Impact of grassland contract policy on soil organic carbon losses from alpine grassland on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Carbon storage in the soils on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau plays a very important role in the global carbon budget. In the 1990s, a policy of contracting collective grasslands to smaller units was implemented, resulting in a change from the traditional collective grassland management to two new management patterns: a multi‐household management pattern (MMP: grassland shared by several households without enclosures) and a single‐household management pattern (SMP: grassland enclosed and used by only one household). In 2016, 50 MMP and 54 SMP winter pastures on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau were sampled to assess the differences in soil organic carbon (SOC) between the two management patterns. Results showed that average SOC was significantly greater under MMP than under SMP, with an estimated 0.41 Mg C/ha/yr lost due to SMP following the new grassland contract. Based on the government's grassland policy, four grassland utilization scenarios were developed for both summer and winter pastures. We found that if the grassland were managed under SMP, likely C losses ranged between 0.31 × 10⁷ and 6.15 × 10⁷ Mg C/yr across the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau relative to MMP, which more closely resembles pre‐1990s grassland management. Previous estimates of C losses have only considered land use change (with cover change) and ignored the impacts driven by land management pattern changes (without cover change). The new data suggest that C losses from the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau are greater than previously estimated, and therefore that the grassland contract policy should be reviewed and SMP households should be encouraged to reunite into the MMP. These findings have potential implications for land management strategies not only on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau but also other grazing regions globally where such practices may exist.     

Comparative effect of advanced soy products or corn protein concentrate with porcine meal on growth,body composition,and distal intestine histology of Florida pompano,Trachinotus carolinus

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of diets containing advanced soy products (enzyme‐treated soy and fermented soy) or corn protein concentrate (CPC) in combination with porcine meal (PM) to completely replace poultry byproduct meal (PBM) on growth performance, body composition, and distal intestine histology of Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus. Four experimental diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isolipidic, to contain 400 g/kg crude protein and 80 g/kg lipid. A reference diet (PBM diet [PBMD]) contained 150 g/kg PBM and 495 g/kg soybean meal (SBM), and three test diets were formulated replacing PBM with 15 g/kg of CPC (CPC diet [CPCD]) or replacing all SBM and PBM with 535 g/kg fermented soy (fermented soybean meal diet [FSBMD]) or 451.3 g/kg enzyme‐treated soy (enzyme‐treated soybean meal diet [ESBMD]). All three test diets were supplemented with 38 g/kg of PM. Diets were fed based on a percentage of bodyweight adjusted after sampling the fish every 2 weeks to triplicate groups of Florida pompano juveniles (mean weight 8.06 ± 0.22 g). After 8 weeks of feeding, fish fed CPCD and ESBMD performed equally well in terms of final body weight, thermal growth coefficient, and percentage weight gain in comparison to fish fed PBMD. In all cases, feeding FSBMD resulted in poor feed conversion and lower feed intake compared to other treatments. Protein retention efficiency, whole‐body proximate composition, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and zinc contents were not significantly influenced by the dietary treatments. The results obtained in the present histological study showed no significant differences in the thickness of serous layer, muscular layer, and submucosal layer of the intestine among treatments. Fish fed CPCD showed a significant widening of the lamina propria with an increase of cellular infiltration and higher presence of goblet cells compared to other dietary treatment. Based on these results, 451 g/kg ESBM or combination of 150 g/kg of CPC and 495 g/kg SBM supplemented with 38 g/kg PM can be utilized to develop a practical diet for juvenile Florida pompano without impacting growth, nutritive parameters, and several distal intestine health parameters.     

Beaver dams,streamflow complexity,and the distribution of a rare minnow,Lepidomeda copei

Freshwater fishes are threatened globally, and often too little is known about threatened species to effectively guide their conservation. Habitat complexity is linked to fish species diversity and persistence, and degraded streams often lack habitat complexity. Beaver Castor spp., in turn, have been used to restore streams and increase habitat complexity. The northern leatherside chub Lepidomeda copei is a rare, small‐bodied, drift‐feeding minnow that has anecdotally been observed to use complex habitats associated with beaver dams in the western United States. To investigate this anecdote, we conducted fish and habitat surveys, the latter focusing on quantifying habitat complexity, in a sub‐basin of the Upper Snake River Basin in the USA. Complementary generalised linear model and path analyses revealed that northern leatherside chub occurred more often at sites with complex streamflows, and streamflows were more complex when beaver dams were present and pools were deeper. Northern leatherside chubs were also more likely to occur when temperatures were warmer, aquatic macrophytes were abundant and stream channels were narrow and deep. The linkage between chubs, complex streamflows and beaver dams needs to be evaluated more broadly to completely understand its role in the rangewide status of the species. However, it does suggests that increased use of beaver reintroductions and dam analogues for stream restoration could be a boon for the northern leatherside chub, but such efforts should be monitored to determine their effectiveness to help adapt beaver‐based restoration approaches to best benefit the species.     

