used in live fish transport. Propofol induced an increase in chloride cell in the non‐respiratory epithelium of the gill. Standard biochemical assays (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and lipid hydroperoxides) indicated that the lowest concentration of propofol did not induce lipoperoxidation in gills, brain, liver or blood. The oxidative status of enzymatic (catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione‐S‐transferase) and non‐enzymatic (non‐protein thiols) antioxidants differed among the tested sites. Apart from the blood, superoxide dismutase was the enzyme to show the highest activity in the presence of propofol, which is known to possess antioxidant properties that resemble those of vitamin E. The absence of chloride cells in the respiratory epithelium (lamella) in association with the stability of the lamellar structure (i.e. lamellar area, total height of lamella and width of lamella) indicate that ion and oxygen uptake were preserved under propofol sedation. Thus, 0.4 mg L^?1 propofol should be considered to sedate R. quelen during lengthy procedures, such as transport, for it was able to maintain ionic and respiratory homeostasis as well as prevent peroxidative damage in vital organs.     

Effects of 5 years of digestate application on biomass production and quality of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.)

Anaerobic digestion of biomass produces biogas for combustion and also provides a residual digestate. Although sometimes regarded as a waste product, the nutrient‐rich chemical composition of digestate makes it a potential organic fertilizer for agriculture. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of digestate as a fertilizer on the biomass yield and chemical composition of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.). In a 5‐year small‐plot field experiment digestate fertilization treatments supplying 90, 180, 270, 360 and 450 kg N ha^?1 were compared with untreated plots and plots fertilized with 180 kg N ha^?1 of mineral N fertilizer. Swards fertilized with digestate produced higher biomass yield compared with the control. The same rate of nitrogen fertilizer (180 kg N ha^?1) supplied as digestate and from mineral fertilizers gave similar results on biomass yield. Herbage in swards fertilized with digestate contained less nitrogen, but the C:N ratio was much more suitable for biogas production. Digestate fertilization resulted in higher concentrations of cellulose and hemicellulose in biomass and lower contents of the inhibitors of anaerobic digestion—sulphur, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus—compared with those of swards receiving mineral fertilizers.     

First report of invasive brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) in Croatia

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), has been spreading over Europe since the first documented records from Liechtenstein in 2004 and Switzerland in 2007. It is considered to be a pest in many agricultural crops and a household nuisance. In 2017 the species was observed in Croatia for the first time, in the city of Rijeka on the north Adriatic coast. Halyomorpha halys has already been recorded in three nearby countries (Italy, Hungary and Serbia), and therefore the arrival of this species had been expected from neighbouring populations or from distant sources via trading goods. To identify the pathway of entry, the haplotypes of H. halys (Stål, 1855) individuals were analysed by comparing a part of the mitochondrial COI gene with other haplotypes present in the GenBank database. Individual specimens shared the most common haplotype with nearby Italian and Hungarian populations.