Juvenile fish use of the shallow zone of beaches of the Cananéia-Iguape coastal system, southeastern Brazil

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Jana Menegassi del Favero

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract The purpose of the present study is to describe the juvenile fish use of the shallow zone of beaches of the Cananéia-Iguape coastal system, São Paulo, Brazil, analyzing its occurrence period and the patterns of utilization for the most abundant species. Using a beach seine monthly for one year, we sampled 13861 individuals, of 57 species and 24 families. The fish species used the study area for different proposes: Atherinella brasiliensis was sampled in all phases of gonadal development and considered as resident, juveniles of Trachinotus goodei used the beaches for growth and juveniles of Mugil curema and Mugil liza used the beaches as a route from the ocean to the estuary. Our results showed the importance of the sandy beaches for juvenile fish, especially in spring and summer when most juveniles occur and recruit. Unfortunately, this is the period of the most intense tourist activity. As many of the species studied are commercially important, this study highlighted the necessity of coastal habitat preservation for better fishery management.

Behind the impact of introduced trout in high altitude lakes: adult, not juvenile fish are responsible of the selective predation on crustacean zooplankton

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rocco Tiberti

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Introduced fish seriously affect zooplankton communities in mountain lakes, often leading to the loss of large species. Selective predation is recognized to be the ultimate cause of such a strong impact. Here we describe the selection of zooplankton prey by analyzing the stomach contents of more than 300 brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis inhabiting seven alpine lakes in the Gran Paradiso National Park (western Italian Alps. Our results show that planktivory is much more common in young fish, which feed on a larger number of taxa, but also adult fish maintain the ability to feed on zooplankton. There is a direct dependence between the length of zooplankton prey and the length of their fish predators, and adult, not juvenile fish are responsible of the selective predation on large crustacean zooplankton, which drive the impact of introduced fish throughout the entire zooplankton community. In some rare cases, large zooplankton populations develop in the presence of brook trout, and planktivory can become an important temporary resource for adult fish during the ice-free season. Thus, in the early stages of the establishment of non-native trout in alpine lakes, large-bodied zooplankton may represent an important food resource.

The malleable gut microbiome of juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): Diet-dependent shifts of bacterial community structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Michl, Stéphanie Céline; Ratten, Jenni-Marie; Beyer, Matt; Hasler, Mario; LaRoche, Julie; Schulz, Carsten

2017-01-01

Plant-derived protein sources are the most relevant substitutes for fishmeal in aquafeeds. Nevertheless, the effects of plant based diets on the intestinal microbiome especially of juvenile Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are yet to be fully investigated. The present study demonstrates, based on 16S rDNA bacterial community profiling, that the intestinal microbiome of juvenile Rainbow trout is strongly affected by dietary plant protein inclusion levels. After first feeding of juveniles with either 0%, 50% or 97% of total dietary protein content derived from plants, statistically significant differences of the bacterial gut community for the three diet-types were detected, both at phylum and order level. The microbiome of juvenile fish consisted mainly of the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria and Actinobacteria, and thus fits the salmonid core microbiome suggested in previous studies. Dietary plant proteins significantly enhanced the relative abundance of the orders Lactobacillales, Bacillales and Pseudomonadales. Animal proteins in contrast significantly promoted Bacteroidales, Clostridiales, Vibrionales, Fusobacteriales and Alteromonadales. The overall alpha diversity significantly decreased with increasing plant protein inclusion levels and with age of experimental animals. In order to investigate permanent effects of the first feeding diet-type on the early development of the microbiome, a diet change was included in the study after 54 days, but no such effects could be detected. Instead, the microbiome of juvenile trout fry was highly dependent on the actual diet fed at the time of sampling.

Simulated effects of host fish distribution on juvenile unionid mussel dispersal in a large river

Science.gov (United States)

Daraio, J.A.; Weber, L.J.; Zigler, S.J.; Newton, T.J.; Nestler, J.M.

2012-01-01

Larval mussels (Family Unionidae) are obligate parasites on fish, and after excystment from their host, as juveniles, they are transported with flow. We know relatively little about the mechanisms that affect dispersal and subsequent settlement of juvenile mussels in large rivers. We used a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of a reach of the Upper Mississippi River with stochastic Lagrangian particle tracking to simulate juvenile dispersal. Sensitivity analyses were used to determine the importance of excystment location in two-dimensional space (lateral and longitudinal) and to assess the effects of vertical location (depth in the water column) on dispersal distances and juvenile settling distributions. In our simulations, greater than 50% of juveniles mussels settled on the river bottom within 500 m of their point of excystment, regardless of the vertical location of the fish in the water column. Dispersal distances were most variable in environments with higher velocity and high gradients in velocity, such as along channel margins, near the channel bed, or where effects of river bed morphology caused large changes in hydraulics. Dispersal distance was greater and variance was greater when juvenile excystment occurred in areas where vertical velocity (w) was positive (indicating an upward velocity) than when w was negative. Juvenile dispersal distance is likely to be more variable for mussels species whose hosts inhabit areas with steeper velocity gradients (e.g. channel margins) than a host that generally inhabits low-flow environments (e.g. impounded areas).

Estuary fish data - Juvenile salmon in migratory corridors of lower Columbia River estuary

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Sampling juvenile salmon and associated fishes in open waters of the lower Columbia River estuary. Field work includes bi-weekly sampling during the spring...

Effect of water velocity on intermediary metabolism of juvenile matrinxã fish (Brycon amazonicus)

OpenAIRE

Arbeláez-Rojas, Gustavo Alberto; Moraes, Gilberto

2013-01-01

Background: determination of water velocity for optimum fish growth is fundamental since its duration and intensity can interfere with the metabolic preference for some biochemical paths, resulting in the use of specific substrates for fish growth. Objective: the purpose of this study was to assess the metabolic adjustments of juvenile matrinxã (Brycon amazonicus) reared under various sustained swimming conditions (SS). Methods: fish were subjected to SS for 90 days at five swimming speeds: 0...

Fishing degrades size structure of coral reef fish communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, James P W; Williams, Ivor D; Edwards, Andrew M; McPherson, Jana; Yeager, Lauren; Vigliola, Laurent; Brainard, Russell E; Baum, Julia K

2017-03-01

Fishing pressure on coral reef ecosystems has been frequently linked to reductions of large fishes and reef fish biomass. Associated impacts on overall community structure are, however, less clear. In size-structured aquatic ecosystems, fishing impacts are commonly quantified using size spectra, which describe the distribution of individual body sizes within a community. We examined the size spectra and biomass of coral reef fish communities at 38 US-affiliated Pacific islands that ranged in human presence from near pristine to human population centers. Size spectra 'steepened' steadily with increasing human population and proximity to market due to a reduction in the relative biomass of large fishes and an increase in the dominance of small fishes. Reef fish biomass was substantially lower on inhabited islands than uninhabited ones, even at inhabited islands with the lowest levels of human presence. We found that on populated islands size spectra exponents decreased (analogous to size spectra steepening) linearly with declining biomass, whereas on uninhabited islands there was no relationship. Size spectra were steeper in regions of low sea surface temperature but were insensitive to variation in other environmental and geomorphic covariates. In contrast, reef fish biomass was highly sensitive to oceanographic conditions, being influenced by both oceanic productivity and sea surface temperature. Our results suggest that community size structure may be a more robust indicator than fish biomass to increasing human presence and that size spectra are reliable indicators of exploitation impacts across regions of different fish community compositions, environmental drivers, and fisheries types. Size-based approaches that link directly to functional properties of fish communities, and are relatively insensitive to abiotic variation across biogeographic regions, offer great potential for developing our understanding of fishing impacts in coral reef ecosystems. © 2016

Differences in fatty acid composition between cerebral brain lobes in juvenile pigs after fish oil feeding

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dullemeijer, Carla; Zock, Peter L.; Coronel, Ruben; den Ruijter, Hester M.; Katan, Martijn B.; Brummer, Robert-Jan M.; Kok, Frans J.; Beekman, Jet; Brouwer, Ingeborg A.

2008-01-01

Very long-chain n-3 PUFA from fish are suggested to play a role in the development of the brain. Fish oil feeding results in higher proportions of n-3 PUFA in the brains of newborn piglets. However, the effect of fish oil on the fatty acid composition of specific cerebral brain lobes in juvenile

Long-term effects of extreme weather events and eutrophication on the fish community of shallow Lake Peipsi (Estonia/Russia

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Külli Kangur

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The fish kill in lake Peipsi (Estonia/Russia during the extraordinarily hot summer of 2010 evoked an investigation into the effects of environmental extremes and long-term eutrophication on the fish community of the lake. Current data on lake Peipsi indicate that temperature extremes and synergistic interactions with eutrophication have led to a radical restructuring of the fish community. Commercial landings of lake smelt, Osmerus eperlanus eperlanus m. spirinchus (Pallas, the previous dominant species of the fish community, have decreased dramatically since the 1930s, these declines being coupled with summer heat waves coinciding with low water levels. Gradual decline in smelt stock and catches was significantly related to a decline of near-bottom oxygen conditions and to a decrease in water transparency. The first documented fish kill in 1959 occurred only in the southern, most shallow and eutrophic lake (lake Pihkva. Recently, summer fish kill have become more frequent, involving larger areas of the lake. In addition to the cold-water species, e.g. smelt and vendace Coregonus albula (L., the abundance of bottom-dwelling fishes such as ruffe Gymnocephalus cernuus (L. and juvenile fish have significantly decreased after the 2010 heat wave probably due to hypoxia and warm water temperatures. This study showed that fish community structure in large shallow lakes may be very vulnerable to water temperature increases, especially temperature extremes in combination with eutrophication.

Fish embryo and juvenile size under hypoxia in the mouth-brooding African cichlid Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

E.E.REARDON; L.J.CHAPMAN

2012-01-01

We used a field survey and a laboratory rearing experiment to (a) examine response (size and survival) to life-long hypoxia in offspring of the African maternal mouth-brooding cichlid Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae (Seegers) and (b) explore the degree to which developmental response can be environmentally-induced.Embryo size metrics were quantified in 9 field populations across a range of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations.In the laboratory,first generation (F1) broods of low-DO origin were reared under high or low DO.Brooding period was quantified for the mothers; and egg size,egg metabolic rate and juvenile size-at-release were quantified in their (F2) offspring.The F2 offspring were split and grown for 3 months post-release under high or low DO,and juvenile size and survival were quantified.In the field survey,across stages,embryos from low-DO field populations were shorter and weighed less than embryos from high-DO populations.In the laboratory experiment,F2 eggs and juveniles-at-release from mother's mouth did not differ in mass,length,survival regardless of development DO environment.However,juveniles diverged in size after leaving mother's mouth,exhibiting smaller size when grown under low DO.Size differences in embryo size across field populations and divergence in embryo size after release from the mother's mouthsupport predictions for smaller body size under hypoxia.There was no evidence for negative effects on survival of juveniles after 3 months.Brooding period was 16％ shorter in females reared under low DO suggesting that hypoxia may accelerate embryo development.This work provides insights into how bearer fishes respond to hypoxic stress relative to fishes with no post-spawning parental care; a shorter brooding interval and smaller body size may provide an optimal solution to parent and embryo survival under hypoxia in brooding fishes.

The offshore benthic fish community

Science.gov (United States)

Lantry, Brian F.; Lantry, Jana R.; Weidel, Brian C.; Walsh, Maureen; Hoyle, James A.; Schaner, Teodore; Neave, Fraser B.; Keir, Michael

2014-01-01

Lake Ontario’s offshore benthic fish community includes primarily slimy sculpin, lake whitefish, rainbow smelt, lake trout, burbot, and sea lamprey. Of these, lake trout have been the focus of an international restoration effort for more than three decades (Elrod et al. 1995; Lantry and Lantry 2008). The deepwater sculpin and three species of deepwater ciscoes (Coregonus spp.) that were historically important in the offshore benthic zone became rare or were extirpated by the 1960s (Christie 1973; Owens et al. 2003; Lantry et al. 2007b; Roth et al. 2013). Ecosystem changes continue to influence the offshore benthic fish community, including the effects of dreissenid mussels, the near disappearance of burrowing amphipods (Diporeia spp.) (Dermott et al. 2005; Watkins et al. 2007), and the increased abundance and expanded geographic distribution of round goby (see Nearshore Fish Community chapter) (Lantry et al. 2007b). The fish-community objectives for the offshore benthic fish community, as described by Stewart et al. (1999), are:

Fish abundance in the Wilderness and Swartvlei lake systems ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1995-11-06

Nov 6, 1995 ... having a detrimental impact on fish communities, and propo- sals have been ... salinity gradient exists in the Wilderness system, with ...... Osmoregulation in juvenile Rhabdosargus .... Community metabolism and phosphorous.

Evaluating the effectiveness of restoring longitudinal connectivity for stream fish communities: towards a more holistic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Tummers, Jeroen S; Hudson, Steve; Lucas, Martyn C

2016-11-01

A more holistic approach towards testing longitudinal connectivity restoration is needed in order to establish that intended ecological functions of such restoration are achieved. We illustrate the use of a multi-method scheme to evaluate the effectiveness of 'nature-like' connectivity restoration for stream fish communities in the River Deerness, NE England. Electric-fishing, capture-mark-recapture, PIT telemetry and radio-telemetry were used to measure fish community composition, dispersal, fishway efficiency and upstream migration respectively. For measuring passage and dispersal, our rationale was to evaluate a wide size range of strong swimmers (exemplified by brown trout Salmo trutta) and weak swimmers (exemplified by bullhead Cottus perifretum) in situ in the stream ecosystem. Radio-tracking of adult trout during the spawning migration showed that passage efficiency at each of five connectivity-restored sites was 81.3-100%. Unaltered (experimental control) structures on the migration route had a bottle-neck effect on upstream migration, especially during low flows. However, even during low flows, displaced PIT tagged juvenile trout (total n=153) exhibited a passage efficiency of 70.1-93.1% at two nature-like passes. In mark-recapture experiments juvenile brown trout and bullhead tagged (total n=5303) succeeded in dispersing upstream more often at most structures following obstacle modification, but not at the two control sites, based on a Laplace kernel modelling approach of observed dispersal distance and barrier traverses. Medium-term post-restoration data (2-3years) showed that the fish assemblage remained similar at five of six connectivity-restored sites and two control sites, but at one connectivity-restored headwater site previously inhabited by trout only, three native non-salmonid species colonized. We conclude that stream habitat reconnection should support free movement of a wide range of species and life stages, wherever retention of such

Capture, swallowing, and egestion of microplastics by a planktivorous juvenile fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Ory, Nicolas Christian; Gallardo, Camila; Lenz, Mark; Thiel, Martin

2018-05-11

Microplastics (microplastic ingestion by fish are still unclear, although they are important to determine the pathway of microplastics along marine food webs. Here we conducted experiments in the laboratory to examine microplastic ingestion (capture and swallowing) and egestion by juveniles of the planktivorous palm ruff, Seriolella violacea (Centrolophidae). As expected, fish captured preferentially black microplastics, similar to food pellets, whereas microplastics of other colours (blue, translucent, and yellow) were mostly co-captured when floating close to food pellets. Microplastics captured without food were almost always spit out, and were only swallowed when they were mixed with food in the fish's mouth. Food probably produced a 'gustatory trap' that impeded the fish to discriminate and reject the microplastics. Most fish (93% of total) egested all the microplastics after 7 days, on average, and 49 days at most, substantially longer than food pellets (microplastics on fish were observable, but potential sublethal effects of microplastics on the fish physiological and behavioural responses still need to be tested. This study highlights that visually-oriented planktivorous fish, many species of which are of commercial value and ecological importance within marine food webs, are susceptible to ingest microplastics resembling or floating close to their planktonic prey. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selective predation for low body condition at the larval-juvenile transition of a coral reef fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoey, Andrew S; McCormick, Mark I

2004-03-01

Mortality is known to be high during the transition from larval to juvenile life stages in organisms that have complex life histories. We are only just beginning to understand the processes that influence which individuals survive this period of high mortality, and which traits may be beneficial. Here we document a field experiment that examines the selectivity of predation immediately following settlement to the juvenile population in a common tropical fish, Pomacentrus amboinensis (Pomacentridae). Newly metamorphosed fish were tagged and randomly placed onto replicated patches of natural habitat cleared of resident fishes. After exposure to transient predators for 3 days, fish were recollected and the attributes of survivors from patch reefs that sustained high mortality were compared to individuals from patch reefs that experienced low mortality. Seven characteristics of individuals, which were indicative of previous and present body condition, were compared between groups. Predation was found to be selective for fish that grew slowly in the latter third of their larval phase, were low in total lipids, and had a high standardized weight (Fulton's K). Traits developed in the larval phase can strongly influence the survival of individuals over this critical transition period for organisms with complex life cycles.

Do nursery habitats provide shelter from flow for juvenile fish?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darren M Parsons

Full Text Available Juvenile fish nurseries are an essential life stage requirement for the maintenance of many fish populations. With many inshore habitats globally in decline, optimising habitat management by increasing our understanding of the relationship between juvenile fish and nursery habitats may be a prudent approach. Previous research on post-settlement snapper (Chrysophrys auratus has suggested that structure may provide a water flow refuge, allowing snapper to access high water flow sites that will also have a high flux of their pelagic prey. We investigated this hypothesis by describing how Artificial Seagrass Units (ASUs modified water flow while also using a multi-camera set up to quantify snapper position in relation to this water flow environment. Horizontal water flow was reduced on the down-current side of ASUs, but only at the height of the seagrass canopy. While the highest abundance of snapper did occur down-current of the ASUs, many snapper also occupied other locations or were too high in the water column to receive any refuge from water flow. The proportion of snapper within the water column was potentially driven by strategy to access zooplankton prey, being higher on the up-current side of ASUs and on flood tides. It is possible that post-settlement snapper alternate position to provide opportunities for both feeding and flow refuging. An alternative explanation relates to an observed interaction between post-settlement snapper and a predator, which demonstrated that snapper can utilise habitat structure when threatened. The nature of this relationship, and its overall importance in determining the value of nursery habitats to post-settlement snapper remains an elusive next step.

Do nursery habitats provide shelter from flow for juvenile fish?

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Darren M; MacDonald, Iain; Buckthought, Dane; Middleton, Crispin

2018-01-01

Juvenile fish nurseries are an essential life stage requirement for the maintenance of many fish populations. With many inshore habitats globally in decline, optimising habitat management by increasing our understanding of the relationship between juvenile fish and nursery habitats may be a prudent approach. Previous research on post-settlement snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) has suggested that structure may provide a water flow refuge, allowing snapper to access high water flow sites that will also have a high flux of their pelagic prey. We investigated this hypothesis by describing how Artificial Seagrass Units (ASUs) modified water flow while also using a multi-camera set up to quantify snapper position in relation to this water flow environment. Horizontal water flow was reduced on the down-current side of ASUs, but only at the height of the seagrass canopy. While the highest abundance of snapper did occur down-current of the ASUs, many snapper also occupied other locations or were too high in the water column to receive any refuge from water flow. The proportion of snapper within the water column was potentially driven by strategy to access zooplankton prey, being higher on the up-current side of ASUs and on flood tides. It is possible that post-settlement snapper alternate position to provide opportunities for both feeding and flow refuging. An alternative explanation relates to an observed interaction between post-settlement snapper and a predator, which demonstrated that snapper can utilise habitat structure when threatened. The nature of this relationship, and its overall importance in determining the value of nursery habitats to post-settlement snapper remains an elusive next step.

Fish embryo and juvenile size under hypoxia in the mouth- brooding African cichlid Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E.E. REARDON, L.J. CHAPMAN

2012-06-01

Full Text Available We used a field survey and a laboratory rearing experiment to (a examine response (size and survival to life-long hypoxia in offspring of the African maternal mouth-brooding cichlid Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae (Seegers and (b explore the degree to which developmental response can be environmentally-induced. Embryo size metrics were quantified in 9 field populations across a range of dissolved oxygen (DO concentrations. In the laboratory, first generation (F1 broods of low-DO origin were reared under high or low DO. Brooding period was quantified for the mothers; and egg size, egg metabolic rate and juvenile size-at-release were quantified in their (F2 offspring. The F2 offspring were split and grown for 3 months post-release under high or low DO, and juvenile size and survival were quantified. In the field survey, across stages, embryos from low-DO field populations were shorter and weighed less than embryos from high-DO populations. In the laboratory experiment, F2 eggs and juveniles-at-release from mother’s mouth did not differ in mass, length, survival regardless of development DO environment. However, juveniles diverged in size after leaving mother’s mouth, exhibiting smaller size when grown under low DO. Size differences in embryo size across field populations and divergence in embryo size after release from the mother’s mouth support predictions for smaller body size under hypoxia. There was no evidence for negative effects on survival of juveniles after 3 months. Brooding period was 16% shorter in females reared under low DO suggesting that hypoxia may accelerate embryo development. This work provides insights into how bearer fishes respond to hypoxic stress relative to fishes with no post-spawning parental care; a shorter brooding interval and smaller body size may provide an optimal solution to parent and embryo survival under hypoxia in brooding fishes [Current Zoology 58 (3: 401-412, 2012].

Current status of non-native fish species in the St. Louis River estuary

Science.gov (United States)

The fish community of the St. Louis River estuary is well characterized, thanks to fishery assessment and invasive species early detection monitoring by federal, state, and tribal agencies. This sampling includes long-standing adult/juvenile fish surveys, larval fish surveys beg...

Feeding ecology of juvenile marine fish in a shallow coastal lagoon of southeastern Mexico

OpenAIRE

Daniel Arceo-Carranza; Xavier Chiappa-Carrara

2015-01-01

Many species of marine fish use coastal lagoons during early stages of their life cycles due to the protection provided by their turbid waters and complex structure of the environment, such as mangroves and mudflats, and the availability of food derived from the high productivity of these sites. In this study, we analyzed the diet of six species of juvenile marine fishes that use a karstic lagoon system in the northwest portion of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Through stomach contents analys...

Recruitment of juvenile fishes into a small temperate choked lagoon (Argentina and the influence of environmental factors during the process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel O. Bruno

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Juvenile fishes were sampled every 15 days from September 2009 to April 2010 along the marine-estuarine gradient (surf zone, estuary and a freshwater stream of the Mar Chiquita lagoon, Argentina. The temporal variations of juvenile assemblages in spring-summer and the environmental variables related to the spatial and temporal patterns were analysed. Four groups of sampling stations were defined, indicating differences in fish composition among zones during the spring–early summer period (Groups I to III, while the composition of juvenile fishes was homogeneous along the marine-estuarine gradient during the late summer–early autumn period (Group IV. Platanichthys platana and Ramnogaster arcuata (Group A and Odontesthes argentinensis and Brevoortia aureaz (Group B contributed most to the temporal differences observed. The three first species reached this estuarine system in spring, although with lower abundances than in early summer, while B. aurea was dominant in late summer–early autumn, showing different periods of recruitment of these species into the lagoon. After factoring out variation due to shared spatial-temporal-environmental factors (4.43%, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA showed that temporal factors had an almost five times greater contribution (15.15% than spatial factors (2.85% and almost twice as great as the pure environmental factors (8.11% to explaining the variation in abundance of the juvenile fishes. From the significant environmental variables incorporated in the CCA, wind direction contributed more than water temperature, salinity or transparency in explaining data variability. Indeed, most species were related to “onshore winds” and therefore the importance of wind in the successful recruitment of juveniles into this shallow and micro-tidal estuary is discussed.

Hiding and feeding in floating seaweed: Floating seaweed clumps as possible refuges or feeding grounds for fishes

Science.gov (United States)

Vandendriessche, Sofie; Messiaen, Marlies; O'Flynn, Sarah; Vincx, Magda; Degraer, Steven

2007-02-01

Floating seaweed is considered to be an important habitat for juvenile fishes due to the provision of food, shelter, a visual orientation point and passive transport. The importance of the presence of the highly dynamical seaweed clumps from the North Sea to juvenile neustonic fishes was investigated by analysing both neuston samples (without seaweed) and seaweed samples concerning fish community structure, and length-frequency distributions and feeding habits of five associated fish species. While the neustonic fish community was mainly seasonally structured, the seaweed-associated fish community was more complex: the response of the associated fish species to environmental variables was species specific and probably influenced by species interactions, resulting in a large multivariate distance between the samples dominated by Chelon labrosus and the samples dominated by Cyclopterus lumpus, Trachurus trachurus and Ciliata mustela. The results of the stomach analysis confirmed that C. lumpus is a weedpatch specialist that has a close spatial affinity with the seaweed and feeds intensively on the seaweed-associated invertebrate fauna. Similarly, C. mustela juveniles also fed on the seaweed fauna, but in a more opportunistic way. The shape of the size-frequency distribution suggested enhanced growth when associated with floating seaweed. Chelon labrosus and T. trachurus juveniles were generally large in seaweed samples, but large individuals were also encountered in the neuston. The proportion of associated invertebrate fauna in their diet was of minor importance, compared to the proportions in C. lumpus. Individuals of Syngnathus rostellatus mainly fed on planktonic invertebrates but had a discontinuous size-frequency distribution, suggesting that some of the syngnathids were carried with the seaweed upon detachment and stayed associated. Floating seaweeds can therefore be regarded as ephemeral habitats shared between several fish species (mainly juveniles) that use

The co-distribution of seabirds and their juvenile fish prey in Baffin Bay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

LeBlanc, Mathieu; Mosbech, Anders; Fortier, Louis

documented. We test the hypothesis that the abundance and biomass of juvenile fish, especially at the sea-ice edge, influence the distribution and composition of the seabird assemblage. Hydroacoustic data were recorded continuously during the CCGS Amundsen GreenEdge 2016 cruise in southern Baffin Bay, using...... cod (Boreogadus saida), the main pelagic forage fish, plays a key role by transferring energy from the zooplankton to the upper trophic levels, including seabirds. The interactions between fish and seabirds at the sea-ice edge, an environment increasingly common in the warming Arctic, are poorly...... a hull-mounted EK60 multi-frequency echosounder. Pelagic nets were deployed to document the fish assemblage and to validate the acoustic echoes. Seabird observations during transit periods and seabird sampling in Greenland waters were completed. This study will provide insights in the predator...

Changes in the North Sea fish community: evidence of indirect effects of fishing?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daan, N.; Gislason, Henrik; Pope, J.

2005-01-01

, but such changes may simply reflect the cumulative, direct effects of fishing through selective removal of large individuals. If there is resilience in a fish community towards fishing, we may expect increases in specific components, for instance as a consequence of an associated reduction in predation and....... Taking average fishing mortality of assessed commercial species as an index of exploitation rate of the fish community, it appears that fishing effort reached its maximum in the mid-1980s and has declined slightly since. If the observed changes in the community are caused by indirect effects of fishing...

Spatial variations in dietary organic matter sources modulate the size and condition of fish juveniles in temperate lagoon nursery sites

Science.gov (United States)

Escalas, Arthur; Ferraton, Franck; Paillon, Christelle; Vidy, Guy; Carcaillet, Frédérique; Salen-Picard, Chantal; Le Loc'h, François; Richard, Pierre; Darnaude, Audrey Michèle

2015-01-01

Effective conservation of marine fish stocks involves understanding the impact, on population dynamics, of intra-specific variation in nursery habitats use at the juvenile stage. In some regions, an important part of the catching effort is concentrated on a small number of marine species that colonize coastal lagoons during their first year of life. To determine the intra-specific variation in lagoon use by these fish and their potential demographic consequences, we studied diet spatiotemporal variations in the group 0 juveniles of a highly exploited sparid, the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.), during their ∼6 months stay in a NW Mediterranean lagoon (N = 331, SL = 25-198 mm) and traced the origin of the organic matter in their food webs, at two lagoon sites with contrasted continental inputs. This showed that the origin (marine, lagoonal or continental) of the organic matter (OM) available in the water column and the sediment can vary substantially within the same lagoon, in line with local variations in the intensity of marine and continental inputs. The high trophic plasticity of S. aurata allows its juveniles to adapt to resulting differences in prey abundances at each site during their lagoon residency, thereby sustaining high growth irrespective of the area inhabited within the lagoon. However, continental POM incorporation by the juveniles through their diet (of 21-37% on average depending on the site) is proportional to its availability in the environment and could be responsible for the greater fish sizes (of 28 mm SL on average) and body weights (of 40.8 g on average) observed at the site under continental influence in the autumn, when the juveniles are ready to leave the lagoon. This suggests that continental inputs in particulate OM, when present, could significantly enhance fish growth within coastal lagoons, with important consequences on the local population dynamics of the fish species that use them as nurseries. As our results indicate that

Effects of water temperature and fish size on predation vulnerability of juvenile humpback chub to rainbow trout and brown trout

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, David L.; Morton-Starner, Rylan

2015-01-01

Predation on juvenile native fish by introduced Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout is considered a significant threat to the persistence of endangered Humpback Chub Gila cypha in the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Diet studies of Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout in Glen and Grand canyons indicate that these species do eat native fish, but impacts are difficult to assess because predation vulnerability is highly variable, depending on prey size, predator size, and the water temperatures under which the predation interactions take place. We conducted laboratory experiments to evaluate how short-term predation vulnerability of juvenile native fish changes in response to fish size and water temperature using captivity-reared Humpback Chub, Bonytail, and Roundtail Chub. Juvenile chub 45–90 mm total length (TL) were exposed to adult Rainbow and Brown trouts at 10, 15, and 20°C to measure predation vulnerability as a function of water temperature and fish size. A 1°C increase in water temperature decreased short-term predation vulnerability of Humpback Chub to Rainbow Trout by about 5%, although the relationship is not linear. Brown Trout were highly piscivorous in the laboratory at any size > 220 mm TL and at all water temperatures we tested. Understanding the effects of predation by trout on endangered Humpback Chub is critical in evaluating management options aimed at preserving native fishes in Grand Canyon National Park.

Seasonal growth and mortality of juveniles of Lampsilis fasciola (Bivalvia: Unionidae) released to a fish hatchery raceway

Science.gov (United States)

Hanlon, Shane D.; Neves, Richard J.

2006-01-01

Recent efforts to restore remnant or extirpated populations of freshwater mussels have focused on artificial propagation as an effective and practical conservation strategy. Although artificially cultured juveniles have been produced and released to the wild at various times of the year, no study has investigated the best time of year to release these juveniles. Newly metamorphosed juveniles of the wavyrayed lampmussel (Lampsilis fasciola) were released into a stream-fed fish hatchery raceway during March, June, and September. Growth and survival rates were measured 32, 52, 72, and 92 days post-metamorphosis. Juveniles released in June experienced the greatest growth and survival rates. Juveniles released in September and March experienced high mortality within the first month of release and exhibited poor growth in the cool water conditions typical of those seasons. Overwinter survival exhibited a size-dependent relationship.

Impacts of invasive fish removal through angling on population characteristics and juvenile growth rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Evangelista, Charlotte; Britton, Robert J; Cucherousset, Julien

2015-06-01

Exploitation can modify the characteristics of fish populations through the selective harvesting of individuals, with this potentially leading to rapid ecological and evolutionary changes. Despite the well-known effects of invasive fishes on aquatic ecosystems generally, the potential effects of their selective removal through angling, a strategy commonly used to manage invasive fish, are poorly understood. The aim of this field-based study was to use the North American pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus as the model species to investigate the consequences of selective removal on their population characteristics and juvenile growth rates across 10 populations in artificial lakes in southern France. We found that the maximal individual mass in populations decreased as removal pressure through angling increased, whereas we did not observed any changes in the maximal individual length in populations as removal pressure increased. Total population abundance did not decrease as removal pressure increased; instead, here was a U-shaped relationship between removal pressure and the abundance of medium-bodied individuals. In addition, population biomass had a U-shaped curve response to removal pressure, implying that invasive fish populations can modulate their characteristics to compensate for the negative effects of selective removals. In addition, individual lengths at age 2 and juvenile growth rates decreased as removal pressure through angling increased, suggesting a shift toward an earlier size at maturity and an overall slower growing phenotype. Therefore, these outputs challenge the efficiency of selective management methods, suggesting the use of more proactive strategies to control invasive populations, and the need to investigate the potential ecological and evolutionary repercussions of nonrandom removal.

Effects of dietary protein levels on growth performance and body composition of juvenile parrot fish, Oplegnathus fasciatus

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Kang-Woong Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary protein levels on growth, biometrics, hematology and body composition in juvenile parrot fish Oplegnathus fasciatus. Fish averaging 7.1 ± 0.06 g (mean ± SD was randomly distributed into 15 net cages (each size: 60 × 40 × 90 cm, W × L × H as groups of 20 fish. Five isocaloric diets (16.7 kJ/g energy were formulated to contain crude protein levels (CP as 35 (CP35, 40 (CP40, 45 (CP45, 50 (CP50 and 60 % (CP60 in the diets. Fish were fed one of the experimental diets at apparent satiation twice a day in triplicate groups. At the end of 8-week feeding trial, weight gain (WG of fish fed with CP50 and CP60 diets were significantly higher than those of fish fed with CP35, CP40 and CP45 diets. Fish fed with CP45, CP50 and CP60 diets had higher feed efficiency (FE and specific growth rate (SGR than those of fish fed with CP35 and CP40 diets. Protein retention efficiency (PRE decreased with increase of dietary protein levels among fish fed with the experimental diets. Whole-body crude protein and lipid contents increased with the dietary protein level up to CP50 diet. In conclusion, analysis of variance (ANOVA revealed that the optimum dietary protein level could be 50 % for maximum growth of juvenile parrot fish, while the broken-line analysis of WG suggested that the level could be 48.5 %, in a diet containing 16.7 kJ/g energy.

Juvenile exposure to predator cues induces a larger egg size in fish

Science.gov (United States)

Segers, Francisca H. I. D.; Taborsky, Barbara

2012-01-01

When females anticipate a hazardous environment for their offspring, they can increase offspring survival by producing larger young. Early environmental experience determines egg size in different animal taxa. We predicted that a higher perceived predation risk by juveniles would cause an increase in the sizes of eggs that they produce as adults. To test this, we exposed juveniles of the mouthbrooding cichlid Eretmodus cyanostictus in a split-brood experiment either to cues of a natural predator or to a control situation. After maturation, females that had been confronted with predators produced heavier eggs, whereas clutch size itself was not affected by the treatment. This effect cannot be explained by a differential female body size because the predator treatment did not influence growth trajectories. The observed increase of egg mass is likely to be adaptive, as heavier eggs gave rise to larger young and in fish, juvenile predation risk drops sharply with increasing body size. This study provides the first evidence that predator cues perceived by females early in life positively affect egg mass, suggesting that these cues allow her to predict the predation risk for her offspring. PMID:21976689

Ecomorphology and resource use by dominant species of tropical estuarine juvenile fishes

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André Luiz Machado Pessanha

Full Text Available Eleven ecomorphological attributes and diet of seventeen juvenile fish species were examined to test the hypothesis that morphological patterns determine resource uses in estuarine habitats. Species were separated according to the apparatus to food capture and habitat use (benthic or pelagic in three different groups: (1 a group with depressed fish body, strong caudal peduncle and enlarged pectoral fins; (2 a second group laterally flattened with a wide protruding mouth, and (3 a third group strongly flattened with small pectorals fins. The following six trophic groups were organized based on prey categories: Zooplanktivores, Benthivores, Omnivores, Detritivores, Macrocarnivores and Insectivores. Significant results (PERMANOVA between ecomorphological indices and habitat and between ecomorphological indices and trophic groups were found. These data indicate that similarity of ecomorphological forms, which minimize the influence of environment and partitioning of food, would help facilitate the co-existence of these fish when they are abundant in this tropical estuary.

