Sitka spruce site index in response to varying soil moisture and nutrients in three different climate regions in Ireland

We examined the relationships between Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) site index, windspeed, former land use, soil moisture and soil nutrients with a view to identifying factors limiting the growth potential of the species in three climate regions in Ireland. We selected plantations covering three climate regions (delineated on the basis of ‘growing season’ balance of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration; representing dry, moist and wet climate regions) located on sites representing the range of soil moisture regimes (SMR), soil nutrient regimes (SNR), and land use types found throughout Ireland. Site index of Sitka spruce varied among climate region, with significantly lower site index associated with the wet climate region mainly due to the deterioration in edaphic conditions and adverse climatic conditions. The effect of edaphic variables (SMR, SNR) on site index was consistent across climate regions, site index increasing with increasing SNR, and decreasing with excess moisture or moisture deficit. Site index reached a maximum on fresh/very rich sites in the dry and moist climate regions and on moist/rich sites in the wet climate region. In the dry climate region, water supply (SMR) was the most important variable regulating growth, in wetter windier climates nutrient supply (SNR) was the most important factor, accounting for 69% of the variation in site index. The study has allowed region-specific recommendations to be made for successful plantation establishment in Ireland and for countries with similar climatic regions.     

Novel insights into the marine phase and river fidelity of anadromous twaite shad Alosa fallax in the UK and Ireland

1. Most research on anadromous fishes has been invested in their freshwater life‐phases, resulting in a relatively sparse understanding of their spatial ecology during marine life‐phases. However, understanding the marine dispersal of anadromous fishes is essential to identify threats and to implement conservation measures that fully encompass their lifecycle.
2. The twaite shad Alosa fallax is an anadromous fish increasingly imperilled across its range due to pollution, harvesting, and impediments to freshwater migration, but little is known about its distribution and movements during its marine life‐phase. Here, the application of acoustic telemetry provided novel insights into the coastal dispersal of twaite shad in the UK and Ireland during 2018–2019, and the freshwater entry of individuals during the 2019 spawning season.
3. Of 73 twaite shad acoustic‐tagged during their upstream migration in the River Severn in May 2018, 58 emigrated from the river. Twelve were subsequently detected 200 km to the south‐west at the Taw–Torridge Estuary between July 2018 and April 2019, where estuarine movements up to 5.8 km inland occurred in summer, winter, and spring. One was subsequently detected in the Munster Blackwater Estuary (Ireland) and then in the River Severn, indicating a minimum movement distance of 950 km. Thirty‐four (59%) of the emigrating individuals from 2018 re‐entered fresh water in the rivers Severn (n = 33) and Wye (n = 2) in April and May 2019.
4. These results suggest year‐round use of estuarine and nearshore habitats by at least a subset of the twaite shad population during their marine phase, providing evidence of potential range overlap between populations that spawn in different areas in the UK and Ireland, which may be facilitated by substantial dispersal. The results also highlight the potential of telemetry for estimating freshwater and marine mortality, and the benefits of sharing detection data across networks.

     

Development of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae (Myxozoa: Malacosporea) in bryozoan hosts (as examined by light microscopy) and quantitation of infective dose to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

The myxozoan parasite Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae is the causative agent of proliferative kidney disease (PKD), a highly damaging disease of cultured salmonid fish. Within this study, phylactolaemate bryozoans were collected from a river known to be endemic for PKD and subsequently cultured in the laboratory. Sequential developmental stages of T. bryosalmonae were studied by light microscopy within the living bryozoan colonies, allowing the identification of stages attached to host peritoneum, consistent with previous molecular evidence of cryptic stages. Infection resulted in the production of large numbers of spores, which were released from the bryozoans. Experimental exposure of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to medium in which infected bryozoans were cultured resulted in clinical PKD. Rainbow trout were exposed to known numbers of T. bryosalmonae spores collected by micromanipulation, which had been released from mature spore sacs within colonies of the bryozoan Fredericella sultana. Exposure to one spore was sufficient to lead to development of PKD. These findings indicate that small numbers of bryozoans are capable of releasing sufficient spores to infect large numbers of fish, having implications for future control methods for PKD in salmonid farming.     

Aspects of the feeding biology of the copepod Pseudodiaptomus hessei (Copepoda: Calanoida) under culture conditions

This study aimed to investigate the feeding behaviour (particularly gut fullness and evacuation, preying on rotifers and feeding preference in the water column) of the calanoid copepod, Pseudodiaptomus hessei, as a potential live feed species for aquaculture. Fed and starved, male and female P. hessei were fed rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) in the presence and absence of microalgae for 24 hr. Starved copepods consumed more rotifers (11.31 ± 1.01, individual rotifers) than fed (8.06 ± 1.01, individual rotifers) while the number of rotifers consumed in the presence of microalgae was similar when fed or starved. Gut fullness and evacuation was determined by feeding copepods two different cell size microalgae species (Tetraselmis suecica and Isochrysis galbana). Gut fullness and evacuation percentage were observed under the dissecting microscope (as 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%). Copepods fed on T. suecica (large cell) filled their guts more rapidly, while those fed on I. galbana (small cell) evacuated their guts faster. Feeding preference was determined using a multifactorial experiment where copepods were fed two microalgae species, T. suecica and I. galbana, each presented as benthic and planktonic food sources. P. hessei preferred to feed on planktonic microalgae first regardless of microalgae choice species for ±80 min, before shifting to benthic food source. This information can be used as baseline information for aquaculturists to rear the species as live feed for marine fish larvae.     

