Open-design Recirculating Systems for Zebrafish Culture

The zebrafish is an established vertebrate-animal model in biomedical research. Currently, their mass culture is mainly done using systems provided by commercial suppliers. Commercial systems are compact, recirculating, and use auto-cleaning tanks. These features minimize space use, labour cost, and water wastage; thus, facilitating maintenance of a large number of zebrafish using minimal resources. However, the often considered costs associated with these systems often impose a barrier to current and prospective researchers, especially those with limited funds or working in labs with no access to institutional centralized zebrafish culture facilities. In contrast to commercial systems, custom-made zebrafish maintenance systems are also described in the literature. To distinguish custom-made system from commercial systems, we termed them as “open-design” systems. Open-design systems are cost-effective, modular, and frequently being improved by zebrafish researchers. However, for further development and to present them as a viable option for zebrafish researchers around the world, a review of their current status and technical understanding is required. Here, we compile the disparate data on the purpose and technological development of the open-design systems. We believe this review will be a valuable resource for all zebrafish users and help streamline the open-design technology for zebrafish culture.     

Experimental investigation on the transport of different fish species in a jet fish pump

A jet fish pump with a throat of ø60 mm was designed to study its performance in the transport of different fish species and the physiological changes in fish thereafter. Experiments were conducted to investigate the fish transport rate and energy required to transport each ton of fish when transporting Carassius auratus, commonly known as the Chinese goldfish, Megalobrama amblycephala, or Wuchang bream, and Ctenopharyngodon idella, the grass carp. Fish were examined for external injuries as well as for several important enzymes and hormones which are indicators of tissue injury and stress. The results showed that the transport rate for all three species of fish rose dramatically with an increase in the primary stream rate. In this experiment, the transport rates of C. auratus, M. amblycephala and C. idella reached 2357 ± 37.2 kg ∙ h⁻¹, 2888 ± 41.6 kg ∙ h⁻¹, and 2060 ± 40.2 kg ∙ h⁻¹, respectively. However, both injury rate and energy required to transport each ton of fish increased no matter whether the primary stream rate was too low or too high. Considering both transport rate and injury rate, the mean primary stream rate of 80 m³ ∙ h⁻¹ was determined to be the optimal operating condition in this experiment. Fish were stressed and most likely some of their organs were damaged. However, most physiological indexes almost fully recovered after several hours.     

高蛋白料精等量替代鱼粉饲喂肥育猪对比试验

应用高蛋白料精等量替代鱼粉饲喂肥育猪 ,其结果在 42d试验期内高蛋白料精组头均增重 19.0 6kg ,比鱼粉组多增重 2 .12kg ,增重率提高 12 .5 2 %,头均多增收益 2 1.2 1元 ,差异显著 (P <0 .0 5 )。     

新疆山地鸟类和哺乳类多样性及其区系特征

新疆各类陆栖脊椎动物近 70 0种 ,占中国这一类动物种数的 32 %,其中鸟兽资源尤其丰富 ,计有 42 5种鸟类和 1 5 5种兽类 (哺乳类 ) ,占中国鸟兽种数的 31 %。本文主要以新疆三大山区———阿尔泰山、天山、昆仑 -阿尔金山地区鸟类和哺乳类动物的多样性及区系分布作综合性介绍和分析。根据实地考察和以往文献资料 ,新疆阿尔泰山区记录在 1 2 4种鸟类 ,其中古北界北方型鸟类 5 1种 (占 41 .1 %) ,中亚型鸟类 31种 (占 2 5 .0 %) ,广布种鸟类 2 7种 (占 2 1 .8%) ,其他类型1 5种 (占 1 2 .1 %) ,显出以北方型泰加林鸟类为主的鸟类区系特征 ;分布的 5 0种兽类 ,区系上以古北界北方泰加林为主 ,即北方型兽类占该山区种数的 5 2 %。天山山区记录的鸟类大约2 81种 ,北方型种类占绝对优势 ,即北方型 1 0 6种 (占 37.72 %) ,北方广布型 76种 (占 2 7.0 4 %) ,中亚型 39种 (占 1 3.88%) ,高地型 1 8种 (占 6.41 %) ,广布型 33种 (占 1 1 .74%) ,东北型 9种 (占 3.2 1 %)。兽类分布有 62种 ,北方型兽类区系占优势 ,有 30种 (占 48.40 %) ,广布型 1 2种 (占 1 9.40 %) ,中亚型 1 1种 (占 1 7.70 %) ,特有种 9种 (占 1 4.5 0 %)。昆仑—阿尔金山地区 96种鸟类中 ,中亚类型成份占 2 8.1 %,高地型成分占 2 6%,北方型成?     

