The effects of density and artificial substrate on intensive shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei nursery production

Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) can be installed indoors, allowing year-round production of tropical animals in nearly any climate. A nursery phase is commonly used in Litopenaeus vannamei production since it allows for enhanced biosecurity and better quantification of animals while reducing space requirements. However, it is unclear whether animal density and inclusion of artificial substrate may improve shrimp performance during the nursery phase. In this experiment, we compared shrimp production parameters in two stocking densities with or without the use of an artificial substrate by creating four treatments: low-density LD; 1500 PL/m⁻³, low-density with substrate LDS, high-density HD; 3000 PL/m⁻³), and high-density with substrate (HDS). The LDS and HDS treatments included 0.46-m² of high-density polyethylene 2.5-cm mesh as a substrate, which increased the tank surface area by 21 %. Each treatment was randomly assigned to four 160-l culture tanks, each with a biofilter. The shrimp had an initial weight of 4 mg and were grown for 50 days. The low-density treatments had significantly higher dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH than the high-density treatments (P ≤ 0.001). Specifically, LDS had the highest DO and pH followed by the LD, HD, and HDS treatments, respectively. High-density treatments had significantly higher NO₂-N levels than low-density treatments during week 2 of the experiment when an unusually high concentration of nitrite was observed. FCR was significantly lower in both low-density treatments than in high-density treatments. At harvest, the total biomass (kg m⁻³) was significantly higher in high-density treatments than in low-density treatments (P ≤ 0.001), and the HDS treatment had a significantly greater biomass output than HD. Producers should consider artificial substrate and higher densities during nursery production to maximize shrimp production; however, the effects on water quality should also be taken into account.     

中国栽培平菇的酯酶同工酶分析

采用电泳技术对我国大规模栽培的64个平菇商业菌株进行酯酶同工酶分析。结果表明，我国栽培平菇菌种多样性丰富，64个菌株有44个酶谱类型，不同菌株有各自特有的酯酶同工酶酶谱。聚类分析表明，供试菌株在60％相似水平上分为6大类：第一类包括以白黄侧耳为代表的21个菌株；第二类包括以德国引进菌株为代表的6个未定种名菌株；第三类包括7个白黄侧耳与佛罗里达侧耳杂交的杂交种及4个未定种名菌株；第四类包括以佛罗里达侧耳为代表的5个菌株；第五类包括以糙皮侧耳为代表的14个菌株；第六类包括以肺形侧耳为代表的7个菌株。     

Use of Porcine Meal in Plant‐based Practical Diets for Pacific White Shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

Two growth trials were conducted to evaluate and confirm the efficacy of a porcine meal (PM) with high protein content (>90%) as an alternative feed ingredient in commercial‐type feed formulation for Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Six experimental diets were formulated for the two growth trials. The first five diets contained increasing levels (0, 1, 2, 4, and 6%) of PM as a replacement for soybean meal in a plant‐based diet with low inclusion level (6%) of fish meal (FM). The last experimental diet was produced utilizing 4.2% PM to completely replace FM. In Trial 1, shrimp (1.5 g initial mean weight, 20 shrimp/tank, n = 4) were offered test diets for 6 wk in a semirecirculation system. At the end of Trial 1, shrimp fed with the diet containing 6% PM exhibited significantly enhanced weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and survival compared to those fed with the diet devoid of FM. As survival was poor across all treatments and different densities could mask growth results the trial was repeated. In Trial 2, shrimp (0.85 g, 15 shrimp/tank, n = 4) were offered diets for 6 wk. Dietary supplementation of PM at 6% significantly improved WG, FCR, and apparent net protein retention in contrast with the treatment devoid of FM, confirming the same trends in Trial 1. No significant difference was detected in protein, lipid, moisture, and mineral profiles of whole‐body shrimp as well as survival across all the treatments. Results of this study indicate that PM is a good high protein source in shrimp feeds, which can be included up to 6% in the low FM‐based diet without compromising the growth of shrimp.     

