Application of sperm cryopreservation in selective breeding of the Pacific oyster,Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg)

The robustness of Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), sperm cryopreservation in the context of selective breeding based on family lines was investigated. Irrespective of egg density, high fertilization success was achieved with cryopreserved sperm when sperm:egg ratios of 1000:1 to 10 000:1 were used. Variation among replicate runs on the same oyster batches was minimal, indicating that cryopreservation and larval rearing procedures were repeatable. Twenty independent single male–female crosses were made to assess the utility of cryopreserved sperm in selective breeding. The fertility of unfrozen sperm was generally a poor predictor of cryopreserved sperm fertility. Based on D‐larval yields, 17 of the 20 crosses were likely to yield adequate spat for selective breeding (>10⁵ D‐larvae from 1 million eggs), two were marginal (5 × 10⁴ D‐larvae) and one was inadequate (4 × 10³ D‐larvae). An alternative fertilization strategy to improve D‐yield from a given number of sperm was then tested. Fertilizing 10 million eggs at a sperm:egg ratio of 200:1 increased the total D‐yield when compared with fertilizing 1 million eggs at a sperm:egg ratio of 2000:1 for the same male–female pair. We conclude that, despite wide variation in fertility, cryopreserved sperm is useful for family production.     

The homogenizing influence of agriculture on forest bird communities at landscape scales

Landscape Ecology - Agricultural expansion is a principal driver of biodiversity loss, but the impacts on community assembly in agro-ecosystems are less clear, especially across regional scales at...     

Agriculturally productive yet biodiverse: human benefits and conservation values along a forest-agriculture gradient in Southern Ethiopia

Landscape Ecology - It remains unclear how agricultural landscapes can best serve multiple purposes such as simultaneously maintaining agricultural productivity and conserving biodiversity. Our...     

Grass mixtures for afforested opencast spoils in South Wales

An experiment that investigated the establishment of seven grass and legume seed mixes on opencast coal mining spoil in South Wales is described. After three years, mixtures containing Poa pratensis and Festuca rubra var. rubra were the most successful in covering the spoil; the ‘Johnson JR33’ seed mix proved the best of those commercially available that was tested. Tree growth was not detrimentally affected by the establishment of a grass ground cover. Erosion was not an important process at the experimental site, though slumping occurred locally from plough ridge to plough furrow.     

The effect of different HUFA enrichment emulsions on the nutritional value of rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) fed to larval haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus).

A feeding study was conducted in the winter 2001 to determine the effects of feeding rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) enriched with various levels of essential fatty acids on the growth and survival of haddock larvae (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). Rotifer enrichment treatments were: 1) mixed algae, 2) high DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6n-3), 3) high DHA and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5n-3), and 4) DHA, EPA, and AA (arachidonic acid, 20:4n-6). Larvae were fed rotifers enriched with the different treatments from days 1 to 16 post-hatch. From day 17 until 25 all treatment groups were fed rotifers reared on mixed algae and then weaned onto the International Council for Exploration of the SEA (ICES) Standard Reference Weaning diet (http://allserv.rug.ac.t/aquaculture/rend/rend.htm) over a five day period. The experiment was terminated on day 41 post-hatch. The enrichment treatments affected the fatty acid composition of the rotifers and correlated with the accumulation of these fatty acids in the haddock larvae. However, no significant differences in larval growth or survival to 40 days post hatch were detected, suggesting that all treatments provided the minimal essential fatty acid requirements for haddock.     

Culturing freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera: a breakthrough in the conservation of an endangered species

• 1. The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera L. is globally endangered and is threatened by commercial exploitation, pollution and habitat loss throughout its range. Captive breeding would be a valuable tool in enhancing the status of M. margaritifera in the UK.
• 2. We have developed a semi‐natural system for successfully infecting juvenile brown trout with glochidial M. margaritifera, and culturing juvenile mussels in experimental tanks where glochidial M. margaritifera can excyst from fish gills and settle into sediment.
• 3. Infected fish had less than 1% mortality. Levels of infection varied among fish. Two yearly cohorts of juvenile M. margaritifera were identified from samples of sediment taken from each experimental tank. Individuals range in size from 1.4 mm (2000 cohort) to >3 mm in length (1999 cohort).
• 4. The number of juvenile M. margaritifera present in the two experimental tanks are estimated to be between 3600 (tank A) and 0 (tank B) for the putative 1999 cohort and between 6000 (tank A) and 13 000 (tank B) for the putative 2000 cohort.
• 5. This pioneering method for large‐scale cultivation of juvenile M. margaritifera is intermediate between the release of infected fish into rivers and the intensive cultivation systems developed in continental Europe and the USA for other species of unionid. This is the first time that large numbers of M. margaritifera have been cultured and represents a significant breakthrough in the conservation of this globally endangered Red Data List species. The method is straightforward and is most cost‐effective when undertaken alongside established hatchery processes.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scale-dependent habitat use in three species of prairie wetland birds

