Genetic information of three pure lines of Porphyra yezoensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) obtained by AFLP analysis

Porphyra (Bangiales, Rhodophyta), which includes several valuable marine crops, has recently received great interest as a model plant for fundamental and applied studies in marine sciences. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) are a robust and efficient means for genetic mapping, linkage analysis of genetic characters for breeding and population studies in land plant genomes. To examine whether AFLPs are applicable as genetic markers in the present study, we detected AFLP markers with three pure lines in order to promote genetic analysis in Porphyra yezoensis . The following five sets of AFLP primer pairs (E-AA, M-CAA) (E-AA, M-CAC) (E-AA, M-CAG) (E-AA, M-CAT) (E-AA, M-CTA) were tested with template DNAs from three pure lines and they showed a total of 227 bands. This suggests that AFLP markers are promising tools for genetic analysis in Porphyra .     

Relationship between feed input and sediment quality of the fish cage farms

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to examine the variation in fish farm sediment quality with varying organic carbon input in the form of feed. In order to elucidate the seasonal variation in farm sediment quality, relation between seasonal organic carbon input, temperature and sediment quality was studied. The sediment ignition loss, redox potential and acid volatile sulfide sulfur (AVS-S) content showed a correlation with annual organic carbon input. The seasonal AVS-S content showed a significant correlation with the seasonal organic carbon input as well as temperature. Multiple regression analysis revealed that both of these factors explicated 80% of the seasonal variation in AVS-S content. Although redox conditions of the sediment could also be correlated with both the organic carbon input and temperature, the latter seemed to have a greater control. Thus, the farm sediment quality could be directly related to the annual organic carbon input to the fish farm under similar hydrographic conditions. Acid volatile sulfide sulfur content exhibited a significant correlation with both the annual as well as the seasonal organic carbon input. Therefore, AVS-S content proved to be a fairly simple and better indicator for monitoring the fish farm environment for effective farm management and sustainable aquaculture. Importance of size of pellets as a factor affecting the feed input-sediment quality relation is also demonstrated in the present study.     

An experimental study of the effects of smallmouth bass on the behavior, growth and survival of prey fish

ABSTRACT The effects of smallmouth bass on the behavior, growth and survival of the prey fish (goldfish, ayu and Japanese dace) were examined experimentally in artificial ponds. In most cases, goldfish aggregated both when smallmouth bass were present and absent. Ayu and Japanese dace aggregated more frequently in the presence of smallmouth bass. All prey fish fed predominantly on benthic algae or aquatic insects and their dietary composition was not affected by smallmouth bass. In goldfish and Japanese dace, the total number of feeding acts exhibited by each individual was significantly less in the presence of smallmouth bass than in the absence and, in goldfish, the growth rate was less when smallmouth bass were present. In contrast, the presence of smallmouth bass did not affect either the total number of feeding acts or the growth rate of ayu. However, ayu were preyed on by smallmouth bass most frequently among the three prey species. Smallmouth bass tended to prey on smaller individuals, but ayu were not smaller than goldfish or Japanese dace.     

Influence of interposition of pink muscle fiber into dorsal ordinary muscle on temporal change of K-value in cultured carp

To clarify the influence of the interposition of pink muscle fiber into dorsal ordinary muscle on temporal change of K-value, using cultured carp, the dorsal muscle was divided into five muscle parts towards depth with the naked eye as follows: the dark muscle part (P-1), the intermediate muscle part (P-2) and three ordinary muscle parts (P-3, P-4, P-5). These were organized from the muscle fiber types as follows: P-1 was only red muscle fiber type. P-2 was only pink muscle fiber type in a thin layer and two muscle fiber types of not only pink muscle fiber but also white muscle fiber of the IIa or IIb subtype in a mosaic pattern. All of P-3, P-4 and P-5 were two muscle fiber types, white muscle fiber (IIa or IIb subtype) and pink muscle fiber. The temporal changes of K-values were remarkably faster in the order of P-1, P-2, and three parts of P-3, P-4 and P-5. The changes did not exhibit a remarkable difference among the three ordinary muscle parts. From these results, it was considered that the interposition of pink muscle fiber into the dorsal ordinary muscle might accelerate the temporal change of K-value.     