Plasma biomarkers in juvenile marine fish provide evidence for endocrine modulation potential of organotin compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Min, Byung Hwa; Kim, Bo-Mi; Kim, Moonkoo; Kang, Jung-Hoon; Jung, Jee-Hyun; Rhee, Jae-Sung

2018-08-01

Organotin compounds, such as tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT), have been widely used to control marine fouling. Here, we show that organotin stimulation reduces the hormone levels in the plasma of two economically important aquaculture fish. Blood plasma samples were collected from juvenile red seabream and black rockfish exposed to environmentally realistic concentrations of TBT and TPT for 14 days. The levels of two plasma biomarkers, namely the yolk protein precursor vitellogenin (VTG) and the sex steroid 17β-estradiol (E2), were measured to determine the endocrine disrupting potential of the organotin compounds. Both organotin compounds were dose-dependently accumulated in the blood of two fish. Exposure to waterborne TBT and TBT significantly decreased the plasma VTG levels in both the juvenile fish in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, the treatment with E2, a well-known VTG inducer, significantly increased the plasma VTG levels in both the fish. In addition, the mRNA levels of vtg were also downregulated in the liver tissues of both the fish at 100 and/or 1000 ng L -1 of TBT or TPT exposure. The plasma E2 titers were significantly suppressed at 100 and/or 1000 ng L -1 of TBT or TPT exposure for 14 days compared to their titer in the control. Since estrogen directly regulates vtg gene expression and VTG synthesis, our results reveal the endocrine disrupting potential of organotin compounds, and subsequently the endocrine modulation at early stage of fish can trigger further fluctuations in sexual differentiation, maturation, sex ration or egg production. In addition, the results demonstrate their effects on non-target organisms, particularly on animals reared in aquaculture and fisheries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Community structure of fish larvae in mangroves with different root types in Labuhan coastal area, Sepulu - Madura

Science.gov (United States)

Muzaki, Farid Kamal; Giffari, Aninditha; Saptarini, Dian

2017-06-01

Mangrove root complexity and shading are well known to give positive correlation for both juveniles and adult fishes. However, it is remain unclear whether that complexity would affect the community of fish larvae (ichthyoplankton). This study aimed to address the question, especially in mangrove area in coastal area of Sepulu, Madura which projected as a mangrove protection area. Sampling periods were from March to May, 2016. The samples of fish larvae were collected by plankton net (mesh-size 0.150 and 0.265 mm) from six different locations representing different root types (stilt root, pneumatophore, combination of stilt root-pneumatophore and unvegetated area). As the results, 6 families were identified, namely Gobiidae, Blennidae, Pomacentridae, Carangidae, Engraulidae and Ambassidae, respectively. Gobiidae seems to be the most abundant and widely dispersed in the area. Results of two-way AnovadanTukey HSD (both at p=0.05) indicate that there were significant difference in the larval abundance regarding locations, sampling periods and interaction of both factors. As for number of taxa, significant difference occurred only from factors of locations and sampling periods, but not for interaction of both factors. Highest larval abundance and number of taxa occurred in Rhizophoraspp (with stilt root), indicating that root complexity would affect the community of fish larvae. Ordination by canonical analysis shows that different taxa of the fish larvae are tend to be distributed on different locations.

Fishing Community Profiles

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — To enable fisheries managers to comply with National Standard 8 (NS8), NMFS social scientists around the nation are preparing fishing community profiles that present...

Seasonal dynamics of Posthodiplostomum cuticola (Digenea, Diplostomatidae) metacercariae and parasite-enhanced growth of juvenile host fish

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ondračková, Markéta; Reichard, Martin; Jurajda, Pavel; Gelnar, M.

2004-01-01

Roč. 93, č. 2 (2004), s. 131-136 ISSN 0932-0113 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA524/02/0924 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z6093917 Keywords : black-spot disease * juvenile fish Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 1.060, year: 2004

Feeding ecology of juvenile marine fish in a shallow coastal lagoon of southeastern Mexico

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Daniel Arceo-Carranza

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Many species of marine fish use coastal lagoons during early stages of their life cycles due to the protection provided by their turbid waters and complex structure of the environment, such as mangroves and mudflats, and the availability of food derived from the high productivity of these sites. In this study, we analyzed the diet of six species of juvenile marine fishes that use a karstic lagoon system in the northwest portion of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Through stomach contents analysis we determined the trophic differences among Caranx latus, Oligoplites saurus, Trachinotus falcatus, Synodus foetens, Lutjanus griseus, and Strongylura notata. C. latus, O. saurus, S. foetens, and S. notate, which are ichthyophagous species (>80% by number. L. griseus feeds mainly on crustaceans (>55% and fish (35%, while T. falcatus feeds on mollusks (>50% bivalves, >35% gastropods. The analysis of similarities (ANOSIM showed differences in the diet of all species. Cluster analysis, based on the Bray-Curtis similarity matrix revealed three groups; one characterized by the ichthyophagous guild (S. notata, S. foetens, C. latus, and O. saurus, other group formed by the crustacean consumers (L. griseus, and the third, composed by the mollusk feeder (T. falcatus. Species of the ichthyophagous guild showed overlap in their diets, which under conditions of low prey abundance may trigger competition, hence affecting juvenile stages of these marine species that use coastal lagoons to feed and grow.

Change in fish community structure in the Barents Sea.

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Michaela Aschan

Full Text Available Change in oceanographic conditions causes structural alterations in marine fish communities, but this effect may go undetected as most monitoring programs until recently mainly have focused on oceanography and commercial species rather than on whole ecosystems. In this paper, the objective is to describe the spatial and temporal changes in the Barents Sea fish community in the period 1992-2004 while taking into consideration the observed abundance and biodiversity patterns for all 82 observed fish species. We found that the spatial structure of the Barents Sea fish community was determined by abiotic factors such as temperature and depth. The observed species clustered into a deep assemblage, a warm water southern assemblage, both associated with Atlantic water, and a cold water north-eastern assemblage associated with mixed water. The latitude of the cold water NE and warm water S assemblages varied from year to year, but no obvious northward migration was observed over time. In the period 1996-1999 we observed a significant reduction in total fish biomass, abundance, mean fish weight, and a change in community structure including an increase in the pelagic/demersal ratio. This change in community structure is probably due to extremely cold conditions in 1996 impacting on a fish community exposed to historically high fishing rates. After 1999 the fish community variables such as biomass, abundance, mean weight, P/D ratio as well as community composition did not return to levels of the early 90s, although fishing pressure and climatic conditions returned to earlier levels.

The ecological significance of juvenile Diplodus sargus as ectoparasite fish cleaners in the north-eastern Atlantic

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José Neto

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Cleaning behaviour was recently described for the omnivorous species Diplodus sargus. Although previous studies have reported the existence of ectoparasites in the stomach contents of some individuals this commercially important fish was never considered a cleaner species. Here we make the first characterization of this behaviour based on field observations. This behaviour was exclusively performed by juvenile D. sargus and, until now, was only observed in confined or semi-confined areas such as coastal lagoons or harbours. Unexpectedly, cleaning rates and the number of individuals performing this behaviour largely exceeds the ones described for a sympatric cleaner fish (13.98 cleaning events/individual/hour compared to 5.08 in Centrolabrus exoletus. Clients belong to several fish families (e.g. Mugilidae, Sparidae and Labridae that include some of the most common species in coastal habitats. Frequently, clients request cleaning by tilting their body or remaining motionless near the surface while being cleaned (40% however, in most cases, the interaction ends because clients flee (46%. This could mean that D. sargus is also feeding on mucus and/or living tissue. These shifts between exploitation and cooperation have been frequently described for tropical reef species. Our results support cooperative behaviour, with a clear correlation between the number of nips per cleaning event or the number of nips to which the client reacted positively and cleaning event duration (n=552; Spearman correlation r=0.79, p<0.001; r=0.76, p<0.001, respectively. Furthermore, no correlation was detected between the number of jolts by the client fish and the cleaning event duration (n=552; Spearman correlation r=0.07, p=0.105 meaning that jolting does not increase with increased interaction time. In the future, the evaluation of the ecological importance of D. sargus as a cleaner species in the North-Eastern Atlantic, should proceed with field observations in

Utilizing individual fish biomass and relative abundance models to map environmental niche associations of adult and juvenile targeted fishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Galaiduk, Ronen; Radford, Ben T; Harvey, Euan S

2018-06-21

Many fishes undergo ontogenetic habitat shifts to meet their energy and resource needs as they grow. Habitat resource partitioning and patterns of habitat connectivity between conspecific fishes at different life-history stages is a significant knowledge gap. Species distribution models were used to examine patterns in the relative abundance, individual biomass estimates and environmental niche associations of different life stages of three iconic West Australian fishes. Continuous predictive maps describing the spatial distribution of abundance and individual biomass of the study species were created as well predictive hotspot maps that identify possible areas for aggregation of individuals of similar life stages of multiple species (i.e. spawning grounds, fisheries refugia or nursery areas). The models and maps indicate that processes driving the abundance patterns could be different from the body size associated demographic processes throughout an individual's life cycle. Incorporating life-history in the spatially explicit management plans can ensure that critical habitat of the vulnerable stages (e.g. juvenile fish, spawning stock) is included within proposed protected areas and can enhance connectivity between various functional areas (e.g. nursery areas and adult populations) which, in turn, can improve the abundance of targeted species as well as other fish species relying on healthy ecosystem functioning.

[Fish community structure and its seasonal change in subtidal sandy beach habitat off southern Gouqi Island].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhen-Hua; Wang, Kai; Zhao, Jing; Zhang, Shou-Yu

2011-05-01

quantity appearance of plotosid catfish (Plotosus anguillaris) in early Autumn, which was quite different from the community structure pattern dominated by reef fishes in rocky-algae habitat. The subtidal sandy bottom off Gouqi Island was serving as both nursery and feeding grounds for many fish species, being a suitable habitat for flatfishes. It was concluded that the sandy beaches around Gouqi Island could be a very important habitat for economic fish species, especially as a nursery ground for juvenile fishes, contributing to the fish stock maintenance in specific area.

Survival and growth responses of snakehead fish Channa striata Bloch. juvenile in aerated and unaerated acid sulfate water

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, Purnamawati

2017-07-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT  The aim of the research was to analyze survival rate, specific growth rate, albumin, and feed efficiency and physiological (blood glucose, cortisol, dan haemoglobin responses of snake head fish juvenil that reared at aerated and unaerated of tidal land water have been conducted in the laboratory. Experiments using completely randomized design with aerated and unaerated as a treatment, and each treatment has twelve replications. The snakehead fish juvenil wich length 2.4±0.2 cm and weight of 0.21±0.05 g reared in the aquarium that are size 30×25×35 cm (water volume 25 L with a stocking density 2 juvenile/L, for 40 days. The fishes were fed with commercial feed with protein content about 40%, feeding two times a day (morning and afternoon were at satiation. Replacement of water done every two days about 10% of the total water volume in the aquarium. The results showed that unaerated median significantly affected to biometric and physiological response of juvenile of snake head fish. The media un-aerated gives the best results shown by the higher value of survival (92%, specific growth rate (6.73%/ day, feed efficiency (78.22%, protein retention (41.91%, energy retention (30.81% value of albumin (6.60 g/100 mL and the haemoglobin (5.58 g/dL, and have the lowest value of cortisol (21.49 ng/L and blood glucose (43.36 mg/100 mL. Keywords: acid sulfate water, growth rate, aeration, Channa striata   ABSTRAK  Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis respons kelangsungan hidup, pertumbuhan spesifik, albumin, dan efisiensi pakan dan fisiologis (kortisol, glukosa darah, dan hemoglobin juvenil ikan gabus yang dipelihara dengan dan tanpa aerasi pada media air rawa pasang surut. Penelitian menggunakan rancangan acak lengkap dengan aerasi dan tanpa aerasi sebagai perlakuan, dan masing-masing perlakuan memiliki 12 ulangan. Juvenil ikan gabus berukuran panjang 2,4±0,3 cm dan bobot 0,21±0,03 g dipelihara dalam akuarium 30×25×35 cm (volume

Replacement of fish oil with soybean oil in diets for juvenile Chinese sucker (Myxocyprinus asiaticus): effects on liver lipid peroxidation and biochemical composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Deng-Hang; Chang, Jia-Zhi; Dong, Gui-Fang; Liu, Jun

2017-10-01

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of the replacement of fish oil (FO) by soybean oil (SO) on growth performance, liver lipid peroxidation, and biochemical composition in juvenile Chinese sucker, Myxocyprinus asiaticus. Fish (13.7 ± 0.2 g) in triplicate were fed five experimental diets in which 0% (FO as control), 40% (SO40), 60% (SO60), 80% (SO40), and 100% (SO100) FO were replaced by SO. The body weight gain of fish fed SO40, SO60, or SO80 diet was similar to FO group, but diets that have 100% soybean oil as dietary lipid significantly reduced fish growth (P fish liver fed diets that contained SO, but eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and the ratio n-3/n-6 were significantly reduced by the inclusion of dietary SO (P fish. However, diet containing 100% SO as dietary lipid could reduce growth performance. Thus, we recommended that 40-80% SO can be used as dietary lipid to replace FO for juvenile Chinese sucker.

Estimating the size of juvenile fish populations in southeastern coastal-plain estuaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kjelson, M.A.

1977-01-01

Understanding the ecological significance of man's activities upon fishery resources requires information on the size of affected fish stocks. The objective of this paper is to provide information to evaluate and plan sampling programs designed to obtain accurate and precise estimates of fish abundance. Nursery habitats, as marsh--tidal creeks and submerged grass beds, offer the optimal conditions for estimating natural mortality rates for young-of-the-year fish in Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coast estuaries. The area-density method of abundance estimation using quantitative gears is more feasible than either mark-recapture or direct-count techniques. The blockage method provides the most accurate estimates, while encircling devices enable highly mobile species found in open water to be captured. Drop nets and lift nets allow samples to be taken in obstructed sites, but trawls and seines are the most economical gears. Replicate samples are necessary to improve the precision of density estimates, while evaluation and use of gear-catch efficiencies is feasible and required to improve the accuracy of density estimates. Coefficients of variation for replicate trawl samples range from 50 to 150 percent, while catch efficiencies for both trawls and seines for many juvenile fishes range from approximately 30 to 70 percent

Effects of changes in food supply at the time of sex differentiation on the gonadal transcriptome of juvenile fish. Implications for natural and farmed populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, Noelia; Ribas, Laia; Piferrer, Francesc

2014-01-01

Food supply is a major factor influencing growth rates in animals. This has important implications for both natural and farmed fish populations, since food restriction may difficult reproduction. However, a study on the effects of food supply on the development of juvenile gonads has never been transcriptionally described in fish. This study investigated the consequences of growth on gonadal transcriptome of European sea bass in: 1) 4-month-old sexually undifferentiated fish, comparing the gonads of fish with the highest vs. the lowest growth, to explore a possible link between transcriptome and future sex, and 2) testis from 11-month-old juveniles where growth had been manipulated through changes in food supply. The four groups used were: i) sustained fast growth, ii) sustained slow growth, iii) accelerated growth, iv) decelerated growth. The transcriptome of undifferentiated gonads was not drastically affected by initial natural differences in growth. Further, changes in the expression of genes associated with protein turnover were seen, favoring catabolism in slow-growing fish and anabolism in fast-growing fish. Moreover, while fast-growing fish took energy from glucose, as deduced from the pathways affected and the analysis of protein-protein interactions examined, in slow-growing fish lipid metabolism and gluconeogenesis was favored. Interestingly, the highest transcriptomic differences were found when forcing initially fast-growing fish to decelerate their growth, while accelerating growth of initially slow-growing fish resulted in full transcriptomic convergence with sustained fast-growing fish. Food availability during sex differentiation shapes the juvenile testis transcriptome, as evidenced by adaptations to different energy balances. Remarkably, this occurs in absence of major histological changes in the testis. Thus, fish are able to recover transcriptionally their testes if they are provided with enough food supply during sex differentiation; however

Influence of riparian canopy on macroinvertebrate composition and food habits of juvenile salmonids in several Oregon streams.

Science.gov (United States)

William R. Meehan

1996-01-01

The community composition of macroinvertebrates and the feeding habits of juvenile salmonids were studied in eight Oregon streams. Benthic, drift, sticky trap, and water trap samples were taken over a 3-year period, along with stomach samples of the fish. Samples were taken in stream reaches with and without riparian canopy. Both main effects—fish diet versus...

Relative and combined effects of habitat and fishing on reef fish communities across a limited fishing gradient at Ningaloo.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Shaun K; Babcock, Russ C; Fisher, Rebecca; Holmes, Thomas H; Moore, James A Y; Thomson, Damian P

2012-10-01

Habitat degradation and fishing are major drivers of temporal and spatial changes in fish communities. The independent effects of these drivers are well documented, but the relative importance and interaction between fishing and habitat shifts is poorly understood, particularly in complex systems such as coral reefs. To assess the combined and relative effects of fishing and habitat we examined the composition of fish communities on patch reefs across a gradient of high to low structural complexity in fished and unfished areas of the Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia. Biomass and species richness of fish were positively correlated with structural complexity of reefs and negatively related to macroalgal cover. Total abundance of fish was also positively related to structural complexity, however this relationship was stronger on fished reefs than those where fishing is prohibited. The interaction between habitat condition and fishing pressure is primarily due to the high abundance of small bodied planktivorous fish on fished reefs. However, the influence of management zones on the abundance and biomass of predators and target species is small, implying spatial differences in fishing pressure are low and unlikely to be driving this interaction. Our results emphasise the importance of habitat in structuring reef fish communities on coral reefs especially when gradients in fishing pressure are low. The influence of fishing effort on this relationship may however become more important as fishing pressure increases. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimum sample length for estimating anchovy size distribution and the proportion of juveniles per fishing set for the Peruvian purse-seine fleet

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Rocío Joo

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The length distribution of catches represents a fundamental source of information for estimating growth and spatio-temporal dynamics of cohorts. The length distribution of caught is estimated based on samples of catched individuals. This work studies the optimum sample size of individuals at each fishing set in order to obtain a representative sample of the length and the proportion of juveniles in the fishing set. For that matter, we use anchovy (Engraulis ringens length data from different fishing sets recorded by observers at-sea from the On-board Observers Program from the Peruvian Marine Research Institute. Finally, we propose an optimum sample size for obtaining robust size and juvenile estimations. Though the application of this work corresponds to the anchovy fishery, the procedure can be applied to any fishery, either for on board or inland biometric measurements.

Are vegetated areas of mangroves attractive to juvenile and small fish? The case of Dongzhaigang Bay, Hainan Island, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mao; Huang, Zhenyuan; Shi, Fushan; Wang, Wenqing

2009-11-01

Well-developed aerial roots of mangroves make it difficult to study how fish utilize the mangrove forest as a habitat. In the present study, we compared the differences in fish assemblages in three major types of habitats of mangrove estuary (vegetated area, treeless mudflat, and creek) of a mangrove bay in Hainan Island, China, at different seasons during two consecutive years. Three types of gears, centipede net, gill net and cast net, were used in the different habitats of mangrove estuary and sampling efficiencies among gears were evaluated. Centipede nets were used in all the three types of habitats and cast nets and gill nets in treeless mudflats and creeks. Fish assemblages were dependent on gears used. Centipede net could efficiently catch fish occurring both inside and outside of vegetated areas efficiently. A total of 115 fish species in 51 families were collected. In terms of numbers of species per family, Gobiidae was the most diverse (17 species), followed by Mugilidae (5 species). Almost all of the fish were juvenile or small fish and few predators were recorded, implying low predation pressure in the bay. ANOVA analysis showed that significant seasonal and spatial variation existed in species richness, abundance, and biomass, which were less in the vegetated areas than those of treeless mudflats and creeks. The attraction of vegetated areas to fish was less than that of creeks and mudflats. Many species were specific to a particular habitat type, 4 species occurring exclusively in the creeks, 45 species occurring exclusively in the treeless mudflats, and 5 species occurring exclusively in the vegetated areas. The results indicated that mangrove estuaries were potentially attractive habitats for juvenile and small fish, but this attraction was accomplished by a connection of vegetated areas, treeless mudflats and creeks, not only by vegetated areas.

Catch rate of juveniles Ethamatosa fimbriata , Sardinella maderensis ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We collected data on the quantity of juvenile fish and the daily duration of fishing trips in four landing sites over a two-week period Bernoulli random variables and properties of uniform distribution were used to analyze the data. Catch rates of juveniles Ethamatosa fimbriata, Sardinella maderensis, and Brachydeuterus ...

Otolith chemistry reveals seamount fidelity in a deepwater fish

Science.gov (United States)

Régnier, Thomas; Augley, Julian; Devalla, Sandhya; Robinson, Craig D.; Wright, Peter J.; Neat, Francis C.

2017-03-01

There are thousands of seamounts (underwater mountains) throughout the world's deep oceans, many of which support diverse faunal communities and valuable fish stocks. Although seamounts are often geographically and bathymetrically isolated from one another, it is not clear how biologically isolated they are from one another. We analysed the chemical signature of the otoliths of a deepwater fish, the roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris) to test the null hypothesis that there is random exchange between individuals from a seamount and other adjacent areas. The fish were sampled on the Scottish west coast, from the Rosemary Bank seamount and two adjacent locations of similar depth, in the same year at roughly the same time of year. We used flow-injection inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to measure trace element concentrations from micro-milled portions of the otolith corresponding to adult and juvenile life history stages. The elemental signatures of the fish from the seamount were distinguishable from the fish from the two other areas during both the juvenile and adult life-history phase. We infer that once juveniles settle on the seamount they remain there for the rest of their lives. Evidence for population structure should be factored into exploitation strategies to prevent local depletion and is an important consideration with respect to Rosemary bank being included in a network of Marine Protected Areas around Scotland.

Survival of juvenile chinook salmon and coho salmon in the Roza Dam fish bypass and in downstream reaches of the Yakima River, Washington, 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Kock, Tobias J.; Perry, Russell W.; Hansen, Amy C.

2016-12-22

Estimates of juvenile salmon survival are important data for fishery managers in the Yakima River Basin. Radiotelemetry studies during 2012–14 showed that tagged juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) that passed through the fish bypass at Roza Dam had lower survival than fish that passed through other routes at the dam. That study also identified flow-survival relationships in the reaches between the Roza Dam tailrace and Sunnyside Dam. During 2012–14, survival also was estimated through reaches downstream of Sunnyside Dam, but generally, sample sizes were low and the estimates were imprecise. In 2016, we conducted an evaluation using acoustic cameras and acoustic telemetry to build on information collected during the previous study. The goal of the 2016 research was to identify areas where mortality occurs in the fish bypass at Roza Dam, and to estimate reach-specific survival in reaches downstream of the dam. The 2016 study included juvenile Chinook salmon and coho salmon (O. kisutch).Three acoustic cameras were used to observe fish behavior (1) near the entrances to the fish bypass, (2) at a midway point in the fish bypass (convergence vault), and (3) at the bypass outfall. In total, 504 hours of acoustic camera footage was collected at these locations. We determined that smolt-sized fish (95–170 millimeters [mm]) were present in the highest proportions at each location, but predator-sized fish (greater than 250 mm) also were present at each site. Fish presence generally peaked during nighttime hours and crepuscular periods, and was low during daytime hours. In the convergence vault, smolt-sized fish exhibited holding behavior patterns, which may explain why some fish delayed while passing through the bypass.Some of the acoustic-tagged fish were delayed in the fish bypass following release, but there was no evidence to suggest that they experienced higher mortality than fish that were released at the bypass outfall or downstream of the dam

Status and future of Lake Huron fish communities

Science.gov (United States)

Ebener, M.P.; Johnson, J.E.; Reid, D.M.; Payne, N.P.; Argyle, R.L.; Wright, G.M.; Krueger, K.; Baker, J.P.; Morse, T.; Weise, J.; Munawar, M.; Edsall, T.; Leach, J.

1995-01-01

In 1993, fishery management agencies with jurisdiction over Lake Huron fish populations developed draft fish community objectives in response to the Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries. The Joint Strategic Plan charged the Great Lakes Fishery Commission sponsored Lake Huron Committee to define objectives for what the fish community of Lake Huron should look like in the future, and to develop means for measuring progress toward the objectives. The overall management objective for Lake Huron is to 'over the next two decades restore an ecologically balanced fish community dominated by top predators and consisting largely of self-sustaining, indigenous and naturalized species and capable of sustaining annual harvests of 8.9 million kg'. This paper represents the first attempt at consolidating current biological information from different management agencies on a lake-wide basis for the purpose of assessing the current status and dynamics of Lake Huron fishes.

Among-sibling differences in the phenotypes of juvenile fish depend on their location within the egg mass and maternal dominance rank

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Tim; Hoogenboom, M. O.; Beevers, N. D.; Armstrong, J. D.; Metcalfe, N. B.

2013-01-01

We investigated whether among-sibling differences in the phenotypes of juvenile fish were systematically related to the position in the egg mass where each individual developed during oogenesis. We sampled eggs from the front, middle and rear thirds of the egg mass in female brown trout of known dominance rank. In the resulting juveniles, we then measured traits that are related to individual fitness: body size, social status and standard metabolic rate (SMR). When controlling for differences among females in mean egg size, siblings from dominant mothers were initially larger (and had a lower mass-corrected SMR) if they developed from eggs at the rear of the egg mass. However, heterogeneity in the size of siblings from different positions in the egg mass diminished in lower-ranking females. Location of the egg within the egg mass also affected the social dominance of the resulting juvenile fish, although the direction of this effect varied with developmental age. This study provides the first evidence of a systematic basis for among-sibling differences in the phenotypes of offspring in a highly fecund organism. PMID:23193132

Spatial distribution of juvenile fish along an artificialized seascape, insights from common coastal species in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercader, Manon; Rider, Mary; Cheminée, Adrien; Pastor, Jérémy; Zawadzki, Audrey; Mercière, Alexandre; Crec'hriou, Romain; Verdoit-Jarraya, Marion; Lenfant, Philippe

2018-06-01

Along the littoral, a growing number of anthropogenic structures have caused substantial habitat destruction. Despite their detrimental impact, these constructions could play a role in the functioning of coastal ecosystems. The objective of this work was to assess the distribution of juvenile coastal fish along a seascape composed of various natural and artificial habitats in order to determine the potential role of coastal infrastructures as juvenile habitat. We surveyed juvenile populations on various infrastructures and natural sites along a 100 km shoreline of the French Mediterranean coast. Juvenile densities varied according to the level of artificialization of the sites. Densities were the highest on coastal defense structures, intermediate in natural sites and lowest in harbors. Focusing inside harbors revealed highly variable densities depending on the type of habitat, with densities on ripraps or jetties that were equivalent to those of natural sites. Our results underline the importance of anthropogenic structures as potential juvenile habitats, which is too often not considered in management plans. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of changes in food supply at the time of sex differentiation on the gonadal transcriptome of juvenile fish. Implications for natural and farmed populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noelia Díaz

Full Text Available Food supply is a major factor influencing growth rates in animals. This has important implications for both natural and farmed fish populations, since food restriction may difficult reproduction. However, a study on the effects of food supply on the development of juvenile gonads has never been transcriptionally described in fish.This study investigated the consequences of growth on gonadal transcriptome of European sea bass in: 1 4-month-old sexually undifferentiated fish, comparing the gonads of fish with the highest vs. the lowest growth, to explore a possible link between transcriptome and future sex, and 2 testis from 11-month-old juveniles where growth had been manipulated through changes in food supply. The four groups used were: i sustained fast growth, ii sustained slow growth, iii accelerated growth, iv decelerated growth. The transcriptome of undifferentiated gonads was not drastically affected by initial natural differences in growth. Further, changes in the expression of genes associated with protein turnover were seen, favoring catabolism in slow-growing fish and anabolism in fast-growing fish. Moreover, while fast-growing fish took energy from glucose, as deduced from the pathways affected and the analysis of protein-protein interactions examined, in slow-growing fish lipid metabolism and gluconeogenesis was favored. Interestingly, the highest transcriptomic differences were found when forcing initially fast-growing fish to decelerate their growth, while accelerating growth of initially slow-growing fish resulted in full transcriptomic convergence with sustained fast-growing fish.Food availability during sex differentiation shapes the juvenile testis transcriptome, as evidenced by adaptations to different energy balances. Remarkably, this occurs in absence of major histological changes in the testis. Thus, fish are able to recover transcriptionally their testes if they are provided with enough food supply during sex

Bottom trawl assessment of Lake Ontario prey fishes

Science.gov (United States)

Weidel, Brian C.; Connerton, Michael J.; Holden, Jeremy

2018-01-01

Managing Lake Ontario fisheries in an ecosystem-context requires prey fish community and population data. Since 1978, multiple annual bottom trawl surveys have quantified prey fish dynamics to inform management relative to published Fish Community Objectives. In 2017, two whole-lake surveys collected 341 bottom trawls (spring: 204, fall: 137), at depths from 8-225m, and captured 751,350 fish from 29 species. Alewife were 90% of the total fish catch while Deepwater Sculpin, Round Goby, and Rainbow Smelt comprised the majority of the remaining total catch (3.8, 3.1, and 1.1% respectively). The adult Alewife abundance index for US waters increased in 2017 relative to 2016, however the index for Canadian waters declined. Adult Alewife condition, assessed by the predicted weight of a 165 mm fish (6.5 inches), declined in 2017 from record high values observed in spring 2016. Spring 2017 Alewife condition was slightly less than the 10-year average, but the fall value was well below the 10-year average, likely due to increased Age-1 Alewife abundance. The Age-1 Alewife abundance index was the highest observed in 40 years, and 8-times higher than the previous year. The Age-1 index estimates Alewife reproductive success the preceding year. The warm summer and winter of 2016 likely contributed to the large year class. In contrast the relatively cool 2017 spring and cold winter may result in a lower than average 2017 year class. Abundance indices for Rainbow Smelt, Cisco, and Emerald Shiner either declined or remained at low levels in 2017. Pelagic prey fish diversity continues to be low since a single species, Alewife, dominates the catch. Deepwater Sculpin were the most abundant benthic prey fish in 2017 because Round Goby abundance declined sharply from 2016. Slimy Sculpin density continued to decline and the 2017 biomass index for US waters was the lowest ever observed. Prior to Round Goby proliferation, juvenile Slimy Sculpin comprised ~10% of the Slimy Sculpin catch, but

The influence of fire-coral colony size and agonistic behaviour of territorial damselfish on associated coral reef fish communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Leal, Isabela Carolina Silva; de Araújo, Maria Elisabeth; da Cunha, Simone Rabelo; Pereira, Pedro Henrique Cipresso

2015-07-01

Branching hydrocorals from the genus Millepora play an important ecological role in South Atlantic reefs, where branching scleractinian corals are absent. Previous studies have shown a high proportion of reef fish species using branching fire-coral colonies as shelter, breeding, and feeding sites. However, the effects of Millepora spp. colony size and how the agonistic behaviour of a competitive damselfish affect the associated reef fish community are still unknown. The present study examined how fire-coral colony volume and the presence of a highly territorial and aggressive damselfish (Brazilian endemic Stegastes fuscus) affects the reef fish community associated with the fire-coral Millepora alcicornis. M. alcicornis colonies were surveyed from September 2012 to April 2013 at Tamandaré Reefs off Northeast Brazil. Our results show that the abundance and richness of coral associated fish was positively correlated with M. alcicornis coral colony volume. Additionally, behaviour of S. fuscus, the most abundant reef fish species found associated with fire-coral colonies (almost 57% of the fish community), was also influenced by fire-coral colony volume. There was a clear trend of increased agonistic behaviour and feeding on coral polyps as colony volume increased. This trend was reversed for the non-occupational swimming category, which decreased as M. alcicornis colony volume increased. Behavioural ontogenetic changes were also detected for S. fuscus individuals. Juveniles mainly showed two distinct behaviours: sheltered on coral branches and feeding on coral polyps. In contrast, adults presented greater equitability among the behavioural categories, mostly non-occupational swimming around coral colonies and agonistic behaviour. Lastly, S. fuscus individuals actively defended fire-coral colonies from intruders. A large number of agonistic interactions occurred against potential food competitors, which were mainly roving herbivores, omnivores, and sessile

Fish distribution studies near N Reactor, Summer 1983

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dauble, D.D.; Page, T.L.

1984-06-01

This report summarizes field studies that were initiated in July 1983 to provide estimates of the relative distribution of late-summer outmigrant juvenile salmonids and juvenile resident fish upstream of the N Reactor 009 Outfall. Chinook salmon are among the fish species most sensitive to thermal effects, and impacts to the juvenile outmigrant populations are of particular concern to state and federal regulatory and fisheries management agencies. Therefore, the distribution studies were conducted from late July through September, a period when high ambient river temperatures and low river flows make these salmonid populations most susceptible to thermal effects. In addition, data were not available on the spatial distribution of outmigrant juvenile chinook salmon in late summer. Information on the relative distribution of resident fish populations was also gathered. Previous studies of midstream distribution of juvenile resident fish were limited to a description of ichthyoplankton populations (Beak Consultants, Inc. 1980 Page et al. 1982), and no data were available on vertical or horizontal distribution of juvenile resident fish species near N Reactor. Relative densities and spatial distribution estimates of juvenile salmonid and resident fish species will be used in conjunction with laboratory thermal effects studies (Neitzel et al. 1984) and with plume characterization studies (Ecker et al. 1983) to assess potential impacts of thermal discharge on fish populations near N Reactor.

Impact of fishing on size composition and diversity of demersal fish communities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bianchi, G.; Gislason, Henrik; Graham, K.