The value of sea urchin,Lytechinus variegatus,egesta consumed by shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

Sea urchins produce high‐energy, membrane‐bound fecal pellets that contain residual nutrients and large quantities of microbiota. These egesta are readily consumed by the shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Egesta of the sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus, were evaluated as a feed supplement or total replacement for a commercial shrimp diet. Shrimp were stocked at 0.49 g ± 0.06 g initial body weight and housed individually in 2.8‐L tanks in a commercial recirculating zebrafish system. Shrimp were assigned to one of six diets: commercial shrimp feed, reference sea urchin feed, collected dried sea urchin egesta, collected wet sea urchin egesta, half ration of shrimp feed and half collected wet sea urchin egesta, and egesta naturally produced by two sea urchins in polyculture. Equivalent dry matter amounts of each diet were proffered to shrimp in each treatment twice daily, except for those that had complete access to natural egesta excreted by sea urchins in polyculture. Sea urchins were proffered a reference sea urchin feed at 2% body weight daily. After 27 days, shrimp proffered collected dried or wet egesta did not differ significantly in percent weight gain and showed the lowest weight gain. The percent weight gain of shrimp fed the commercial shrimp diet did not differ significantly from that of the shrimp fed half commercial shrimp diet and half egesta. The highest weight gain was recorded for those shrimp that consumed the untouched egesta produced by sea urchins in polyculture. These data suggest that consumed egesta have noteworthy nutritional value and therefore would be beneficial to the culture of extractive species in an integrated multitrophic aquaculture system.     

Replacement of fish oil in plant‐based diets for Pacific white shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei,by stearine fish oil and palm oil

Stearine fish oil (SFO) and palm oil (PO) have emerged as promising alternatives for the replacement of fish oil (FO) in aquafeeds. This study evaluated the replacement of FO with alternative oils in practical diets for Litopenaeus vannamei. In a clear brackish water study (14.1 g/L) utilizing shrimp (0.29 ± 0.02 g, initial weight), FO was replaced by SFO at inclusion ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 (FO:SFO) and PO as 90% of FO. After 55 days, no significant differences (p < 0.05) in final weight, growth, or survival of shrimp were observed. A second trial (8 weeks) in low‐salinity water (2.1 g/L) with shrimp (0.92 ± 0.02 g, initial weight) evaluated diets with 100% FO, 100% SFO, 90% PO, 90% soybean oil (SO), or 90% flaxseed oil (FXO) as a replacement for FO and four commercially produced diets with 2% of FO, SO, PO, or FXO. One treatment received half rations of the commercial FO diet, and one treatment was based entirely on natural productivity. Results show that the fatty acid profiles of the tail muscle conformed to the lipids of the feed, and highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) were preserved. Following 8 weeks of culture, there were no significant differences in production performance.     

The effect of feeding a novel multistrain yeast fraction on European seabass (Dicentrachus labrax) intestinal health and growth performance

Fish were fed a single‐strain yeast fraction (SsYF; 2 g/kg) or a multistrain yeast fraction (MsYF; 0.8 g/kg) for 10 weeks. The results demonstrated significant (p ≤ 0.03) elevations in weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, and feed conversion ratio in fish fed the yeast fraction‐supplemented diets. In the distal intestine, a significant elevation in microvilli density was observed after 5 and 10 weeks of dietary supplementation with MsYF and SsYF, respectively, compared to control fed fish (p < 0.001). A significant elevation (p = 0.02) in the perimeter ratio was observed in fish fed diets supplemented with the yeast fractions. After 10 weeks of feeding on the experimental diets, Rt‐qPCR demonstrated a significant downregulation (p < 0.05) in the stress response genes, heat‐shock protein 70 (hsp70) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (pcna), in fish fed diets supplemented with the yeast fractions. Significant (p < 0.05) elevations in interleukin 1‐beta (il1β) and interleukin‐10 (il10) gene expression were observed in fish fed diets supplemented with the MsYF compared to the other dietary groups. These findings suggest that feeding an MsYF specifically at a lower incorporation rate < 1 g/kg, compared to a commercial SsYF at 2 g/kg, is effective in improving the intestinal health status and growth performance of European seabass.     