The effect of light intensity on growth of juvenile dusky kob Argyrosomus japonicus (Temminck & Schlegel 1843)

South African juvenile dusky kob Argyrosomus japonicus are more abundant in turbid estuaries than in clear marine‐dominated estuaries. Turbidity can reduce light penetration into the water and create an environment different from that experienced by fish under culture conditions in mechanically filtered clear water. In order to optimize rearing conditions of this species, the effects of light intensity (23–315 lx) and feeding method (restricted ration vs. feeding to apparent satiation) on growth and food conversion ratio (FCR) of juvenile A. japonicus were assessed in a 56‐day growth trial. Fish weight increased from 7.2±1.6 to 41.9±10.2 g fish^?1 at a growth rate of 3.25% body weight day^?1. Light intensity did not significantly affect growth or FCR. Feeding method did not significantly affect growth rate, but average FCR was significantly better in treatments fed a ration of 3.6% body weight day^?1 than in treatments fed to apparent satiation. Therefore, a light intensity range of 23–315 lx can be used to culture dusky kob juveniles. The better FCR in fish fed a restricted ration suggests that a ration of 3.6% body mass day^?1 allowed good growth of juvenile dusky kob.     

Egg Quality Determinants in Finfish The Role of Overripening with Special Reference to the Timing of Stripping in the Atlantic Halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus

Egg quality, those characteristics of the egg that determine its capacity to survive, is a significant problem for many species of fish currently being farmed. Little is known about the determinants of egg quality and there is little agreement regarding reliable methods for its assessment. To be of practical benefit, assessments should be simple to perform and should be carried out as early in development as is possible. Fertilization rates are often used as measures of quality. For the Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus, fertilization rate and assessments of cell symmetry at early cleavage stages provide reasonable indicators of quality. Regardless of assessment method, it is strongly recommended that performance data from all batches of each broodfish be examined when surveying the overall quality of a stock. The misleading effects of pooling such information are demonstrated for a rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss broodstock. Although a large number of factors have been implicated as possible determinants of egg quality, only 1) bacterial colonization of the eggs, 2) nutritional status of the broodfish and, 3) overripening, the process of aging that occurs when eggs are retained within the broodfish after ovulation, have been clearly shown to affect egg quality. The effect of overripening on fish egg quality is discussed in detail. Species-specific differences in the time scale of overripening are pointed out and related to spawning strategy and water temperature. Rainbow trout eggs and those of other salmonids should be fertilized within approximately one week of ovulation. Overripening proceeds much more rapidly in warm water species, e.g., tilapia eggs must be fertilized within an hour or so of ovulation. Egg viability also decreases rapidly for batch spawning species. Fertilization data are presented for Atlantic halibut demonstrating that egg quality decreases 4–6 h after ovulation. The rate of overripening was comparable for eggs held in vitro in ovarian fluid to those retained within the ovarian lumen. These halibut data, combined with information from other marine and freshwater fish, indicate that overripening is a significant determinant of egg quality for many if not all fish.     

NKp46 defines ovine cells that have characteristics corresponding to NK cells

ABSTRACT: Natural killer (NK) cells are well recognized as playing a key role in innate immune defence through cytokine production and cytotoxic activity; additionally recent studies have identified several novel NK cell functions. The ability to study NK cells in the sheep has been restricted due to a lack of specific reagents. We report the generation of a monoclonal antibody specific for ovine NKp46, a receptor which in a number of mammals is expressed exclusively in NK cells. Ovine NKp46+ cells represent a population that is distinct from CD4+ and γδ+ T-cells, B-cells and cells of the monocytic lineage. The NKp46+ cells are heterogenous with respect to expression of CD2 and CD8 and most, but not all, express CD16 - characteristics consistent with NK cell populations in other species. We demonstrate that in addition to populations in peripheral blood and secondary lymphoid organs, ovine NKp46+ populations are also situated at the mucosal surfaces of the lung, gastro-intestinal tract and non-gravid uterus. Furthermore, we show that purified ovine NKp46+ populations cultured in IL-2 and IL-15 have cytotoxic activity that could be enhanced by ligation of NKp46 in re-directed lysis assays. Therefore we conclude that ovine NKp46+ cells represent a population that by phenotype, tissue distribution and function correspond to NK cells and that NKp46 is an activating receptor in sheep as in other species.     

Theileria annulata-transformed cell lines are efficient antigen-presenting cells for in vitro analysis of CD8 T cell responses to bovine herpesvirus-1

ABSTRACT: Continuously growing cell lines infected with the protozoan parasite Theileria annulata can readily be established by in vitro infection of leukocytes with the sporozoite stage of the parasite. The aim of the current study was to determine whether such transformed cell lines could be used as antigen presenting cells to analyse the antigenic specificity of bovine CD8 T cell responses to viral infections. Bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV-1), which is known to induce CD8 T cell responses, was used as a model. T. annulata- transformed cells were shown to express high levels of CD40 and CD80 and were susceptible to infection with BHV-1, vaccinia and canarypox viruses. The capacity of the cells to generate antigen-specific CD8 T cell lines was initially validated using a recombinant canarypox virus expressing a defined immunodominant T. parva antigen (Tp1). Autologous T. annulata-transformed cells infected with BHV-1 were then used successfully to generate specific CD8 T cell lines and clones from memory T cell populations of BHV-1-immune animals. These lines were BHV-1-specific and class I MHC-restricted. In contrast to previous studies, which reported recognition of the glycoproteins gB and gD, the CD8 T cell lines generated in this study did not recognise these glycoproteins. Given the ease with which T. annulata-transformed cell lines can be established and maintained in vitro and their susceptibility to infection with poxvirus vectors, these cell lines offer a convenient and efficient in vitro system to analyse the fine specificity of virus-specific CD8 T cell responses in cattle.