2000-01-01

. but particularly in high-latitude regions, we observe a decreasing trend in the slope, reflecting changes in size composition toward a relative decline in larger fish. The results from tropical regions are less conclusive, partly owing to the difficulty in obtaining consistent data series, but probably also......By analysing data sets from different world regions we add evidence to documented changes in demersal fish community structure that may be related to fishing. Changes are analysed by community properties that might be expected to capture relevant overall changes - size spectra slopes and intercepts...... because the generally higher growth rates of the constituent species make the slope less sensitive to changes in fishing. No evidence was found of any decline in species richness, while changes in diversity (richness and evenness) were caused either by changes in patterns of dominance or by changes...

Changes in the North Sea fish community: evidence of indirect effects of fishing?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daan, N.; Gislason, H.; Pope, J.G.; Rice, J.C.

2005-01-01

We investigate changes in the North Sea fish community with particular reference to possible indirect effects of fishing, mediated through the ecosystem. In the past, long-term changes in the slope of size spectra of research vessel catches have been related to changes in fishing effort, but such

Does functional redundancy stabilize fish communities?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rice, Jake; Daan, Niels; Gislason, Henrik

2013-01-01

in abundance or biomass could be accounted for by the Law of Large Numbers, providing no evidence that specific ecological processes or co-adaptations are necessary to produce this effect. This implies that successful conservation policies to maintain the resilience of a marine fish community could be based......Functional redundancy of species sharing a feeding strategy and/or maximum size has been hypothesized to contribute to increased resilience of marine fish communities (the “portfolio effect”). A consistent time-series of survey data of fish in the North Sea was used to examine if trophic functional...... groups or maximum length of species (Lmax) groups with larger numbers of species had lower coefficients of variation in abundance and biomass over time than did groupings with fewer species. Results supported this hypothesis. However, the stabilizing effect of numbers of species in a group on variation...

Sustained swimming improves fish dietary nutrient assimilation efficiency and body composition of juvenile Brycon amazonicus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Alberto Arbeláez-Rojas

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Sustained swimming (SS usually promotes beneficial effects in growth and feed conversion of fishes. Although feed efficiency is improves at moderate water velocity, more information is required to determine the contributions of this factor on growth and body composition. Body composition and efficiency responses to the use of nutrients were determined in juvenile matrinxa Brycon amazonicus (Spix and Agassiz, 1829 fed with two dietary amounts of protein, 28 or 38% of crude protein (CP, and subjected to sustained swimming at a constant speed of 1.5 body lengths s−1 (BL s−1 or let to free swimming. The fish body composition under SS and fed with 28% of dietary protein showed 22% of increased in bulk protein and a 26% of decrease in water content in the white muscle. Red muscle depicted 70% less water content and a 10% more lipid. Nutrient retention was enhanced in fish subjected to SS and a higher gain of ethereal extract sustained was observed in the white muscle of exercised fish fed with 38% CP. The interaction between swimming and dietary protein resulted in a larger bulk of lipid in red muscle. Fish fed with 28% CP under SS at 1.5 BL s−1 presented the best utilization of dietary nutrients and body composition. Thus, this fish farming procedure is proposed as a promising management strategy for rearing matrinxa.

Fish impingement at estuarine power stations and its significance to commercial fishing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnpenny, A.W.H.

1989-01-01

The abstraction of cooling water (CW) at power stations sited on tidal waters inevitably leads to mortalities of some fish which are drawn in with the CW supply and become impinged on the intake screens. These fish are predominantly 0- or 1-group juveniles which, owing to their small size, are unable to resist intake currents. Commercial fishermen often object to the fact that juvenile fish are killed in this way. Their concern stems from the fact that in order to protect stocks, commercial fishing is restricted to fish which are above a statutory minimum landing size, whereas the majority of fish killed by impingement are below this size. This Report considers the significance of impingement mortalities at four estuarine sites in Britain for six commercially important species. Life tables are used to establish expected survival trajectories for each species and to compute reproductive potential. Each fish killed on intake screens is then considered in terms of the fraction of the reproductive potential of a single adult at maturity, and is ascribed an 'adult equivalent' value. Total catches of mixed juveniles and adults are then presented as 'adult equivalent' values. (author)

Parasites of fish larvae: do they follow metabolic energetic laws?

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Gabriela; Landaeta, Mauricio F; Palacios-Fuentes, Pamela; George-Nascimento, Mario

2015-11-01

Eumetazoan parasites in fish larvae normally exhibit large body sizes relative to their hosts. This observation raises a question about the potential effects that parasites might have on small fish. We indirectly evaluated this question using energetic metabolic laws based on body volume and the parasite densities. We compared the biovolume as well as the numeric and volumetric densities of parasites over the host body volume of larval and juvenile-adult fish and the average of these parasitological descriptors for castrator parasites and the parasites found in the fish studied here. We collected 5266 fish larvae using nearshore zooplankton sampling and 1556 juveniles and adult fish from intertidal rocky pools in central Chile. We considered only the parasitized hosts: 482 fish larvae and 629 juvenile-adult fish. We obtained 31 fish species; 14 species were in both plankton and intertidal zones. Fish larvae exhibited a significantly smaller biovolume but larger numeric and volumetric densities of parasites than juvenile-adult fish. Therefore, fish larvae showed a large proportion of parasite biovolume per unit of body host (cm(3)). However, the general scaling of parasitological descriptors and host body volume were similar between larvae and juvenile-adult fish. The ratio between the biovolume of parasites and the host body volume in fish larvae was similar to the proportion observed in castrator parasites. Furthermore, the ratios were different from those of juvenile-adult fish, which suggests that the presence of parasites implies a high energetic cost for fish larvae that would diminish the fitness of these small hosts.

Richness patterns in the parasite communities of exotic poeciliid fishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Dove, A D

2000-06-01

Three species of poeciliids (Gambusia holbrooki, Xiphophorus helleri and X. maculatus) and 15 species of ecologically similar native freshwater fishes (mainly eleotrids, ambassids, melanotaeniids and retropinnids) were examined for parasite richness to investigate parasite flux, qualitative differences, quantitative differences and the structuring factors in parasite communities in the 2 fish types in Queensland, Australia. Theory suggests that poeciliids would harbour depauperate parasite communities. Results supported this hypothesis; poeciliids harboured more species-poor parasite infracommunities and regional faunas than natives (P analysis of presence/absence data for poeciliids and the 6 most-sampled native fishes revealed that parasite communities of the 2 fish groups are qualitatively distinct; the proportion of parasite species with complex life-cycles was lower in poeciliids than in native species, and Myxosporea, Microspora, Coccidia and parasitic Crustacea were all absent from poeciliids. Limited exchange of parasite species has occurred between natives and poeciliids. Logistic ordinal regression analysis revealed that fish origin (exotic or native), environmental disturbance and host sex were all significant determinants of parasite community richness (P competitive advantage over native fishes because of their lack of parasites.

Potential of Pigeon Creek, San Salvador, Bahamas, as Nursery Habitat for Juvenile Reef Fish

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Conboy, Ian Christopher

2011-10-01

Full Text Available This project assessed the significance of Pigeon Creek, San Salvador, Bahamas as a nursery habitat for coral reef fishes. Pigeon Creek’s perimeter is lined with mangrove and limestone bedrock. The bottom is sand or seagrass and ranges in depth from exposed at low tide to a 3-m deep, tide-scoured channel. In June 2006 and January 2007, fish were counted and their maturity was recorded while sampling 112 of 309 possible 50-m transects along the perimeter of the Pigeon Creek. Excluding silversides (Atherinidae, 52% of fish counted, six families each comprised >1% of the total abundance (Scaridae/parrotfishes, 35.3%; Lutjanidae/snappers, 23.9%; Haemulidae/grunts, 21.0%; Gerreidae/mojarras, 8.5%; Pomacentridae/damselfishes, 6.1%; Labridae/wrasses, 2.4%. There were few differences in effort-adjusted counts among habitats (mangrove, bedrock, mixed, sections (north, middle, southwest and seasons (summer 2006 and winter 2007. Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle, covering 68% of the perimeter was where 62% of the fish were counted. Snappers, grunts and parrotfishes are important food fishes and significant families in terms of reef ecology around San Salvador. Mangrove was the most important habitat for snappers and grunts; bedrock was most important for parrotfishes. The southwest section was important for snappers, grunts and parrotfishes, the north section for grunts and parrotfishes, and the middle section for snappers. Among the non-silverside fish counted, 91.2% were juveniles. These results suggest that Pigeon Creek is an important nursery for the coral reefs surrounding San Salvador and should be protected from potential disturbances.

Fish community structures in Zostera and non-Zostera regions of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Zostera capensis Setchell as shelter and food for juvenile fish in South ... (0) Shannon-Weaver index of general diversity (II) where. H = rP)o~P; ..... sea. Van der Elst 1981. sea. Day et al. 1981. sea sea. Wallace 1975. sea. Day et al. 1981 .... The water in the Mngazana estuary is remarkably clear, especially in the mouth area ...

Reef fish communities in the central Red Sea show evidence of asymmetrical fishing pressure

KAUST Repository

Kattan, Alexander; Coker, Darren James; Berumen, Michael L.

2017-01-01

In order to assess human impacts and develop rational restoration goals for corals reefs, baseline estimates of fish communities are required. In Saudi Arabian waters of the Red Sea, widespread unregulated fishing is thought to have been ongoing for decades, but there is little direct evidence of the impact on reef communities. To contextualize this human influence, reef-associated fish assemblages on offshore reefs in Saudi Arabia and Sudan in the central Red Sea were investigated. These reefs have comparable benthic environments, experience similar oceanographic influences, and are separated by less than 300 km, offering an ideal comparison for identifying potential anthropogenic impacts such as fishing pressure. This is the first study to assess reef fish biomass in both these regions, providing important baselines estimates. We found that biomass of top predators on offshore Sudanese reefs was on average almost three times that measured on comparable reefs in Saudi Arabia. Biomass values from some of the most remote reefs surveyed in Sudan’s far southern region even approach those previously reported in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, northern Line Islands, Pitcairn Islands, and other isolated Pacific islands and atolls. The findings suggest that fishing pressure has significantly altered the fish community structure of Saudi Arabian Red Sea reefs, most conspicuously in the form of top predator removal. The results point towards the urgent need for enhanced regulation and enforcement of fishing practices in Saudi Arabia, while making a strong case for protection in the form of no-take marine protected areas to maintain preservation of the relatively intact southern Sudanese Red Sea.

Reef fish communities in the central Red Sea show evidence of asymmetrical fishing pressure

KAUST Repository

Kattan, Alexander

2017-03-09

In order to assess human impacts and develop rational restoration goals for corals reefs, baseline estimates of fish communities are required. In Saudi Arabian waters of the Red Sea, widespread unregulated fishing is thought to have been ongoing for decades, but there is little direct evidence of the impact on reef communities. To contextualize this human influence, reef-associated fish assemblages on offshore reefs in Saudi Arabia and Sudan in the central Red Sea were investigated. These reefs have comparable benthic environments, experience similar oceanographic influences, and are separated by less than 300 km, offering an ideal comparison for identifying potential anthropogenic impacts such as fishing pressure. This is the first study to assess reef fish biomass in both these regions, providing important baselines estimates. We found that biomass of top predators on offshore Sudanese reefs was on average almost three times that measured on comparable reefs in Saudi Arabia. Biomass values from some of the most remote reefs surveyed in Sudan’s far southern region even approach those previously reported in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, northern Line Islands, Pitcairn Islands, and other isolated Pacific islands and atolls. The findings suggest that fishing pressure has significantly altered the fish community structure of Saudi Arabian Red Sea reefs, most conspicuously in the form of top predator removal. The results point towards the urgent need for enhanced regulation and enforcement of fishing practices in Saudi Arabia, while making a strong case for protection in the form of no-take marine protected areas to maintain preservation of the relatively intact southern Sudanese Red Sea.

Influence of Green Tides in Coastal Nursery Grounds on the Habitat Selection and Individual Performance of Juvenile Fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Luherne, Emilie; Le Pape, Olivier; Murillo, Laurence; Randon, Marine; Lebot, Clément; Réveillac, Elodie

2017-01-01

Coastal ecosystems, which provide numerous essential ecological functions for fish, are threatened by the proliferation of green macroalgae that significantly modify habitat conditions in intertidal areas. Understanding the influence of green tides on the nursery function of these ecosystems is essential to determine their potential effects on fish recruitment success. In this study, the influence of green tides on juvenile fish was examined in an intertidal sandy beach area, the Bay of Saint-Brieuc (Northwestern France), during two annual cycles of green tides with varying levels of intensity. The responses of three nursery-dependent fish species, the pelagic Sprattus sprattus (L.), the demersal Dicentrarchus labrax (L.) and the benthic Pleuronectes platessa L., were analysed to determine the effects of green tides according to species-specific habitat niche and behaviour. The responses to this perturbation were investigated based on habitat selection and a comparison of individual performance between a control and an impacted site. Several indices on different integrative scales were examined to evaluate these responses (antioxidant defence capacity, muscle total lipid, morphometric condition and growth). Based on these analyses, green tides affect juvenile fish differently according to macroalgal density and species-specific tolerance, which is linked to their capacity to move and to their distribution in the water column. A decreasing gradient of sensitivity was observed from benthic to demersal and pelagic fish species. At low densities of green macroalgae, the three species stayed at the impacted site and the growth of plaice was reduced. At medium macroalgal densities, plaice disappeared from the impacted site and the growth of sea bass and the muscle total lipid content of sprat were reduced. Finally, when high macroalgal densities were reached, none of the studied species were captured at the impacted site. Hence, sites affected by green tides are less

Reproduction and community structure of fish from winter catch sites from industrial shrimp bycatch from the northeast and southeast Mexican Pacific

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge de Jesus Tirado-Ibarra

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The shrimp fishery is one of the most important fisheries in the world, although the low selectivity from trawling nets has led to the capture of a large number of non-target species. Shrimp-bycatch species include a large number of fish and invertebrate species, of which fish species are the most abundant. The present study aims to determine the community structure as well as the average sizes at first maturity of the fish species from shrimp-bycatch caught from industrial fisheries in the Mexican Pacific from Sinaloa to Guerrero, from January to March 2015. The shrimp-bycatch fish diversity value was found to be 2.22. A total of 37 species of finfish were found, of which five were considered rare. The fish species with the highest Importance Value Index (IVI levels were Pseudupeneus grandisquamis, Paralichthys woolmani, Lutjanus peru and Diapterus peruvianus. The average size at first maturity was calculated for all species. Of the analysed organisms, 90% were in the juvenile stage, including species with riverine and artisanal fisheries. The present study demonstrates the risk within marine populations to different non-target species due to the poor selectivity of shrimp trawls.

Comparison of fish-community size spectra based on length ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Estimates of fish-community size spectra are promising indicators of the impact of fishing on fish assemblages. Size spectra consist of logarithmic graphs of abundance plotted against fish body size. Size spectra may either be constructed from length frequency data or estimated from the mean sizes and abundances of the ...

Rebuilding fish communities: the ghost of fisheries past and the virtue of patience.

Science.gov (United States)

Collie, Jeremy; Rochet, Marie-Joëlle; Bell, Richard

2013-03-01

The ecosystem approach to management requires the status of individual species to be considered in a community context. We conducted a comparative ecosystem analysis of the Georges Bank and North Sea fish communities to determine the extent to which biological diversity is restored when fishing pressure is reduced. First, fishing mortality estimates were combined to quantify the community-level intensity and selectivity of fishing pressure. Second, standardized bottom-trawl survey data were used to investigate the temporal trends in community metrics. Third, a size-based, multispecies model (LeMans) was simulated to test the response of community metrics to both hypothetical and observed changes in fishing pressure in the two communities. These temperate North Atlantic fish communities have much in common, including a history of overfishing. In recent decades fishing pressure has been reduced, and some species have started to rebuild. The Georges Bank fishery has been more selective, and fishing pressure was reduced sooner. The two communities have similar levels of size diversity and biomass per unit area, but fundamentally different community structure. The North Sea is dominated by smaller species and has lower evenness than Georges Bank. These fundamental differences in community structure are not explained by recent fishing patterns. The multispecies model was able to predict the observed changes in community metrics better on Georges Bank, where rebuilding is more apparent than in the North Sea. Model simulations predicted hysteresis in rebuilding community metrics toward their unfished levels, particularly in the North Sea. Species in the community rebuild at different rates, with smaller prey species outpacing their large predators and overshooting their pre-exploitation abundances. This indirect effect of predator release delays the rebuilding of community structure and biodiversity. Therefore community rebuilding is not just the sum of single

Comparative analysis of diet composition and its relation to morphological characteristics in juvenile fish of three lutjanid species in a Mexican Pacific coastal lagoon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Consuelo M. Aguilar-Betancourt

2017-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The main goal of this research was to investigate the differences in diet composition among three species of the genus Lutjanus inhabiting a coastal lagoon as juveniles. The working hypothesis was that these species feed on a common base of food resources and therefore, some niche overlap is present in terms of general diet composition. However, changes in the trophic niche with size and differences in some morphological traits among species explain observed differences in diet. Fish were collected during 42 sampling trips conducted regularly from February 2011 to January 2012 using several types of fishing gear. Total number of analyzed stomachs was 288 for Lutjanus argentiventris from 2.3 to 19.9 cm total length (TL; 178 for Lutjanus colorado ranging from 2.4 to 30.1 cm TL; and 183 for Lutjanus novemfasciatus with 1.2 to 20.0 cm TL. Results indicate that juveniles of all three lutjanid species share a general diet based on decapods and fishes. However, L. novemfasciatus has a more piscivorous habit, which can be explained by a more slender body shape and larger teeth, characteristics, which increase fish catching performance. Larger fish of all three species eat larger prey, which is consistent with the optimum foraging theory.

Spearfishing data reveals the littoral fish communities' association to coastal configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Boada, Jordi; Sagué, Oscar; Gordoa, Ana

2017-12-01

Increasing the knowledge about littoral fish communities is important for ecological sciences, fisheries and the sustainability of human communities. The scarcity of baseline data at large spatial scales in a fast-changing world makes it necessary to implement special programs to monitor natural ecosystems. In the present study, we evaluate littoral fish communities using data from spearfishing contests. The Catalan Federation of Underwater Activities (FECDAS) regularly organizes fishing contests across ca. 600 km of coast. Catch records made over the last sixteen years were used to study the fish communities along the coastline. We found two different communities that are closely related to the habitat configuration at a regional level. Interestingly, contests held on the northern coast were mainly grouped together and were characterized by species that inhabit complex rocky habitats, and contests held on the southern coast were grouped together and were mainly determined by soft bottoms species (i.e. mugilids and Sarpa salpa). In the south group the white sea bream was also very abundant compared to the north group. No significant changes in the community composition were found in the studied period and we successfully set descriptive baselines. Finally, based on these results we propose that studying the data from fishing contest records can be used to complement the available tools for monitoring fish communities.

Migration depth and residence time of juvenile salmonids in the forebays of hydropower dams prior to passage through turbines or juvenile bypass systems: implications for turbine-passage survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xinya; Deng, Zhiqun D; Brown, Richard S; Fu, Tao; Martinez, Jayson J; McMichael, Geoffrey A; Skalski, John R; Townsend, Richard L; Trumbo, Bradly A; Ahmann, Martin L; Renholds, Jon F

2015-01-01

Little is known about the three-dimensional depth distributions in rivers of individually marked fish that are in close proximity to hydropower facilities. Knowledge of the depth distributions of fish approaching dams can be used to understand how vulnerable fish are to injuries such as barotrauma as they pass through dams. To predict the possibility of barotrauma injury caused by pressure changes during turbine passage, it is necessary to understand fish behaviour relative to acclimation depth in dam forebays as they approach turbines. A guiding study was conducted using high-resolution three-dimensional tracking results of salmonids implanted with Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System transmitters to investigate the depth distributions of subyearling and yearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) passing two dams on the Snake River in Washington State. Multiple approaches were evaluated to describe the depth at which fish were acclimated, and statistical analyses were performed on large data sets extracted from ∼28 000 individually tagged fish during 2012 and 2013. Our study identified patterns of depth distributions of juvenile salmonids in forebays prior to passage through turbines or juvenile bypass systems. This research indicates that the median depth at which juvenile salmonids approached turbines ranged from 2.8 to 12.2 m, with the depths varying by species/life history, year, location (which dam) and diel period (between day and night). One of the most enlightening findings was the difference in dam passage associated with the diel period. The amount of time that turbine-passed fish spent in the immediate forebay prior to entering the powerhouse was much lower during the night than during the day. This research will allow scientists to understand turbine-passage survival better and enable them to assess more accurately the effects of dam passage on juvenile salmon survival.

Preliminary assessment of factors influencing riverine fish communities in Massachusetts.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, David S.; Richards, Todd A.; Brandt, Sara L.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (MDCR), Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP), and the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (MDFG), conducted a preliminary investigation of fish communities in small- to medium-sized Massachusetts streams. The objective of this investigation was to determine relations between fish-community characteristics and anthropogenic alteration, including flow alteration and impervious cover, relative to the effect of physical basin and land-cover (environmental) characteristics. Fish data were obtained for 756 fish-sampling sites from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife fish-community database. A review of the literature was used to select a set of fish metrics responsive to flow alteration. Fish metrics tested include two fish-community metrics (fluvial-fish relative abundance and fluvial-fish species richness), and five indicator species metrics (relative abundance of brook trout, blacknose dace, fallfish, white sucker, and redfin pickerel). Streamflows were simulated for each fish-sampling site using the Sustainable Yield Estimator application (SYE). Daily streamflows and the SYE water-use database were used to determine a set of indicators of flow alteration, including percent alteration of August median flow, water-use intensity, and withdrawal and return-flow fraction. The contributing areas to the fish-sampling sites were delineated and used with a Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine a set of environmental characteristics, including elevation, basin slope, percent sand and gravel, percent wetland, and percent open water, and a set of anthropogenic-alteration variables, including impervious cover and dam density. Two analytical techniques, quantile regression and generalized linear modeling, were applied to determine the association between fish-response variables and the selected environmental and

Anthropogenic chemical cues can alter the swimming behaviour of juvenile stages of a temperate fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Gil, Carlos; Cotgrove, Lucy; Smee, Sarah Louise; Simón-Otegui, David; Hinz, Hilmar; Grau, Amalia; Palmer, Miquel; Catalán, Ignacio A

2017-04-01

Human pressure on coastal areas is affecting essential ecosystems including fish nursery habitats. Among these anthropogenic uses, the seasonal increment in the pressure due to leisure activities such as coastal tourism and yachting is an important environmental stressor in many coastal zones. These pressures may elicit understudied impacts due to, for example, sunscreens or other seasonal pollutants. The island of Majorca, northwest Mediterranean Sea, experiences one of the highest number of tourist visits per capita in the world, thus the surrounding coastal habitat is subject to high anthropogenic seasonal stress. Studies on early stages of fishes have observed responses to coastal chemical cues for the selection or avoidance of habitats. However, the potential interferences of human impacts on these signals are largely unknown. A choice chamber was used to determine water type preference and behaviour in naïve settled juvenile gilt-head sea bream (Sparus aurata), a temperate species of commercial interest. Fish were tested individually for behavioural changes with respect to water types from potential beneficial habitats, such as seawater with extract of the endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica, anthropogenically influenced habitats such as water extracted from a commercial and recreational harbour and seawater mixed with sunscreen at concentrations observed in coastal waters. Using a Bayesian approach, we investigated a) water type preference; b) mean speed; and c) variance in the movement (as an indicator of burst swimming activity, or "sprint" behaviour) as behavioural descriptors with respect to water type. Fish spent similar percentage of time in treatment and control water types. However, movement descriptors showed that fish in sunscreen water moved slower (98.43% probability of being slower) and performed fewer sprints (90.1% probability of having less burst in speed) compared to control water. Less evident increases in sprints were observed in harbour

How Are Fishing Patterns and Fishing Communities Responding to Climate Change? A Test Case from the Northwest Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Young, T.; Fuller, E.; Coleman, K.; Provost, M.; Pinsky, M. L.; St Martin, K.

2016-02-01

We know climate is changing and fish are moving in response to those changes. But we understand less about how harvesters are responding to these changes in fish distribution and the ramifications of those changes for fishing communities. Ecological and evolutionary theory suggests that organisms must move, adapt, or die in response to environmental changes, and a related frame may be relevant for human harvesters in the face of climate change. Furthermore, research suggests that there may be a portfolio effect: a wider diversity of catch may buffer harvesters from some effects of climate change. To get at these questions, we explored changes in fishing patterns among commercial fishing communities in the northeast US from 1997-2014 using NOAA-collected logbook data. We found that communities using more mobile gear (large trawl vessels) demonstrated a greater range of latitudinal shift than communities using any other gear. Latitudinal shift was also inversely related to species diversity of catch and port latitude in those communities: southern communities that caught few species shifted dramatically northward, and northern communities that caught many species did not demonstrate marked latitudinal shifts. Those communities that demonstrated larger latitudinal shifts also demonstrated smaller changes in catch composition than their more stationary counterparts. We also found that vessels are indeed leaving many, but not all, fisheries in this region. These results suggest that harvesters are moving, adapting, and leaving fisheries, and that there does appear to be a portfolio effect, with catch diversity mediating some of these responses. While these changes in fishing patterns cannot all be directly attributed to climate change per se, marine fishes in this region are shifting north rapidly, as is expected under climate change. This study provides a valuable test case for exploring the potential ramifications of climate change on coastal socio-ecological systems.

Fragmentation alters stream fish community structure in dendritic ecological networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Perkin, Joshuah S; Gido, Keith B

2012-12-01

Effects of fragmentation on the ecology of organisms occupying dendritic ecological networks (DENs) have recently been described through both conceptual and mathematical models, but few hypotheses have been tested in complex, real-world ecosystems. Stream fishes provide a model system for assessing effects of fragmentation on the structure of communities occurring within DENs, including how fragmentation alters metacommunity dynamics and biodiversity. A recently developed habitat-availability measure, the "dendritic connectivity index" (DCI), allows for assigning quantitative measures of connectivity in DENs regardless of network extent or complexity, and might be used to predict fish community response to fragmentation. We characterized stream fish community structure in 12 DENs in the Great Plains, USA, during periods of dynamic (summer) and muted (fall) discharge regimes to test the DCI as a predictive model of fish community response to fragmentation imposed by road crossings. Results indicated that fish communities in stream segments isolated by road crossings had reduced species richness (alpha diversity) relative to communities that maintained connectivity with the surrounding DEN during summer and fall. Furthermore, isolated communities had greater dissimilarity (beta diversity) to downstream sites notisolated by road crossings during summer and fall. Finally, dissimilarity among communities within DENs decreased as a function of increased habitat connectivity (measured using the DCI) for summer and fall, suggesting that communities within highly connected DENs tend to be more homogeneous. Our results indicate that the DCI is sensitive to community effects of fragmentation in riverscapes and might be used by managers to predict ecological responses to changes in habitat connectivity. Moreover, our findings illustrate that relating structural connectivity of riverscapes to functional connectivity among communities might aid in maintaining metacommunity

Offshore Fish Community: Ecological Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

The offshore (>80 m) fish community of Lake Superior is made up of predominately native species. The most prominent species are deepwater sculpin, kiyi, cisco, siscowet lake trout, burbot, and the exotic sea lamprey. Bloater and shortjaw cisco are also found in the offshore zone...

Investigating the link between fish community structure and environmental state in deep-time

Science.gov (United States)

Sibert, E. C.

2017-12-01

In the modern ocean, a bottom-up ecological viewpoint posits that the composition of plankton communities is often a function of ambient oceanographic conditions, including nutrient concentrations and water temperature. Thus, certain plankton species or communities can be associated with specific oceanographic conditions, giving them potential as carriers of paleoceanographic information. Furthermore, consumer groups, such as fish, depend on the structure and composition of these plankton, and therefore different plankton communities will support different types of fish. In addition, fish have their own physiological constraints for surviving in particular environments, such as oxygen demand, and metabolic rate, causing certain clades to be selectively associated with different water mass characteristics. Thus, the relative or absolute abundances of different fish species or groups could shed light on shifting oxygen concentrations, temperature, or primary productivity in the past. To assess whether fish communities have sufficient environmental control to provide paleoceanographic insights, I use a variety of morphological, phylogenetic, and ecological statistical approaches, to correlate modern fish communities from around the world with environmental variables. I then apply these principles to a series of ichthyolith assemblages from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic, across both space and time, to assess whether fish community composition, abundance, or other characteristics can be predictive of ocean temperature or export productivity. I find that while the abundance of fish fossils in deep-sea cores is often, though not always, correlated with certain export production and temperature proxies, community composition appears to vary independently of these variables on long timescales, driven more by evolutionary processes. However, there are distinct differences in contemporary communities in different locations, suggesting that there is potential in using fish

Differential behavioural responses to venlafaxine exposure route, warming and acidification in juvenile fish (Argyrosomus regius).

Science.gov (United States)

Maulvault, Ana Luísa; Santos, Lúcia H M L M; Paula, José Ricardo; Camacho, Carolina; Pissarra, Vasco; Fogaça, Fabiola; Barbosa, Vera; Alves, Ricardo; Ferreira, Pedro Pousão; Barceló, Damià; Rodriguez-Mozaz, Sara; Marques, António; Diniz, Mário; Rosa, Rui

2018-09-01

Antidepressants, such as venlafaxine (VFX), which are considered emerging environmental pollutants, are increasingly more present in the marine environment, and recent evidence suggest that they might have adverse effects on fish behaviour. Furthermore, altered environmental conditions associated to climate change (e.g. warming and acidification) can also have a determinant role on fish behaviour, fitness and survival. Yet, the underlying interactions between these environmental stressors (pharmaceuticals exposure and climate change) are still far from being fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess behavioural responses (in juvenile meagre (Argyrosomus regius) exposed to VFX via water ([VFX] ~20μgL -1 ) and via dietary sources ([VFX] ~160μgkg -1 dry weight), as well as to increased temperature (ΔT°C=+5°C) and high CO 2 levels (ΔpCO 2 ~1000μatm; equivalent to ΔpH=-0.4units). Overall, VFX bioaccumulation in fish plasma was enhanced under the combination of warming and acidification. VFX triggered fish exploration, whereas fish activity and shoal cohesion were reduced. Acidification alone decreased fish exploration and shoal cohesion, and reversed fish preference to turn leftwards compared to control conditions. Such alterations were further enhanced by VFX exposure. The combination of warming and acidification also reduced shoal cohesion and loss of lateralization, regardless of VFX exposure. The distinct behaviour observed when VFX contamination, acidification and warming acted alone or in combination highlighted the need to consider the likely interactive effects of seawater warming and acidification in future research regarding the toxicological aspects of chemical contaminants. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Distribution and Joint Fish-Tag Survival of Juvenile Chinook Salmon Migrating through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, California, 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Holbrook, Christopher M.; Perry, Russell W.; Adams, Noah S.

2009-01-01

Acoustic telemetry was used to obtain the movement histories of 915 juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) through the lower San Joaquin River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, in 2008. Data were analyzed within a release-recapture framework to estimate survival, route distribution, and detection probabilities among three migration pathways through the Delta. The pathways included the primary route through the San Joaquin River and two less direct routes (Old River and Turner Cut). Strong inferences about survival were limited by premature tag failure, but estimates of fish distribution among migration routes should be unaffected by tag failure. Based on tag failure tests (N = 66 tags), we estimated that only 55-78 percent of the tags used in this study were still functioning when the last fish was detected exiting the study area 15 days after release. Due to premature tag failure, our 'survival' estimates represent the joint probability that both the tag and fish survived, not just survival of fish. Low estimates of fish-tag survival could have been caused by fish mortality or fish travel times that exceeded the life of the tag, but we were unable to differentiate between the two. Fish-tag survival through the Delta (from Durham Ferry to Chipps Island by all routes) ranged from 0.05 +or- 0.01 (SE) to 0.06 +or- 0.01 between the two weekly release groups. Among the three migration routes, fish that remained in the San Joaquin River exhibited the highest joint fish-tag survival (0.09 +or- 0.02) in both weeks, but only 22-33 percent of tagged fish used this route, depending on the week of release. Only 4-10 percent (depending on week) of tagged fish traveled through Turner Cut, but no tagged fish that used this route were detected exiting the Delta. Most fish (63-68 percent, depending on week of release) migrated through Old River, but fish-tag survival through this route (0.05 +or- 0.01) was only about one-half that of fish that

Gas bubble disease monitoring and research of juvenile salmonids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maule, A.G.; Beeman, J.; Hans, K.M.; Mesa, M.G.; Haner, P.; Warren, J.J.

1997-10-01

This document describes the project activities 1996--1997 contract year. This report is composed of three chapters which contain data and analyses of the three main elements of the project: field research to determine the vertical distribution of migrating juvenile salmonids, monitoring of juvenile migrants at dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers, and laboratory experiments to describe the progression of gas bubble disease signs leading to mortality. The major findings described in this report are: A miniature pressure-sensitive radio transmitter was found to be accurate and precise and, after compensation for water temperature, can be used to determine the depth of tagged-fish to within 0.32 m of the true depth (Chapter 1). Preliminary data from very few fish suggest that depth protects migrating juvenile steelhead from total dissolved gas supersaturation (Chapter 1). As in 1995, few fish had any signs of gas bubble disease, but it appeared that prevalence and severity increased as fish migrated downstream and in response to changing gas supersaturation (Chapter 2). It appeared to gas bubble disease was not a threat to migrating juvenile salmonids when total dissolved gas supersaturation was < 120% (Chapter 2). Laboratory studies suggest that external examinations are appropriate for determining the severity of gas bubble disease in juvenile salmonids (Chapter 3). The authors developed a new method for examining gill arches for intravascular bubbles by clamping the ventral aorta to reduce bleeding when arches were removed (Chapter 3). Despite an outbreak of bacterial kidney disease in the experimental fish, the data indicate that gas bubble disease is a progressive trauma that can be monitored (Chapter 3)

Towards Sustainable Aquafeeds: Complete Substitution of Fish Oil with Marine Microalga Schizochytrium sp. Improves Growth and Fatty Acid Deposition in Juvenile Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Science.gov (United States)

Sarker, Pallab K.; Kapuscinski, Anne R.; Lanois, Alison J.; Livesey, Erin D.; Bernhard, Katie P.; Coley, Mariah L.