锦屏县香菇新品种引进品比试验初报

为了引进筛选适合锦屏县种植的食用菌香菇新品种,将香菇135、香菇庆科20,香菇268等3个新品种与当地主栽品种香菇808进行同田对比试验,根据4个香菇品种的生育期特性、农艺性状、经济性状等特征进行综合对比分析。结果表明:新品种香菇268的综合农艺性状表现产量高、商品性好,适应性较强,可作为锦屏县食用菌香菇种植主推广品种。     

Embodied Resources in Fish and Shrimp Feeds

Global averages were obtained for amounts of energy, land, water, wildfish, nitrogen, and phosphorus embodied in aquaculture feed ingredients. These data allowed amounts of these embodied resources to be calculated for typical feed formulations for channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus; hybrid catfish, I. punctatus♀ × I. furcatus♂; Vietnamese catfish, Pangasius spp.; Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar; rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss; tilapia, Oreochromis spp.; whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei; and black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon. Embodied resource use per m.t. of feed varied among species: energy, 4.90–12.48 GJ/m.t.; land, 0.082–0.312 ha/m.t.; water, 502–1227 m³/m.t.; wildfish, 0–2880 kg/m.t.; nitrogen, 3.08–8.63 kg/m.t.; phosphorus, 1.16–5.62 kg/m.t. These calculations did not account for variations in site‐specific factors related to embodied resources and feed composition and use. But they suggest that reducing feed conversion ratio (FCR) by 0.1 unit for the seven species (species groups) could potentially reduce feed use by around 1.1 million tonne (Mt) while conserving 9.8 million GJ of energy, 270,000 ha of agricultural land, 1.4 billion m³ of freshwater, and 1.24 Mt of wildfish. Reduction of the FCR is a powerful means of lessening farm‐level production costs and negative impacts of feed production and use.     

同源四倍体及其原二倍体黑皮冬瓜光合光响应模型筛选

为了筛选出最适合黑皮冬瓜Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn.的光合光响应模型,为其育种提供理论依据,以同源四倍体及其原二倍体黑皮冬瓜为试验材料,对8种经典的光合光响应模型适用性进行了比较分析。结果表明：二次多项式能够表现出光抑制情况,但在拟合过程中出现暗呼吸速率为正值、光补偿点为负值及无法解释当光强达到饱和后光合速率快速下降的问题;直角双曲线、非直角双曲线及指数函数Ⅰ、指数函数Ⅱ无法直接求取光饱和点、光补偿点,结合常用的光饱和点的计算方法得到的光饱和点与实测值均存在较大的偏差,且指数函数Ⅱ在计算光饱和点时表现出明显的人为性,也无法拟合光抑制情况,但4种模型拟合得到的光补偿点均与实测值相差不大;指数修正模型因系数β为负值,无法求取四倍体黑皮冬瓜材料的光饱和点和最大净光合速率,且拟合得到的四倍体黑皮冬瓜的光补偿点明显低于实测值;直角双曲线修正模型计算得到的暗呼吸速率及二倍体黑皮冬瓜的光饱和点明显低于实测值,但获得的四倍体及其二倍体的最大净光合速率与实测值最接近,说明其在拟合最大净光合速率上有优势;整体上分段函数计算得到的黑皮冬瓜的各光合参数与实测值最为接近,与实测值的平均相对误差最小,也能很好的拟合发生光抑制部分的光响应曲线。分段函数拟合同源四倍体及其原二倍体黑皮冬瓜光合光响应曲线效果较其他模型效果好,分段函数模型为黑皮冬瓜最适合的光合光响应模型。     

陈年六堡茶对高脂血症小鼠的调脂护肝作用研究

为了探讨陈年六堡茶的调脂保肝功效,比较分析了不同年代六堡茶的主要化学物质的差异,再以高脂高糖饮食建立高脂血症小鼠模型,并用选定的陈年六堡茶水提物灌胃小鼠,观察小鼠相关生理生化指标及组织形态的变化。结果表明,陈化15年茶样被选为陈年六堡茶的代表,用于后续试验。与模型组相比,陈年六堡茶尤其中高剂量条件下能有效减轻高脂血症小鼠体重、肝重和降低肝系数,显著提高高密度脂蛋白-胆固醇(HDL-C)含量,降低血清中总胆固醇(TC)、甘油三酯(TG)和低密度脂蛋白-胆固醇(LDL-C)含量,降低谷丙转氨酶(ALT)和谷草转氨酶(AST)活力,改善大鼠肝脏氧化应激状态,具有统计学意义(P0.05或P0.01)。肝脏和脂肪组织病理切片显示,陈年六堡茶能明显减少肝细胞中脂滴的形成和抑制脂肪细胞膨大,呈剂量依赖关系。综上表明,陈年六堡茶在正常剂量条件下能有效改善因高脂高糖饮食所致的小鼠脂质代谢紊乱和肝脏损伤。