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.     

Exotic species,fisheries and conservation of freshwater biodiversity in tropical Asia: the case of the Sepik River,Papua New Guinea

1. Development of effective conservation strategies for freshwater biodiversity must take account of the trade‐off between species preservation and human use of ecosystem goods and services. The latter cannot be prevented, and attempts to manage ecosystems that focus solely on maximizing biodiversity will fail. 2. A compromise position of management for ecosystem functioning and human livelihoods — rather than preservation of every species — will provide a better basis for biodiversity conservation. This has implications for the management of exotic species. 3. There are some situations, in lentic habitats in Sri Lanka, for example, where the establishment of exotics has increased fishery yields without apparent detriment to native biodiversity. The Sepik River in Papua New Guinea provides another illustration of potential compromises between human livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. 4. The Sepik supports a relatively unproductive fishery. Two fish stocking projects (in 1987–93 and 1993–97), representing a partnership between the Papua New Guinea Government and the United Nations (UNDP/FAO), led to the introduction of a suite of exotic fish into the Sepik. Species were selected on the basis of their potential to occupy niches not filled by native fish. Unfortunately, the outcomes of these introductions are poorly documented, although there is preliminary evidence both of increased human use of exotic fish as well as declines of some native species associated with the spread of exotics. 5. Better understanding of the results of the Sepik fish introductions is important, because the pressures of burgeoning human populations in most of tropical Asia make it impossible to preserve near‐pristine environments such as the Sepik. While attempts to conserve natural or near‐natural systems must remain a priority, there is a need to develop strategies for the management of damaged or degraded ecosystems, which may contain exotics, with the aim of maintaining ecosystem functioning and, if possible, maximizing the persistence of native biodiversity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Modeling of urban trees’ effects on reducing human exposure to UV radiation in Seoul,Korea

A mathematical model is constructed for quantifying urban trees’ effects on mitigating the intensity of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the ground within different land use types across a city. The model is based upon local field data, meteorological data and equations designed to predict the reduced UV fraction due to trees at the ground level. Trees in Seoul, Korea (2010), produced average UV protection factors (UPF) for pedestrians in tree shade at solar noon (May to August) of 8.3 for park and cemetery land uses and 3.0 for commercial and transportation land uses. The highest daily UPF was 11.8 in the park and cemetery land uses, which has the highest percent canopy cover. This UV model is being implemented within the i-Tree modeling system to allow cities across the world to estimate tree effects on UV exposure. Understanding the impacts of urban trees on UV exposure can be used in developing landscape design strategies to help protect urban populations from UV exposure and consequent health impacts.     

Proteolytic digestive enzymes of carnivorous (Silurus glanis L.), herbivorous (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Val.) and omnivorous (Cyprinus carpio L.) fishes

The authors studied the pH, temperature dependence, heat inactivation and the reactive groups of the active centers of proteolytic enzymes extracted from the alimentary canal of silver carp, common carp and sheatfish. In these three fish species activation energy values of enzymes, active in a pH range near neutral (7.5) were nearly identical, i.e.: silver carp: 14 kcal/mol; common carp: 15.4 kcal/mol; sheatfish: 15.7 kcal/mol. Differences were found in heat stability. At 55°C time values for 50% activity loss were 3.8: 1.3 and 14.6 min in the case of silver carp, common carp and sheatfish, respectively. Activities of enzymes, active in a pH range near neutral were inhibited by 82–94% by 10⁻³M PMSF, and by 2–5% by 10⁻³M EDTA. Proteolytic enzymes of the three fish species proved not to be homogeneous, but the largest part consisted of seryl-proteinases.     

Characterization of acetylcholinesterase and its molecular forms in organs of five freshwater teleosts