2016-01-01

We conducted a 84-day nutritional feeding experiment with dried whole cells of DHA-rich marine microalga Schizochytrium sp. (Sc) to determine the optimum level of fish-oil substitution (partial or complete) for maximum growth of Nile tilapia. When we fully replaced fish oil with Schizochytrium (Sc100 diet), we found significantly higher weight gain and protein efficiency ratio (PER), and lower (improved) feed conversion ratio (FCR) and feed intake compared to a control diet containing fish oil (Sc0); and no significant change in SGR and survival rate among all diets. The Sc100 diet had the highest contents of 22:6n3 DHA, led to the highest DHA content in fillets, and consequently led to the highest DHA:EPA ratios in tilapia fillets. Schizochytrium sp. is a high quality candidate for complete substitution of fish oil in juvenile Nile tilapia feeds, providing an innovative means to formulate and optimize the composition of tilapia juvenile feed while simultaneously raising feed efficiency of tilapia aquaculture and to further develop environmentally and socially sustainable aquafeeds. Results show that replacing fish oil with DHA-rich marine Sc improves the deposition of n3 LC PUFA levels in tilapia fillet. These results support further studies to lower Schizochytrium production costs and to combine different marine microalgae to replace fish oil and fishmeal into aquafeeds. PMID:27258552

Species succession and sustainability of the Great Lakes fish community

Science.gov (United States)

Eshenroder, Randy L.; Burnham-Curtis, Mary K.; Taylor, William W.; Ferreri, C. Paola

1999-01-01

This article concentrates on the sustainability of the offshore pelagic and deepwater fish communities that were historically dominated by lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). The causes of alteration in these fish communities (i.e., overfishing, introductions, and cultural eutrophication) were identified by Loftus and Regier (1972). Here we look at the ecology of these altered communities in relation to sustainability and discuss the need for restoration.

Exposure of juvenile Danio rerio to aged TiO₂ nanomaterial from sunscreen.

Science.gov (United States)

Fouqueray, Manuela; Noury, Patrice; Dherret, Lysiane; Chaurand, Perrine; Abbaci, Khedidja; Labille, Jerome; Rose, Jerome; Garric, Jeanne

2013-05-01

The toxicity of dietary exposure to artificially aged TiO₂ nanomaterial (T-Lite) used in sunscreen cream was studied on Danio rerio. Embryolarval assays were conducted to assess the effects of TiO₂ residues of nanomaterial (RNM) on fish early life stages. Juvenile fishes were exposed by the trophic route in two experiments. During the first experiment, juvenile fishes were exposed to TiO₂ RNM for 14 days by adding RNM to commercial fish food. The second one consisted in producing a trophic food chain. Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata algae, previously contaminated with TiO₂ RNM in growth medium, was used to feed Daphnia magna neonates over a 48-h period. Daphnia were used next to feed juvenile fishes for 7 days. Accumulation of Ti, life traits (survival and growth) and biochemical parameters such as energy reserves, digestive (trypsin, esterase, cellulose and amylase) and antioxidant (superoxide dismutase and catalase) enzyme activity were measured at the end of exposures. As expected in the receiving aquatic system, TiO2 RNM at low concentrations caused a low impact on juvenile zebrafish. A slight impact on the early life stage of zebrafish with premature hatching was observed, and this effect appeared mainly indirect, due to possible embryo hypoxia. When juvenile fish are exposed to contaminated food, digestive enzyme activity indicated a negative effect of TiO₂ RNM. Digestive physiology was altered after 14 days of exposure and seemed to be an indirect target of TiO₂ RNM when provided by food.

Influence of habitat degradation on fish replenishment

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, M. I.; Moore, J. A. Y.; Munday, P. L.

2010-09-01

Temperature-induced coral bleaching is a major threat to the biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems. While reductions in species diversity and abundance of fish communities have been documented following coral bleaching, the mechanisms that underlie these changes are poorly understood. The present study examined the impacts of coral bleaching on the early life-history processes of coral reef fishes. Daily monitoring of fish settlement patterns found that ten times as many fish settled to healthy coral than sub-lethally bleached coral. Species diversity of settling fishes was least on bleached coral and greatest on dead coral, with healthy coral having intermediate levels of diversity. Laboratory experiments using light-trap caught juveniles showed that different damselfish species chose among healthy, bleached and dead coral habitats using different combinations of visual and olfactory cues. The live coral specialist, Pomacentrus moluccensis, preferred live coral and avoided bleached and dead coral, using mostly visual cues to inform their habitat choice. The habitat generalist, Pomacentrus amboinensis, also preferred live coral and avoided bleached and dead coral but selected these habitats using both visual and olfactory cues. Trials with another habitat generalist, Dischistodus sp., suggested that vision played a significant role. A 20 days field experiment that manipulated densities of P. moluccensis on healthy and bleached coral heads found an influence of fish density on juvenile weight and growth, but no significant influence of habitat quality. These results suggests that coral bleaching will affect settlement patterns and species distributions by influencing the visual and olfactory cues that reef fish larvae use to make settlement choices. Furthermore, increased fish density within the remaining healthy coral habitats could play an important role in influencing population dynamics.

Fish-derived nutrient hotspots shape coral reef benthic communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Shantz, Andrew A; Ladd, Mark C; Schrack, Elizabeth; Burkepile, Deron E

2015-12-01

Animal-derived nutrients play an important role in structuring nutrient regimes within and between ecosystems. When animals undergo repetitive, aggregating behavior through time, they can create nutrient hotspots where rates of biogeochemical activity are higher than those found in the surrounding environment. In turn, these hotspots can influence ecosystem processes and community structure. We examined the potential for reef fishes from the family Haemulidae (grunts) to create nutrient hotspots and the potential impact of these hotspots on reef communities. To do so, we tracked the schooling locations of diurnally migrating grunts, which shelter at reef sites during the day but forage off reef each night, and measured the impact of these fish schools on benthic communities. We found that grunt schools showed a high degree of site fidelity, repeatedly returning to the same coral heads. These aggregations created nutrient hotspots around coral heads where nitrogen and phosphorus delivery was roughly 10 and 7 times the respective rates of delivery to structurally similar sites that lacked schools of these fishes. In turn, grazing rates of herbivorous fishes at grunt-derived hotspots were approximately 3 times those of sites where grunts were rare. These differences in nutrient delivery and grazing led to distinct benthic communities with higher cover of crustose coralline algae and less total algal abundance at grunt aggregation sites. Importantly, coral growth was roughly 1.5 times greater at grunt hotspots, likely due to the important nutrient subsidy. Our results suggest that schooling reef fish and their nutrient subsidies play an important role in mediating community structure on coral reefs and that overfishing may have important negative consequences on ecosystem functions. As such, management strategies must consider mesopredatory fishes in addition to current protection often offered to herbivores and top-tier predators. Furthermore, our results suggest that

Survival and Passage of Juvenile Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Passing through Bonneville Dam, 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ploskey, Gene R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Batten, G. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Cushing, Aaron W. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Kim, Jin A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Johnson, Gary E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Skalski, J. R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Townsend, Richard L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Seaburg, Adam [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Weiland, Mark A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Woodley, Christa M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hughes, James S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Carlson, Thomas J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Carpenter, Scott M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Deng, Zhiqun [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Etherington, D. J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Fischer, Eric S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Fu, Tao [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Greiner, Michael J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hennen, Matthew J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Martinez, Jayson J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mitchell, T. D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Rayamajhi, Bishes [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zimmerman, Shon A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2013-02-15

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and subcontractors conducted an acoustic-telemetry study of juvenile salmonid fish passage and survival at Bonneville Dam in 2011. The study was conducted to assess the readiness of the monitoring system for official compliance studies under the 2008 Biological Opinion and Fish Accords and to assess performance measures including route-specific fish passage proportions, travel times, and survival based upon a virtual/paired-release model. The study relied on releases of live Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System tagged smolts in the Columbia River and used acoustic telemetry to evaluate the approach, passage, and survival of passing juvenile salmon using a virtual release, paired reference release survival model. This study supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ continual effort to improve conditions for juvenile anadromous fish passing through Columbia River dams.

Species composition and dietary relationships in a brackish shallow water fish assemblage in the Bothnian Sea, Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

Thorman, Staffan; Wiederholm, Anne-Marie

1984-09-01

A nearshore fish assemblage inhabiting a shallow bay in the southern Bothnian Sea, Sweden, with demanding environmental conditions (c. 5‰; >15°C during 4 months 1980 and 1 month 1981) was studied during a two-year period, in 1980 and 1981. Seasonal distribution patterns, dietary relationships, and growth rates were studied in Pungitius pungitius (L.), Pomatoschistus minutus (Pallas.), Gasterosteus aculeatus (L.), Phoxinus phoxinus (L.), Pomatoschistus microps (Krøyer) and Gobius niger L. The structure of the juvenile populations changed both over seasons and years but the adult populations remained constant. Lower water temperature, fewer individuals, lower and delayed fish growth, and lower interspecific food overlaps were found in 1981 compared to 1980. Few significant correlations were found in both years between the following community parameters: diversity, niche width, food overlap, and the proportion of each species in the fish assemblage. According to these results it is suggested that food competition and resource partitioning were of minor importance for the structuring of the fish community in the present area. Rather, the extreme salinity and the fluctuations in temperature regulated the fish populations. One may conclude that the populations of juveniles were more influenced by short-term changes in the environment than those of the adults.

Distributions of larval and juvenile/adult stages of the Antarctic myctophid fish, Electrona antarctica, off Wilkes Land in East Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Moteki, Masato; Fujii, Kentaro; Amakasu, Kazuo; Shimada, Keishi; Tanimura, Atsushi; Odate, Tsuneo

2017-06-01

Myctophid fish are an important component of the Southern Ocean food web because of their very high biomass. This study investigated the spatial distributions of larval and juvenile/adult stages of the Antarctic myctophid Electrona antarctica. Fish were sampled in January 2011 and 2012 on a transect along 140°E and in January 2013 along 110°E using two different opening/closing net systems. In total, 1075 specimens of E. antarctica were collected: 948 larvae, 127 juveniles/adults, and 2 in the transformation stage. Most larvae were collected at 5-200 m depth, with diel vertical migration (DVM) not apparent. Larvae were mainly distributed in the Modified Circumpolar Deep Water (-1.5 °C-2.0 °C). By contrast, an analysis of the echogram at 38 kHz and discrete depth samples implied that juveniles/adults undertook DVM except in the continental slope area (65.5°S). As the distribution of krill is limited to the cold water mass (<-1.5 °C) along the continental slope, E. antarctica and krill populations are spatially separated off Wilkes Land during summer. According to the previously estimated larval period of 30-47 days, E. antarctica may spawn in late November to December in the marginal ice zone or near the sea ice edge. This study suggests that the environment related to sea ice provides a nursery ground for early stage larvae of E. antarctica.

Do Mangroves Subsidize Carbon to Adjacent Mudflat Fish Communities?

Science.gov (United States)

Henkel, S.; Kasten, S.; Hartmann, J.; Staubwasser, M.; Hernandez, M. F.; West, L.; Midway, S. R.; Polito, M. J.

2017-12-01

Mangroves are often implicated as energetic sources for fisheries productivity. However, the validity of this connection still remains in contention. Stable isotopes may provide answers by tracking the use of specific basal carbon sources in fish and invertebrates living in mangrove-mudflat habitat mosaics. We analyzed 307 consumer samples representing n=44 fish and invertebrate species collected from mangrove forest creeks and adjacent mudflats in coastal Tanzania using bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Given the proposed high productivity of mangrove habitats, we hypothesize that mudflat communities will have carbon stable isotope values similar to mangrove communities either through the flux of mangrove carbon into adjacent mudflats and/or via the movement of mudflat fish communities into and out of mangrove habitats. Alternatively, mangrove carbon is often refractory, which may result in mudflat communities with isotopic values that differ from those found in adjacent mangrove communities. This scenario would suggest limited carbon flow between mudflat and mangrove food webs and that the movement of fish into and out of mangrove habitats is related to shelter from predation more than feeding. Data analysis is ongoing to test these competing hypotheses. By understanding the contribution of mangrove carbon to adjacent habitats, managers in Tanzania can make better informed decisions regarding the protection of mangroves and the local fisheries, which are a crucial source of income and food.

Interactions between fishes and the structure of fish communities in Dutch shallow, eutrophic lakes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lammens, E.

1986-01-01

This thesis describes the structure of fish communities in Tjeukemeer (21 km ²) and some other surrounding very eutrophic lakes and emphasizes the interactions of the fishes with each other and their food organisms (predation and (exploitative) competition). It is a compilation of seven

Survival and Passage of Juvenile Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Passing through Bonneville Dam, 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ploskey, Gene R.; Weiland, Mark A.; Hughes, James S.; Woodley, Christa M.; Deng, Zhiqun; Carlson, Thomas J.; Kim, Jin A.; Royer, Ida M.; Batten, George W.; Cushing, Aaron W.; Carpenter, Scott M.; Etherington, D. J.; Faber, Derrek M.; Fischer, Eric S.; Fu, Tao; Hennen, Matthew J.; Mitchell, Tyler; Monter, Tyrell J.; Skalski, John R.; Townsend, Richard L.; Zimmerman, Shon A.

2011-12-01

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and subcontractors conducted an acoustic-telemetry study of juvenile salmonid fish passage and survival at Bonneville Dam in 2010. The study was conducted to assess the readiness of the monitoring system for official compliance studies under the 2008 Biological Opinion and Fish Accords and to assess performance measures including route-specific fish passage proportions, travel times, and survival based upon a single-release model. This also was the last year of evaluation of effects of a behavioral guidance device installed in the Powerhouse 2 forebay. The study relied on releases of live Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System tagged smolts in the Columbia River and used acoustic telemetry to evaluate the approach, passage, and survival of passing juvenile salmon. This study supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continual effort to improve conditions for juvenile anadromous fish passing through Columbia River dams.

Survival and Passage of Juvenile Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Passing Through Bonneville Dam, 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ploskey, Gene R.; Weiland, Mark A.; Hughes, James S.; Woodley, Christa M.; Deng, Zhiqun; Carlson, Thomas J.; Kim, Jin A.; Royer, Ida M.; Batten, George W.; Cushing, Aaron W.; Carpenter, Scott M.; Etherington, D. J.; Faber, Derrek M.; Fischer, Eric S.; Fu, Tao; Hennen, Matthew J.; Mitchell, T. D.; Monter, Tyrell J.; Skalski, J. R.; Townsend, Richard L.; Zimmerman, Shon A.

2012-09-01

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and subcontractors conducted an acoustic-telemetry study of juvenile salmonid fish passage and survival at Bonneville Dam in 2010. The study was conducted to assess the readiness of the monitoring system for official compliance studies under the 2008 Biological Opinion and Fish Accords and to assess performance measures including route-specific fish passage proportions, travel times, and survival based upon a single-release model. This also was the last year of evaluation of effects of a behavioral guidance device installed in the Powerhouse 2 forebay. The study relied on releases of live Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System tagged smolts in the Columbia River and used acoustic telemetry to evaluate the approach, passage, and survival of passing juvenile salmon. This study supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continual effort to improve conditions for juvenile anadromous fish passing through Columbia River dams.

Assessment of the pelagic fish populations using CEN multi-mesh gillnets: consequences for the characterization of the fish communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Deceliere-Vergès

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The contribution of CEN standard pelagic nets to the assessment of fish communities is tested by comparing three metrics (species composition, species abundance, and size structures measured in accordance with the standard (i.e. using benthic nets only to those calculated from the total effort (i.e. including pelagic nets. Hydroacoustic surveys were used simultaneously to assess fish densities in the pelagic habitat. The results show that in most cases the pelagic nets did not provide any extra information about these three metrics. However, their inclusion in the calculation of CPUE and size structures may affect the picture of the fish communities, especially in lakes containing salmonid populations. This study highlights the need to sample pelagic fish when assessing fish communities in order to determine lake quality.

Monitor and Protect Wigwam River Bull Trout for Koocanusa Reservoir; Skookumchuck Creek Juvenile Bull Trout and Fish Habitat Monitoring Program, Annual Report 2002.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cope, R.

2003-06-01

The Skookumchuck Creek juvenile bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and fish habitat-monitoring program is a co-operative initiative of the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection and Bonneville Power Administration. This project was commissioned in planning for fish habitat protection and forest development within the Skookumchuck Creek watershed and was intended to expand upon similar studies initiated within the Wigwam River from 2000 to 2002. The broad intent is to develop a better understanding of juvenile bull trout and Westslope cutthroat trout recruitment and the ongoing hydrologic and morphologic processes, especially as they relate to spawning and rearing habitat quality. The 2002 project year represents the first year of a long-term bull trout-monitoring program with current studies focused on collecting baseline information. This report provides a summary of results obtained to date. Bull trout represented 72.4% of the catch. Fry dominated the catch because site selection was biased towards electrofishing sample sites which favored high bull trout fry capture success. The mean density of all juvenile bull trout was estimated to be 6.6 fish/100m{sup 2}. This represents one-half the densities reported for the 2002 Wigwam River enumeration program, even though enumeration of bull trout redds was an order of magnitude higher for the Wigwam River. Typically, areas with combined fry and juvenile densities greater than 1.5 fish per 100 m{sup 2} are cited as critical rearing areas. Trends in abundance appeared to be related to proximity to spawning areas, bed material size, and water depth. Cover components utilized by juvenile and adult bull trout and cutthroat trout were interstices, boulder, depth, overhead vegetation and LWD. The range of morphological stream types encompass the stable and resilient spectrum (C3(1), C3 and B3c). The Skookumchuck can be generalized as a slightly entrenched, meandering, riffle-pool, cobble dominated

Effects of reservoirs water level variations on fish recruitment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabíula T. de Lima

2017-10-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The construction of hydroelectric power plants has many social and environmental impacts. Among them, the impacts on fish communities, which habitats are drastically modified by dams, with consequences across the ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the influence of water level (WL variations in the reservoirs of the Itá and Machadinho hydroelectric plants on the recruitment of fish species from the upper Uruguay River in southern Brazil. The data analyzed resulted from the WL variation produced exclusively by the hydroelectric plants generation and were collected between the years 2001 and 2012. The results showed significant correlations between the abundance of juvenile fish and the hydrological parameters only for some reproductive guilds. The species that spawn in nests showed, in general, a clear preference for the stability in the WL of the reservoirs, while the species that spawn in macrophytes or that release demersal eggs showed no significant correlation between the abundance of juvenile fish and hydrological parameters. A divergence of results between the two reservoirs was observed between the species that release semi-dense eggs; a positive correlation with a more stable WL was only observed in the Machadinho reservoir. This result can be driven by a wider range of WL variation in Machadinho reservoir.

Fish communities of the Wilderness Lakes System in the southern Cape, South Africa

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Alexis A. Olds

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The Wilderness Lakes System, a temporarily open and closed estuary with three associated lakes situated in the southern Cape region of South Africa, was sampled using a range of sampling gears to assess the fish community. A total of 25 species were sampled throughout the system, with the highest diversity in the Touw Estuary (23 species and the lowest in Langvlei (11 species. Estuary-associated marine species (13 species dominated species richness with smaller proportions of estuarine resident (7 species, freshwater (3 species and catadromous species (2 species. Estuarine resident species dominated the catch numerically. The size–class distribution of euryhaline marine species indicated that upon entering the Touw Estuary as juveniles, the fish move up the system towards Rondevlei where they appear to remain. Three freshwater species were recorded in the system, all of which are alien to the Wilderness Lakes System. Decreasing salinity in the upper lakes appears to be a driving factor in the distribution and increasing abundance of the freshwater fishes. Sampling followed a drought, with the system experiencing substantially increased levels of mouth closure compared to a similar study conducted in the 1980s. The timing of mouth opening and the degree of connectivity between the lakes influence the nursery function of the system as a whole. Management actions need to focus on improving ecological functioning of this system, in particular how mouth opening is managed, to facilitate nursery function and limit the establishment of invasive species. Conservation implications: Key management actions are required to improve fish recruitment potential into and within the system. These include maintenance of adequate marine inflow through adherence to artificial mouth breaching protocols and improving connectivity between the lakes through sediment removal from localised deposition points within the connecting channels.

Ictiofauna juvenil de fondos blandos durante la transición de "secas" a lluvias en la costa pacífica de Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrés Velasco

2000-03-01

concluded that: (1 The area surveyed represents an important nursery and growth habitat for juvenile fish of many species that are more common as adults over soft bottoms in deep waters of the continental shelf; (2 this shallow soft bottom fish community is clearly separated from those species inhabiting intertidal salt marshes, interior bays and mangrove areas; and (3 some of the fish species commonly living in rocky and reef habitats in adult stages, spend their juvenile stage over shallow water soft bottoms. These results confirm a rather strong niche separation between juvenile and adults fish species stages in tropical waters.

Modelling population effects of juvenile offshore fish displacement towards adult habitat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van de Wolfshaar, K.E.; Tulp, I.; Wennhage, H.

2015-01-01

consequences on population dynamics through changes in resource use and competition. To explore this, a conceptual stage-structured model was developed with 3 stages and 2 resources and allowing a move of large juveniles from the shallow to the deep habitat. Large juveniles compete with small juveniles...... in shallow waters and with adults in deeper waters. Alternative stable states occur, with one state dominated by small juvenile biomass and the other dominated by adult biomass. The model results show for both states that while large juvenile biomass responds to a change in time spent in the deep habitat...

Juvenile Court Statistics - 1972.

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Youth Development (DHEW), Washington, DC.

This report is a statistical study of juvenile court cases in 1972. The data demonstrates how the court is frequently utilized in dealing with juvenile delinquency by the police as well as by other community agencies and parents. Excluded from this report are the ordinary traffic cases handled by juvenile court. The data indicate that: (1) in…

Distance from a fishing community explains fish abundance in a no-take zone with weak compliance.

Science.gov (United States)

Advani, Sahir; Rix, Laura N; Aherne, Danielle M; Alwany, Magdy A; Bailey, David M

2015-01-01

There are numerous examples of no-take marine reserves effectively conserving fish stocks within their boundaries. However, no-take reserves can be rendered ineffective and turned into 'paper parks' through poor compliance and weak enforcement of reserve regulations. Long-term monitoring is thus essential to assess the effectiveness of marine reserves in meeting conservation and management objectives. This study documents the present state of the 15-year old no-take zone (NTZ) of South El Ghargana within the Nabq Managed Resource Protected Area, South Sinai, Egyptian Red Sea. Previous studies credited willing compliance by the local fishing community for the increased abundances of targeted fish within the designated NTZ boundaries compared to adjacent fished or take-zones. We compared benthic habitat and fish abundance within the NTZ and the adjacent take sites open to fishing, but found no significant effect of the reserve. Instead, the strongest evidence was for a simple negative relationship between fishing pressure and distance from the closest fishing village. The abundance of targeted piscivorous fish increased significantly with increasing distance from the village, while herbivorous fish showed the opposite trend. This gradient was supported by a corresponding negative correlation between the amount of discarded fishing gear observed on the reef and increasing distance from the village. Discarded fishing gear within the NTZ suggested decreased compliance with the no-take regulations. Our findings indicate that due to non-compliance the no-take reserve is no longer functioning effectively, despite its apparent initial successes and instead a gradient of fishing pressure exists with distance from the nearest fishing community.

Spatial and temporal repeatability in parasite community structure of tropical fish hosts.

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal-Martínez, V M; Poulin, R

2003-10-01

An assessment is made of the repeatability of parasite community structure in space for a marine fish, and in space and time for a freshwater fish from south-eastern Mexico. The marine fish species was the red grouper, Epinephelus morio (collected from 9 localities), and the freshwater species was the cichlid, Cichlasoma urophthalmus (collected from 6 localities: including monthly at 2 localities for 1 year, and bimonthly at 1 locality in 1990 and 1999). Pairwise interspecific associations and analyses of nested patterns in the distributions of parasite species among hosts were used in both fish species, with comparisons over time made only with the cichlid. Positive interspecific associations, and nested patterns were noted in some localities for both fish species, and/or at some sampling times for the cichlid fish. However, non-random patterns in the structure of parasite communities in these 2 host species only were observed sporadically. When present, nestedness in both fish species was apparently linked with a positive association between total infection intensities and fish size. Additionally, adjacent localities were more likely to display similar parasite community structure than distant ones. This preliminary result suggests that distance between localities is an important determinant of predictability in parasite community structure.

Spatial match-mismatch between juvenile fish and prey provides a mechanism for recruitment variability across contrasting climate conditions in the eastern Bering Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddon, Elizabeth Calvert; Kristiansen, Trond; Mueter, Franz J; Holsman, Kirstin K; Heintz, Ron A; Farley, Edward V

2013-01-01

Understanding mechanisms behind variability in early life survival of marine fishes through modeling efforts can improve predictive capabilities for recruitment success under changing climate conditions. Walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) support the largest single-species commercial fishery in the United States and represent an ecologically important component of the Bering Sea ecosystem. Variability in walleye pollock growth and survival is structured in part by climate-driven bottom-up control of zooplankton composition. We used two modeling approaches, informed by observations, to understand the roles of prey quality, prey composition, and water temperature on juvenile walleye pollock growth: (1) a bioenergetics model that included local predator and prey energy densities, and (2) an individual-based model that included a mechanistic feeding component dependent on larval development and behavior, local prey densities and size, and physical oceanographic conditions. Prey composition in late-summer shifted from predominantly smaller copepod species in the warmer 2005 season to larger species in the cooler 2010 season, reflecting differences in zooplankton composition between years. In 2010, the main prey of juvenile walleye pollock were more abundant, had greater biomass, and higher mean energy density, resulting in better growth conditions. Moreover, spatial patterns in prey composition and water temperature lead to areas of enhanced growth, or growth 'hot spots', for juvenile walleye pollock and survival may be enhanced when fish overlap with these areas. This study provides evidence that a spatial mismatch between juvenile walleye pollock and growth 'hot spots' in 2005 contributed to poor recruitment while a higher degree of overlap in 2010 resulted in improved recruitment. Our results indicate that climate-driven changes in prey quality and composition can impact growth of juvenile walleye pollock, potentially severely affecting recruitment variability.

Trait-based approaches in the analysis of stream fish communities

Science.gov (United States)

Frimpong, Emmanuel; Angermeier, Paul

2010-01-01

Species traits are used to study the functional organization of fish communities for a range of reasons, from simply reducing data dimensionality to providing mechanistic explanations for observed variation in communities. Ecological and life history traits have been used to understand the basic ecology of fishes and predict (1) species and community responses to habitat and climate alteration, and (2) species extinction, species invasion, and community homogenization. Many approaches in this arena have been developed during the past three decades, but they often have not been integrated with related ecological concepts or subdisciplines, which has led to confusion in terminology. We review 102 studies of species traits and then summarize patterns in traits being used and questions being addressed with trait-based approaches. Overall, studies of fish–habitat relationships that apply habitat templates and hierarchical filters dominate our sample; the most frequently used traits are related to feeding. We define and show the relationships among key terms such as fundamental and realized niches; functional traits, performance, and fitness; tactic, trait-state, syndromes, and strategies; and guilds and functional groups. We propose accelerating research to (1) quantify trait plasticity, (2) identify traits useful for testing ecological hypotheses, (3) model habitat and biotic interactions in communities while explicitly accounting for phylogenetic relationships, (4) explore how traits control community assembly, and (5) document the importance of traits in fish– community responses to anthropogenic change and in delivering ecosystem services. Further synthesis of these topics is still needed to develop concepts, models, and principles that can unify the disparate approaches taken in trait-based analysis of fish communities, link fish community ecology to general community ecology, and inform sustainable management of ecosystems.

Invasive lionfish harbor a different external bacterial community than native Bahamian fishes

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, J. L.; Olson, J. B.

2013-12-01

The introduction and subsequent spread of lionfish into the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea has become a worldwide conservation issue. These highly successful invaders may also be capable of introducing non-native microorganisms to the invaded regions. This study compared the bacterial communities associated with lionfish external tissue to those of native Bahamian fishes and ambient water. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses demonstrated that lionfish bacterial communities were significantly different than those associated with three native Bahamian fishes. Additionally, all fishes harbored distinct bacterial communities from the ambient bacterioplankton. Analysis of bacterial clone libraries from invasive lionfish and native squirrelfish indicated that lionfish communities were more diverse than those associated with squirrelfish, yet did not contain known fish pathogens. Using microscopy and molecular genetic approaches, lionfish eggs were examined for the presence of bacteria to evaluate the capacity for vertical transmission. Eggs removed from the ovaries of gravid females were free of bacteria, suggesting that lionfish likely acquire bacteria from the environment. This study was the first examination of bacterial communities associated with the invasive lionfish and indicated that they support different communities of environmentally derived bacteria than Caribbean reef fishes.

Application of the target fish community model to an urban river system.

Science.gov (United States)

Meixler, Marcia S

2011-04-01

Several models have been developed to assess the biological integrity of aquatic systems using fish community data. One of these, the target fish community (TFC) model, has been used primarily to assess the biological integrity of larger, mainstem rivers in southern New England with basins characterized by dispersed human activities. We tested the efficacy of the TFC approach to specify the fish community in the highly urbanized Charles River watershed in eastern Massachusetts. To create a TFC for the Charles River we assembled a list of fish species that historically inhabited the Charles River watershed, identified geomorphically and zoogeographically similar reference rivers regarded as being in high quality condition, amassed fish survey data for the reference rivers, and extracted from the collections the information needed to define a TFC. We used a similarity measurement method to assess the extent to which the study river community complies with the TFC and an inference approach to summarize the manner in which the existing fish community differed from target conditions. The five most abundant species in the TFC were common shiners (34%), fallfish (17%) redbreast sunfish (11%), white suckers (8%), and American eel (7%). Three of the five species predicted to be most abundant in the TFC were scarce or absent in the existing river community. Further, the river was dominated by macrohabitat generalists (99%) while the TFC was predicted to contain 19% fluvial specialist species, 43% fluvial dependent species, and 38% macrohabitat generalist species. In addition, while the target community was dominated by fish intolerant (37%) and moderately tolerant (39%) of water quality degradation, the existing community was dominated by tolerant individuals (59%) and lacked intolerant species expected in the TFC. Similarity scores for species, habitat use specialization, and water quality degradation tolerance categories were 28%, 35% and 66%, respectively. The clear

Criteria for sustainable fisheries on juveniles illustrated for Mediterranean hake: control the juvenile harvest, and safeguard spawning refugia to rebuild population fecundity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John F. Caddy

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The paper provides a broad overview of issues relevant to management of fisheries for juvenile fish in contrast to the many stock assessments following Beverton and Holt’s (1957 approach for rational exploitation of mature fishes. A perspective on assessing these fisheries is illustrated for juvenile European hake, Merluccius merluccius, in the northwestern Mediterranean. Here, a constant natural mortality (M assumption is incorrect, as is the assumption that high fecundities are necessarily adequate for stock replacement. The high Ms-at-age for juveniles generated by the reciprocal model are shown to be a logical counterpart to the high fecundity of hake. Charnov’s criterion of intergenerational reproductive replacement is used to test for a sustainable population, analogous to a limit reference point warning of the dangers of overfishing beyond population replacement. Once peak mortality rates of age 2 hake exceed F(2=1.1-1.2, which is currently the case, reproductive replacement may be at risk. Adult exploitation by inshore trawls is low, and maturing hake surviving the fine-mesh trawl fishery migrate offshore with a reduced vulnerability to fine-mesh gears. Early research suggested that rough bottom near the shelf edge once formed a refugium protecting offshore spawners from trawling, and led to abundant recruitment of juveniles nearer shore. It may not do so if offshore fishing effort by reinforced bottom trawls, gill nets and longlines is uncontrolled. Restoring offshore refugia to protect spawners and controlling peak fishing mortality of juveniles would be a precautionary strategy aimed at restoring previous levels of recruitment to the small-mesh trawl fishery.

Behavior and movement of formerly landlocked juvenile coho salmon after release into the free-flowing Cowlitz River, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Kock, Tobias J.; Henning, Julie A.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Royer, Ida M.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Rondorf, Dennis W.

2011-01-01

Formerly landlocked Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) juveniles (age 2) were monitored following release into the free-flowing Cowlitz River to determine if they remained in the river or resumed seaward migration. Juvenile Coho Salmon were tagged with a radio transmitter (30 fish) or Floy tag (1050 fish) and their behavior was monitored in the lower Cowlitz River. We found that 97% of the radio-tagged fish remained in the Cowlitz River beyond the juvenile outmigration period, and the number of fish dispersing downstream decreased with increasing distance from the release site. None of the tagged fish returned as spawning adults in the 2 y following release. We suspect that fish in our study failed to migrate because they exceeded a threshold in size, age, or physiological status. Tagged fish in our study primarily remained in the Cowlitz River, thus it is possible that these fish presented challenges to juvenile salmon migrating through the system either directly by predation or indirectly by competition for food or habitat. Given these findings, returning formerly landlocked Coho Salmon juveniles to the free-flowing river apparently provided no benefit to the anadromous population. These findings have management implications in locations where landlocked salmon have the potential to interact with anadromous species of concern.

Marine nurseries and effective juvenile habitats: concepts and applications.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dahlgren, C.P.; Kellison, G.T.; Adams, A.J.; Gillanders, B.M.; Kendall, M.S.; Layman, C.A.; Ley, J.A.; Nagelkerken, I.; Serafy, J.E.

2006-01-01

Much recent attention has been focused on juvenile fish and invertebrate habitat use, particularly defining and identifying marine nurseries. The most significant advancement in this area has been the development of a standardized framework for assessing the relative importance of juvenile habitats

78 FR 28805 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-16

... and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS..., NMFS received an application, including an HGMP, from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, a section... the Snake River basin, rear juveniles, and release eggs, juveniles, and adult fish into upper Salmon...

78 FR 25954 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-03

... and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS... 15, 2012, NMFS received an application, including an HGMP, from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game... salmon returning to the Snake River basin, rear juveniles, and release eggs, juveniles, and adult fish...

Verification of a ‘freshwater-type’ life history variant of juvenile American shad in the Columbia River

Science.gov (United States)

Wetzel, Lisa A.; Larsen, Kimberly A.; Parsley, Michael J.; Zimmerman, Christian E.

2011-01-01

American shad are native to the Atlantic coast of North America and were successfully introduced to the Pacific coast in the 1870s. They are now more abundant in the Columbia River than are its native salmon. As in their native range, Columbia River American shad are anadromous and have been assumed to solely exhibit an ‘ocean-type’ life history, characterized by a short period of juvenile rearing in freshwater, followed by seaward migration and saltwater entry before age-1, with sexually mature individuals returning to freshwater to spawn beginning at age-3. During October 2007, emigrating juvenile American shad were captured in the juvenile fish monitoring facility at Bonneville Dam (river kilometer 235) on the Columbia River. Their length frequencies revealed the presence of two modes; the lower mode averaged 77 mm fork length (FL) and the upper mode averaged 184 mm FL. A subsample of fish from each mode was aged using otoliths. Otoliths from the lower mode (n=10) had no annuli, indicating that they were all age-0, while otoliths from the upper mode (n=25) had one or two annuli, indicating that they were either age-1 or age-2, respectively. Spawning adults collected in June 2007 averaged 393 mm FL (range 305-460 mm; n=21) and were estimated to range in age from 3-6. Elemental analyses of juvenile and adult otoliths provide evidence for deviations from the typical migration pattern expected for this species, including extensive freshwater rearing of up to two years. This evidence shows that a ‘freshwater-type’ of juvenile American shad exists as year-round or transient residents in the Columbia River basin. The ecological role of this life history variant within the fish community is unknown.