Development of a programmable piggyback syringe pump and four-times-a-day injection regimen for superovulation in non-lactating Holstein cows

The objectives of the present study were to develop a programmable piggyback syringe pump for bovine superovulation and to evaluate the effects of a four-times-a-day injection regimen using the pump. Non-lactating Holstein cows were treated with a total of 30 armour units of porcine FSH by injection four times a day with the pump (study, n = 9) or injection twice a day manually (control, n = 9) for four consecutive days from D10 of the estrous cycle. The pump-driven program successfully induced superovulation in all cows tested. The numbers of small (3– < 5 mm in diameter) and large (≥ 10 mm in diameter) follicles were greater in the study group on D11-13 and D14, respectively. There were fewer unovulated follicles detected on D21 (7 days after estrus) in the study group than in the control group (1.2 ± 0.4 and 3.2 ± 0.6, respectively).     

Departure behaviour of juvenile southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) from southern Western Australia temperate waters in relation to the Leeuwin Current

The arrival of the warm tropical Leeuwin Current (LC) into southern Western Australia (SWA) may influence the movement timing and foraging habitat of juvenile southern bluefin tuna (SBT). Seasonal and interannual changes in the strength of the LC lead to thermal differences and potential changes in food availability between tropical and temperate waters in SWA. This phenomenon could influence the habitat utilization of SBT in these summer grounds. Movement characteristics determined from SBT tagged with acoustic transmitters (N = 244) using cross‐shelf lines of automated receivers for three summer‐autumn seasons (2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007) in SWA revealed interannual variability. Each year, the eastward movements of tagged fish increased as temperatures increased, and fish left the region when temperatures exceeded 20.0°C, a temperature indicative of the leading edge of the LC in SWA waters. Interannual fluctuations in the timing of movements were detected. When the LC was narrow and restricted to the shelf edge in 2004/2005, the distribution of SBT in shelf waters did not change before or after LC intrusion. In contrast, long distance eastward movements frequently occurred when the LC intrusion was spread wide over the continental shelf in 2005/2006 and 2006/2007. This suggests that, off SWA, juvenile SBT move quickly out of local foraging habitats defined by cool sub‐tropical temperate waters ahead of the tropical LC intrusion, despite these waters not being physiologically limiting. These results suggest that the behavioural response of SBT may be related to changes in prey availability as a result of changes in oceanographic conditions.     

Utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus by the two toxic dinoflagellates, Alexandrium tamarense and Gymnodinium catenatum (Dinophyceae)

ABSTRACT: The utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) by the two toxic dinoflagellates Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech and Gymnodinium catenatum Grahamm which were isolated from Hiroshima Bay, Japan, was studied. Alexandrium tamarense grew poorly on fructose-6-phophate, glucose-1-phosphate, glycerophosphate, and ribose-5-phosphate with a phosphomonoester bond, although it grew well on the nucleotides adenosine-5-diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), as well as on dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP; as metaphosphate, pyrophosphate, tripolyposphate and orthophosphate). The results imply that A. tamarense was able to utilize DOP and DIP from ambient water using nucleotidase, pyrophosphatase and poly-phosphatase, which hydrolyze phosphodiesters. In contrast, G. catenatum was able to utilize DOP compounds of various molecular weights and structures as well as DIP. In time-course experiments, alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) was induced at orthophosphate concentrations of 0.43 mmol/L and 3.3 mmol/L for A. tamarense and G. catenatum , respectively, and APA increased with orthophosphate depletion. The experiments also demonstrated that APA was maximum at the optimum temperatures for the growth of A. tamarense and G. catenatum ; that is, 15°C and 25°C, respectively. These results suggest that the DIP-depleted conditions in Hiroshima Bay might have led to the outbreaks of noxious dinoflagellates in recent years.