盛夏西太平洋副热带高压对陕西降水的影响

利用1961-2008年陕西78个气象站7-8月降水资料、西太平洋副高逐月指数资料及500hPa位势高度场和700hPa风场月平均再分析资料,通过相关、回归分析、小波凝聚谱分析等方法探讨盛夏西太平洋副热带高压对陕西降水的影响及机制,为盛夏陕西降水的气候预测提供依据.结果表明,盛夏副高强度、脊线、西伸脊点指数与陕西降水关系密切,副高偏强偏西时陕西降水偏多,副高偏北时陕西北部降水偏多、南部偏少.8月副高3个指数与陕西降水的相关关系更为密切,通过显著性检验的站点明显增多.副高的强度和位置变化引起副热带和中高纬度大气环流的异常,进而影响陕西降水.8月副高偏强偏西时,巴尔喀什湖阻高增强,700hPa西南季风的水汽输送增强,陕西位于冷暖空气交汇区,降水偏多;副高偏南时,水汽辐合区位于陕南,陕西南部多雨、北部少雨;副高偏北时,水汽辐合区位于陕北,陕西北部多雨、南部少雨.8月副高强度指数与同月陕西降水的显著共振周期为7 ～8a,且副高强度变化超前于陕西降水变化1.26a,说明8月副高强度的年际变化是引起同月陕西降水年际变化的重要原因.     

ERIC-PCR技术在平菇菌株鉴定中的应用

研究了ER IC-PCR技术在平菇栽培菌株鉴定中的应用.结果表明,在22个供试平菇菌株和对照香菇菌株中,ER IC-PCR扩增出的条带清晰,重复性好,多态性高.聚类分析表明,在聚类重新标定距离为15的水平上,23个菌株聚类成8大类群:糙皮侧耳栽培菌株分别归属第1和第2大类群;秀珍菇5号、4011、白灵菇2号、杏鲍菇、鲍鱼菇和香菇分别独立地聚类为不同的大类群.在聚类重新标定距离为20时,鲍鱼菇和香菇聚类在一起,其他平菇菌株聚类在一起.这表明ER IC-PCR技术可以应用于平菇栽培菌株的鉴定,但也说明该技术在食用菌分类鉴定应用上的局限性,同时也说明食用菌需要多相分类鉴定.     

Establishing climate–growth relationships for yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) in the northeast Pacific using a dendrochronological approach

We applied dendrochronology (tree‐ring) methods to develop multidecadal growth chronologies from the increment widths of yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) otoliths. Chronologies were developed for the central California coast, a site just north of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and at Bowie Seamount west of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. At each site, synchronous growth patterns were matched among otoliths via the process of cross‐dating, ensuring that the correct calendar year was assigned to all increments. Each time series of growth‐increment measurements was divided by the values predicted by a best‐fit negative exponential function, thereby removing age‐related trends. These detrended time series were averaged into a master chronology for each site, and chronologies were correlated with monthly averages of sea surface temperatures, upwelling, the Northern Oscillation Index, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. The two northern growth chronologies positively correlated with indices of warm ocean conditions, especially from the prior summer through the spring of the current year. During the same period, the California chronology positively correlated with indices of cool ocean conditions, indicating an opposing productivity regime for yelloweye rockfish between the California Current and the Gulf of Alaska. Overall, this study demonstrates how tree‐ring techniques can be applied to quickly develop annually resolved chronologies and establish climate–growth relationships across various temporal and spatial scales.     

Nutritional value of Pavlova spp. (Prymnesiophyceae) for spat of the Cortez oyster Crassostrea corteziensis during late-nursery culturing at the hatchery

Three Pavlova species were evaluated for their nutritional value as diets for growth and survival of the Cortez oyster Crassostrea corteziensis spat during late‐nursery cultivation at a hatchery. Microalgae were provided as monospecific diets (Pavlova salina, P. sp. C50 and P. sp. C53) and in binary combinations of diets 1+2, 1+3 and 2+3 at 80–90 × 10³ cells mL^?1 for 21 days. Juveniles experienced high survival rates and grew well with all dietary treatments, but binary diets yielded greater survival and growth of spat. From the three binary treatments, Diet 6 (P. sp. C50 and P. sp. C53) promoted significantly (P<0.001) fastest growth of juveniles in shell height (0.19 mm day^?1), shell length (0.14 mm day^?1), total wet weight (0.04 g day^?1) and dry weight of meat biomass (0.024 g day^?1). For all shell dimensions, the lowest growth rates occurred with Diets 2 (P. sp. C56 alone) and 3 (P. sp. C50 alone). These results highlight the importance of testing microalgal diets for bivalve spat rather than just relying on published nutritional values.     