Habitat loss and gain: Influence on habitat attractiveness for estuarine fish communities

Science.gov (United States)

Amorim, Eva; Ramos, Sandra; Elliott, Michael; Franco, Anita; Bordalo, Adriano A.

2017-10-01

Habitat structure and complexity influence the structuring and functioning of fish communities. Habitat changes are one of the main pressures affecting estuarine systems worldwide, yet the degree and rate of change and its impact on fish communities is still poorly understood. In order to quantify historical modifications in habitat structure, an ecohydrological classification system using physiotopes, i.e. units with homogenous abiotic characteristics, was developed for the lower Lima estuary (NW Portugal). Field data, aerial imagery, historical maps and interpolation methods were used to map input variables, including bathymetry, substratum (hard/soft), sediment composition, hydrodynamics (current velocity) and vegetation coverage. Physiotopes were then mapped for the years of 1933 and 2013 and the areas lost and gained over the 80 years were quantified. The implications of changes for the benthic and demersal fish communities using the lower estuary were estimated using the attractiveness to those communities of each physiotope, while considering the main estuarine habitat functions for fish, namely spawning, nursery, feeding and refuge areas and migratory routes. The lower estuary was highly affected due to urbanisation and development and, following a port/harbour expansion, its boundary moved seaward causing an increase in total area. Modifications led to the loss of most of its sandy and saltmarsh intertidal physiotopes, which were replaced by deeper subtidal physiotopes. The most attractive physiotopes for fish (defined as the way in which they supported the fish ecological features) decreased in area while less attractive ones increased, producing an overall lower attractiveness of the studied area in 2013 compared to 1933. The implications of habitat alterations for the fish using the estuary include potential changes in the nursery carrying capacity and the functioning of the fish community. The study also highlighted the poor knowledge of the impacts of

Adaptation of the fish juvenile growth test (OECD TG 215, 2000) to the marine species Dicentrarchus labrax.

Science.gov (United States)

Tornambè, A; Manfra, L; Canepa, S; Oteri, F; Martuccio, G; Cicero, A M; Magaletti, E

2018-02-01

The OECD TG 215 method (2000) (C.14 method of EC Regulation 440/2008) was developed on the rainbow trout (Oncorynchus mykiss) to assess chronic toxicity (28d) of chemicals on fish juveniles. It contemplates to use other well documented species identifying suitable conditions to evaluate their growth. OECD proposes the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax, L. 1758) as Mediterranean species among vertebrates recommended in the OECD guidelines for the toxicity testing of chemicals. In this context, our study is aimed to proposing the adaptation of the growth test (OECD TG 215, 2000) to D. labrax. For this purpose toxicity tests were performed with sodium dodecyl sulfate, a reference toxicant commonly used in fish toxicity assays. The main aspects of the testing procedure were reviewed: fish size (weight), environmental conditions, dilution water type, experimental design, loading rate and stocking density, feeding (food type and ration), test validity criteria. The experience gained from growth tests with the sea bass allows to promote its inclusion among the species to be used for the C.14 method. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Distance from a fishing community explains fish abundance in a no-take zone with weak compliance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahir Advani

Full Text Available There are numerous examples of no-take marine reserves effectively conserving fish stocks within their boundaries. However, no-take reserves can be rendered ineffective and turned into 'paper parks' through poor compliance and weak enforcement of reserve regulations. Long-term monitoring is thus essential to assess the effectiveness of marine reserves in meeting conservation and management objectives. This study documents the present state of the 15-year old no-take zone (NTZ of South El Ghargana within the Nabq Managed Resource Protected Area, South Sinai, Egyptian Red Sea. Previous studies credited willing compliance by the local fishing community for the increased abundances of targeted fish within the designated NTZ boundaries compared to adjacent fished or take-zones. We compared benthic habitat and fish abundance within the NTZ and the adjacent take sites open to fishing, but found no significant effect of the reserve. Instead, the strongest evidence was for a simple negative relationship between fishing pressure and distance from the closest fishing village. The abundance of targeted piscivorous fish increased significantly with increasing distance from the village, while herbivorous fish showed the opposite trend. This gradient was supported by a corresponding negative correlation between the amount of discarded fishing gear observed on the reef and increasing distance from the village. Discarded fishing gear within the NTZ suggested decreased compliance with the no-take regulations. Our findings indicate that due to non-compliance the no-take reserve is no longer functioning effectively, despite its apparent initial successes and instead a gradient of fishing pressure exists with distance from the nearest fishing community.

Avian predation on juvenile salmonids in the Lower Columbia River; 1998 annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collis, Ken; Adamany, Stephanie; Roby, Daniel D.; Craig, David P.; Lyons, Donald E.

2000-01-01

The authors initiated a field study in 1997 to assess the impacts of fish-eating colonial waterbirds (i.e., terns, cormorants, and gulls) on the survival of juvenile salmonids in the lower Columbia River. Here the authors present results from the 1998 breeding season, the second field season of work on this project. The research objectives in 1998 were to: (1) determine the location, size, nesting chronology, nesting success, and population trajectories of breeding colonies of fish-eating birds in the lower Columbia River; (2) determine diet composition of fish-eating birds, including taxonomic composition and energy content of various prey types; (3) estimate forage fish consumption rates, with special emphasis on juvenile salmonids, by breeding adults and their young; (4) determine the relative vulnerability of different groups of juvenile salmonids to bird predation; (5) identify foraging range, foraging strategies, and habitat utilization by piscivorous waterbirds; and (6) test the feasibility of various alternative methods for managing avian predation on juvenile salmonids and develop recommendations to reduce avian predation, if warranted by the results

Avian Predation on Juvenile Salmonids in the Lower Columbia River: 1998 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collis, Ken; Adamany, Stephanie; Roby, Daniel D.; Craig, David P.; Lyons, Donald E.

2000-04-01

The authors initiated a field study in 1997 to assess the impacts of fish-eating colonial waterbirds (i.e., terns, cormorants, and gulls) on the survival of juvenile salmonids in the lower Columbia River. Here the authors present results from the 1998 breeding season, the second field season of work on this project. The research objectives in 1998 were to: (1) determine the location, size, nesting chronology, nesting success, and population trajectories of breeding colonies of fish-eating birds in the lower Columbia River; (2) determine diet composition of fish-eating birds, including taxonomic composition and energy content of various prey types; (3) estimate forage fish consumption rates, with special emphasis on juvenile salmonids, by breeding adults and their young; (4) determine the relative vulnerability of different groups of juvenile salmonids to bird predation; (5) identify foraging range, foraging strategies, and habitat utilization by piscivorous waterbirds; and (6) test the feasibility of various alternative methods for managing avian predation on juvenile salmonids and develop recommendations to reduce avian predation, if warranted by the results.

The offshore fish community in southern Lake Ontario, 1972-1998

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, Randall W.; O'Gorman, Robert; Eckert, Thomas H.; Lantry, Brian F.; Munawar, M.

2003-01-01

The authors document the status of Lake Ontario's open-water fish community in 1972, near the beginning of an era of massive fish stocking and when phosphorus levels in the lake from anthropogenic inputs, were near their peak. They then describe changes that occurred in the fish community in 1978-98. This was a period when large numbers of young salmonid piscivores were released annually, sea lamprey control continued to improve, and phosphorus levels were declining due to successful nutrient abatement programs. Coincident with the above, the lower food web was changed by the addition of new exotic invertebrates, the zooplankter Bythotrephes cederstroemi and particularly the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, and quagga mussel, D. bugensis. The picture of the fish community structure is drawn from records of catches in bottom trawls and gill nets during surveys of southern Lake Ontario conducted the the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC), from records of fish stocked in Lake Ontario by the NYDEC, and from a creel census of boat anglers returning to southern Lake Ontario ports conducted by the NYDEC.

The effects of diets containing standard soybean oil, soybean oil enhanced with conjugated linoleic acids, menhaden fish oil, or an algal docosahexaenoic acid supplement on juvenile channel catfish performance, hematology

Science.gov (United States)

Current commercial diets for Channel Catfish contain little or no marine fish oil to reduce diet cost and address environmental concerns. However, there is conflicting data on the effects of fish oil and other lipid sources in juvenile Channel Catfish, and some novel lipids have not been tested agai...

Evaluation of a recirculating pond system for rearing juvenile freshwater mussels at White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery, West Virginia, U.S.A.

Science.gov (United States)

Mummert, A.; Newcomb, T.J.; Neves, R.J.; Parker, B.

2006-01-01

A recirculating double-pond system at White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery in West Virginia, U.S.A., was evaluated for suitability for culturing juvenile freshwater mussels. Newly metamorphosed juveniles of Villosa iris and Lampsilis fasciola were placed in the system, and their growth and survival were evaluated for 94 days. Throughout the study, parameters of water quality remained within ranges suitable for mussel survival. Planktonic algal densities in the pond system ranged from 2850 to 6892 cells/ml. Thirty-seven algal taxa were identified, primarily green algae (Chlorophyta), diatoms (Bacillariophyceae), and blue-green algae (Cyanoprokaryota). Over the culture period, juveniles of L. fasciola experienced significantly lower (p fasciola may indicate a failure of the flow-through pond environment to meet its habitat requirements or that variable microhabitat conditions within culture containers existed. Growth did not differ significantly between the species (p = 0.13). Survival of V. iris and growth of both species were similar to previous trials to culture juvenile mussels. Survival rates as high as 66.4% at 93 days for V. iris suggest that juveniles of some riverine species can be successfully cultured in a recirculating pond environment.

Effects of Changes in Food Supply at the Time of Sex Differentiation on the Gonadal Transcriptome of Juvenile Fish. Implications for Natural and Farmed Populations

OpenAIRE

Díaz, Noelia; Ribas, Laia; Piferrer, Francesc

2014-01-01

Background: Food supply is a major factor influencing growth rates in animals. This has important implications for both natural and farmed fish populations, since food restriction may difficult reproduction. However, a study on the effects of food supply on the development of juvenile gonads has never been transcriptionally described in fish. Methods and Findings: This study investigated the consequences of growth on gonadal transcriptome of European sea bass in: 1) 4-month-old sexually undif...

Molecular Identification of Adult and Juvenile Linyphiid and Theridiid Spiders in Alpine Glacier Foreland Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Raso, Lorna; Sint, Daniela; Rief, Alexander; Kaufmann, Rüdiger; Traugott, Michael

2014-01-01

In glacier forelands spiders constitute a large proportion of the invertebrate community. Therefore, it is important to be able to determine the species that can be found in these areas. Linyphiid and theridiid spider identification is currently not possible in juvenile specimens using traditional morphological based methods, however, a large proportion of the population in these areas are usually juveniles. Molecular methods permit identification of species at different life stages, making juvenile identification possible. In this study we tested a molecular tool to identify the 10 most common species of Linyphiidae and Theridiidae found in three glacier foreland communities of the Austrian Alps. Two multiplex PCR systems were developed and over 90% of the 753 field-collected spiders were identified successfully. The species targeted were found to be common in all three valleys during the summer of 2010. A comparison between the molecular and morphological data showed that although there was a slight difference in the results, the overall outcome was the same independently of the identification method used. We believe the quick and reliable identification of the spiders via the multiplex PCR assays developed here will aid the study of these families in Alpine habitats. PMID:25050841

Implementation outcomes of Multidimensional Family Therapy-Detention to Community: a reintegration program for drug-using juvenile detainees.

Science.gov (United States)

Liddle, Howard A; Dakof, Gayle A; Henderson, Craig; Rowe, Cindy

2011-06-01

Responding to urgent calls for effective interventions to address young offenders' multiple and interconnected problems, a new variant of an existing empirically-validated intervention for drug-using adolescents, Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT)-Detention to Community (DTC) was tested in a two-site controlled trial. This article (a) outlines the rationale and protocol basics of the MDFT-DTC intervention, a program for substance-using juvenile offenders that links justice and substance abuse treatment systems to facilitate adolescents' post-detention community reintegration; (b) presents implementation outcomes, including fidelity, treatment engagement and retention rates, amount of services received, treatment satisfaction, and substance abuse-juvenile justice system collaboration outcomes; and (c) details the implementation and sustainability challenges in a cross-system (substance abuse treatment and juvenile justice) adolescent intervention. Findings support the effectiveness of the MDFT-DTC intervention, and the need to develop a full implementation model in which transfer and dissemination issues could be explored more fully, and tested experimentally.

Juvenile groundfish habitat in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, during late summer

Science.gov (United States)

Abookire, Alisa A.; Piatt, John F.; Norcross, Brenda L.

2001-01-01

We investigated the habitat of juvenile groundfishes in relation to depth, water temperature, and salinity in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Stations ranging in depth from 10 to 70 m and with sand or mud-sand substrates were sampled with a small-meshed beam trawl in August-September of 1994 to 1999. A total of 8,201 fishes were captured, comprising at least 52 species. Most fishes (91%) had a total length 5% of the total catch) were flathead sole Hippoglossoides elassodon, slim sculpin Radulinus asprellus, Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis, and arrowtooth flounder Atheresthes stomias. Depth accounted for most of the spatial variability in juvenile groundfish abundance, and neither temperature nor salinity was correlated with fish abundance. Juvenile groundfishes concentrated in either shallow (less than or equal to 20 m) or deep (50-70 m) water, with co-occurrence of some species between 30-40 m. Shallow fishes were the rock soles, Pacific halibut, and great sculpin Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus. Deep species were flathead sole, slim sculpin, spinycheek starsnout Bathyagonus infraspinatus, rex sole Glyptocephalus zachirus, tadpole sculpin Psychrolutes paradoxus, and whitebarred prickleback Poroclinus rothrocki. This 6-year study provides baseline data on relative abundance and distribution of juvenile groundfishes in Kachemak Bay and may provide a useful tool for predicting the presence of species in similar habitats in other areas of Alaska.

Occurrence of black-spot disease caused by metacercariae of Posthodiplostomum cuticola among juvenile fishes in water bodies in the Morava River basin

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ondračková, Markéta; Bartošová, Šárka; Valová, Zdenka; Jurajda, Pavel; Gelnar, M.

2004-01-01

Roč. 49, č. 3 (2004), s. 222-227 ISSN 1230-2821 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA524/02/0924 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z6093917 Keywords : Digenea * juvenile fish * host susceptibility Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 0.560, year: 2004 http://www.actaparasitologica.pan.pl/archive/49/toc49130.html

Transactional sex in the fishing communities along Lake Victoria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study describes the nature, context and implications of a unique form of transactional sexual relationships in the fishing communities along Lake Victoria in Kisumu County, Kenya. We conducted 12 focus group discussions and 17 key informant interviews among fishermen, fishmongers and fish transporters in Kisumu.

Anesthesia of juvenile Pacific Lampreys with MS-222, BENZOAK, AQUI-S 20E, and Aquacalm

Science.gov (United States)

Christiansen, Helena E.; Gee, Lisa P.; Mesa, Matthew G.

2013-01-01

Effective anesthetics are a critical component of safe and humane fish handling procedures. We tested three concentrations each of four anesthetics—Finquel (tricaine methanesulfonate, herein referred to as MS-222), BENZOAK (20% benzocaine), AQUI-S 20E (10% eugenol), and Aquacalm (metomidate hydrochloride)—for efficacy and safety in metamorphosed, outmigrating juvenile Pacific Lampreys Entosphenus tridentatus. The anesthetics MS-222 (100 mg/L) and BENZOAK (60 mg/L) were the most effective for anesthetizing juvenile Pacific Lampreys to a handleable state with minimal irritation to the fish. Fish anesthetized with BENZOAK also had lower rates of fungal infection than those exposed to MS-222, AQUI-S 20E, or no anesthetic. Exposure to AQUI-S 20E irritated juvenile Pacific Lampreys, causing them to leap or climb out of the anesthetic solution, and Aquacalm anesthetized fish to a handleable state too slowly and incompletely for effective use with routine handling procedures. Our results indicate that MS-222 and BENZOAK are effective anesthetics for juvenile Pacific Lampreys, but field studies are needed to determine whether exposure to MS-222 increases risk of fungal infection in juvenile Pacific Lampreys released to the wild.

Rates of consumption of juvenile salmonids and alternative prey fish by northern squawfish, walleyes, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish in John Day Reservoir, Columbia River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vigg, S.; Poe, T.P.; Prendergast, L.A.; Hansel, H.C.

1991-01-01

Adult northern squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonesis, walleyes Stizostedion vitreum, smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu, and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were sampled from four regions of John Day Reservoir from April to August 1983-1986 to quantify their consumption of 13 species of prey fish, particularly seaward-migrating juvenile Pacific salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus spp.). Consumption rates were estimated from field data on stomach contents and digestion rate relations determined in previous investigations. For each predator, consumption rates varied by reservoir area, month, time of day, and predator size or age. The greatest daily consumption of salmonids by northern squawfish and channel catfish occurred in the upper end of the reservoir below McNary Dam. Greatest daily predation by walleyes and smallmouth bass occurred in the middle and lower reservoir. Consumption rates of all predators were highest in July, concurrent with maximum temperature and abundance of juvenile salmonids. Feeding by the predators tended to peak after dawn and near midnight. Northern squawfish below McNary Dam exhibited this pattern, but fed mainly in the morning hours down-reservoir. The daily ration of total prey fish was highest for northern squawfish over 451 mm fork length, for walleyes 201-250 mm, for smallmouth bass 176-200 mm, and for channel catfish 401-450 mm. Averaged over all predator sizes and sampling months (April-August), the total daily ration (fish plus other prey) of smallmouth bass was about twice that of channel catfish, northern squawfish, and walleyes. However, northern squawfish was clearly the major predator on juvenile salmonids

Exploring fish microbial communities to mitigate emerging diseases in aquaculture.

Science.gov (United States)

de Bruijn, Irene; Liu, Yiying; Wiegertjes, Geert F; Raaijmakers, Jos M

2018-01-01

Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal food sector worldwide and expected to further increase to feed the growing human population. However, existing and (re-)emerging diseases are hampering fish and shellfish cultivation and yield. For many diseases, vaccination protocols are not in place and the excessive use of antibiotics and other chemicals is of substantial concern. A more sustainable disease control strategy to protect fish and shellfish from (re-)emerging diseases could be achieved by introduction or augmentation of beneficial microbes. To establish and maintain a 'healthy' fish microbiome, a fundamental understanding of the diversity and temporal-spatial dynamics of fish-associated microbial communities and their impact on growth and health of their aquatic hosts is required. This review describes insights in the diversity and functions of the fish bacterial communities elucidated with next-generation sequencing and discusses the potential of the microbes to mitigate (re-)emerging diseases in aquaculture. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effects of fishing disturbance on benthic communities and secondary production within an intensively fished area

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reiss, H.; Greenstreet, S.P.R.; Sieben, K.; Ehrich, S.; Piet, G.J.; Quirijns, F.; Wolff, W.J.; Kroncke, I.

2009-01-01

Demersal fishing alters seabed habitats and affects the structure and functioning of benthic invertebrate communities. At a critical level of disturbance, such communities may approach an equilibrium disturbed state in which a further increase in disturbance has little additional impact. Such

Induction and recovery of morphofunctional changes in the intestine of juvenile carnivorous fish (Epinephelus coioides) upon exposure to foodborne benzo[a]pyrene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yuen, Bonny B.H. [Centre for Coastal Pollution and Conservation, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States); Wong, Chris K.C. [Department of Biology, Baptist University of Hong Kong, Waterloo Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); Woo, N.Y.S. [Department of Biology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territory, Hong Kong (China); Au, Doris W.T. [Centre for Coastal Pollution and Conservation, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail: bhdwtau@cityu.edu.hk

2007-05-15

The sublethal toxicity of dietary benzo[a]pyrene, B[a]P, on fish growth and intestinal morphofunctional changes [as measured by epithelial turnover, cell proliferation, hyperplasia, de novo crypt formation and protein absorption efficiency (i.e. expression of proton/peptide co-transporter, PepT-1, on the mucosal brush border)] were studied for the carnivorous orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). Juvenile fish were force-fed daily with pellets containing environmentally realistic concentrations of B[a]P (dissolved in corn oil) at 0.25 {mu}g/g body weight (low-dose) and 12.5 {mu}g/g body weight (high-dose) for 4 weeks, followed by a control diet for a further 4 weeks to assess recovery. Although growth inhibition was observed in fish treated with high-dose B[a]P during the exposure period, no mortality was observed throughout the 8-week experiment. Significant hyperplasia of basal enterocytes of mucosal folds was detected shortly after 3-day exposure to the high-dose B[a]P. Moreover, a faster epithelial turnover was measured in the high-dose B[a]P exposed fish at exposure week 1, which was followed by an increase of basal cell proliferation and a reduction of PepT-1 expression at exposure week 2. The formation of de novo crypts, resemblance to the cancer predisposition syndrome 'juvenile polyposis', was significantly higher in the intestine of high-dose treated fish as compared to the control at exposure week 2 and onwards. Abnormal cytoplasmic extrusions were frequently observed in mucosal folds of high-dose fish at exposure week 4. In the low-dose treatment group, only the expression of PepT-1 was significantly reduced at exposure week 2 and an early adaptive response was observed at exposure week 4. Despite all these intestinal disturbances were reversible in fish upon the abatement to dietary B[a]P (within 1-4 weeks), environmental realistic levels of foodborne B[a]P could induce sublethal toxicity to E. coioides, and probably impose potential

Induction and recovery of morphofunctional changes in the intestine of juvenile carnivorous fish (Epinephelus coioides) upon exposure to foodborne benzo[a]pyrene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuen, Bonny B.H.; Wong, Chris K.C.; Woo, N.Y.S.; Au, Doris W.T.

2007-01-01

The sublethal toxicity of dietary benzo[a]pyrene, B[a]P, on fish growth and intestinal morphofunctional changes [as measured by epithelial turnover, cell proliferation, hyperplasia, de novo crypt formation and protein absorption efficiency (i.e. expression of proton/peptide co-transporter, PepT-1, on the mucosal brush border)] were studied for the carnivorous orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). Juvenile fish were force-fed daily with pellets containing environmentally realistic concentrations of B[a]P (dissolved in corn oil) at 0.25 μg/g body weight (low-dose) and 12.5 μg/g body weight (high-dose) for 4 weeks, followed by a control diet for a further 4 weeks to assess recovery. Although growth inhibition was observed in fish treated with high-dose B[a]P during the exposure period, no mortality was observed throughout the 8-week experiment. Significant hyperplasia of basal enterocytes of mucosal folds was detected shortly after 3-day exposure to the high-dose B[a]P. Moreover, a faster epithelial turnover was measured in the high-dose B[a]P exposed fish at exposure week 1, which was followed by an increase of basal cell proliferation and a reduction of PepT-1 expression at exposure week 2. The formation of de novo crypts, resemblance to the cancer predisposition syndrome 'juvenile polyposis', was significantly higher in the intestine of high-dose treated fish as compared to the control at exposure week 2 and onwards. Abnormal cytoplasmic extrusions were frequently observed in mucosal folds of high-dose fish at exposure week 4. In the low-dose treatment group, only the expression of PepT-1 was significantly reduced at exposure week 2 and an early adaptive response was observed at exposure week 4. Despite all these intestinal disturbances were reversible in fish upon the abatement to dietary B[a]P (within 1-4 weeks), environmental realistic levels of foodborne B[a]P could induce sublethal toxicity to E. coioides, and probably impose potential risk to the

Induction and recovery of morphofunctional changes in the intestine of juvenile carnivorous fish (Epinephelus coioides) upon exposure to foodborne benzo[a]pyrene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yuen, Bonny B.H. [Centre for Coastal Pollution and Conservation, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC (United States); Wong, Chris K.C. [Department of Biology, Baptist University of Hong Kong, Waterloo Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); Woo, N Y.S. [Department of Biology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territory, Hong Kong (China); Au, Doris W.T. [Centre for Coastal Pollution and Conservation, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)

2007-05-15

The sublethal toxicity of dietary benzo[a]pyrene, B[a]P, on fish growth and intestinal morphofunctional changes [as measured by epithelial turnover, cell proliferation, hyperplasia, de novo crypt formation and protein absorption efficiency (i.e. expression of proton/peptide co-transporter, PepT-1, on the mucosal brush border)] were studied for the carnivorous orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). Juvenile fish were force-fed daily with pellets containing environmentally realistic concentrations of B[a]P (dissolved in corn oil) at 0.25 {mu}g/g body weight (low-dose) and 12.5 {mu}g/g body weight (high-dose) for 4 weeks, followed by a control diet for a further 4 weeks to assess recovery. Although growth inhibition was observed in fish treated with high-dose B[a]P during the exposure period, no mortality was observed throughout the 8-week experiment. Significant hyperplasia of basal enterocytes of mucosal folds was detected shortly after 3-day exposure to the high-dose B[a]P. Moreover, a faster epithelial turnover was measured in the high-dose B[a]P exposed fish at exposure week 1, which was followed by an increase of basal cell proliferation and a reduction of PepT-1 expression at exposure week 2. The formation of de novo crypts, resemblance to the cancer predisposition syndrome 'juvenile polyposis', was significantly higher in the intestine of high-dose treated fish as compared to the control at exposure week 2 and onwards. Abnormal cytoplasmic extrusions were frequently observed in mucosal folds of high-dose fish at exposure week 4. In the low-dose treatment group, only the expression of PepT-1 was significantly reduced at exposure week 2 and an early adaptive response was observed at exposure week 4. Despite all these intestinal disturbances were reversible in fish upon the abatement to dietary B[a]P (within 1-4 weeks), environmental realistic levels of foodborne B[a]P could induce sublethal toxicity to E. coioides, and probably impose potential risk to

Fish community-based measures of estuarine ecological quality and pressure-impact relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Fonseca, Vanessa F.; Vasconcelos, Rita P.; Gamito, Rita; Pasquaud, Stéphanie; Gonçalves, Catarina I.; Costa, José L.; Costa, Maria J.; Cabral, Henrique N.

2013-12-01

Community-based responses of fish fauna to anthropogenic pressures have been extensively used to assess the ecological quality of estuarine ecosystems. Several methodologies have been developed recently combining metrics reflecting community structure and function. A fish community facing significant environmental disturbances will be characterized by a simplified structure, with lower diversity and complexity. However, estuaries are naturally dynamic ecosystems exposed to numerous human pressures, making it difficult to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic-induced changes to the biological community. In the present work, the variability of several fish metrics was assessed in relation to different pressures in estuarine sites. The response of a multimetric index (Estuarine Fish Assessment Index) was also analysed. Overall, fish metrics and the multimetric index signalled anthropogenic stress, particularly environmental chemical pollution. The fish assemblage associated with this type of pressure was characterized by lower species diversity, lower number of functional guilds, lower abundance of marine migrants and of piscivorous individuals, and higher abundance of estuarine resident species. A decreased ecological quality status, based on the EFAI, was also determined for sites associated with this pressure group. Ultimately, the definition of each pressure groups favoured a stressor-specific analysis, evidencing pressure patterns and accounting for multiple factors in a highly dynamic environment.

Juvenile Firesetting.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Brittany; Freeman, Bradley

2016-01-01

Juvenile firesetting is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Male gender, substance use, history of maltreatment, interest in fire, and psychiatric illness are commonly reported risk factors. Interventions that have been shown to be effective in juveniles who set fires include cognitive behavior therapy and educational interventions, whereas satiation has not been shown to be an effective intervention. Forensic assessments can assist the legal community in adjudicating youth with effective interventions. Future studies should focus on consistent assessment and outcome measures to create more evidence for directing evaluation and treatment of juvenile firesetters. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impacts of species introductions on the health of fish communities receiving chronic radionuclide exposures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yankovich, T.L.; Casselman, J.M.; Cornett, R.J.J.

2006-01-01

A study was conducted to evaluate the potential impacts of a northern pike introduction on the health of a fish community receiving chronic radionuclide exposure, primarily from 90 Sr. Overall, although significant changes occurred in the community composition and the health of fish populations following the pike introduction, these were not linked to radionuclide dose to fishes. This finding was further supported by assessing the health of forage fishes, which did not significantly change in the pre-versus post-pike fish communities and were comparable in condition to forage fishes inhabiting lakes with background radionuclide levels. Application of such resilient species as 'baseline organisms' can provide a useful tool in the routine monitoring of ecosystems affected by multiple stressors. (author)

Reef-fish larval dispersal patterns validate no-take marine reserve network connectivity that links human communities

Science.gov (United States)

Abesamis, Rene A.; Saenz-Agudelo, Pablo; Berumen, Michael L.; Bode, Michael; Jadloc, Claro Renato L.; Solera, Leilani A.; Villanoy, Cesar L.; Bernardo, Lawrence Patrick C.; Alcala, Angel C.; Russ, Garry R.

2017-09-01

Networks of no-take marine reserves (NTMRs) are a widely advocated strategy for managing coral reefs. However, uncertainty about the strength of population connectivity between individual reefs and NTMRs through larval dispersal remains a major obstacle to effective network design. In this study, larval dispersal among NTMRs and fishing grounds in the Philippines was inferred by conducting genetic parentage analysis on a coral-reef fish ( Chaetodon vagabundus). Adult and juvenile fish were sampled intensively in an area encompassing approximately 90 km of coastline. Thirty-seven true parent-offspring pairs were accepted after screening 1978 juveniles against 1387 adults. The data showed all types of dispersal connections that may occur in NTMR networks, with assignments suggesting connectivity among NTMRs and fishing grounds ( n = 35) far outnumbering those indicating self-recruitment ( n = 2). Critically, half (51%) of the inferred occurrences of larval dispersal linked reefs managed by separate, independent municipalities and constituent villages, emphasising the need for nested collaborative management arrangements across management units to sustain NTMR networks. Larval dispersal appeared to be influenced by wind-driven seasonal reversals in the direction of surface currents. The best-fit larval dispersal kernel estimated from the parentage data predicted that 50% of larvae originating from a population would attempt to settle within 33 km, and 95% within 83 km. Mean larval dispersal distance was estimated to be 36.5 km. These results suggest that creating a network of closely spaced (less than a few tens of km apart) NTMRs can enhance recruitment for protected and fished populations throughout the NTMR network. The findings underscore major challenges for regional coral-reef management initiatives that must be addressed with priority: (1) strengthening management of NTMR networks across political or customary boundaries; and (2) achieving adequate population

Reef-fish larval dispersal patterns validate no-take marine reserve network connectivity that links human communities

KAUST Repository

Abesamis, Rene A.

2017-03-24

Networks of no-take marine reserves (NTMRs) are a widely advocated strategy for managing coral reefs. However, uncertainty about the strength of population connectivity between individual reefs and NTMRs through larval dispersal remains a major obstacle to effective network design. In this study, larval dispersal among NTMRs and fishing grounds in the Philippines was inferred by conducting genetic parentage analysis on a coral-reef fish (Chaetodon vagabundus). Adult and juvenile fish were sampled intensively in an area encompassing approximately 90 km of coastline. Thirty-seven true parent-offspring pairs were accepted after screening 1978 juveniles against 1387 adults. The data showed all types of dispersal connections that may occur in NTMR networks, with assignments suggesting connectivity among NTMRs and fishing grounds (n = 35) far outnumbering those indicating self-recruitment (n = 2). Critically, half (51%) of the inferred occurrences of larval dispersal linked reefs managed by separate, independent municipalities and constituent villages, emphasising the need for nested collaborative management arrangements across management units to sustain NTMR networks. Larval dispersal appeared to be influenced by wind-driven seasonal reversals in the direction of surface currents. The best-fit larval dispersal kernel estimated from the parentage data predicted that 50% of larvae originating from a population would attempt to settle within 33 km, and 95% within 83 km. Mean larval dispersal distance was estimated to be 36.5 km. These results suggest that creating a network of closely spaced (less than a few tens of km apart) NTMRs can enhance recruitment for protected and fished populations throughout the NTMR network. The findings underscore major challenges for regional coral-reef management initiatives that must be addressed with priority: (1) strengthening management of NTMR networks across political or customary boundaries; and (2) achieving adequate population

Restoration of a temperate reef: Effects on the fish community

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Støttrup, Josianne; Stenberg, Claus; Dahl, Karsten

2014-01-01

Trindel in Kattegat, Denmark, has now been re-established with the aim of restoring the reef’s historical structure and function. The effects of the restoration on the local fish community are reported here. Fishing surveys using gillnets and fyke nets were conducted before the restoration (2007) and four...... years after the restoration of the reef (2012). Species of the family Labridae, which have a high affinity for rocky reefs, dominated both before and after the restoration. Commercially important species such as cod Gadus morhua, and saithe Pollachius virens, occurred infrequently in the catches in 2007....... The findings highlight the importance of reef habitats for fish communities and the need for their protection...

Experimental assessment of the effects of a Neotropical nocturnal piscivore on juvenile native and invasive fishes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandra F. G. N. Santos

Full Text Available We experimentally examined the predator-prey relationships between juvenile spotted sorubim Pseudoplastystoma corruscans and young-of-the-year invasive and native fish species of the Paraná River basin, Brazil. Three invasive (peacock bass Cichla piquiti, Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and two native (yellowtail tetra Astyanax altiparanae and streaked prochilod Prochilodus lineatus fish species were offered as prey to P. corruscans in 300 L aquaria with three habitat complexity treatments (0%, 50% and 100% structure-covered. Prey survival was variable through time and among species (C. piquiti < O. niloticus < A. altiparanae < P. lineatus < I. punctatus, depending largely on species-specific prey behavior but also on prey size and morphological defenses. Habitat complexity did not directly affect P. corruscans piscivory but some prey species changed their microhabitat use and shoaling behavior among habitat treatments in predator's presence. Pseudoplatystoma corruscans preyed preferentially on smaller individuals of those invasive species with weak morphological defensive features that persisted in a non-shoaling behavior. Overall, our results contrast with those in a companion experiment using a diurnal predator, suggesting that nocturnal piscivores preferentially prey on different (rather diurnal fish species and are less affected by habitat complexity. Our findings suggest that recovering the native populations of P. corruscans might help controling some fish species introduced to the Paraná River basin, particularly C. piquiti and O. niloticus, whose parental care is expected to be weak or null at night.

Impacts of species introductions on the health of fish communities receiving chronic radionuclide inputs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yankovich, T.L.; Casselman, J.M.; Cornett, R.J.J.

