Prey ingestion and live food selectivity of marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata) using rice field prawn (Macrobrachium lanchesteri) as prey

Marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata), a carnivorous fish native to freshwater in Asia-Pacific region, is a high-valued species in many Asian countries. The present study consisting of three experiments was conducted to determine the appropriate density, size and ingestion time of marble goby fingerlings on rice field prawn (Macrobrachium lanchesteri) as prey. Results showed that the ingestion rate of marble goby fingerlings (0.26-1.43 g size) on prawns (9-12 mm in length) had an asymptotic pattern peaked at a predator to prey ratio of 1:20. Marble goby fingerlings did catch prawns during both daytime (07:00-17:00 h) and nighttime (17:00-07:00 h), but the ingestion peaked during nighttime period. The hourly ingestion rate during nighttime was significantly higher than that during daytime for the smaller-size marble goby fingerlings of 0.26-0.87 g, while there was no significant difference in the hourly ingestion between nighttime and daytime for the larger-size marble goby fingerlings of 1.43 g. The daily ingestion of marble goby fingerlings on prawns (mg consumed prawns/goby/day) increased significantly with increasing average weights (g) of marble goby fingerlings (Y = 27.6 + 47.8X, n = 30, r² = 0.86, p < 0.05). Results also showed that the preferred prawn size of marble goby fingerlings of average weights of 0.26-4.18 g was small (9-12 mm) with positive electivity index of 0.19-0.33, and the shift from small- to medium-size (12-14 mm) prawns was slow. The present study has demonstrated the feasibility of using rice field prawns as live foods to nurse marble goby fingerlings.     

Immunoelectrophoresis reveals collagen solubility in human serum

A fraction of humanserum proteins which contains hydroxyproline migrates, on electrophoresis, with the alpha(2)-beta-globulins. Immunoelectrophoresis with rabbit antiserum to soluble human collagen reveals an immunologically collagen-like protein in the human serum.     

Effect of partial harvesting strategies on Artemia biomass production in Vietnamese salt works

The effect of partial harvest strategies on the production of Artemia biomass was evaluated for 12 weeks under Vietnamese salt farm conditions. The initial stocking density was 100 nauplii L^?1. After 3 weeks of inoculation, Artemia adults were partially harvested at intervals of 1, 3, 6 and 9 days starting with an initial quantity of 30 kg ha^?1 day^?1 at first harvest, and then the quantity of harvestable biomass was adjusted according to the standing stock present in the culture pond, combined with the time needed to harvest these quantities and with the weight of biomass harvested in each pond. The results showed that in most cases, the total densities were not significantly different among harvesting frequencies (P>0.05). However, a relatively higher Artemia adult density and its standing stock were better maintained in the 3‐day than in the 1‐day interval, and were significantly higher compared with the other two harvesting frequencies. The total biomass yields were the highest (1587 kg ha^?1) in the 3‐day harvesting interval, followed by 1‐, 6‐ and 9‐day harvesting interludes, corresponding to 1323, 1091 and 975 kg ha^?1 respectively. However, no statistical difference was observed between the 1‐ and the 3‐day interval as well as between the 6‐ and the 9‐day harvest schemes (P>0.05). The results of this study suggest that partial harvest of Artemia biomass performed every 3 days appears to be an appropriate strategy to enhance biomass productivity.