A computer vision system for oocyte counting using images captured by smartphone

This work proposes a computer vision procedure for counting Twospot astyanax (Astyanax bimaculatus) oocytes in Petri dishes using images captured by smartphone. First, the proposed procedure uses simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) to divide the images into groups of pixels (superpixels). Then, based on their color and space characteristics, the images are classified into light background, dark background, dirt, or oocyte by a machine learning algorithm. Five different types of machine learning algorithms were tested: support vector machines (SVM), decision trees using the algorithm J48 and random forest, k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), and Naive Bayes. To train the algorithms, 8.578 superpixels were classified by an expert into oocyte (n = 354), dirtiness (n = 651), dark background (n = 3.622), and light background (n = 3.951). Of the five learning algorithms, SVM obtained the best result with 97% correct oocyte recognition. Given the wide availability of smartphones, we therefore conclude that the presented procedure can be a valuable tool in future experiments and studies on fertilization and hatching success in Twospot astyanax.     

Monitoring shrimp growth with control charts in aquaculture

This work proposes a method for the statistical monitoring of the weekly weight of shrimp in a fish farm. The design of control charts for shrimp growth presents several challenges, the main ones being the presence of trend and autocorrelation. Several control charts are proposed, the most efficient being a chart based on the residuals of a second order autoregression whose parameters vary with the week. A control chart with less computational complexity is also provided. It is simply based on growth rates and works well at detecting negative weight changes. Real data from a large shrimp farm has been used for both the design and the evaluation.     

Soil fauna across Central European sandstone ravines with temperature inversion: From cool and shady to dry and hot places

Sandstone massifs with their deep ravines or gorges offer the instructive opportunity to study the response of organisms to steep environmental gradients. In 2008–2010, many groups of soil fauna were studied along transects across three ravines in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park (north-western Czech Republic), a part of the Elbe Sandstone Massif. Each transect included five sampling positions: two opposite edges, two opposite mid-slope positions, and the ravine bottom. The ravines had a specific microclimate characterized by temperature inversion. In general, the cooler and more humid ravine bottoms had also less acid soil with lower carbon content but enriched by litter of deciduous trees and herbs. The other transect positions were characterized by spruce (mid-slopes) and pine (edges) stands with mor humus, exposed to drought in the upper parts. The soil animal communities (identified to species level) differed substantially in dependence on their position along the transects. Ravine bottoms hosted a diverse soil fauna, including a rich macrofauna. The thick duff layer of acid soils on the slopes and edges hosted a poorer fauna but supported high densities of important decomposers such as enchytraeids, oribatid mites and microbivorous nematodes. In general, these were higher on the slopes, presumably due to the drought exposure of the edges. Vertical position in the ravine and soil pH were the most important factors explaining community composition. This confirmed that the area's high geomorphological diversity, leading to steep microclimatic gradients and heterogenous soil conditions, is a major cause of its high biodiversity. A shift in community structure in the lower parts of the ravines, observed after the first half of the study period, was possibly caused by summer flash floods. An increased frequency and severity of dry spells and flash floods due to heavy rains, predicted by relevant climate warming scenarios, will probably have an detrimental effect on the ravines'soil fauna.     

Flowering phenology of a herbaceous species (Poa annua) is regulated by soil Collembola

The role of soil organisms as possible driver of flowering has never been investigated. We hypothesized that Collembola (microarthropods) will change plant allocation to reproductive modes by changing soil nutrient availability. Individual seedlings of Poa annua were planted in microcosms, in the presence or absence of Collembola. Collembola affected biotic (fungal biomass) and abiotic ($\text{N}-{{\text{NO}}_3}^{-}$, P₂O₅) soil properties and some morphological (number of leaves, root biomass) and chemical (C:N, K, Mg, N) traits of P. annua. As a result, flowering of P. annua was promoted by the presence of Collembola. This provides experimental evidence that soil microarthropods can affect the reproduction strategy and phenology of a plant.