2004-01-01

There is widespread interest in gaining further understanding of the relative influences of multiple stressors on aquatic ecosystem structure and function. To address this, work has been done to evaluate the effects of the introduction of an efficient predator (northern pike) on a fish community in a small lake (Perch Lake, Chalk River, Ontario) receiving chronic inputs of radionuclides over a 50-year period. In general, large changes in fish community structure, with corresponding changes in fish health, occurred following the pike introduction. For example, several forage fish species were extirpated from the lake and densities of the past top predator, yellow perch, became greatly reduced, likely due to predation by northern pike and/or other species in the lake. The reduced perch numbers appeared to alleviate an ecological bottleneck, which resulted in significant increases in brown bullhead densities to levels that were much higher than observed in other water bodies under typical conditions. Corresponding changes in the health of the Perch Lake fish community could also be detected, and included decreased fish diversity, shifts in fish community size structure to smaller body sizes, significant reductions in fish condition factors, reduced hepato-somatic indices, depletion of fish internal fat reserves, hardening of the gastrointestinal tract, resorption of gonadal material, degradation of muscle tissue, emaciation and ultimately, mortality of northern pike and brown bullheads. Evaluation of data indicated that female fishes responded more quickly than did males in terms of condition loss, likely due to their higher energetic requirements. In addition, although pike and bullheads were detrimentally affected by the pike introduction, health of forage fish species, such as pumpkinseeds, did not appear to be greatly influenced. No clear relationships existed between fish community health and exposure to radionuclides in the lake. (author)

Offshore Fish Community: Ecological Interactions | Science ...

Science.gov (United States)

The offshore (>80 m) fish community of Lake Superior is made up of predominately native species. The most prominent species are deepwater sculpin, kiyi, cisco, siscowet lake trout, burbot, and the exotic sea lamprey. Bloater and shortjaw cisco are also found in the offshore zone. Bloater is abundant in the offshore zone but appears restricted to depths shallower than 150 m (Selgeby and Hoff 1996; Stockwell et al. 2010), although it occuppied greater depths several decades ago (Dryer 1966; Peck 1977). Shortjaw is relatively rare in the offshore zone (Hoff and Todd 2004; Gorman and Hoff 2009; Gorman and Todd 2007). Lake whitefish is also known to frequent bathymetric depths >100 m (Yule et al. 2008b). In this chapter, we develop a conceptual model of the offshore food web based on data collected during 2001-2005 and on inferences from species interactions known for the nearshore fish community. We then develop a framework for examination of energy and nutrient movements within the pelagic and benthic habitats of the offshore zone and across the offshore and nearshore zones. To document research results.

Long-term trends in the St. Marys River open water fish community

Science.gov (United States)

Schaeffer, Jeffrey S.; Fielder, David G.; Godby, Neal; Bowen, Anjanette; O'Connor, Lisa; Parrish, Josh; Greenwood, Susan; Chong, Stephen; Wright, Greg

2011-01-01

We examined trends in species composition and abundance of the St. Marys River fish community. Abundance data were available approximately once every six years from 1975 through 2006, and size and age data were available from 1995 through 2006. We also compared survey data in 2006 with results of a concurrent creel survey that year, as well as data from prior surveys spanning a 69 year time frame. The St. Marys River fish community was best characterized as a coolwater fish community with apparent little variation in species composition, and only slight variation in overall fish abundance since 1975. However, we did find recent trends in abundance among target species sought by anglers: centrarchids increased, percids appeared stable, and both northern pike Esox lucius and cisco Coregonus artedii declined. Survey results suggested that walleye (Sander vitreus) and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) experienced moderate exploitation but benefited from recent strong recruitment and faster growth. Mechanisms underlying declines of northern pike and cisco were not clear; reduced abundance could have resulted from high exploitation, variation in recruitment, or a combination of both factors. Despite these challenges, the St. Marys River fish community appears remarkably stable. We suggest that managers insure that creel surveys occur simultaneously with assessments, but periodic gill net surveys may no longer provide adequate data in support of recent, more complex management objectives. While additional surveys would add costs, more frequent data might ensure sustainability of a unique fish community that supports a large proportion of angler effort on Lake Huron.

PELOLOSAN IKAN KURISI (Nemipterus japonicus MELALUI JUVENILE AND TRASH EXLUDER DEVICES PADA JARING ARAD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hufiadi Hufiadi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Permasalahan utama pada perikanan jaring arad adalah banyaknya jumlah hasil tangkap sampingan berukuran kecil yang belum layak tangkap. Dalam upaya untuk mengurangi tangkapan ikan muda yang belum layak tangkap telah dilakukan observasi dan ujicoba operasi penangkapan melalui penggunaan perangkat juvenile and trash exluder devices pada alat tangkap jaring arad yang dioperasikan nelayan di Pekalongan. Perangkat juvenile and trash exluder devices yang digunakan dibedakan pada ukuran jarak antar kisi, yaitu 10,0; 17,5; dan 25,4 mm. Analisis selektivitas kisi menggunakan model kurva logistik dengan bantuan solver pada Microsoft Excel. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan juvenile and trash exluder devices pada jaring arad dapat meloloskan ikan kurisi (Nemipterus spp. berukuran kecil. Ukuran jarak antar kisi 25,4 mm mempunyai selektivitas yang paling baik terhadap ikan kurisi berdasarkan atas ukuran panjang baku dan jarak antar kisi 17,5 mm mempunyai selektivitas paling baik berdasarkan atas ukuran lingkar tubuh ikan kurisi.   The serius problem on bottom mini trawl has the large number caught of bycatch caught especially for juvenile and trash fish. Improvement to reduce catches of juvenile was conducted through observation and experimental fishing using juvenile and trash exluder devices of mini bottom trawl in Pekalongan. The juvenile and trash excluder devices (juvenile and trash exluder devices in the experimental fishing with different space bar of the juvenile and trash exluder devices i.e. 10.0; 17.5; and 25.4 mm. The selectivity analysis of logistic curve by using solver on Microsoft Excel was applied. The results showed that juvenile and trash excluder devices might reduce catches of threadfin breams juvenile. Where as 25.4 space bar had the best selectivity based on the size of threadfin breams fork length and 17.5 mm space bar had the best selectivity based on the size of threadfin breams body girth.

Marine fish community structure and habitat associations on the Canadian Beaufort shelf and slope

Science.gov (United States)

Majewski, Andrew R.; Atchison, Sheila; MacPhee, Shannon; Eert, Jane; Niemi, Andrea; Michel, Christine; Reist, James D.

2017-03-01

Marine fishes in the Canadian Beaufort Sea have complex interactions with habitats and prey, and occupy a pivotal position in the food web by transferring energy between lower- and upper-trophic levels, and also within and among habitats (e.g., benthic-pelagic coupling). The distributions, habitat associations, and community structure of most Beaufort Sea marine fishes, however, are unknown thus precluding effective regulatory management of emerging offshore industries in the region (e.g., hydrocarbon development, shipping, and fisheries). Between 2012 and 2014, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted the first baseline survey of offshore marine fishes, their habitats, and ecological relationships in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. Benthic trawling was conducted at 45 stations spanning 18-1001 m depths across shelf and slope habitats. Physical oceanographic variables (depth, salinity, temperature, oxygen), biological variables (benthic chlorophyll and integrated water-column chlorophyll) and sediment composition (grain size) were assessed as potential explanatory variables for fish community structure using a non-parametric statistical approach. Selected stations were re-sampled in 2013 and 2014 for a preliminary assessment of inter-annual variability in the fish community. Four distinct fish assemblages were delineated on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope: 1) Nearshore-shelf: 50 and ≤200 m depths, 3) Upper-slope: ≥200 and ≤500 m depths, and 4) Lower-slope: ≥500 m depths. Depth was the environmental variable that best explained fish community structure, and each species assemblage was spatially associated with distinct aspects of the vertical water mass profile. Significant differences in the fish community from east to west were not detected, and the species composition of the assemblages on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf have not changed substantially over the past decade. This community analysis provides a framework for testing hypotheses regarding the trophic

Contrasting environmental drivers of adult and juvenile growth in a marine fish: implications for the effects of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, Joyce Jia Lin; Rountrey, Adam Nicholas; Meeuwig, Jessica Jane; Newman, Stephen John; Zinke, Jens; Meekan, Mark Gregory

2015-06-08

Many marine fishes have life history strategies that involve ontogenetic changes in the use of coastal habitats. Such ontogenetic shifts may place these species at particular risk from climate change, because the successive environments they inhabit can differ in the type, frequency and severity of changes related to global warming. We used a dendrochronology approach to examine the physical and biological drivers of growth of adult and juvenile mangrove jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) from tropical north-western Australia. Juveniles of this species inhabit estuarine environments and adults reside on coastal reefs. The Niño-4 index, a measure of the status of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) had the highest correlation with adult growth chronologies, with La Niña years (characterised by warmer temperatures and lower salinities) having positive impacts on growth. Atmospheric and oceanographic phenomena operating at ocean-basin scales seem to be important correlates of the processes driving growth in local coastal habitats. Conversely, terrestrial factors influencing precipitation and river runoff were positively correlated with the growth of juveniles in estuaries. Our results show that the impacts of climate change on these two life history stages are likely to be different, with implications for resilience and management of populations.

Temporal dynamics of fish communities on an exposed shoreline in Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

Friedlander, A.M.; Parrish, J.D.

1998-01-01

Environmental conditions on higher latitude coral reefs can be extremely variable, and may structure fish communities in ways not previously observed in the more stable, low latitude locations where communities have usually been studied. Temporal changes in fish community structure were examined in an intensive two-year study of the reef fishes of Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii. Hanalei Bay is directly exposed to winter swells with high surf, as well as frequent heavy winter rainfall and high river discharge. Twenty-two transects (25 x 5 m) were established in a wide variety of habitats and censused monthly (N = 1052 censuses). Over 121 000 sightings of individuals from 150 species were made during the study. Seasonal patterns in number of species, number of individuals, species diversity, and evenness were observed, with winter values usually lowest. Values of these ensemble variables tended to be higher at deeper sites and at sites with greater habitat complexity. Surf height and degree of wave exposure were negatively correlated with several measures of community organization. Groups of fishes with different levels of spatial mobility tended to occupy depths consistent with their various abilities to respond to events of heavy weather. The rank abundance of fish taxa tended to be more stable seasonally at sites with less exposure to high wave energy. These seasonal effects may suggest some type of short-range movement from more exposed and monotypic habitats to locations that are deeper or otherwise provide refuge from seasonally heavy seas.

Behavioural and biochemical responses of juvenile catfish ( Clarias ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The behavioural and serum liver enzyme responses of juvenile catfish (Clarias gariepinus) were evaluated for 72 hours. Thirty-six (36) healthy fishes with standard weight, 20 ± 1.52 g and standard length, 18.25 ± 0.50 cm were used for the experiment in non-renewable bioassay system. The test fish exhibited stressful ...

Otolith morphology and body size relationships for juvenile Sciaenidae in the Río de la Plata estuary (35-36°S

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan A. Waessle

2003-06-01

Full Text Available Seven species of the family Sciaenidae have been reported inhabiting bottom waters of the Río de la Plata estuary. Of these juvenile stripped weakfish (Cynoscion guatucupa, king weakfish (Macrodon ancylodon, whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri and banded ground drum (Paralonchurus brasiliensis are by far the most abundant. These species are also important prey of several top-predator species among large fishes, seabirds and mammals. In this study we provide new information regarding otolith morphology and body size relationships of juvenile sciaenid fish. The sagittae morphology of juvenile sciaenids showed strong changes in the course of their development (e.g. in overall shape and development of concrescences on the outer surface. Analysing the morphometric relationships, we concluded that otolith length and otolith mass are good indicators of fish standard length and fish weight in all species. If otolith length or mass is used to estimate fish length, the regression explained more than 97% of the variation in all species. All equations relating fish standard length and fish weight for juvenile stages of the species studied explained a very large proportion of the variance in the data. These data will help researchers studying food habits of top predators to determine size and weight of usually juvenile fish-prey from length, broad and/or weight of recovered otoliths.

When does fishing lead to more fish? Community consequences of bottom trawl fisheries in demersal food webs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Denderen, van P.D.; Kooten, van T.; Rijnsdorp, A.D.

2013-01-01

Bottom trawls are a globally used fishing gear that physically disturb the seabed and kill non-target organisms, including those that are food for the targeted fish species. There are indications that ensuing changes to the benthic invertebrate community may increase the availability of food and

Obsolete - AFSC/RACE/Eco-FOCI: 2010 Eastern Bering Sea Juvenile Survey

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Data collected on this cruise included the following: We conducted a juvenile fish and benthic fish prey survery in the eastern Bering Sea (61 3-meter beam trawls,...

Establishment of a fish community in the hayden-rhodes and salt-gila aqueducts, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, G.

1996-01-01

Fish populations were studied in the Central Arizona Project's canal system during the first 4 years of aqueduct operation (1986-1989). Ichthyoplankton entering the canal from Lake Havasu averaged 1 larva/m3 during April-June 1987 and 1988. Larval fish densities increased significantly in downstream samples, substantiating diver observations that fish were spawning in the canal system. Of the 16 fish species collected, 14 were assumed to have originated from Lake Havasu and 2 were introduced by anglers from their bait buckets. Initially, the fish community was dominated numerically by threadfin shad Dorosoma petenense (>88%), centrarchids (< 10%), cyprinids (<2%), and striped bass Morone saxatilis (<1%). However, as annual water diversions increased from 13 x 108 m3 in 1986 to 9.4 x 108 m3 in 1989, community composition shifted from clupeids to centrarchids (70%). Fish densities dropped from an estimated 1,260 fish/ha in 1986 to 17 fish/ha in 1989, and biomass dropped from 116 to 73 kg/ha. Declines were attributed to higher operational velocities, associated scour, deprivation, and predation. Although initial populations adjusted downward to planned operational conditions, the fish community continued to represent a potentially valuable, but as yet unused, resource.

Comparative Performance of Acoustic-tagged and PIT-tagged Juvenile Salmonids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hockersmith, Eric E.; Brown, Richard S.; Liedtke, Theresa L.

2008-02-01

Numerous research tools and technologies are currently being used to evaluate fish passage and survival to determine the impacts of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) on endangered and threatened juvenile salmonids, including PIT tags, balloon tags, hydroacoustic evaluations, radio telemetry, and acoustic telemetry. Each has advantages and disadvantages, but options are restricted in some situations because of limited capabilities of a specific technology, lack of detection capability downstream, or availability of adequate numbers of fish. However, there remains concern about the comparative effects of the tag or the tagging procedure on fish performance. The recently developed Juvenile Salmonid Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) acoustic transmitter is the smallest active acoustic tag currently available. The goal of this study was to determine whether fish tagged with the JSATS acoustic-telemetry tag can provide unbiased estimates of passage behavior and survival within the performance life of the tag. We conducted both field and laboratory studies to assess tag effects. For the field evaluation we released a total of 996 acoustic-tagged fish in conjunction with 21,026 PIT-tagged fish into the tailrace of Lower Granite Dam on 6 and 13 May. Travel times between release and downstream dams were not significantly different for the majority of the reaches between acoustic-tagged and PIT-tagged fish. In addition to the field evaluation, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted to determine if growth and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters is different than untagged or PIT tagged juvenile Chinook salmon. Only yearling fish with integrated and non-integrated transmitters experienced mortalities, and these were low (<4.5%). Mortality among sub-yearling control and PIT-tag treatments ranged up to 7.7% while integrated and non-integrated treatments had slightly higher rates (up to 8.3% and 7

Survival of Juvenile Chinook Salmon Passing the Bonneville Dam Spillway in 2007

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ploskey, Gene R.; Weiland, Mark A.; Hughes, James S.; Zimmerman, Shon A.; Durham, Robin E.; Fischer, Eric S.; Kim, Jina; Townsend, R. L.; Skalski, J. R.; Buchanan, Rebecca A.; McComas, Roy L.

2008-12-01

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District (CENWP) funds numerous evaluations of fish passage and survival on the Columbia River. In 2007, the CENWP asked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to conduct an acoustic telemetry study to estimate the survival of juvenile Chinook salmon passing the spillway at Bonneville Dam. This report documents the study results which are intended to be used to improve the conditions juvenile anadromous fish experience when passing through the dams that the Corps operates on the river.

Predation by northern squawfish on live and dead juvenile chinook salmon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gadomski, D.M.; Hall-Griswold, J.A.

1992-01-01

Northern squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonensis is a major predator of juvenile salmonids Oncorhynchus spp. migrating downstream through the Columbia River. High predation rates occur just below dams. If northern squawfish selectively consume salmonids killed or injured during dam passage, previous estimates of predation mortality may be too high. We conducted laboratory experiments that indicate northern squawfish prefer dead juvenile chinook salmon O. tshawytscha over live individuals. When equal numbers of dead and live chinook salmon were offered to northern squawfish maintained on a natural photoperiod (15 h light: 9 h darkness), significantly more (P < 0.05) dead than live fish were consumed, both in 1,400-L circular tanks and in an 11,300-L raceway (62% and 79% of prey consumed were dead, respectively). When dead and live juvenile chinook salmon were provided in proportions more similar to those below dams (20% dead, 80% live), northern squawfish still selected for dead prey (36% of fish consumed were dead). In additional experiments, northern squawfish were offered a proportion of 20% dead juvenile chinook salmon during 4-h periods of either light or darkness. The predators were much more selective for dead chinook salmon during bright light (88% of fish consumed were dead) than during darkness (31% were dead)

Turbulence investigation and reproduction for assisting downstream migrating juvenile salmonids, Part II of II: Effects of induced turbulence on behavior of juvenile salmon, 2001-2005 final report

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, R.; Farley , M.; Hansen, G.; Morse , J.; Rondorf, D.

2005-01-01

Passage through dams is a major source of mortality of anadromous juvenile salmonids because some populations must negotiate up to eight dams in Columbia and Snake rivers. Dams cause direct mortality when fish pass through turbines, but dams may also cause indirect mortality by altering migration conditions in rivers. Forebays immediately upstream of dams have decreased the water velocity of rivers and may contribute substantially to the total migration delay of juvenile salmonids. Recently, Coutant (2001a) suggested that in addition to low water velocities, lack of natural turbulence may contribute to migration delay by causing fish to lose directional cues. Coutant (2001a) further hypothesized that restoring turbulence in dam forebays may reduce migration delay by providing directional cues that allow fish to find passage routes more quickly (Coutant 2001a). Although field experiments have yielded proof of the concept of using induced turbulence to guide fish to safe passage routes, little is known about mechanisms actually causing behavioral changes. To test hypotheses about how turbulence influences movement and behavior of migrating juvenile salmonids, we conducted two types of controlled experiments at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington. A common measure of migration delay is the elapsed time between arrival at, and passage through, a dam. Therefore, for the first set of experiments, we tested the effect of induced turbulence on the elapsed time needed for fish to traverse through a raceway and pass over a weir at its downstream end (time trial experiment). If turbulence helps guide fish to passage routes, then fish should pass through the raceway quicker in the presence of appropriately scaled and directed turbulent cues. Second, little is known about how the physical properties of water movement provide directional cues to migrating juvenile salmonids. To examine the feasibility of guiding fish with turbulence, we tested whether directed turbulence could guide

Governance and Welfare of Fishing Communities of Lake Victoria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These include the introduction of a co-management system of Beach Management units (BMUs) which are elected by the fishing communities and will work with the ... Educational standards remain low and many communities lack proper sanitation, and are therefore at risk of disease, while most basic facilities such as ...

Food resource partitioning in a fish community of the central Amazon floodplain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernard de Mérona

Full Text Available Diets of most of fish species inhabiting a floodplain lake in central Amazonia were studied over a two years and half period. Based on the percentage of relative occurrence of 11 major food categories a classification of species in 11 feeding guilds is proposed. Many species were found to be specialized feeders. Fish, detritus and insects were the most important food resources supporting the fish community in both seasons, but the proportions of fruits, invertebrates and fish were reduced during the low water season. At the community level mean diet overlap between species was low, suggesting efficient resource partitioning within the community. However mean overlap between unspecialized feeders was high. Based on the 23 most abundant species belonging to the different feeding guilds, there was no difference in mean overlap between seasons. Whereas individual species exhibited diet changes between high water and low water seasons, there was no general pattern of seasonal change within feeding guilds.

Tropical fish community does not recover 45 years after predator introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharpe, D M T; De León, L F; González, R; Torchin, M E

2017-02-01

Predation is considered to be an important factor structuring natural communities. However, it is often difficult to determine how it may influence long-term, broad-scale, diversity patterns, particularly in diverse tropical systems. Biological introductions can provide powerful insight to test the sustained consequences of predation in natural communities, if pre-introduction data are available. Half a century ago, Zaret and Paine demonstrated strong and immediate community-level effects following the introduction of a novel apex predator (peacock bass, Cichla monoculus) into Lake Gatun, Panama. To test for long-term changes associated with this predator introduction, we followed up on their classic study by replicating historical sampling methods and examining changes in the littoral fish community at two sites in Lake Gatun 45 years post-introduction. To broaden our inference, we complemented this temporal comparison with a spatial analysis, wherein we compared the fish communities from two lakes with and one lake without peacock bass. Comparisons with historical data revealed that the peacock bass remains the most abundant predator in Lake Gatun. Furthermore, the collapse of the littoral prey community observed immediately following the invasion has been sustained over the past 45 years. The mean abundance of native littoral fish is now 96% lower than it was prior to the introduction. Diversity (rarefied species richness) declined by 64% post-introduction, and some native species appear to have been locally extirpated. We observed a similar pattern across invaded and uninvaded lakes: the mean abundance of native fishes was 5-40 times lower in lakes with (Gatun, Alajuela) relative to the lake without peacock bass (Bayano). In particular, small-bodied native fishes (Characidae, Peociliidae), which are common prey of the peacock bass, were more than two orders of magnitude (307 times) less abundant in Gatun and one order of magnitude (28 times) less abundant in

Algal Turf Recruitment and Early Growth did not Differ Across Sites that Varied Greatly in Herbivore and Coral Community Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaynus, C.

2016-02-01

Worldwide losses of coral with accompanying phase shifts to algae have been attributed to human alterations of major ecological processes, especially top down (herbivory) and bottom up (nutrients) forces. While positive effects on macroalgae have received some attention, less is known about turf algae. Closely cropped turf algae (French Polynesia. While this study will continue for 2 years, data here are for 5 weeks. We chose 3 sites in Cooks Bay that likely varied in nutrients and 3 along the north shore, presumably higher in herbivory. At each site 10 recruitment tiles were deployed. Turf communities accumulated over five-weeks while benthic and herbivorous fish communities were quantified at each site. Herbivorous fish communities consisted of juveniles and adults from the families Acanthuridae and Scaridae with both adult and juvenile acanthurids, comprising > 50% of all herbivorous fish. Sites within the bay, however, contained at least 66.7% less fish than sites along the north shore. In contrast benthic surveys portrayed little difference between sites, with turf making up > 70% of total hard bottom cover. Similarly, there was little difference among sites in the recruitment and growth rate ( 0.2-0.3 mm/week) of turf on tiles. While turf recruitment and early development appeared to be unaffected by herbivory or nutrients over the short time, we predict that longer-term effects will occur as this community develops.

Survival and Passage of Yearling and Subyearling Chinook Salmon and Juvenile Steelhead at McNary Dam, 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hughes, James S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Weiland, Mark A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Woodley, Christa M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Ploskey, Gene R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Carpenter, Scott M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hennen, Matthew J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Fischer, Eric S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Batton, George [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Carlson, Thomas J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Cushing, Aaron W. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Deng, Zhiqun [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Etherington, D. J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Fu, Tao [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Greiner, Michael J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Ingraham, John M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Kim, Jin A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Li, Xi [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Martinez, Jayson J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mitchell, T. D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Rayamajhi, Bishes [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Seaburg, Adam [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Skalski, J. R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Townsend, Richard L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wagner, Katie A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zimmerman, Shon A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2013-12-23

The study was designed to evaluate the passage and survival of yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead at McNary Dam as stipulated by the 2008 Biological Opinion and Fish Accords and to assess performance measures including route-specific fish passage proportions, travel times, and survival based upon a virtual/paired-release model. This study supports the USACE’s continual effort to improve conditions for juvenile anadromous fish passing through Columbia River dams.

Feeding ecology of pelagic fish larvae and juveniles in slope waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, R J D; Rooker, J R

2009-11-01

Stable isotope ratios of carbon (delta13C) and nitrogen (delta15N) were used to investigate feeding patterns of larval and early juvenile pelagic fishes in slope waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Contribution of organic matter supplied to fishes and trophic position within this pelagic food web was estimated in 2007 and 2008 by comparing dietary signatures of the two main producers in this ecosystem: phytoplankton [based on particulate organic matter (POM)] and Sargassum spp. Stable isotope ratios of POM and pelagic Sargassum spp. were significantly different from one another with delta13C values of POM depleted by 3-6 per thousand and delta15N values enriched by 2 relative to Sargassum spp. Stable isotope ratios were significantly different among the five pelagic fishes examined: blue marlin Makaira nigricans, dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus, pompano dolphinfish Coryphaena equiselis, sailfish Istiophorus platypterus and swordfish Xiphias gladius. Mean delta13C values ranged almost 2 among fishes and were most depleted in I. platypterus. In addition, mean delta15N values ranged 4-5 with highest mean values found for both C. hippurus and C. equiselis and the lowest mean value for M. nigricans during both years. Increasing delta13C or delta15N with standard length suggested that shifts in trophic position and diet occurred during early life for several species examined. Results of a two-source mixing model suggest approximately an equal contribution of organic matter by both sources (POM=55%; pelagic Sargassum spp.=45%) to the early life stages of pelagic fishes examined. Contribution of organic matter, however, varied among species, and sensitivity analyses indicated that organic source estimates changed from 2 to 13% for a delta(13)C fractionation change of +/-0.25 per thousand or a delta15N fractionation change of +/-1.0 per thousand relative to original fractionation values.

Longitudinal structure in temperate stream fish communities: evaluating conceptual models with temporal data

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, James H.; Hitt, Nathaniel P.

2010-01-01

Five conceptual models of longitudinal fish community organization in streams were examined: (1) niche diversity model (NDM), (2) stream continuum model (SCM), (3) immigrant accessibility model (IAM), (4) environmental stability model (ESM), and (5) adventitious stream model (ASM). We used differences among models in their predictions about temporal species turnover, along with five spatiotemporal fish community data sets, to evaluate model applicability. Models were similar in predicting a positive species richness–stream size relationship and longitudinal species nestedness, but differed in predicting either similar temporal species turnover throughout the stream continuum (NDM, SCM), higher turnover upstream (IAM, ESM), or higher turnover downstream (ASM). We calculated measures of spatial and temporal variation from spatiotemporal fish data in five wadeable streams in central and eastern North America spanning 34–68 years (French Creek [New York], Piasa Creek [Illinois], Spruce Run [Virginia], Little Stony Creek [Virginia], and Sinking Creek [Virginia]). All streams exhibited substantial species turnover (i.e., at least 27% turnover in stream-scale species pools), in contrast to the predictions of the SCM. Furthermore, community change was greater in downstream than upstream reaches in four of five streams. This result is most consistent with the ASM and suggests that downstream communities are strongly influenced by migrants to and from species pools outside the focal stream. In Sinking Creek, which is isolated from external species pools, temporal species turnover (via increased richness) was higher upstream than downstream, which is a pattern most consistent with the IAM or ESM. These results corroborate the hypothesis that temperate stream habitats and fish communities are temporally dynamic and that fish migration and environmental disturbances play fundamental roles in stream fish community organization.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of Fermented By-product of Mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, as a Fish Meal Replacer in Juvenile Amur Catfish, Silurus asotus: Effects on Growth, Serological Characteristics and Immune Responses

Science.gov (United States)

Katya, Kumar; Yun, Yong-hyun; Park, Gunhyun; Lee, Jeong-Yeol; Yoo, Gwangyeol; Bai, Sungchul C.

2014-01-01

The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of dietary fermented by-product of mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, (FBPM) as a fish meal (FM) replacer in juvenile Amur catfish, Silurus asotus. A total number of 225 fish averaging 5.7±0.1 g (mean±standard deviation) were fed one of the five experimental diets formulated to replace FM with FBPM at 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30% (FBPM0, FBPM5, FBPM10, FBPM20, and FBPM30, respectively). At the end of eight weeks of the experiment, average weight gain (WG) of fish fed FBPM0 or FBPM5 were significantly higher than those of fish fed FBPM20 or FBPM30 diets (p<0.05). However, there was no significant differences in WG among the fish fed FBPM0, FBPM5 or FBPM10, and between fish fed FBPM10 or FBPM20, and also between those fed FBPM20 or FBPM30 diets. Lysozyme activity of fish fed FBPM0 or FBPM5 were significantly higher than those of fish fed FBPM10, FBPM20 or FBPM30 diets (p<0.05). The chemiluminescent response of fish fed FBPM5 was significantly higher than those of fish fed FBPM0, FBPM20 or FBPM30 diets (p<0.05). Broken line regression analysis of WG suggested that the maximal dietary inclusion level for FBPM as a FM replacer could be 6.3% without any adverse effects on whole body composition and on serological characteristics. Therefore, these results may indicate that the maximal dietary inclusion level of FBPM as a FM replacer could be 6.3% in juvenile Amur catfish. PMID:25178300

Temporal and geographic variation in fish communities of lower Cook Inlet, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Robards, Martin D.; Piatt, John F.; Kettle, Arthur B.; Abookire, Alisa A.

1999-01-01

Nearshore and shelf fish communities were studied in three areas of lower Cook Inlet, Alaska: the Barren Islands (oceanic and well-mixed waters), Kachemak Bay (mixed oceanic waters with significant freshwater runoff), and Chisik Island (estuarine waters). Fish were sampled with beach seines (n=413 sets) and midwater trawls (n=39 sets). We found that lower Cook Inlet supported a diverse nearshore fish community of at least 52 species. Fifty of these species were caught in Kachemak Bay, 24 at Chisik Island, and 12 at the Barren Islands. Pacific sand lance dominated Barren Islands and Kachemak Bay nearshore habitats, comprising 99% and 71% of total individuals, respectively. The nearshore Chisik Island fish community was not dominated by any one species; instead it exhibited higher diversity. These spatial differences appeared linked to local oceanographic regimes and sediment influx. Analysis of historical data revealed that the nearshore Kachemak Bay fish community changed significantly between 1976 and 1996, showing increased diversity and abundance in several taxa, notably gadids, salmonids, pleuronectids, and sculpins. Decadal differences appeared to be related to large-scale climate changes in the North Pacific. Catches of most taxa peaked in May-August, and were low during other months of the year. Several species were present for only part of the summer. Species composition of seine catches differed significantly between consecutive high and low tides, but not between consecutive sets or years. Midwater trawls took 26 species, 14 of which were present in Kachemak Bay, 19 near Chisik Island, and 7 at the Barren Islands. Community structures in shelf and nearshore waters were similar: diversity was high and abundance low at Chisik Island, whereas a few abundant species dominated at both Kachemak Bay and the Barren Islands. In addition, the low fish abundance near Chisik Island appeared to be related to declining seabird numbers at this colony.

A Comparison of Individual-Level and Community-Level Predictors of Marijuana and Cocaine Use among a Sample of Newly Arrested Juvenile Offenders

Science.gov (United States)

Childs, Kristina; Dembo, Richard; Belenko, Steven; Wareham, Jennifer; Schmeidler, James

2011-01-01

Variations in drug use have been found across individual-level factors and community characteristics, and by type of drug used. Relatively little research, however, has examined this variation among juvenile offenders. Based on a sample of 924 newly arrested juvenile offenders, two multilevel logistic regression models predicting marijuana test…

Evaluation of juvenile salmonid behavior near a prototype weir box at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington, 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Kock, Tobias J.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Tomka, Ryan G.; Rondorf, Dennis W.

2014-01-01

Collection of juvenile salmonids at Cowlitz Falls Dam is a critical part of the effort to restore salmon in the upper Cowlitz River because the majority of fish that are not collected at the dam pass downstream and enter a large reservoir where they become landlocked and lost to the anadromous fish population. However, the juvenile fish collection system at Cowlitz Falls Dam has failed to achieve annual collection goals since it first began operating in 1996. Since that time, numerous modifications to the fish collection system have been made and several prototype collection structures have been developed and tested, but these efforts have not substantially increased juvenile fish collection. Studies have shown that juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) tend to locate the collection entrances effectively, but many of these fish are not collected and eventually pass the dam through turbines or spillways. Tacoma Power developed a prototype weir box in 2009 to increase capture rates of juvenile salmonids at the collection entrances, and this device proved to be successful at retaining those fish that entered the weir. However, because of safety concerns at the dam, the weir box could not be deployed near a spillway gate where the prototype was tested, so the device was altered and re-deployed at a different location, where it was evaluated during 2013. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted an evaluation using radiotelemetry to monitor fish behavior near the weir box and collection flumes. The evaluation was conducted during April–June 2013. Juvenile steelhead and coho salmon (45 per species) were tagged with a radio transmitter and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag, and released upstream of the dam. All tagged fish moved downstream and entered the forebay of Cowlitz Falls Dam. Median travel times from the release site to the forebay were 0.8 d for steelhead and 1.2 d for coho

Freshwater Aquaculture Nurseries and Infection of Fish with Zoonotic Trematodes, Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Ersbøll, Annette Kjær; Nguyen, Thanh Thi; Nguyen, Khue Viet; Nguyen, Ha Thi; Murrell, Darwin; Dalsgaard, Anders

2010-01-01

Residents of the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam have a long tradition of eating raw fish. Fish-borne zoonotic trematodes (FZTs) are estimated to infect ≈1 million persons in Vietnam. It remains uncertain at what stages in the aquaculture production cycle fish become infected with FZTs. Newly hatched fish (fry) from 8 hatcheries and juveniles from 27 nurseries were therefore examined for FZT infection. No FZTs were found in fry from hatcheries. In nurseries, FZT prevalence in juveniles was 14.1%, 48.6%, and 57.8% after 1 week, 4 weeks, and when overwintered in ponds, respectively. FZT prevalence was higher in grass carp (paquaculture management practices, particularly in nurseries, to minimize the risk of distributing infected juveniles to grow-out ponds and, subsequently, to markets for human consumption. PMID:21122220

Expanding perceptions of subsistence fish consumption: evidence of high commercial fish consumption and dietary mercury exposure in an urban coastal community.

