Using motion-sensitive radio tags to record the activity and behavioural patterns of spawning Atlantic salmon

Abstract –  In this paper, we describe a method employing motion-sensing radio transmitters for recording and identifying behavioural patterns and activity of Atlantic salmon spawning under natural conditions. Simultaneous video monitoring verified recorded activity patterns originating from behaviours such as fighting, nest digging and quivering. The method described here enables more accurate determination of the timing and location of spawning compared to conventional location tracking. Motion-sensing transmitters can also be applied to monitor other species and types of behaviour, and therefore the use and development of such methods deserves further attention in behavioural studies.     

Demographics of the spawning aggregations of four catostomid species in the Savannah River, South Carolina and Georgia, USA

Abstract –  Differences in the life history strategies employed by otherwise ecologically similar species of a fish assemblage may be an important factor in the coexistence of these species and is an essential consideration in the conservation and management of these assemblages. We collected scales to determine age and growth of four species of the catostomid assemblage (northern hogsucker Hypentelium nigricans , spotted sucker Minytrema melanops , notchlip redhorse Moxostoma collapsum and robust redhorse Moxostoma robustum ) of the Savannah River, Georgia–South Carolina in spring 2004 and 2005. Robust redhorse was the largest species; reaching sexual maturity at an older age and growing faster as a juvenile than the other species. Spotted sucker did not achieve the same size as robust redhorse, but reached sexual maturity at younger ages. Notchlip redhorse was intermediate between the abovementioned two species in age at maturity and size. Northern hogsucker was the smallest species of the assemblage and reached the sexual maturity at the age of three. Both robust redhorse and spotted sucker were sexually dimorphic in size-at-age. The range of life history strategies employed by Savannah River catostomids encompasses the range of life history strategies exhibited within the family as a whole.     

2023年三峡水库生态调度对四大家鱼生境面积影响研究

2023年5月27日至6月3日，三峡水库开展了针对葛洲坝下游四大家鱼自然繁殖的生态调度试验，为量化此次生态调度对四大家鱼生境面积影响，以葛洲坝至枝江江段为研究区域，选择水位变幅、水深、流速、水温4个主要生境因子，建立了耦合平面二维水动力学模型和产卵栖息地适宜度曲线的四大家鱼产卵生境质量评估模型，实现了产卵综合适宜度指数的时空分布的精细化模拟。结果表明：生态调度期间，研究区域四大家鱼产卵综合适宜度指数呈现稳定增加趋势，四大家鱼产卵加权可利用面积占研究区域总面积比例由30.45%增加至约55%；适宜四大家鱼产卵区域（产卵综合适宜度指数在0.6～1.0范围）明显增加，占研究区域总面积比例由4.67%增加至约60%。2023年三峡水库生态调度显著改善了葛洲坝至枝江江段四大家鱼产卵生境质量。     

诱导木数量及空间大小对花绒寄甲产卵的影响

为了确定诱导木数量及空间大小对花绒寄甲成虫产卵的影响,利用不同大小的塑料盒饲养花绒寄甲（Dastarcus helophoroide）成虫并放入不同数量的诱导木段诱导其产卵.结果表明,4组不同处理对成虫平均产卵量的影响不显著(p＞0.05),但处理3（大养虫盒3块诱导木段）与其余3组试验相比在产卵量方面能诱发成虫保持持...     

长肋日月贝亲本促熟培育与催产技术研究

利用室外水泥池开展不同密度长肋日月贝亲本促熟试验,经过30 d左右的强化培育,结果表明20～50个/m3的培育密度能取得较好的促熟效果。采用了阴干、温度、藻液、流水和精卵刺激的方法诱导亲贝排放精卵,试验结果阴干刺激1 h+温度刺激+藻液刺激1 h结合的诱导效果最好。     

Using coupled fish behavior–hydrodynamic model to investigate spawning migration of Japanese anchovy,Engraulis japonicus,from the East China Sea to Taiwan

Adult Japanese anchovies (Engraulis japonicus) migrate from the East China Sea to the coastal region of Taiwan to spawn around late winter and early spring and, later, their larvae constitute important fisheries in Taiwan. However, their migration route and its mechanism remain unclear. To investigate their spawning migration, we used a coupled fish behavior–hydrodynamic modeling approach. The physical field is simulated by the Pacific Ocean adaptation of the TaIwan Multi‐scale Community Ocean Model (TIMCOM) and the fish migration by Lagrangian tracer tracking with the aid of approximation of fish swimming behavior. We investigated three fish behavioral scenarios: (i) passive tracking of the current, (ii) swimming along with the current, and (iii) swimming along with the current and then changing to swimming toward the optimal spawning temperature. The comparison with and without Changjiang discharge is used to investigate the impacts of discharge reduction due to the Three Gorges Dam. Our results suggest that spawning migration of Japanese anchovy from the East China Sea to Taiwan may be aided by the China Coastal Current and that adult anchovies cannot reach the spawning site by passive advection alone. Thus, the swimming behavior of anchovies is crucial during the spawning migration, as it provides extra velocity and the orientation to the favorable spawning grounds. In addition, the adult anchovy is unlikely to reach the coastal area of Taiwan without Changjiang discharge. Our findings indicate that a coupled fish behavior–hydrodynamic model can help understand the influences of physical environment on the migration of Japanese anchovies.     