The activity and molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7) were characterized in the brain, heart, white skeletal muscle and liver of the Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri), European eel (Anguilla anguilla), wels (Silurus glanis), common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), belonging in four families. The brain had the highest (between 183.2±10.6 and 1361.2±189.7 mU mg^-1 protein and between 4.7±0.4 and 23.5±2.7 U g^-1 wet tissue) and the liver the lowest (between 25.3±1.9 and 126.5±22.7 mU mg^-1 protein and between 1.0±0.1 and 4.5±0.5 U g^-1 wet tissue) activity in all these fish, with the exception of the wels, where the heart contained the smallest amount of AChE (26.2±7.5 mU mg^-1 protein and 1.2±0.3 U g^-1 wet tissue). The highest tissue AChE activity was found in the carp and lowest in the sturgeon. The solubility properties and molecular forms of AChE in the four tissues were studied by extraction in high-salt medium (1.0 M NaCl) with and without the detergent Triton X-100 (0.5%, v/v). The proportions of detergent-soluble (DS) and salt-soluble (SS) forms of AChE varied considerably from one species to another, but a general tendency could be observed: the proportion of DS AChE was generally higher in the brain (between 70.4±4.1 and 82.5±1.2%) and lower in the heart (between 12.0±2.0 and 51.3±2.3%) and skeletal muscle (between 16.0±2.0 and 64.4±0.7%). Velocity sedimentation centrifugation revealed that most tissues contained the G₄ or A₄ form. Three tissues (brain, heart, and liver) of the Siberian sturgeon contained a relatively high proportion of the G1 form (between 24.3±2.4 and 28.6±4.9%), while the skeletal muscle of the wels contained only the most complex type of AChE, i.e., A₁₂. Amongst the tissues studied, the brain and liver mostly contained amphiphilic globular forms of the G₄ type, while the heart and skeletal muscle were rich in asymmetric forms (A₄ and A₁₂). It was concluded that the differences revealed in the activities of AChE and in the distribution of its molecular forms may be connected with the variation in behavioral habits (feeding and swimming patterns), and the developmental stage of the nervous system.     

Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) interaction with fish farms in the Gulf of Ambracia,western Greece

1. Marine aquaculture, and its fast-growing development, has the potential for wider environmental, ecosystem, and biodiversity impacts. This study assesses the impact of fish farming on a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population within the Gulf of Ambracia (western Greece) between 2007 and 2018. Two different study areas were defined in order to investigate differences on occurrence, abundance, behaviour, and seasonal fluctuations between them: a ‘control area’, in the north-western side of the Gulf; and a ‘fish farm area’, in the south west, where the highest density of fish farm cages is found.
2. A total of 169 daily surveys were dedicated to the control area and 74 days were dedicated to the fish farm area, yielding 104 and 37 sightings, respectively. Both the probability of detecting dolphins (U = 6,763.000, P = 0.002) and the group sizes (U = 578.000, P < 0.001) were smaller around fish farms.
3. Seasonality analyses were restricted to 2007–2008, as this was the period with year-round effort. Results revealed that dolphins were more frequently seen around fish farms in the winter (Kruskal–Wallis test, P = 0.036).
4. From the 40 identified individuals that were re-sighted at least 10 times during the study period, 21 used the fish farm area less than expected according to sampling effort, and 10 of them were never observed in that area (binomial test, P < 0.05).
5. The results revealed an impact of fish farms on the distribution of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Ambracia. This information should be taken into consideration when defining ecosystem-based management measures within the management plan, which is currently in preparation for this Natura 2000 site.

     

Using social media as a cost‐effective resource in the photo‐identification of a coastal bottlenose dolphin community

1. Bottlenose dolphins encountered around the Irish coast are considered part of a wide‐ranging coastal community; however, knowledge on the significance of the north of Ireland for this species is limited by a lack of dedicated effort.
2. Through social media, the opportunity now exists to gather large volumes of citizen science data in the form of high‐quality images, potentially extending the spatial and temporal scope of photo‐identification studies.
3. The purpose of this study was to investigate social media as a data resource for photo‐identification studies and to provide a preliminary assessment of bottlenose dolphins in the north of Ireland. Specifically, the study sought to examine the photo‐identification data for spatial clustering.
4. The study identified 54 well‐marked individuals and provided evidence of potential year‐round occurrence, with successful re‐sightings throughout the study period (2007–2016). There was a geographic concentration of re‐sightings along the north of Ireland, suggestive of interannual site fidelity. These results provide scientific rationale for strategically targeting the north of Ireland in future research on the Irish coastal community.
5. For effective conservation of the bottlenose dolphin it is imperative that scientific research, and resultant management objectives, consider wide‐ranging communities such as the Irish coastal community. Our research highlights data collection via social media as a cost‐effective and scientifically valuable tool in the photo‐identification of coastal cetaceans. We recommend that this method is used in research on low‐density and wide‐ranging coastal cetaceans.