Science.gov (United States)

Holloman, Erica L; Newman, Michael C

2012-02-01

Through collaborative partnerships established between current researchers and The Moton Community House (a local community center), African American women (ages 16-49yrs) from the Southeast Community of Newport News, Virginia, USA were surveyed to assess the reproducibility and consistency of fish consumption patterns (ingestion rates, exposure frequencies, weight, and fish consumption rates) derived from a community-specific fish consumption survey. Women were also surveyed to assess the reliability of the survey responses, and to estimate daily mercury intake. Fish consumption patterns were reproducible and the survey responses were reliable. Comparison between years revealed that fish consumption patterns remained consistent over time. In addition, the high fish consumption rate estimated in 2008 (147.8g/day; 95% CI: 117.6-185.8g/day) was confirmed with a rate (134.9g/day; 95% CI: 88-207g/day) not materially different and still considerably higher than mean fish consumption rates reported for U.S. women. Daily mercury intake rates were estimated using consumption data from 2008 and three consumption scenarios (canned white, canned light, and no tuna) due to confirmed differences in mercury concentration between canned white and light tuna. Arithmetic mean daily mercury intake rates were 0.284μg/kg bw/day (95% CI: 0.229-0.340μg/kg bw/day) using canned white tuna, 0.212μg/kg bw/day (95% CI: 0.165-0.259μg/kg bw/day) using light tuna, and 0.197μg/kg bw/day (95% CI: 0.151-0.243μg/kg bw/day) using no tuna. Approximately 58%-73% of the daily mercury intake rates for African American women in the Southeast Community exceeded US EPA's oral reference dose (RfD) of 0.10μg/kg bw/day for mercury. In addition, 2% of the rates exceeded a level (1.00μg/kg bw/day) documented to produce adverse health effects. Past and current investigations confirmed that even though women in this community were not subsistence fishers, they are subsistence fish consumers. Copyright �

Trophic interactions between native and introduced fish species in a littoral fish community.

Science.gov (United States)

Monroy, M; Maceda-Veiga, A; Caiola, N; De Sostoa, A

2014-11-01

The trophic interactions between 15 native and two introduced fish species, silverside Odontesthes bonariensis and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, collected in a major fishery area at Lake Titicaca were explored by integrating traditional ecological knowledge and stable-isotope analyses (SIA). SIA suggested the existence of six trophic groups in this fish community based on δ(13)C and δ(15)N signatures. This was supported by ecological evidence illustrating marked spatial segregation between groups, but a similar trophic level for most of the native groups. Based on Bayesian ellipse analyses, niche overlap appeared to occur between small O. bonariensis (<90 mm) and benthopelagic native species (31.6%), and between the native pelagic killifish Orestias ispi and large O. bonariensis (39%) or O. mykiss (19.7%). In addition, Bayesian mixing models suggested that O. ispi and epipelagic species are likely to be the main prey items for the two introduced fish species. This study reveals a trophic link between native and introduced fish species, and demonstrates the utility of combining both SIA and traditional ecological knowledge to understand trophic relationships between fish species with similar feeding habits. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

RESEARCHES REGARDING THE GROWTH OF HYPOPTHALMICHTHYS MOLITRIX AND CTENOPHARYNGODON IDELLA JUVENILES IN AN INTENSIVE SYSTEM

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ALINA RODICA ANI

2008-10-01

Full Text Available The intensive net cage system is based on the superior capitalization of theaccumulation lakes or other different basins through the use of different types anddimensions, stationary or floating net cages, depending on categories like age,species and destination. This study is about the use of net cage intensive system typein the growth of juveniles Ctenopharyngodon idella and Hypopthalmichthys molitrixspecies. From the experimental point of view, the objectives were represented by theconstruction of a net cage mini-system and the surveillance of the biologicalmaterial inside this system. The experiment was unfolded on the length of 38 days atthe Mǎrtinesti Fish Farm from Cluj County. A net cage system designed andconceived by the research collective was populated with 4000 juveniles fish fromeach species. At the beginning of this experiment the juveniles fish had a mediumweight of 2 grams/sample. At the end of this experiment the fish had a mediumweight of 9 grams.

Spatial patterns of fish communities along two estuarine gradients in southern Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Green, D.P.J.; Trexler, J.C.; Lorenz, J.J.; McIvor, C.C.; Philippi, T.

2006-01-01

In tropical and subtropical estuaries, gradients of primary productivity and salinity are generally invoked to explain patterns in community structure and standing crops of fishes. We documented spatial and temporal patterns in fish community structure and standing crops along salinity and nutrient gradients in two subtropical drainages of Everglades National Park, USA. The Shark River drains into the Gulf of Mexico and experiences diurnal tides carrying relatively nutrient enriched waters, while Taylor River is more hydrologically isolated by the oligohaline Florida Bay and experiences no discernable lunar tides. We hypothesized that the more nutrient enriched system would support higher standing crops of fishes in its mangrove zone. We collected 50 species of fish from January 2000 to April 2004 at six sampling sites spanning fresh to brackish salinities in both the Shark and Taylor River drainages. Contrary to expectations, we observed lower standing crops and density of fishes in the more nutrient rich tidal mangrove forest of the Shark River than in the less nutrient rich mangrove habitats bordering the Taylor River. Tidal mangrove habitats in the Shark River were dominated by salt-tolerant fish and displayed lower species richness than mangrove communities in the Taylor River, which included more freshwater taxa and yielded relatively higher richness. These differences were maintained even after controlling for salinity at the time of sampling. Small-scale topographic relief differs between these two systems, possibly created by tidal action in the Shark River. We propose that this difference in topography limits movement of fishes from upstream marshes into the fringing mangrove forest in the Shark River system, but not the Taylor River system. Understanding the influence of habitat structure, including connectivity, on aquatic communities is important to anticipate effects of construction and operational alternatives associated with restoration of the

Laboratory Experiments on the Effects of Blade Strike from Hydrokinetic Energy Technologies on Larval and Juvenile Freshwater Fishes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schweizer, Peter E [ORNL; Cada, Glenn F [ORNL; Bevelhimer, Mark S [ORNL

2012-03-01

concern that small, fragile fish early life stages may be unable to avoid being struck by the blades of hydrokinetic turbines, we found no empirical data in the published literature that document survival of earliest life-stage fish in passage by rotor blades. In addition to blade strike, research on passage of fish through conventional hydropower turbines suggested that fish mortalities from passage through the rotor swept area could also occur due to shear stresses and pressure chances in the water column (Cada et al. 1997, Turnpenny 1998). However, for most of the proposed HK turbine designs the rotors are projected to operate a lower RPM (revolutions per minute) than observed from conventional reaction turbines; the associated shear stress and pressure changes are expected to be lower and pose a smaller threat to fish survival (DOE 2009). Only a limited number of studies have been conducted to examine the risk of blade strike from hydrokinetic technologies to fish (Turnpenny et al. 1992, Normandeau et al. 2009, Seitz et al. 2011, EPRI 2011); the survival of drifting or weakly swimming fish (especially early life stages) that encounter rotor blades from hydrokinetic (HK) devices is currently unknown. Our study addressed this knowledge gap by testing how fish larvae and juveniles encountered different blade profiles of hydrokinetic devices and how such encounters influenced survivorship. We carried out a laboratory study designed to improve our understanding of how fish larvae and juvenile fish may be affected by encounters with rotor blades from HK turbines in the water column of river and ocean currents. (For convenience, these early life stages will be referred to as young of the year, YOY). The experiments developed information needed to quantify the risk (both probability and consequences) of rotor-blade strike to YOY fish. In particular, this study attempted to determine whether YOY drifting in a high-velocity flow directly in the path of the blade leading edge

Structure of Caribbean coral reef communities across a large gradient of fish biomass.

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Marah J H; Paredes, Gustavo A; Sala, Enric; Jackson, Jeremy B C

2006-11-01

The collapse of Caribbean coral reefs has been attributed in part to historic overfishing, but whether fish assemblages can recover and how such recovery might affect the benthic reef community has not been tested across appropriate scales. We surveyed the biomass of reef communities across a range in fish abundance from 14 to 593 g m(-2), a gradient exceeding that of any previously reported for coral reefs. Increased fish biomass was correlated with an increased proportion of apex predators, which were abundant only inside large marine reserves. Increased herbivorous fish biomass was correlated with a decrease in fleshy algal biomass but corals have not yet recovered.

Effects of marine reserves versus nursery habitat availability on structure of reef fish communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagelkerken, Ivan; Grol, Monique G G; Mumby, Peter J

2012-01-01

No-take marine fishery reserves sustain commercial stocks by acting as buffers against overexploitation and enhancing fishery catches in adjacent areas through spillover. Likewise, nursery habitats such as mangroves enhance populations of some species in adjacent habitats. However, there is lack of understanding of the magnitude of stock enhancement and the effects on community structure when both protection from fishing and access to nurseries concurrently act as drivers of fish population dynamics. In this study we test the separate as well as interactive effects of marine reserves and nursery habitat proximity on structure and abundance of coral reef fish communities. Reserves had no effect on fish community composition, while proximity to nursery habitat only had a significant effect on community structure of species that use mangroves or seagrass beds as nurseries. In terms of reef fish biomass, proximity to nursery habitat by far outweighed (biomass 249% higher than that in areas with no nursery access) the effects of protection from fishing in reserves (biomass 21% lower than non-reserve areas) for small nursery fish (≤ 25 cm total length). For large-bodied individuals of nursery species (>25 cm total length), an additive effect was present for these two factors, although fish benefited more from fishing protection (203% higher biomass) than from proximity to nurseries (139% higher). The magnitude of elevated biomass for small fish on coral reefs due to proximity to nurseries was such that nursery habitats seem able to overrule the usually positive effects on fish biomass by reef reserves. As a result, conservation of nursery habitats gains importance and more consideration should be given to the ecological processes that occur along nursery-reef boundaries that connect neighboring ecosystems.

Effects of marine reserves versus nursery habitat availability on structure of reef fish communities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Nagelkerken

Full Text Available No-take marine fishery reserves sustain commercial stocks by acting as buffers against overexploitation and enhancing fishery catches in adjacent areas through spillover. Likewise, nursery habitats such as mangroves enhance populations of some species in adjacent habitats. However, there is lack of understanding of the magnitude of stock enhancement and the effects on community structure when both protection from fishing and access to nurseries concurrently act as drivers of fish population dynamics. In this study we test the separate as well as interactive effects of marine reserves and nursery habitat proximity on structure and abundance of coral reef fish communities. Reserves had no effect on fish community composition, while proximity to nursery habitat only had a significant effect on community structure of species that use mangroves or seagrass beds as nurseries. In terms of reef fish biomass, proximity to nursery habitat by far outweighed (biomass 249% higher than that in areas with no nursery access the effects of protection from fishing in reserves (biomass 21% lower than non-reserve areas for small nursery fish (≤ 25 cm total length. For large-bodied individuals of nursery species (>25 cm total length, an additive effect was present for these two factors, although fish benefited more from fishing protection (203% higher biomass than from proximity to nurseries (139% higher. The magnitude of elevated biomass for small fish on coral reefs due to proximity to nurseries was such that nursery habitats seem able to overrule the usually positive effects on fish biomass by reef reserves. As a result, conservation of nursery habitats gains importance and more consideration should be given to the ecological processes that occur along nursery-reef boundaries that connect neighboring ecosystems.

Biogeographic Patterns of Reef Fish Communities in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Roberts, May B.

2014-12-01

As a region renowned for high biodiversity, endemism and extreme temperature and salinity levels, the Red Sea is of high ecological interest. Despite this, there is relatively little literature on basic broad scale characteristics of the biodiversity or overall reef fish communities and how they change across latitude. We conducted visual transects recording the abundance of over 200 species of fish from 45 reefs spanning over 1000 km of Saudi Arabian coastline and used hierarchical cluster analysis to find that for combined depths from 0m-10m across this geographical range, the reef fish communities are relatively similar. However we find some interesting patterns both at the community level across depth and latitude as well as in endemic community distributions. We find that the communities, much like the environmental factors, shift gradually along latitude but do not show distinct clusters within the range we surveyed (from Al-Wajh in the north to the Farasan Banks in the south). Numbers of endemic species tend to be higher in the Thuwal region and further south. This type of baseline data on reef fish distribution and possible factors that may influence their ranges in the Red Sea are critical for future scientific studies as well as effective monitoring and in the face of the persistent anthropogenic influences such as coastal development, overfishing and climate change.

Comparative characterization of protease activity in cultured spotted rose snapper juveniles (Lutjanus guttatus

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Emyr Peña

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Partial characterizations of digestive proteases were studied in three life stages of spotted rose snapper: early (EJ, middle (MJ and late juvenile (LJ with corresponding average weights of 21.3 ± 2.6 g (3 months after hatching, MAH, 190 ± 4.4 g (7 MAH, and 400 ± 11.5 g (12 MAH. At sampling points, the digestive tract was dissected into the stomach (St, pyloric caeca (PC, and the intestine in three sections (proximal (PI, middle (MI and distal intestine (DI. The effect of pH and temperature and specific inhibitors were evaluated for acid and alkaline proteases. Total acid and alkaline protease activity showed a tendency to increase with juvenile life stage of fish while trypsin activity decreased. Differences were found in acid and alkaline protease activities at different pH and temperatures during juvenile stages. Pepstatin A inhibited total activity in the stomach extract in all juvenile stages. Activity in total alkaline protease inhibition was significantly higher in EJ using TLCK, PMSF, SBTI, Phen and Ovo than in MJ and LJ, while no significant differences were found with TPCK inhibition. Therefore increases in protease activities with fish growth through juvenile stages in which a substitution or diversification in the type of alkaline enzymes exist. These results lead a better comprehension of changes in digestive potential of Lutjanidae fish.

Physiological Assessment and Behavioral Interaction of Wild and Hatchery Juvenile Salmonids : The Relationship of Fish Size and Growth to Smoltification in Spring Chinook Salmon.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beckman, Brian R.; Larsen, Donald A.; Lee-Pawlak, Beeda; Dickhoff, Walton W.

1996-10-01

Experiments were performed to determine the relative influence of size and growth rate on downstream migratory disposition and physiology in yearling spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawtscha) smolts. A group of juvenile chinook salmon was size graded into small and large categories with half the fish in each group reared at an elevated temperature, resulting in four distinct treatment groups: Large Warm (LW), Large Cool (LC), Small Warm (SW), and Small Cool (SC). Fish from warm-water treatment groups displayed significantly higher growth rates than cool-water groups. Fish were tagged and released into a natural creek where downstream movement was monitored. For each of the two releases, fish that migrated past a weir within the first 5 days postrelease had significantly higher spring growth rates than fish that did not migrate within that period. Significant differences in length for the same fish were only found in the second release. Also for the second release, fish from the warm water treatment groups were recovered in higher proportions than fish from cool water groups. The results indicate that increased growth rate in the spring has a positive relation to downstream migratory disposition. Furthermore, there is a relation between smolt size and migration; however, this relation is weaker than that found between growth rate and migration.

Mortality of Juvenile So-iuy Mullet, Liza Haematocheilus (Teleostei, Mugilidae, in the Sea of Azov Associated With Metacercaria (Digenea

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Sarabeev V.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Mortality of Juvenile So-iuy Mullet, Liza haematocheilus (Teleostei, Mugilidae, in the Sea of Azov Associated with Metacercariae (Digenea. Sarabeev, V. - Age-dependent patterns, including yearly variations of digenean metacercariae infestations of the introduced species, Liza haematocheilus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845, were studied. We evaluated the impacts of three metacercaria species, Timoniella imbutiforme (Molin, 1859 Brooks, 1980, Diplostomum spp. and Ascocotyle (Phagicola longa Ransom, 1920, on juvenile fish in age from one month to 2+ years old from the Molochny Estuary and neighboring waters of the Sea of Azov by applying Croft on’s negative binomial truncation technique, epidemiologic and aggregation indices. Parasite surveys executed in 1997-2014 revealed significant yearly differences in the infection dynamics of studied metacercariae in juvenile fish of L. haematocheilus. Metacercariae were absent or fish harboured several times less parasites in 2005-2013 than in 1997-1999. T. imbutiforme infection exhibits a convex that was observed in a decline of the parasite load aft er an initial increase. The infection load of Diplostomum spp. increased asymptotically with the fish age reaching maximum value in two years old juveniles. Both the abundance and the prevalence of A. (P. longa were low in juveniles of two month and two years old but relatively high and more or less constant during the rest of the juvenile period. Results of the present study suggest that metacercariae, especially, T. imbutiforme, are associated with mortality of juvenile Liza haematocheilus.

Consistent nutrient storage and supply mediated by diverse fish communities in coral reef ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Allgeier, Jacob E; Layman, Craig A; Mumby, Peter J; Rosemond, Amy D

2014-08-01

Corals thrive in low nutrient environments and the conservation of these globally imperiled ecosystems is largely dependent on mitigating the effects of anthropogenic nutrient enrichment. However, to better understand the implications of anthropogenic nutrients requires a heightened understanding of baseline nutrient dynamics within these ecosystems. Here, we provide a novel perspective on coral reef nutrient dynamics by examining the role of fish communities in the supply and storage of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). We quantified fish-mediated nutrient storage and supply for 144 species and modeled these data onto 172 fish communities (71 729 individual fish), in four types of coral reefs, as well as seagrass and mangrove ecosystems, throughout the Northern Antilles. Fish communities supplied and stored large quantities of nutrients, with rates varying among ecosystem types. The size structure and diversity of the fish communities best predicted N and P supply and storage and N : P supply, suggesting that alterations to fish communities (e.g., overfishing) will have important implications for nutrient dynamics in these systems. The stoichiometric ratio (N : P) for storage in fish mass (~8 : 1) and supply (~20 : 1) was notably consistent across the four coral reef types (but not seagrass or mangrove ecosystems). Published nutrient enrichment studies on corals show that deviations from this N : P supply ratio may be associated with poor coral fitness, providing qualitative support for the hypothesis that corals and their symbionts may be adapted to specific ratios of nutrient supply. Consumer nutrient stoichiometry provides a baseline from which to better understand nutrient dynamics in coral reef and other coastal ecosystems, information that is greatly needed if we are to implement more effective measures to ensure the future health of the world's oceans. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of hydroelectric turbine passage on fish early life stages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cada, G.F.

1991-01-01

Turbine-passage mortality has been studied extensively for juveniles and adults of migratory fish species, but few studies have directly quantified orality of fish eggs and larvae. This paper provides an analysis of literature relating to component stresses of turbine passage (i.e., pressure changes, blade contact, and shear) which indicates that mortality of early life stages of fish would be relatively low at low-head, bulb turbine installations. The shear forces and pressure regimes normally experienced are insufficient to cause high mortality rates. The probability of contact with turbine blades is related to the size of the fish; less than 5% of entrained ichthyoplankton would be killed by the blades in a bulb turbine. Other sources of mortality (e.g., cavitation and entrainment of fish acclimated to deep water) are controlled by operation of the facility and thus are mitigable. Because turbine-passage mortality among fish early life stages can be very difficult to estimate directly, it may be more fruitful to base the need for mitigation at any given site on detailed knowledge of turbine characteristics and the susceptibility of the fish community to entrainment

Evaluation of juvenile salmonid bypass facilities and passage at water diversions on the lower Umatilla River. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cameron, W.A.; Knapp, S.M.; Carmichael, R.W.

1997-07-01

Outdated juvenile and adult fish passage facilities were recently reconstructed at the five major irrigation dams on the lower Umatilla River, Oregon to meet National marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) design standards. Changes in design at juvenile fish bypass facilities included reduced mesh size on the rotating drum screens, larger screening area, a more oblique orientation of the drum screens to canal flow, improved screen seals, replacement of bypass portals with vertical slot bypass channels, and increased bypass pipe diameters. Weir-and-pool adult fish ladders and jump pools were replaced with vertical-slot ladders. From 1991--1995, they investigated injury and travel rate of juvenile fish moving through the facilities, and efficiency of screens in preventing fish entry into the canals. Water velocities in front of canal screens, at bypass channel entrances, and at ladder diffusers were measured to assess adherence to NMFS criteria and identify hydraulic patterns. Biological evaluations were conducted by releasing and recapturing marked yearling summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), yearling spring chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and subyearling fall chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) in varying locations within the fish passage facilities

Impact of 21st century climate change on the Baltic Sea fish community and fisheries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

MacKenzie, Brian; Gislason, Henrik; Möllmann, C.

2007-01-01

reviewed. We then use recent regional - scale climate - ocean modelling results to consider how climate change during this century will affect the fish community of the Baltic and fisheries management. Expected climate changes in northern Europe will likely affect both the temperature and salinity...... some of the uncertainties and complexities associated with forecasting how fish populations, communities and industries dependent on an estuarine ecosystem might respond to future climate change.......The Baltic Sea is a large brackish semienclosed sea whose species-poor fish community supports important commercial and recreational fisheries. Both the fish species and the fisheries are strongly affected by climate variations. These climatic effects and the underlying mechanisms are briefly...

Gill structural change in response to turbidity has no effect on the oxygen uptake of a juvenile sparid fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Cumming, H; Herbert, N A

2016-01-01

Turbidity as a result of increased suspended sediments in coastal waters is an environmental stress of worldwide concern. Recent research on fish suggests that detrimental changes to gill structure can occur in turbid waters, with speculation that these alterations diminish fitness variables, such as growth and development, by negatively impacting the O 2 uptake capacity (respiration) of fish. Specifically to address this unknown, the impact of turbid water on the gill structure, somatic growth rate and O 2 uptake rates of a juvenile sparid species ( Pagrus auratus ) was addressed following exposure to five different turbidity treatments (turbidity units) for 30 days. Significant gill structural change was apparent with a progressive increase in turbidity and was quantified as a reduction in lamellar density, as well as an increase in basal hyperplasia, epithelial lifting and increased oxygen diffusion distance across the lamellae. The weight of control fish did not change throughout the experiment, but all fish exposed to turbid waters lost weight, and weight loss increased with nephelometric turbidity units, confirming that long-term turbidity exposure is detrimental to growth productivity. The growth of fish could be impacted in a variety of ways, but the specific hypothesis that structural alteration of the gills impairs O 2 uptake across the gills and limits growth fitness was not supported because there was no measurable difference in the standard metabolic rate, maximal metabolic rate, aerobic metabolic scope or critical oxygen saturation limit of fish measured in clear water after 30 days of exposure. Although impaired O 2 uptake as a result of structurally adjusted gills is unlikely to be the cause of poor fish growth, the exact mechanism by which growth productivity is affected in turbid conditions remains unclear and warrants further investigation.

Effect of electric barrier on passage and physical condition of juvenile and adult rainbow trout

Science.gov (United States)

Layhee, Megan J.; Sepulveda, Adam; Shaw, Amy; Smuckall, Matthew; Kapperman, Kevin; Reyes, Alejandro

2016-01-01

Electric barriers can inhibit passage and injure fish. Few data exist on electric barrier parameters that minimize these impacts and on how body size affects susceptibility, especially to nontarget fish species. The goal of this study was to determine electric barrier voltage and pulse-width settings that inhibit passage of larger bodied rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (215–410 mm fork length) while allowing passage of smaller bodied juvenile rainbow trout (52–126 mm) in a static laboratory setting. We exposed rainbow trout to 30-Hz pulsed-direct current voltage gradients (0.00–0.45 V cm−1) and pulse widths (0.0–0.7 ms) and recorded their movement, injury incidence, and mortality. No settings tested allowed all juveniles to pass while impeding all adult passage. Juvenile and adult rainbow trout avoided the barrier at higher pulse widths, and fewer rainbow trout passed the barrier at 0.7-ms pulse width compared to 0.1 ms and when the barrier was turned off. We found no effect of voltage gradient on fish passage. No mortality occurred, and we observed external bruising in 5 (7%) juvenile rainbow trout and 15 (21%) adult rainbow trout. This study may aid managers in selecting barrier settings that allow for increased juvenile passage.

Community Structure Of Reef Fish In Eastern Luwu Water Territory

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Henny Tribuana Cinnawara

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract One bio-indicators the condition of coral reefs is a presence of reef fish. The purpose of research is to determine species composition abundance distribution and structure of reef fish communities in these waters. Data collection was conducted in April at six locations in the north and the south eastern Luwu. Mechanical Underwater Visual Cencus UVC and transect method Line intercept Transec LIT with SCUBA equipment used for research data collection. Total reef fish species collected as many as 366 species belonging to 31 families consisting of 150 species of fish target fish consumption 10 species of indicator fish indicator species 206 types of major fissh. The most dominant indicator type of fish is Chaetodon octofasciatus while the major dominant family Pomacentridae Labridae and Apogonidae. Diversity index values ranged from 2.145 to 3.408. Dominance index C is in the range of 0.056 to 0.298. The result is expected to be a reference literature as basic data for the management of reef fish especially in the waters of eastern Luwu.

Habitat dynamics, marine reserve status, and the decline and recovery of coral reef fish communities

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, David H; Ceccarelli, Daniela M; Evans, Richard D; Jones, Geoffrey P; Russ, Garry R

2014-01-01

Severe climatic disturbance events often have major impacts on coral reef communities, generating cycles of decline and recovery, and in some extreme cases, community-level phase shifts from coral-to algal-dominated states. Benthic habitat changes directly affect reef fish communities, with low coral cover usually associated with low fish diversity and abundance. No-take marine reserves (NTRs) are widely advocated for conserving biodiversity and enhancing the sustainability of exploited fish populations. Numerous studies have documented positive ecological and socio-economic benefits of NTRs; however, the ability of NTRs to ameliorate the effects of acute disturbances on coral reefs has seldom been investigated. Here, we test these factors by tracking the dynamics of benthic and fish communities, including the important fishery species, coral trout (Plectropomus spp.), over 8 years in both NTRs and fished areas in the Keppel Island group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Two major disturbances impacted the reefs during the monitoring period, a coral bleaching event in 2006 and a freshwater flood plume in 2011. Both disturbances generated significant declines in coral cover and habitat complexity, with subsequent declines in fish abundance and diversity, and pronounced shifts in fish assemblage structure. Coral trout density also declined in response to the loss of live coral, however, the approximately 2:1 density ratio between NTRs and fished zones was maintained over time. The only post-disturbance refuges for coral trout spawning stocks were within the NTRs that escaped the worst effects of the disturbances. Although NTRs had little discernible effect on the temporal dynamics of benthic or fish communities, it was evident that the post-disturbance refuges for coral trout spawning stocks within some NTRs may be critically important to regional-scale population persistence and recovery. PMID:24634720

Patterns in the Use of a Restored California Floodplain by Native and Alien Fishes

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Peter B Moyle

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Fishes were sampled on the restored floodplain of the Cosumnes River in Central California in order to determine patterns of floodplain use. The floodplain was sampled for seven years (1998-2002, 2004-2005 during the winter-spring flooding season. The fishes fell into five groups: (1 floodplain spawners, (2 river spawners, (3 floodplain foragers, (4 floodplain pond fishes, and (5 inadvertent users. Eight of the 18 abundant species were natives, while the rest were aliens. There was a consistent pattern of floodplain use, modified by timing and extent of flooding. The first fishes to appear were floodplain foragers, inadvertent users, and juvenile Chinook salmon (river spawners. Next were floodplain spawners, principally Sacramento splittail and common carp. At the end of the season, in ponds of residual water, non-native annual fishes, mainly inland silverside and western mosquitofish, became abundant. Adult spawners left when inflow decreased; their juveniles persisted as long as flood pulses kept water levels up and temperatures low. Juvenile splittail and carp quickly grew large enough to dominate floodplain fish samples, along with smaller numbers of juvenile Sacramento sucker and pikeminnow (river spawners. Such juveniles left the Relatively few fishes that used the floodplain for spawning or rearing became stranded, except late season alien fishes. Most alien fishes had resident populations in adjacent river, sloughs, and ditches and were not dependent on the floodplain for persistence. This indicates that Central Valley floodplains managed to favor native fishes should have the following char- acteristics: (1 extensive early season flooding, (2 complete drainage by the end of the flooding season, (3 few areas with permanent water, (4 a mosaic of physical habitats, (5 regular annual flooding but with high variability in flood regime.

Komposisi dan Kelimpahan Ikan di Ekosistem Mangrove di Kedungmalang, Jepara (Fish Community Structure in Mangrove Ecosystem at Kedung Malang, Jepara Regency

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Sri Redjeki

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Ekosistem mangrove di Kedungmalang, Kabupaten Jepara dilaporkan telah mengalami kerusakan ekologis. Kondisi ini mempengaruhi biota termasuk ikan yang hidup di kawasan tersebut. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui komposisi dan kelimpahan ikan di ekosistem mangrove di Desa Kedungmalang, Kecamatan Kedung, Kabupaten Jepara. Penelitian dilaksanakan bulan Mei sampai Agustus 2011. Pengambilan sampel ikan dilakukan di 3 lokasi perairan bervegetasi mangrove sejati (true mangrove Rhizophora sp. dan mangrove asosiasi (associate mangrove rumput Cyperus sp. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terdapat 10 famili ikan, yaitu Mugilidae, Ariidae, Eleotridae, Pristigasteridae, Gobiidae, Drepanidae, Belonidae, Adrianichtyidae, Aplocheilidae, dan Haemulidae. Ikan paling banyak ditemui adalah famili Mugilidae, sedangkan ikan yang jarang ditemui adalah Famili Belonidae. Ikan Mugilidae hidup pada kisaran salinitas luas, sering masuk estuari dan sungai serta bersifat katadromous, biasanya membentuk kelompok besar di daerah dengan dasar pasir atau lumpur. Ikan famili Mugilidae yang paling banyak tertangkap adalah fase anakan dan juvenil. Jenis ikan Belanak ini merupakan ikan  yang berasosiasi dengan hutan mangrove selama periode anakan, tetapi saat dewasa cenderung menggerombol di sepanjang pantai berdekatan dengan hutan mangrove. Secara umum kelimpahan ikan pada saat surut selalu lebih tinggi dibandingkan saat pasang. Kelimpahan ikan di Rhizophora sp. lebih tinggi dibandingkan Cyperus sp. baik pada saat surut maupun pasang. Kata kunci: ekosistem mangrove, ikan, komposisi, Mugillidae Mangrove ecosystem at Kedungmalang has been reported experiencing  an ecological damage. This condition directly or indirectly affect the organisms, including fish that live around the area ecosystem. The purpose of this study was to identify and determine the abundance the fish communities in mangrove ecosystem in the Kedungmalang Village, Kedung District, Jepara Regency. The research

Fish larvae and juveniles checklist (Pisces from the northern Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, with 39 new records for the region Listado de larvas y juveniles de peces del norte de la península de Yucatán, México, con 39 nuevos registros para la región

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Víctor García-Hernández

2009-04-01

Full Text Available A taxonomic checklist for fish larvae and juveniles occurring at Yalahau (June 2001-May 2002, Celestún (July 1994-June 1995, Chelem (July 1999-June 2000 and Río Lagartos (November 1996- October 1997 lagoons located in the northern part of the Yucatán Peninsula is presented. Sampling was carried out for 5 minutes using a zooplankton net for larvae, while a Renfro net was hauled for 50 m2 to capture juveniles. This work aims to provide the current state of the taxonomic composition and general distribution for 34 377 fish larvae and juveniles. Our samples represent 2 classes, 17 orders, 45 families, 83 genera and 117 species were caught, including 39 new records, where 24 have been found only in the Gulf of Mexico, 3 in the Caribbean Sea, and 90 are common to both regions. This study updates and increases the number of species in larval and juvenile stages previously reported. It was found that early reef larval stages were more abundant towards the East of the Yucatán Peninsula and less to the West. The high number of shared species (90 suggests that the northern region of the Yucatán Peninsula is a transition zone for fish larvae and juveniles between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.Se presenta un listado taxonómico de larvas y juveniles de peces de las lagunas de Yalahau (junio 2001-may 2002, Celestún (julio 1994-junio 1995, Chelem (julio 1999-junio 2000 y Río Lagartos (noviembre1996- octubre 1997 del norte de la península de Yucatán. Se actualiza e incrementa el registro en el número de especies del lugar reportado en estudios previos y se hacen observaciones sobre la distribución general de las larvas y juveniles de peces del área. Los muestreos se realizaron durante 5 minutos con una red de zooplancton para las larvas de peces y una red Renfro para los juveniles cubriendo un área de 50 m2. Se registraron 2 clases, 17 órdenes, 45 familias, 83 géneros y 117 especies, incluyendo a 39 nuevos registros, y de las cuales 24

AFSC/RACE/EcoFOCI: 2010 Eastern Bering Sea Juvenile Survey - 1MF10

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Data collected on this cruise included the following: We conducted a juvenile fish and benthic fish prey survery in the eastern Bering Sea (61 3-meter beam trawls,...

Fishing top predators indirectly affects condition and reproduction in a reef-fish community.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, S M; Hamilton, S L; Ruttenberg, B I; Donovan, M K; Sandin, S A

2012-03-01

To examine the indirect effects of fishing on energy allocation in non-target prey species, condition and reproductive potential were measured for five representative species (two-spot red snapper Lutjanus bohar, arc-eye hawkfish Paracirrhites arcatus, blackbar devil Plectroglyphidodon dickii, bicolour chromis Chromis margaritifer and whitecheek surgeonfish Acanthurus nigricans) from three reef-fish communities with different levels of fishing and predator abundance in the northern Line Islands, central Pacific Ocean. Predator abundance differed by five to seven-fold among islands, and despite no clear differences in prey abundance, differences in prey condition and reproductive potential among islands were found. Body condition (mean body mass adjusted for length) was consistently lower at sites with higher predator abundance for three of the four prey species. Mean liver mass (adjusted for total body mass), an indicator of energy reserves, was also lower at sites with higher predator abundance for three of the prey species and the predator. Trends in reproductive potential were less clear. Mean gonad mass (adjusted for total body mass) was high where predator abundance was high for only one of the three species in which it was measured. Evidence of consistently low prey body condition and energy reserves in a diverse suite of species at reefs with high predator abundance suggests that fishing may indirectly affect non-target prey-fish populations through changes in predation and predation risk. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology © 2012 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

The importance of sponges and mangroves in supporting fish communities on degraded coral reefs in Caribbean Panama.

Science.gov (United States)

Seemann, Janina; Yingst, Alexandra; Stuart-Smith, Rick D; Edgar, Graham J; Altieri, Andrew H

2018-01-01

Fish communities associated with coral reefs worldwide are threatened by habitat degradation and overexploitation. We assessed coral reefs, mangrove fringes, and seagrass meadows on the Caribbean coast of Panama to explore the influences of their proximity to one another, habitat cover, and environmental characteristics in sustaining biomass, species richness and trophic structure of fish communities in a degraded tropical ecosystem. We found 94% of all fish across all habitat types were of small body size (≤10 cm), with communities dominated by fishes that usually live in habitats of low complexity, such as Pomacentridae (damselfishes) and Gobiidae (gobies). Total fish biomass was very low, with the trend of small fishes from low trophic levels over-represented, and top predators under-represented, relative to coral reefs elsewhere in the Caribbean. For example, herbivorous fishes comprised 27% of total fish biomass in Panama relative to 10% in the wider Caribbean, and the small parrotfish Scarus iseri comprised 72% of the parrotfish biomass. We found evidence that non-coral biogenic habitats support reef-associated fish communities. In particular, the abundance of sponges on a given reef and proximity of mangroves were found to be important positive correlates of reef fish species richness, biomass, abundance and trophic structure. Our study indicates that a diverse fish community can persist on degraded coral reefs, and that the availability and arrangement within the seascape of other habitat-forming organisms, including sponges and mangroves, is critical to the maintenance of functional processes in such ecosystems.