葛洲坝下中华鲟产卵场卵苗输移过程的数值模拟

基于水动力学计算的基本原理,采用三维水动力模型及粒子跟踪技术,模拟了中华鲟(Acipenser sinensis)卵苗输移过程。将目前葛洲坝下中华鲟产卵场区域划分为9个子区域,将粒子赋予中华鲟卵粒特征,反演了中华鲟2009年自然繁殖卵苗沿河道输移路线和扩散过程。在划分的9个区域中,区域1、2、5为极有可能的产卵位置。模拟得到的产卵位置、卵输移路径及输移时间与实际监测情况基本一致。模拟结果显示,卵苗输移受天然河道地形和水流流场变化的影响较大。     

Latitudinally distinct stocks of Atlantic cod face fundamentally different biophysical challenges under on-going climate change

The reproductive success of marine ectotherms is especially vulnerable in warming oceans due to alterations in adult physiology, as well as embryonic and larval survival prospects. These vital responses may, however, differ considerably across the species' geographical distribution. Here we investigated the life history, focusing on reproductive ecology, of three spatially distant populations (stocks) of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua, Gadidae) (50–80° N), in the Irish/Celtic Seas-English Channel Complex, North and Barents Seas, under past and projected climate. First, experimental tracking of spawning behaviour evidenced that the ovulation cycle is highly distressed at ≥9.6 (±0.25)°C (T_up). This knife-edge threshold resulted in erratic spawning frequencies, whereas vitellogenin sequestration remained unaffected, indicating endocrine rather than aerobic scope constraints. Cod in the Celtic Sea-English Channel are, therefore, expected to show critical stock depensation over the next decades as spawning grounds warm above T_up, with Irish Sea cod subsequently at risk. Second, in the relatively cooler North Sea, the northward retraction of Calanus finmarchicus (Calanidae) and Para-Pseudocalanus spp. (Clausocalanidae) (1958–2017) limit cod larvae feeding opportunities, particularly in the southernmost subarea. However, the contrasting increase in Calanus helgolandicus (Calanidae) does not counteract this negative effect, likely because cod larvae hatch ahead of its abundance peaks. Overfishing again comes as a twin effect. Third, in the still relatively cold Barents Sea, the sustainably harvested cod benefit from improved food conditions in the recent ice-free polar region but at the energetic cost of lengthier and faster spawning migrations. Consequently, under climate change local stocks are stressed by different mechanistic factors of varying management severity.     

Evaluation of HCG-Delivery Systems and Levels on Spawning of Asian Catfish,Clarias batrachus (Linn.)

ABSTRACT

An attempt has been made for multiple spawning of Asian catfish, Clarias batrachus, by sustained hormone administrations through injection and pellet at three different levels of human chorionic gonado-tropin (HCG): 150, 200, and 250 IU. The size of the eggs and biometry of larvae were significantly higher (P< 0.05) in hormone-treated females compared with untreated groups during first as well as second spawning. The administration of all three levels of sustained hormone was also influenced the rate of fertilization and hatching, which were significantly higher (P< 0.05) compared with control group. The total larvae produced by the fish at 200 and 250 IU HCG treatments during both the spawning operations was significantly higher (P< 0.05) than the other groups irrespective of the ways of administration. It was observed that the forms of sustained hormone had no variability on breeding parameters. But the fish can be bred prior to normal season by the use of sustained hormone and those can be again bred during the latter part of the season to augment the seed production.     

Staged spawning migration in Icelandic capelin (Mallotus villosus): effects of temperature,stock size and maturity

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) is the largest commercial fish stock in Icelandic waters and also an important forage fish. Every winter pre‐spawning capelin migrate 500–1000 km from their offshore (>200 m bottom depth) northern feeding areas (67–71°N) to inshore (<200 m bottom depth) southern spawning areas (63–65°N). The major migration route is east of Iceland. The route consists of both offshore and inshore phases. The migration begins offshore as capelin skirt the shelf edge north of 65°N, then abruptly veer inshore between latitudes 64° and 65°N. Hydro‐acoustic data from 1992–2007 demonstrated that the timing of the offshore phase migration varied by as much as 1 month, from 22 December to 21 January. A combination of larger spawning stock and colder feeding ground temperatures (August–December) resulted in earlier offshore migration. The timing of the inshore migration phase was not dependent on the offshore migration timing, and never began prior to the first week of February. Many cohorts arrived at latitudes 64–65°N in early January but staged offshore at latitudes 63.8–65.8°N until early February. The longest observed delay in the staging area was 5 weeks. Timing of the inshore migration was controlled by gonad maturity, with migration beginning when roe content attained 12–14%. Staging limited the time capelin spent on the continental shelf before spawning to 3 weeks. We suggest that offshore staging evolved to minimize temporal overlap with predatory gadoids, especially Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).