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.     

An evaluation of the pesera soil erosion model and its application to a case study in Zakynthos, Greece

Abstract. The Pan‐European Soil Erosion Risk Assessment (pesera ) model was evaluated using existing soil erosion data collected under various types of climate, vegetation, landscape and soil conditions. The data used represent a variety of typical Mediterranean land uses such as winter wheat, vines, olives and bare, stony land prevailing in hilly areas. Using this data, the model was calibrated for sediment transport by overland flow and results compared to measured soil erosion values from runoff plots and a watershed on a monthly basis. The performance of the model was assessed statistically, showing that it can be satisfactorily used for predicting soil erosion rates under the conditions included in the study. The overall model estimate including all the available experimental data was 0.69 t ha^?1 yr^?1 with a maximum error of 1.49 t ha^?1 yr^?1. After validation, the model was applied to a small watershed (60 ha) of great ecological importance for the sea turtle Caretta caretta. For this purpose, soil and vegetation maps were compiled from all the necessary data for applying the model. The model was run for three years using daily data from an existing nearby meteorological station. The predicted and measured soil erosion rates for a 7‐month period were 0.31 t and 0.18 t, respectively. Application of the model to each mapping unit showed the over‐riding importance of land use for sediment generation under the given climatic conditions. Bare land, occupying 5.5% of the watershed area, generated up to 69% of the total sediments estimated for the watershed. It is concluded that the pesera model can be used as a regional diagnostic tool under a range of soil, topographic and climatic conditions for identifying the best land use type and vegetation cover to protect hilly areas from soil erosion. The calculated overall root mean square error for the model is 0.06 t ha^?1 yr^?1, compared to a soil erosion rate of 0.04 t ha^?1 yr^?1, which can be tolerated for protecting the area for the sea turtle.     

研究森林变化对河川水沙影响的一种便捷方法──以四川省都江堰市白沙河为例

依据航片判读、森林资源调查资料和水文数据，利用流域自身对比法，得出森林变化对河川径流泥沙的定量关系。文中还阐明本方法的技术关键——消除降雨量不同对水沙的影响．该方法具有适合我国国情、费小效宏、精度较高、简捷易行等优点，值得推广提倡。     

The rates of maize growth and lignin biosynthesis change after root-applied chalcone

The effects of root-applied chalcone at 0.15 mmol L⁻¹ on the growth and lignin biosynthesis in maize were investigated. The contents of 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL, EC 6.2.1.12) substrates in maize shoots were increased more rapidly in the samples with chalcone application than in the control and the increase occurred at ≤ 3 h after the application (HAA). The lignin content was reduced by chalcone at ≤ 6 HAA. The shoot growth was suppressed by chalcone at ≤ 9 HAA. Consequently, the results suggest that chalcone suppressed maize growth by inhibiting monolignol biosynthesis.     

有机生态栽培基质配比对生菜生长及品质的影响

以传统基质草炭、蛭石及腐熟羊粪和玉米秸秆为原料,配制成12种不同配比的栽培基质,以商品叶菜类栽培基质作为对照,研究不同基质配方对生菜生长的影响,以期获得最适合生菜栽培的基质配比组合。结果表明,不同组合基质配比均能满足生菜的正常生长,所有处理的株高、叶面积、单株鲜重和单株干重都较对照组(CK)有着不同程度提高,其中T11(草炭∶腐熟羊粪∶玉米秸秆∶蛭石=1∶4∶3∶4)条件下各指标表现最好,分别较CK提高了31.80%、47.15%、59.43%和79.53%;从生理生化指标来看,T11处理的Vc含量最高,是CK的2.5倍;T10(草炭∶腐熟羊粪∶玉米秸秆∶蛭石=3∶1∶4∶4)的根系活力是所有处理中最高的,达到CK的2.02倍;T12(草炭∶腐熟羊粪∶玉米秸秆∶蛭石=3∶4∶1∶4)处理的叶绿素含量最高,是CK的1.41倍,硝酸盐含量最低,较CK降幅达到74.59%。通过隶属函数进行综合比较分析,我们认为T11是所有供试处理中最适合生菜栽培的基质配比。     

Does sand content in spawning substrate result in early larval emergence? Evidence from a lithophilic cyprinid fish