We evaluated the influence of scale on habitat use for three wetland-obligate bird species with divergent life history characteristics and possible scale-dependent criteria for nesting and foraging in South Dakota, USA. A stratified, two-stage cluster sample was used to randomly select survey wetlands within strata defined by region, wetland density, and wetland surface area. We used 18-m (0.1 ha) fixed radius circular-plots to survey birds in 412 semipermanent wetlands during the summers of 1995 and 1996. Variation in habitat use by pied-billed grebes (Podilymbus podiceps) and yellow-headed blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus), two sedentary species that rarely exploit resources outside the vicinity of nest wetlands, was explained solely by within-patch variation. Yellow-headed blackbirds were a cosmopolitan species that commonly nested in small wetlands, whereas pied-billed grebes were an area-sensitive species that used larger wetlands regardless of landscape pattern. Area requirements for black terns (Chlidonias niger), a vagile species that typically forages up to 4 km away from the nest wetland, fluctuated in response to landscape structure. Black tern area requirements were small (6.5 ha) in heterogeneous landscapes compared to those in homogeneous landscapes (15.4–32.6 ha). Low wetland density landscapes composed of small wetlands, where few nesting wetlands occurred and potential food sources were spread over large distances, were not widely used by black terns. Landscape-level measurements related to black tern occurrence extended past relationships between wetlands into the surrounding matrix. Black terns were more likely to occur in landscapes where grasslands had not been tilled for agricultural production. Our findings represent empirical evidence that characteristics of entire landscapes, rather than individual patches, must be quantified to assess habitat suitability for wide-ranging species that use resources over large areas.     

THE EFFECT OF DEFOLIATION ON THE SEED-PRODUCING CAPACITY OF BRED VARIETIES OF GRASSES

Leafy grass varieties S24 perennial ryegrass, S26 cocksfoot, S215 meadow fescue and S51 timothy were cut in October and at various growth stages in spring; S53 meadow fescue was grazed at similar periods. Sub-plots were given different applications of N. The control plots had similar manurial treatments but were not defoliated. The seed yield of S24 following October cutting was significantly lower than the control in the first harvest year and significantly higher in the second; the mean yields over 2 years, as a result of cutting at this stage and before ear formation in March, were very similar to those of the control treatment. The mean yields from 3 harvest years for S26, S215 and S51 were generally improved by cutting in October and before ear formation, but cutting after ear formation reduced the number of heads and the seed yields. Extra N applied in conjunction with the defoliation had no significant effect on the number of seed heads or on seed yield. Double grazing of S53 in Sept. and Dec. reduced significantly its seed production in both harvest years. Application of N in spring gave a greater response than a similar application in autumn.     

Detection of twelve mycotoxins in mixed animal feedstuffs, using a novel membrane cleanup procedure.

A multimycotoxin thin layer chromatographic screening method is described which is applicable to most animal feedstuffs. Interference from nonspecific lipid, pigment, and other components of simple and mixed feeds is reduced to a minimum by using a membrane cleanup step. Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2, citrinin, diacetoxyscirpenol, ochratoxin A, patulin, penitrem A, sterigmatocystin, T-2 toxin, and zearalenone may be reliably detected. The sensitivity of the method is generally low for mixed feeds but even so aflatoxin B1 can be detected at a level of 3 ppb and ochratoxin A at 80 ppb. While the basic method is less sensitive for sterigmatocystin (330 ppb), patulin (600 ppb), zearalenone (1000 ppb), and the trichothecenes (1000-4000 ppb), it may be adapted so as to reduce the above detection limits when the presence of these toxins is suspected. Lower levels may be detected in extracts of simple feeds.