Ontogenetic development during changeover from an endogenous to exogenous nutritional source in Laotian cyprinid <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cirrhinus microlepis</Emphasis> larvae

The nutritional transition process from endogenous to exogenous feeding in larvae of the Laotian indigenous cyprinid Cirrhinus microlepis was investigated approximately 200 h after hatching. Although 17 characters were observed, emphasis was given to those associated with the onset of feeding and subsequent development of feeding ability. Growth of larvae was divided into two phases, rapid growth (to 71.5 h) and slower growth (from 71.5 h). The yolk absorption pattern was divided into four phases, the rapid yolk consumption (to 21 h), slow yolk consumption (to 71.5 h), complete yolk consumption (to 118.5 h) and post-yolksac phases. Onset of feeding was observed at the end of the slow yolk consumption phase (71.5 h after hatching), and notochord flexion, appearance of caudal fin supports/rays and gut coiling were observed at the same time. Comparisons of developmental characters relevant to the onset of feeding between C. microlepis and sympatric species, including Trichogaster pectoralis, Anabas testudineus and Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, revealed that morphological features related to the nutritional changeover were most likely linked to the habitat environment and survival strategy of early larvae.     

Smallholder Teak and Agrarian Change in Northern Laos

Smallholder teak (Tectona grandis) plantations have become increasingly prominent in the landscape of Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR. While the global market for teak-wood is attractive, investment has been driven by a range of factors, including changes to land legislation, land-use planning, taxation incentives, and government and non-government programs and promotions. The establishment of teak stands provides a labour-saving land use for households, potentially freeing up household resources for other farm and non-farm opportunities. However, the degree to which households can participate in the industry varies within and between villages. This paper reviews some of the underlying incentives for the expansion of teak plantations, examines the livelihood activities of both teak and non-teak producers in five case study villages in Luang Prabang, and explores the differential outcomes emerging from the expansion of smallholder teak production. The survey revealed that teak planting has been more extensive among households with a longer history of settlement, where the household head is older and better educated, where household members have off-farm sources of income, and where the household has access to paddy land and is thus more likely to be self-sufficient in rice. Households that depend on shifting cultivation for their livelihoods, without access to alternative productive land or income sources, will continue to have difficulty planting teak or holding on to the land they do manage to plant. The paper concludes that the establishment and improvement of teak plantations, like other apparently technical interventions aimed at providing a ‘pathway out of poverty’, need to be seen in the context of wider processes of agrarian change and differentiation to appreciate the resultant impacts on livelihood trajectories.