Bench-Scale Evaluation of a Micro-Computer Automated Algal Turbidostat

A bench-scale, micro-computer automated algal turbidostat was constructed and its production and culture maintenance capabilities were evaluated. The computer program "Supervisor," written in Turbo Pascal, consisted of a series of functions and procedures integrated through a core program consisting of a: 1) stack; 2) bubble sort routine; and 3) supervisor procedure. The program controlled the daily routine procedures including harvesting, feeding, monitoring and a semimonthly disinfection process. Data received from the monitoring devices were used by the computer for decision making processes concerning changes in operation. In addition to reducing labor, continuous computer monitoring insured more reliable system operation.
The system operated successfully for five months, reliably producing Chlorella minutissima . For each harvesting event, the percent volume removed from each chamber depended on the solar cell reading recorded immediately before the harvest cycle began. Significant correlations between millivolts and algal biomass concentrations allowed the use of solar cells as a reliable and inexpensive method of culture density management. Kinetic studies using Chlorella minutissima resulted in a maximum biomass concentration of approximately 190 g/m³ and an average specific growth rate of 0.66/d. Experimental data combined with a first order computer analysis projected a daily harvest of 82 g/m³/d (dry weight) based on a 38% turnover rate, the average observed harvest rate for the three chambers.     

Stocking density and artificial habitat influence stock structure and yield from intensive nursery systems for mud crabs Scylla serrata (Forsskål 1775)

Intensive nursery systems are designed to culture mud crab postlarvae through a critical phase in preparation for stocking into growout systems. This study investigated the influence of stocking density and provision of artificial habitat on the yield of a cage culture system. For each of three batches of postlarvae, survival, growth and claw loss were assessed after each of three nursery phases ending at crab instars C1/C2, C4/C5 and C7/C8. Survival through the first phase was highly variable among batches with a maximum survival of 80% from megalops to a mean crab instar of 1.5. Stocking density between 625 and 2300 m⁻² did not influence survival or growth in this first phase. Stocking densities tested in phases 2 and 3 were 62.5, 125 and 250 m⁻². At the end of phases 2 and 3, there were five instar stages present, representing a more than 20‐fold size disparity within the populations. Survival became increasingly density‐sensitive following the first phase, with higher densities resulting in significantly lower survival (phase 2: 63% vs. 79%; phase 3: 57% vs. 64%). The addition of artificial habitat in the form of pleated netting significantly improved survival at all densities. The mean instar attained by the end of phase 2 was significantly larger at a lower stocking density and without artificial habitat. No significant effect of density or habitat on harvest size was detected in phase 3. The highest incidence of claw loss was 36% but was reduced by lowering stocking densities and addition of habitat. For intensive commercial production, yield can be significantly increased by addition of a simple net structure but rapidly decreases the longer crablets remain in the nursery.     

Big impacts from small abstractions: The effects of surface water abstraction on freshwater fish assemblages

1. Abstractions and diversions are prevalent in river networks worldwide; however, specific mechanisms and measures reflecting changes in functional characteristics of aquatic assemblages in response to flow abstraction have not been well established. In particular, the influence of small takes on fish assemblages is poorly understood.
2. Field surveys and stable‐isotope analyses were used to evaluate the impact of differing levels of flow abstraction on fish assemblage structure, and native–non‐native patterns of coexistence, associated with small surface water abstractions in four streams in New Zealand. Study design accounted for longitudinal processes (spatial autocorrelation) to isolate the effects of abstractions on fish assemblages.
3. Reaches with reduced flows downstream of abstraction points had significantly lower fish abundances per metre of stream length, probably because of decreased habitat size, altered interspecific interactions and barriers to movement. The loss of larger fish in reaches with high abstraction resulted in shallower mass–abundance slopes and shorter stable isotope‐derived food‐chain lengths, likely to have been caused by fewer trophic links in the food web. The large fish absent from these reaches were flow‐sensitive introduced salmonids, resulting in higher relative abundances of small‐bodied native fish, probably as a result of predatory and competitive release.
4. Quantification of metrics designed to characterize ecosystem functioning as well as abundance and species composition indicated that small water abstractions can alter both the structure and composition of stream fish assemblages and modify the outcomes of native–non‐native species interactions. Thus, a better understanding of the effects of small abstractions could be used to improve the strategic management of fish in invaded riverscapes.

     

Arteriosclerosis of extramural coronary arteries in labradors with congestive heart failure

Two adult male labrador dogs had short clinical histories of congestive cardiac failure lasting only six weeks. Cardiac function deteriorated rapidly in both dogs, in spite of symptomatic treatment with cardiac glycoside, diuretic and p-adrenergic blocker. Necropsies revealed ascites and pulmonary congestion, but no macroscopic evidence of valvular or myocardial disease adequate to account for the cardiac dysfunction. Both dogs had extensive stenosis of extramural coronary arteries. This unusual vascular lesion comprised fibroelastic intimal thickening, discontinuity of internal elastic lamella and focal atrophy of medial smooth muscle. It seems likely that cardiac failure in these dogs was associated with myocardial underperfusion caused by extensive non-thrombotic, non-atherogenic stenosis of extramural coronary arteries.     

Effectiveness of capillary electrophoresis fluoroimmunoassay of blood PrpSc for evaluation of scrapie pathogenesis in sheep.

Management of prion diseases in livestock would benefit greatly from availability of a validated blood test. A promising immunocapillary electrophoresis technique (also known as capillary electrophoresis fluoroimmunoassay) to detect abnormal prion protein in blood from live sheep is evaluated here. Capillary electrophoresis fluoroimmunoassay was applied to analysis of extracted blood from scrapie-exposed sheep (n = 87; 347 samples) at various stages of incubation, and to control sheep (n = 194; 489 samples). Overall, test values for the control and test populations were not significantly different, and a similar proportion of control (7%) and test (10%) sheep were classified as positive. Over 2-3 month intervals from birth until clinical disease, test specificity and sensitivity ranged from 66.7% to 100% and 0% to 66.7%, respectively, indicating poor diagnostic performance at all stages of pathogenesis. In routine application, in its present form, the capillary electrophoresis fluoroimmunoassay procedure proved to be insufficiently robust for use as a blood test for scrapie diagnosis.