Variability in the performance of juvenile Chinook salmon is explained primarily by when and where they resided in estuarine habitats

Estuarine habitats provide rearing opportunities for the juvenile life stage of anadromous fishes. Because survival is positively correlated with juvenile performance, these estuarine habitats play an important role in population abundance and productivity. To provide information for the recovery of several depressed stocks of Chinook salmon in the Columbia River Basin, we sought to identify the factors that explain variability in performance. Using otolith‐derived estimates of juvenile somatic growth rate as an index of recent performance, we observed a negative nonlinear relationship between growth rate and day of year, and a decreasing and increasing trend of growth rate over the 8 years of this study and distance from the river mouth respectively. Using a generalised linear modelling approach, we found that variability in juvenile somatic growth rate was best explained by where and when individuals were collected, their body size, contaminant loads, stock of origin, and whether a fish was hatchery produced or unmarked. Lastly, we argue that a considerable improvement to the growth rate of juveniles in estuarine habitats is physiologically possible. The results of this 8‐year study provide a baseline of the performance of juvenile Chinook salmon to evaluate habitat restoration programs and to compare against future anthropogenic conditions.     

The effect of dietary supplementation with Aurantiochytrium limacinum on lactating dairy cows in terms of animal health,productivity and milk composition

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA )‐rich microalgae, Aurantiochytrium limacinum (AURA ), on a variety of health and productivity parameters in lactating cows. Twenty‐four cows were blocked by parity and number of days in milk and then randomly assigned to a control (CON ; n  = 12) group with no algal supplementation, or a treatment group (AURA ; n  = 12) provided with 100 g AURA  cow^?1 day^?1 or 16 g DHA  cow^?1 day^?1. A variety of health and productivity measurements were taken, and results indicated that supplementation had no negative effects on animal health in terms of somatic cell count, haematological and biochemical blood parameters, while body condition was marginally improved by algal supplementation. No differences were found for the various production parameters measured; however, a tendency towards increased milk production was observed for the AURA group during the final stage of the study (+4.5 kg cow^?1 day^?1, day 78–84). The fatty acid profile of milk was improved by supplementation, with significantly lower saturated fatty acids, significantly higher omega‐3 fatty acids and an improved omega‐3/omega‐6 ratio observed when compared to the control group. The amount of DHA in the milk of cows provided 105 g AURA  head^?1 day^?1 was 4.7 mg/100 g milk with a peak transfer efficiency from feed to milk at day 49 of 8.3%. These results indicate that supplementation with 105 g AURA  head^?1 day^?1 resulted in the successful enrichment of milk with DHA without negatively impacting the health or productivity of the animals.     

Effects of a DHA‐rich unextracted microalgae as a dietary supplement on performance,carcass traits and meat fatty acid profile in growing‐finishing pigs

Two 125‐day experiments of the same design were conducted to evaluate the effects of a heterotrophically grown microalgae (AURA) containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on pig performance, carcass traits and the fatty acid composition of lean and adipose tissue. In each experiment, 144 Hypor pigs were blocked by sex, allocated to three treatment groups, and fed 0, 0.25% or 0.50% AURA in isonutritive, isocaloric diets. Pigs were weighed on days 0, 28, 56, 84 and 112. Feed and water intakes were measured every 28 days. Pigs were slaughtered on day 125. Data from the two studies were analysed as a single data set. Performance and carcass traits did not differ between treatments. Both microalgae treatment levels enriched (p < .05) Longissimus lumborum (LL) and backfat in DHA and improved (p < .05) their ratios of n‐6 to n‐3 fatty acids.     

Evaluating evaporation from field crops using airborne radiometry and ground-based meteorological data

Summary Airborne measurements of reflected solar and emitted thermal radiation were combined with ground-based measurements of incoming solar radiation, air temperature, windspeed, and vapor pressure to calculate instantaneous evaporation (LE) rates using a form of the Penman equation. Estimates of evaporation over cotton, wheat, and alfalfa fields were obtained on 5 days during a one-year period. A Bowen ratio apparatus, employed simultaneously, provided ground-based measurements of evaporation. Comparison of the airborne and ground techniques showed good agreement, with the greatest difference being about 12% for the instantaneous values. Estimates of daily (24 h) evaporation were made from the instantaneous data. On three of the five days, the difference between the two techniques was less than 8%, with the greatest difference being 25%. The results demonstrate that airborne remote sensing techniques can be used to obtain spatially distributed values of evaporation over agricultural fields.     

湖南省麦迪卡药石农业应用效果综述

湖南省麦迪卡药石(MEDCAL STONE)资源丰富,质量优良,具有富硅、富钾、富微量元素和离子轻稀土的特点,具有很强的吸附性能,可溶出多种有益矿物质,增加水中氧的含量,调节水的pH值,生物活性强,对防治疾病具有重要作用。经过近20 a的研究,农业上应用在作物施肥、药膳食疗等方面,均有极好的社会、经济效益。同时,产地水土、森林、人文资源特好,生态景观优美,不但是天然的无公害农业基地,也是发展休闲农业、旅游农业的"风水宝地"。     

Ontogenetic movements of juvenile blacktip reef sharks: evidence of dispersal and connectivity between coastal habitats and coral reefs

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