The spawning success of lithophilic salmonids is strongly influenced by the fine sediment content (“fines”) of spawning substrates, yet knowledge on the impacts of fines on the spawning of non‐salmonid lithophiles remains limited, despite their ecological and socio‐economic importance in European rivers. Consequently, the aim here was to use an ex‐situ experiment to investigate the impact of sand content on egg survival and timing of larval emergence of the surface‐spawning cyprinid European barbel Barbus barbus. Thirty incubator boxes within a recirculating system were filled with one of five experimental sediment mixtures (0%–40% sand by mass) that each contained 300 fertilised eggs at a depth of 50 mm. Emerged, free‐swimming larvae were captured and counted daily to assess grain‐size effects on larval survival and emergence. Specifically, total proportion of emerged larvae, cumulative daily proportion of emerged larvae and time required to reach 50% emergence were measured during the study. Whilst the proportion of sand in the sediments did not have a significant impact on egg‐to‐emergence survival (mean survival per treatment 75%–79%), it significantly affected the timing of larval emergence to the water column; early emergence was detected in treatments with elevated sand content (on average, 50% emergence after 12–13 days versus 19 days in the control). Similar to findings from salmonid studies, these results suggest high sand content in spawning gravels can influence timing of larval emergence and potentially cyprinid lithophilic fish survival.     

Effect of the Substrates on the Production of Engrafted Vine Cuttings in Heated Greenhouses

This article highlights the results of a long-term research project on the production of grape stalks engrafted by the desk method. The integrated impact of rootstock varieties, modes of stratification, and different substrates on vegetating vine cuttings, raised in heated greenhouses, and the capacity of their acclimatization after planting was studied. The results of the research show that rootstock variety and modes of stratification influence the output of engrafted vegetating cuttings of vines grown in pots using various substrates. In particular, the engrafted cuttings of variety Rkatsiteli produced on two rootstocks, 5 BB and 101-14, passed stratification (a) in sawdust with local electroheating, (b) on the water with its periodic change, and (c) in the layer of perlite. After preplanting preparations they were planted in pots with six different substrates: (1) soil (control); (2) perlite; (3) sawdust; (4) rice husk + soil + sand (1:1:1); (5) peat + soil + sand (1:1:1); and (6) mold + soil + sand (1:1:1). The cuttings were grown with a covered root system in a heated greenhouse for 35–40 days. Forty-day-old vegetating cuttings, after hardening, were planted into the open ground. Specialties were established during the root and shoot formation on vegetating nursery plant grafts during the rooting period. Optimal substrates for growing engrafted cuttings with a covered root system in heated greenhouses for each rootstock and stratification mode were determined.     

适宜天津市基质栽培的番茄品种筛选

利用基质栽培技术,以番茄(Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)为供试材料,比较了天津市常用的11个番茄品种部分农艺性状、经济性状、果实营养成分指标的差异,通过对这些指标的分析,筛选出最适宜天津市基质栽培的番茄品种。结果表明,粉皇后和傲兰6号在产量、单果重等指标中表现比较突出,适合在天津市以基质栽培方式推广应用。     

Estimation of Runoff,Peak Discharge and Sediment Load at the Event Scale in a Medium‐Size Mediterranean Watershed Using the Annagnps Model

In this paper, the Annualized Agricultural Non‐Point Source (AnnAGNPS) model has been used to estimate runoff, peak discharge and sediment load at the event scale in a Mediterranean watershed. The study area is the Carapelle torrent, Southern Italy (area = 506 km²), where continuous rainfall, streamflow and sediment load data are available. Nineteen flood events have been registered in the period 2007–2009 and were used for the application of the model. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the model at the event scale, in a medium‐size watershed, given the specific conditions of the semi‐arid environments. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to assign the correct parameterization: the mean normalized output variation of the most meaningful input parameters pointed out the influence of the curve number on runoff, peak discharge and sediment load predictions (values greater than 1); the MN Manning's roughness coefficient and K, C and P factors of the universal soil loss equation showed a moderate influence on sediment load simulations (values between 0·5 and 1). The selection of the Soil Conservation Service synthetic storm types has been based on the observed storm events analysis to improve the peak discharge simulations. The model prediction has proved to be good for runoff (R² = 0·74, NSE = 0·75, W = 0·92) and peak discharge (R² = 0·85, NSE = 0·70, W = 0·94), and satisfactory for sediment yield (R² = 0·70, NSE = 0·63, W = 0·91). The relative error is lower for high events; this result is quite interesting in semi‐arid environments, where most of the annual sediment yield is concentrated in a few, severe events. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.