Application of sperm cryopreservation in selective breeding of the Pacific oyster,Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg)

The robustness of Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), sperm cryopreservation in the context of selective breeding based on family lines was investigated. Irrespective of egg density, high fertilization success was achieved with cryopreserved sperm when sperm:egg ratios of 1000:1 to 10 000:1 were used. Variation among replicate runs on the same oyster batches was minimal, indicating that cryopreservation and larval rearing procedures were repeatable. Twenty independent single male–female crosses were made to assess the utility of cryopreserved sperm in selective breeding. The fertility of unfrozen sperm was generally a poor predictor of cryopreserved sperm fertility. Based on D‐larval yields, 17 of the 20 crosses were likely to yield adequate spat for selective breeding (>10⁵ D‐larvae from 1 million eggs), two were marginal (5 × 10⁴ D‐larvae) and one was inadequate (4 × 10³ D‐larvae). An alternative fertilization strategy to improve D‐yield from a given number of sperm was then tested. Fertilizing 10 million eggs at a sperm:egg ratio of 200:1 increased the total D‐yield when compared with fertilizing 1 million eggs at a sperm:egg ratio of 2000:1 for the same male–female pair. We conclude that, despite wide variation in fertility, cryopreserved sperm is useful for family production.     

Reducing elasmobranch bycatch: Laboratory investigation of rare earth metal and magnetic deterrents with spiny dogfish and Pacific halibut

Spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthius) comprises a significant unwanted bycatch on demersal longlines set for halibut and cod in shelf waters of the east and west coasts of North America. In this laboratory study, attacks on baits were tested in the presence of two different rare earth materials (neodymium–iron–boride magnets and cerium mischmetal) believed to deter elasmobranch catch. Experiments were made with spiny dogfish and with Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) in pairwise tests of the rare earth materials and inert metal controls. Dogfish attacked and consumed baits tested with cerium mischmetal at a lower frequency than controls. Times to attack the baits were significantly higher in the presence of mischmetal, as were numbers of approaches before first attack. The time differential between mischmetal and control treatments and the number of baits consumed converged with increasing food deprivation (1 h, 2 d, and 4 d), but treatment differences were always significant. Cerium mischmetal appeared to be irritating to dogfish and may disrupt their bait detection and orientation abilities. Magnets also appeared to irritate dogfish but provided no protection for baits in feeding trials. Pacific halibut showed no reaction whatsoever to the rare earth magnets or cerium mischmetal. Mischmetal, therefore, may be useful in reducing spiny dogfish bycatch in the halibut fishery. Disadvantages in using mischmetal in commercial operations are expense, hazardous nature, and relatively rapid hydrolysis in seawater.     

Evaluation of three phytoplankton species as food for the pearl oyster <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinctada fucata</Emphasis>

In the pearl cultivation farms of the Ehime Prefecture, Japan, mass mortalities of the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata have occurred since 1994. The occurrences of mass mortality roughly coincided with a shift of the dominant phytoplankton from Skeletonema and Chaetoceros to Chaetoceros and Nitzschia all of which belong to Bacillariophyceae. Hence, we evaluated Nitzschia, together with Chaetoceros and Isocrysis, as food for the oyster. Wet weights, lengths, widths, glycogen contents, and growth rates in terms of wet weight of the oysters in all the feeding treatments were significantly higher than those in the non-feeding treatment. The highest glycogen content (2.34%) and growth rate (2.21 g month⁻¹) were found in the Chaetoceros treatment. Growth rate in the Isocrysis treatment (1.63 g month⁻¹) was also high, although glycogen content in this treatment (0.41%) was low. In the Nitzschia treatment, growth rate of the oyster (0.94 g month⁻¹) was the lowest and glycogen content (0.83%) was also low relative to that in the Chaetoceros treatment. Chlorophyll a concentration in fecal pellets was lowest in the Nitzschia treatment (<2.7 μg mg⁻¹), suggesting more complete digestion of Nitzschia by the oyster. Thus, Nitzschia was edible and digestible but not assimilated by P. fucata. We propose the following scenario for the relationship between Nitzschia dominance and mass mortality. When Nitzschia dominates in a culture area, the physiological condition of P. fucata deteriorates due to low assimilation of Nitzschia by the oyster, followed by susceptibility of the oyster to infection by agents lethal to the oyster.