The importance of sponges and mangroves in supporting fish communities on degraded coral reefs in Caribbean Panama

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janina Seemann

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Fish communities associated with coral reefs worldwide are threatened by habitat degradation and overexploitation. We assessed coral reefs, mangrove fringes, and seagrass meadows on the Caribbean coast of Panama to explore the influences of their proximity to one another, habitat cover, and environmental characteristics in sustaining biomass, species richness and trophic structure of fish communities in a degraded tropical ecosystem. We found 94% of all fish across all habitat types were of small body size (≤10 cm, with communities dominated by fishes that usually live in habitats of low complexity, such as Pomacentridae (damselfishes and Gobiidae (gobies. Total fish biomass was very low, with the trend of small fishes from low trophic levels over-represented, and top predators under-represented, relative to coral reefs elsewhere in the Caribbean. For example, herbivorous fishes comprised 27% of total fish biomass in Panama relative to 10% in the wider Caribbean, and the small parrotfish Scarus iseri comprised 72% of the parrotfish biomass. We found evidence that non-coral biogenic habitats support reef-associated fish communities. In particular, the abundance of sponges on a given reef and proximity of mangroves were found to be important positive correlates of reef fish species richness, biomass, abundance and trophic structure. Our study indicates that a diverse fish community can persist on degraded coral reefs, and that the availability and arrangement within the seascape of other habitat-forming organisms, including sponges and mangroves, is critical to the maintenance of functional processes in such ecosystems.

Does human pressure affect the community structure of surf zone fish in sandy beaches?

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Leonardo Lopes; Landmann, Júlia G.; Gaelzer, Luiz R.; Zalmon, Ilana R.

2017-01-01

Intense tourism and human activities have resulted in habitat destruction in sandy beach ecosystems with negative impacts on the associated communities. To investigate whether urbanized beaches affect surf zone fish communities, fish and their benthic macrofaunal prey were collected during periods of low and high human pressure at two beaches on the Southeastern Brazilian coast. A BACI experimental design (Before-After-Control-Impact) was adapted for comparisons of tourism impact on fish community composition and structure in urbanized, intermediate and non-urbanized sectors of each beach. At the end of the summer season, we observed a significant reduction in fish richness, abundance, and diversity in the high tourist pressure areas. The negative association between visitors' abundance and the macrofaunal density suggests that urbanized beaches are avoided by surf zone fish due to higher human pressure and the reduction of food availability. Our results indicate that surf zone fish should be included in environmental impact studies in sandy beaches, including commercial species, e.g., the bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix. The comparative results from the less urbanized areas suggest that environmental zoning and visitation limits should be used as effective management and preservation strategies on beaches with high conservation potential.

Fish communities associated with cold-water corals vary with depth and substratum type

Science.gov (United States)

Milligan, Rosanna J.; Spence, Gemma; Roberts, J. Murray; Bailey, David M.

2016-08-01

Understanding the processes that drive the distribution patterns of organisms and the scales over which these processes operate are vital when considering the effective management of species with high commercial or conservation value. In the deep sea, the importance of scleractinian cold-water corals (CWCs) to fish has been the focus of several studies but their role remains unclear. We propose this may be due to the confounding effects of multiple drivers operating over multiple spatial scales. The aims of this study were to investigate the role of CWCs in shaping fish community structure and individual species-habitat associations across four spatial scales in the NE Atlantic ranging from "regions" (separated by >500 km) to "substratum types" (contiguous). Demersal fish and substratum types were quantified from three regions: Logachev Mounds, Rockall Bank and Hebrides Terrace Seamount (HTS). PERMANOVA analyses showed significant differences in community composition between all regions which were most likely caused by differences in depths. Within regions, significant variation in community composition was recorded at scales of c. 20-3500 m. CWCs supported significantly different fish communities to non-CWC substrata at Rockall Bank, Logachev and the HTS. Single-species analyses using generalised linear mixed models showed that Sebastes sp. was strongly associated with CWCs at Rockall Bank and that Neocyttus helgae was more likely to occur in CWCs at the HTS. Depth had a significant effect on several other fish species. The results of this study suggest that the importance of CWCs to fish is species-specific and depends on the broader spatial context in which the substratum is found. The precautionary approach would be to assume that CWCs are important for associated fish, but must acknowledge that CWCs in different depths will not provide redundancy or replication within spatially-managed conservation networks.

Fish oil improves motor function, limits blood-brain barrier disruption, and reduces Mmp9 gene expression in a rat model of juvenile traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, K L; Berman, N E J; Gregg, P R A; Levant, B

2014-01-01

The effects of an oral fish oil treatment regimen on sensorimotor, blood-brain barrier, and biochemical outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) were investigated in a juvenile rat model. Seventeen-day old Long-Evans rats were given a 15mL/kg fish oil (2.01g/kg EPA, 1.34g/kg DHA) or soybean oil dose via oral gavage 30min prior to being subjected to a controlled cortical impact injury or sham surgery, followed by daily doses for seven days. Fish oil treatment resulted in less severe hindlimb deficits after TBI as assessed with the beam walk test, decreased cerebral IgG infiltration, and decreased TBI-induced expression of the Mmp9 gene one day after injury. These results indicate that fish oil improved functional outcome after TBI resulting, at least in part from decreased disruption of the blood-brain barrier through a mechanism that includes attenuation of TBI-induced expression of Mmp9. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estuarine fish communities respond to climate variability over both river and ocean basins.

Science.gov (United States)

Feyrer, Frederick; Cloern, James E; Brown, Larry R; Fish, Maxfield A; Hieb, Kathryn A; Baxter, Randall D

2015-10-01

Estuaries are dynamic environments at the land-sea interface that are strongly affected by interannual climate variability. Ocean-atmosphere processes propagate into estuaries from the sea, and atmospheric processes over land propagate into estuaries from watersheds. We examined the effects of these two separate climate-driven processes on pelagic and demersal fish community structure along the salinity gradient in the San Francisco Estuary, California, USA. A 33-year data set (1980-2012) on pelagic and demersal fishes spanning the freshwater to marine regions of the estuary suggested the existence of five estuarine salinity fish guilds: limnetic (salinity = 0-1), oligohaline (salinity = 1-12), mesohaline (salinity = 6-19), polyhaline (salinity = 19-28), and euhaline (salinity = 29-32). Climatic effects propagating from the adjacent Pacific Ocean, indexed by the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO), affected demersal and pelagic fish community structure in the euhaline and polyhaline guilds. Climatic effects propagating over land, indexed as freshwater outflow from the watershed (OUT), affected demersal and pelagic fish community structure in the oligohaline, mesohaline, polyhaline, and euhaline guilds. The effects of OUT propagated further down the estuary salinity gradient than the effects of NPGO that propagated up the estuary salinity gradient, exemplifying the role of variable freshwater outflow as an important driver of biotic communities in river-dominated estuaries. These results illustrate how unique sources of climate variability interact to drive biotic communities and, therefore, that climate change is likely to be an important driver in shaping the future trajectory of biotic communities in estuaries and other transitional habitats. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Ecological risk assessment in a large river-reservoir. 2: Fish community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suter, G.W. II; Barnthouse, L.W.; Efroymson, R.A.; Jager, H.

1999-01-01

This paper summarizes the assessment of risks to fishes in the Clinch River Operable Unit due to contaminants released by the US Department of Energy's activities on its Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. This paper focuses on the most contaminated area, the Poplar Creek (PC) embayment. The assessment is of interest because of its use of five distinct lines of evidence: fish community surveys, fish body burdens, toxicity tests of ambient waters, suborganismal bioindicators, and single chemical toxicity tests. None of these lines of evidence provided unambiguous evidence of a significant risk, but the surveys indicated that the fish community in PC was depauperate, polychlorinated biphenyl body burdens may have been at toxic levels in catfish, one of the three tests of ambient water showed clear toxicity, some of the indicators were indicative of toxic effects, and concentrations that have been toxic in the laboratory were detected periodically. Interpretation was further complicated by upstream contamination of both the Clinch River and PC. The risk characterization was performed by evaluating each line of evidence separately and then weighing the evidence using an ecoepidemiological approach

Shifts in coastal fish communities: Is eutrophication always beneficial for sticklebacks?

Science.gov (United States)

Gagnon, Karine; Gräfnings, Max; Boström, Christoffer

2017-11-01

Following declines of predatory fish, mesopredators such as sticklebacks have been linked to shifts in coastal trophic networks through both top-down (preying on mesograzers and facilitating algal blooms) and bottom-up (benefitting from eutrophicated conditions) processes. Here, we tested whether the association between eutrophication effects (filamentous algae and turbidity) and sticklebacks held true in the Finnish Archipelago Sea where predatory fish populations have remained stable. If so, sticklebacks should be more abundant in the middle archipelago, where eutrophic conditions have led to increased turbidity, higher filamentous algal loads, and decreased cover of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), than in the outer archipelago, where environmental conditions are better. We measured the spatial and seasonal variation of sticklebacks (three-spined Gasterosteus aculeatus and nine-spined Pungitius pungitius) in middle and outer archipelago sites, as well as environmental variables potentially affecting their abundance. Adults and juveniles of both species were more abundant in the outer than middle archipelago. The outer archipelago was characterized by greater Secchi depth throughout the summer and higher SAV cover in late summer. Secchi depth was positively correlated with stickleback abundance of both species, while SAV cover was also positively correlated in late summer. Filamentous algal cover was high in both the middle and outer archipelago, but not consistently associated with stickleback abundance throughout the summer. While sticklebacks have been thought to both contribute to, and benefit from, eutrophication, our results instead suggest that the resulting environmental changes may have adverse effects on sticklebacks, especially if predators are present. This may lead them to shift their breeding grounds and spatial distribution to less eutrophicated areas where lower turbidity and the resulting increased availability of SAV provide refuge from

Acoustic Telemetry Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Passage and Survival at John Day Dam, 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weiland, Mark A.; Woodley, Christa M.; Ploskey, Gene R.; Hughes, James S.; Hennen, Matthew J.; Kim, Jin A.; Deng, Zhiqun; Fu, Tao; Skalski, J. R.; Townsend, Richard L.; Wagner, Katie A.; Fischer, Eric S.; Duncan, Joanne P.; Batten, G.; Carlson, Thomas J.; Carpenter, Scott M.; Cushing, Aaron W.; Elder, T.; Etherington, D. J.; Johnson, Gary E.; Khan, Fenton; Miracle, Ann L.; Mitchell, T. D.; Prather, K.; Rayamajhi, Bishes; Royer, Ida; Seaburg, Adam; Zimmerman, Shon A.

2013-06-21

This report presents survival, behavioral, and fish passage results for tagged yearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead as part of a survival study conducted at John Day Dam during spring 2011. This study was designed to evaluate the passage and survival of yearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead to assist managers in identifying dam operations for compliance testing as stipulated by the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion and the 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords. Survival estimates were based on a paired-release survival model.

The effects of coral bleaching on settlement preferences and growth of juvenile butterflyfishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, A J; Lawton, R J; Pisapia, C; Pratchett, M S

2014-07-01

Coral bleaching and associated mortality is an increasingly prominent threat to coral reef ecosystems. Although the effects of bleaching-induced coral mortality on reef fishes have been well demonstrated, corals can remain bleached for several weeks prior to recovery or death and little is known about how bleaching affects resident fishes during this time period. This study compared growth rates of two species of juvenile butterflyfishes (Chaetodon aureofasciatus and Chaetodon lunulatus) that were restricted to feeding upon either bleached or healthy coral tissue of Acropora spathulata or Pocillopora damicornis. Coral condition (bleached vs. unbleached) had no significant effects on changes in total length or weight over a 23-day period. Likewise, in a habitat choice experiment, juvenile butterflyfishes did not discriminate between healthy and bleached corals, but actively avoided using recently dead colonies. These results indicate that juvenile coral-feeding fishes are relatively robust to short term effects of bleaching events, provided that the corals do recover. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Invasive lionfish had no measurable effect on prey fish community structure across the Belizean Barrier Reef.

Science.gov (United States)

Hackerott, Serena; Valdivia, Abel; Cox, Courtney E; Silbiger, Nyssa J; Bruno, John F

2017-01-01

Invasive lionfish are assumed to significantly affect Caribbean reef fish communities. However, evidence of lionfish effects on native reef fishes is based on uncontrolled observational studies or small-scale, unrepresentative experiments, with findings ranging from no effect to large effects on prey density and richness. Moreover, whether lionfish affect populations and communities of native reef fishes at larger, management-relevant scales is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of lionfish on coral reef prey fish communities in a natural complex reef system. We quantified lionfish and the density, richness, and composition of native prey fishes (0-10 cm total length) at sixteen reefs along ∼250 km of the Belize Barrier Reef from 2009 to 2013. Lionfish invaded our study sites during this four-year longitudinal study, thus our sampling included fish community structure before and after our sites were invaded, i.e., we employed a modified BACI design. We found no evidence that lionfish measurably affected the density, richness, or composition of prey fishes. It is possible that higher lionfish densities are necessary to detect an effect of lionfish on prey populations at this relatively large spatial scale. Alternatively, negative effects of lionfish on prey could be small, essentially undetectable, and ecologically insignificant at our study sites. Other factors that influence the dynamics of reef fish populations including reef complexity, resource availability, recruitment, predation, and fishing could swamp any effects of lionfish on prey populations.

Invasive lionfish had no measurable effect on prey fish community structure across the Belizean Barrier Reef

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serena Hackerott

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Invasive lionfish are assumed to significantly affect Caribbean reef fish communities. However, evidence of lionfish effects on native reef fishes is based on uncontrolled observational studies or small-scale, unrepresentative experiments, with findings ranging from no effect to large effects on prey density and richness. Moreover, whether lionfish affect populations and communities of native reef fishes at larger, management-relevant scales is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of lionfish on coral reef prey fish communities in a natural complex reef system. We quantified lionfish and the density, richness, and composition of native prey fishes (0–10 cm total length at sixteen reefs along ∼250 km of the Belize Barrier Reef from 2009 to 2013. Lionfish invaded our study sites during this four-year longitudinal study, thus our sampling included fish community structure before and after our sites were invaded, i.e., we employed a modified BACI design. We found no evidence that lionfish measurably affected the density, richness, or composition of prey fishes. It is possible that higher lionfish densities are necessary to detect an effect of lionfish on prey populations at this relatively large spatial scale. Alternatively, negative effects of lionfish on prey could be small, essentially undetectable, and ecologically insignificant at our study sites. Other factors that influence the dynamics of reef fish populations including reef complexity, resource availability, recruitment, predation, and fishing could swamp any effects of lionfish on prey populations.

Fish Community Structure and Diet Responses to Newbury Weirs in a Low-Gradient River

Science.gov (United States)

Bonjour, Sophia M.; Rantala, Heidi M.; Bennett, Micah G.; Whiles, Matt R.

2018-06-01

Restoration projects are often implemented to address specific issues in the environment. Consequences of a restoration project, if any are measured, typically focus on direct changes to the projects focus. However, changing habitat structure likely results in changes to the environment that affect the communities living there. Rock weirs have been used for channel stabilization in many midwestern rivers. Previous research in a southern Illinois river found that weirs benefitted aquatic macroinvertebrate and riparian bird communities by enhancing habitat heterogeneity and insect emergence production. We hypothesized that fishes would also benefit from weirs through enhanced habitat and food availability. We collected fishes in the Cache River in southern Illinois using hand nets, seines, and electroshocking at sites where weirs had been installed and at non-weir sites. Gut contents were identified and individual food items measured. Fish species richness, but not diversity, was higher at weir sites. Fish communities also differed between site types, with benthic feeders characterizing weir sites. Gut content biomass and abundance differed among fish guilds but not between weir and non-weir sites. Fishes from both site types selected for prey taxa predominately found at weirs. Differences between site types were not always captured by univariate metrics, but connecting fish prey to habitat suggests a reach-scale benefit for fishes through increased abundance of favored prey and enhanced prey diversity. Additionally, given the paucity of rocky substrata in the river as a whole, rock weirs enhance fish species richness by providing habitat for less common benthic species.

76 FR 2663 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-14

... and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS... and steelhead, and natural juvenile green sturgeon while carrying out a study measuring fish response... species, taking of length measurements), tissue sampling, release of moribund fish or fish carcasses back...

Defining thresholds of sustainable impact on benthic communities in relation to fishing disturbance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, G I; Murray, L G; Hiddink, J G; Hinz, H; Lincoln, H; Hold, N; Cambiè, G; Kaiser, M J

2017-07-14

While the direct physical impact on seabed biota is well understood, no studies have defined thresholds to inform an ecosystem-based approach to managing fishing impacts. We addressed this knowledge gap using a large-scale experiment that created a controlled gradient of fishing intensity and assessed the immediate impacts and short-term recovery. We observed a mosaic of taxon-specific responses at various thresholds. The lowest threshold of significant lasting impact occurred between 1 and 3 times fished and elicited a decrease in abundance of 39 to 70% for some sessile epifaunal organisms (cnidarians, bryozoans). This contrasted with significant increases in abundance and/or biomass of scavenging species (epifaunal echinoderms, infaunal crustaceans) by two to four-fold in areas fished twice and more. In spite of these significant specific responses, the benthic community structure, biomass and abundance at the population level appeared resilient to fishing. Overall, natural temporal variation in community metrics exceeded the effects of fishing in this highly dynamic study site, suggesting that an acute level of disturbance (fished over six times) would match the level of natural variation. We discuss the implications of our findings for natural resources management with respect to context-specific human disturbance and provide guidance for best fishing practices.

Three-dimensional migration behavior of juvenile salmonids in reservoirs and near dams

OpenAIRE

Li, Xinya; Deng, Zhiqun D.; Fu, Tao; Brown, Richard S.; Martinez, Jayson J.; McMichael, Geoffrey A.; Trumbo, Bradly A.; Ahmann, Martin L.; Renholds, Jon F.; Skalski, John R.; Townsend, Richard L.

2018-01-01

To acquire 3-D tracking data on juvenile salmonids, Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) cabled hydrophone arrays were deployed in the forebays of two dams on the Snake River and at a mid-reach reservoir between the dams. The depth distributions of fish were estimated by statistical analyses performed on large 3-D tracking data sets from ~33,500 individual acoustic tagged yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead at the two dams in 2012 and subyearling Chinoo...

Genetic identification of F1 and post-F1 serrasalmid juvenile hybrids in Brazilian aquaculture.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diogo Teruo Hashimoto

Full Text Available Juvenile fish trade monitoring is an important task on Brazilian fish farms. However, the identification of juvenile fish through morphological analysis is not feasible, particularly between interspecific hybrids and pure species individuals, making the monitoring of these individuals difficult. Hybrids can be erroneously identified as pure species in breeding facilities, which might reduce production on farms and negatively affect native populations due to escapes or stocking practices. In the present study, we used a multi-approach analysis (molecular and cytogenetic markers to identify juveniles of three serrasalmid species (Colossoma macropomum, Piaractus mesopotamicus and Piaractus brachypomus and their hybrids in different stocks purchased from three seed producers in Brazil. The main findings of this study were the detection of intergenus backcrossing between the hybrid ♀ patinga (P. mesopotamicus×P. brachypomus×♂ C. macropomum and the occurrence of one hybrid triploid individual. This atypical specimen might result from automixis, a mechanism that produces unreduced gametes in some organisms. Moreover, molecular identification indicated that hybrid individuals are traded as pure species or other types of interspecific hybrids, particularly post-F1 individuals. These results show that serrasalmid fish genomes exhibit high genetic heterogeneity, and multi-approach methods and regulators could improve the surveillance of the production and trade of fish species and their hybrids, thereby facilitating the sustainable development of fish farming.

Small size today, aquarium dumping tomorrow: sales of juvenile non-native large fish as an important threat in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André L. B. Magalhães

2017-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Informal sales of large-bodied non-native aquarium fishes (known as “tankbusters” is increasing among Brazilian hobbyists. In this study, we surveyed this non-regulated trade on Facebook® from May 2012 to September 2016, systematically collecting information about the fishes available for trading: species, family, common/scientific names, native range, juvenile length, behavior, number of specimens available in five geographical regions from Brazil. We also assessed the invasion risk of the most frequently sold species using the Fish Invasiveness Screening Test (FIST. We found 93 taxa belonging to 35 families. Cichlidae was the dominant family, and most species were native to South America. All species are sold at very small sizes (< 10.0 cm, and most display aggressive behavior. The hybrid Amphilophus trimaculatus × Amphilophus citrinellus, Astronotus ocellatus, Uaru amphiacanthoides, Osteoglossum bicirrhosum, Cichla piquiti, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, Datnioides microlepis and Cichla kelberi were the main species available. The southeast region showed the greatest trading activity. Based on biological traits, the FIST indicated that Arapaima gigas, C. kelberi and C. temensis are high-risk species in terms of biological invasions via aquarium dumping. We suggest management strategies such as trade regulations, monitoring, euthanasia and educational programs to prevent further introductions via aquarium dumping.

PiSCES: Pi(scine) stream community estimation software: A tool for nationwide fish assemblage predictions

Science.gov (United States)

Background/Question/Methods What species of fish might someone find in a local stream? How might that community change as a result of changes to characteristics of the stream and its watershed? PiSCES is a browser-based toolkit developed to predict a fish community for any NHD-Pl...

Fish community status in Norwegian lakes in relation to acidification: a comparison between interviews and actual catches by test fishing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hesthagen, T.; Berger, H.M.; Larsen, B.M. (Norwegian Inst. for Nature Research, Trondheim (Norway)); Rosseland, B.O. (Norwegian Inst. for Water Research, Oslo (Norway))

1993-01-01

Inquiries are used to obtain information on fish community status in terms of unchanged, reduced and lost communities, to assess the effects of acidification in lakes. The aim of this paper was to investigate the validity of this method by comparing fish status with actual catches on standard gill net series (CPUE). Data from 230 test fishing incidents comprising 357 stocks of 7 different fish species are presented. We found significant differences in CPUE between perceived fish status categories for brown trout (Salmo trutta), arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) and perch (Perca fluviatilis), for which sufficient data were available. A discriminant analysis revealed that for stocks reported as unchanged and lost, the predicted membership ranged between 60.0-72.1 % respectively. However, a dominant fraction (50.0-66.7 %) of stocks reported as reduced were assigned as lost. Stocks which have been declining for less than 10 years, had a significantly higher CPUE than stocks which have declined for a longer period of time. Another apparent change in population characteristics was an acidification induced increase in mean weight for fish affected stocks. It is suggested that interviews tend to overestimate the current fish status. This is discussed in relation to a time lag between the damage and the time when it became apparent to fishermen, and rapid decline in population numbers. 26 refs, 2 figs, 4 tabs

Yolo Bypass Juvenile Salmon Utilization Study 2016—Summary of acoustically tagged juvenile salmon and study fish release, Sacramento River, California

Science.gov (United States)

Liedtke, Theresa L.; Hurst, William R.

2017-09-12

The Yolo Bypass is a flood control bypass in Sacramento Valley, California. Flood plain habitats may be used for juvenile salmon rearing, however, the potential value of such habitats can be difficult to evaluate because of the intermittent nature of inundation events. The Yolo Bypass Juvenile Salmon Utilization Study (YBUS) used acoustic telemetry to evaluate the movements and survival of juvenile salmon adjacent to and within the Yolo Bypass during the winter of 2016. This report presents numbers, size data, and release data (times, dates, and locations) for the 1,197 acoustically tagged juvenile salmon released for the YBUS from February 21 to March 18, 2016. Detailed descriptions of the surgical implantation of transmitters are also presented. These data are presented to support the collaborative, interagency analysis and reporting of the study findings.

Baseline assessment of fish communities of the Flower Garden Banks

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The work developed baseline information on fish and benthic communities within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). Surveys employed diving,...

Arsenic bioaccumulation in a marine juvenile fish Terapon jarbua

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Wei; Huang Liangmin; Wang Wenxiong

2011-01-01

Highlights: Radiotracer technique was used to quantify the biokinetics of As(V) in a marine fish. As(V) had a low bioavailability to Terapon jarbua. Dietary assimilation of As was only 3.1–7.4% for fish fed with different preys. Dietary uptake could be the primary route for As bioaccumulation in fish. - Abstract: Arsenic (As) is a ubiquitous toxic metalloid that is causing widespread public concern. Recent measurements have indicated that some marine fish in China might be seriously contaminated with As. Yet the biokinetics and bioaccumulation pathway of As in fish remain little understood. In this study, we employed a radiotracer technique to quantify the dissolved uptake, dietary assimilation and subsequent efflux of As(V) in a marine predatory fish, Terapon jarbua. The dissolved uptake of As showed a linear pattern over a range of dissolved concentrations from 0.5 to 50 μg L −1 , with a corresponding uptake rate constant of 0.0015 L g −1 d −1 . The assimilation efficiencies (AEs) of dietary As were only 3.1–7.4% for fish fed with copepods, clams, prey fish, or artificial diets, and were much lower than the As that entered the trophically available metal fraction in the prey. The dietary AEs were independent of the As(V) concentrations in the artificial diets. The efflux rate constant of As in fish following the dietary exposure was 0.03 d −1 . Modeling calculations showed that dietary uptake could be the primary route for As bioaccumulation in fish, and the corresponding contributions of waterborne and dietary uptakes were related to the bioconcentration factor (BCF) of the prey and the ingestion rate of fish. This study demonstrates that As(V) has a low bioavailability to T. jarbua.

Native fish conservation areas: a vision for large-scale conservation of native fish communities

Science.gov (United States)

Jack E. Williams; Richard N. Williams; Russell F. Thurow; Leah Elwell; David P. Philipp; Fred A. Harris; Jeffrey L. Kershner; Patrick J. Martinez; Dirk Miller; Gordon H. Reeves; Christopher A. Frissell; James R. Sedell

2011-01-01

The status of freshwater fishes continues to decline despite substantial conservation efforts to reverse this trend and recover threatened and endangered aquatic species. Lack of success is partially due to working at smaller spatial scales and focusing on habitats and species that are already degraded. Protecting entire watersheds and aquatic communities, which we...

EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FEED ON GROWTH, SURVIVAL AND DIGESTIVE ENZYME ACTIVITY OF EARLY JUVENILE-STAGE MARBLE GOBY, Oxyeleotris marmoratus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Darwis

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The stable mass seed production technique of marble goby, Oxyeleotris marmoratus has not yet been established due to high mortality occurring on the early juvenile stage and/or after 40 days after hatching (d AH. In order to establish the mass seed production technique, O. marmoratus juveniles of 40 d AH were reared for 60 days to determine growth, survival and digestive enzyme activity at different types of feed (trash fish, artificial feed and Artemia sp. nauplii. Specific growth rate (5.32 and survival rate (91.3% in juveniles fed Artemia sp. nauplii showed significantly higher (P<0.05 than those of juveniles fed trash fish and artificial feed. At the end of the experiment, the mean specific trypsin, amylase and lipase activities of juveniles fed Artemia sp. nauplii were recorded as 0.04 mU mg protein-1m-1, 0.114 mg maltose mg protein-1h-1 and 9.58 m Units, respectively, and they were significantly higher than those of juveniles fed trash fish and artificial feed. In the present study it was shown that O. marmoratus early juveniles had more efficient digestibility and absorption the nutrient when fed with Artemia.

Egg cortisol exposure enhances fearfulness in larvae and juvenile rainbow trout

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Colson, Violaine; Valotaire, Claudiane; Geffroy, Benjamin

2015-01-01

We investigated the effects of an early boost of cortisol exposure in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) eggs during fertilisation on subsequent behavioural responses when exposed to a sudden stimulus in larvae and juveniles. At 55 d post-fertilisation (dpf), treatment had no effect on high...... accelerations occurring after a sudden event. At 146 dpf, these high accelerations were more frequent in cortisol-treated fish than in controls. At 146 dpf also, swimming activity was increased in cortisol-treated fish both before and after the sudden stimulus. This study underlines the important behavioural...... modifications in both larvae and juveniles, linked to a change in the surrounding environment of the embryo. Indeed, fish exposed to cortisol as eggs showed a higher level of fearfulness later in life. Our findings are of major interest for stress management in an aquaculture context and also allow for a better...

A synthesis of ecological and fish-community changes in Lake Ontario, 1970-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, E.L.; Casselman, J.M.; Dermott, R.; Fitzsimons, J.D.; Gal, G.; Holeck, K. T.; Hoyle, J.A.; Johannsson, O.E.; Lantry, B.F.; Makarewicz, J.C.; Millard, E.S.; Munawar, I.F.; Munawar, M.; O'Gorman, R.; Owens, R.W.; Rudstam, L. G.; Schaner, T.; Stewart, T.J.

2005-01-01

We assessed stressors associated with ecological and fishcommunity changes in Lake Ontario since 1970, when the first symposium on Salmonid Communities in Oligotrophic Lakes (SCOL I) was held (J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 29: 613-616). Phosphorus controls implemented in the early 1970s were undeniably successful; lower food-web studies showed declines in algal abundance and epilimnetic zooplankton production and a shift in pelagic primary productivity toward smaller organisms. Stressors on the fish community prior to 1970 such as exploitation, sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) predation, and effects of nuisance populations of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) were largely ameliorated by the 1990s. The alewife became a pivotal species supporting a multi-million-dollar salmonid sport fishery, but alewife-induced thiamine deficiency continued to hamper restoration and sustainability of native lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Expanding salmonine populations dependent on alewife raised concerns about predator demand and prey supply, leading to reductions in salmonine stocking in the early 1990s. Relaxation of the predation impact by alewives and their shift to deeper water allowed recovery of native fishes such as threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides). The return of the Lake Ontario ecosystem to historical conditions has been impeded by unplanned introductions. Establishment of Dreissena spp. led to increased water clarity and increased vectoring of lower trophic-level production to benthic habitats and contributed to the collapse of Diporeia spp. populations, behavioral modifications of key fish species, and the decline of native lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). Despite reduced productivity, exotic-species introductions, and changes in the fish community, offshore Mysis relicta populations remained relatively stable. The effects of climate and climate change on the population abundance and dynamics of Lake Ontario

Taxonomy of USA east coast fishing communities in terms of social vulnerability and resilience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pollnac, Richard B., E-mail: pollnac3@gmail.com [Department of Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island, 1 Greenhouse Rd., Kingston, RI 02881 (United States); Seara, Tarsila, E-mail: tarsila.seara@noaa.gov [National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Social Sciences Branch, 28 Tarzwell Dr., Narragansett, RI 02882 (United States); Colburn, Lisa L., E-mail: lisa.l.colburn@noaa.gov [National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Social Sciences Branch, 28 Tarzwell Dr., Narragansett, RI 02882 (United States); Jepson, Michael, E-mail: michael.jepson@noaa.gov [National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Social Sciences Branch, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 (United States)

2015-11-15

Increased concern with the impacts that changing coastal environments can have on coastal fishing communities led to a recent effort by NOAA Fisheries social scientists to develop a set of indicators of social vulnerability and resilience for the U.S. Southeast and Northeast coastal communities. A goal of the NOAA Fisheries social vulnerability and resilience indicator program is to support time and cost effective use of readily available data in furtherance of both social impact assessments of proposed changes to fishery management regulations and climate change adaptation planning. The use of the indicators to predict the response to change in coastal communities would be enhanced if community level analyses could be grouped effectively. This study examines the usefulness of combining 1130 communities into 35 relevant subgroups by comparing results of a numerical taxonomy with data collected by interview methods, a process herein referred to as “ground-truthing.” The validation of the taxonomic method by the method of ground-truthing indicates that the clusters are adequate to be used to select communities for in-depth research. - Highlights: • We develop a taxonomy of fishing communities based on vulnerability indicators. • We validate the community clusters through the use of surveys (“ground-truthing”). • Clusters differ along important aspects of fishing community vulnerability. • Clustering communities allows for accurate and timely social impact assessments.

Taxonomy of USA east coast fishing communities in terms of social vulnerability and resilience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollnac, Richard B.; Seara, Tarsila; Colburn, Lisa L.; Jepson, Michael

2015-01-01

Increased concern with the impacts that changing coastal environments can have on coastal fishing communities led to a recent effort by NOAA Fisheries social scientists to develop a set of indicators of social vulnerability and resilience for the U.S. Southeast and Northeast coastal communities. A goal of the NOAA Fisheries social vulnerability and resilience indicator program is to support time and cost effective use of readily available data in furtherance of both social impact assessments of proposed changes to fishery management regulations and climate change adaptation planning. The use of the indicators to predict the response to change in coastal communities would be enhanced if community level analyses could be grouped effectively. This study examines the usefulness of combining 1130 communities into 35 relevant subgroups by comparing results of a numerical taxonomy with data collected by interview methods, a process herein referred to as “ground-truthing.” The validation of the taxonomic method by the method of ground-truthing indicates that the clusters are adequate to be used to select communities for in-depth research. - Highlights: • We develop a taxonomy of fishing communities based on vulnerability indicators. • We validate the community clusters through the use of surveys (“ground-truthing”). • Clusters differ along important aspects of fishing community vulnerability. • Clustering communities allows for accurate and timely social impact assessments

Assessing historical fish community composition using surveys, historical collection data, and species distribution models.

Science.gov (United States)

Labay, Ben; Cohen, Adam E; Sissel, Blake; Hendrickson, Dean A; Martin, F Douglas; Sarkar, Sahotra

2011-01-01

Accurate establishment of baseline conditions is critical to successful management and habitat restoration. We demonstrate the ability to robustly estimate historical fish community composition and assess the current status of the urbanized Barton Creek watershed in central Texas, U.S.A. Fish species were surveyed in 2008 and the resulting data compared to three sources of fish occurrence information: (i) historical records from a museum specimen database and literature searches; (ii) a nearly identical survey conducted 15 years earlier; and (iii) a modeled historical community constructed with species distribution models (SDMs). This holistic approach, and especially the application of SDMs, allowed us to discover that the fish community in Barton Creek was more diverse than the historical data and survey methods alone indicated. Sixteen native species with high modeled probability of occurrence within the watershed were not found in the 2008 survey, seven of these were not found in either survey or in any of the historical collection records. Our approach allowed us to more rigorously establish the true baseline for the pre-development fish fauna and then to more accurately assess trends and develop hypotheses regarding factors driving current fish community composition to better inform management decisions and future restoration efforts. Smaller, urbanized freshwater systems, like Barton Creek, typically have a relatively poor historical biodiversity inventory coupled with long histories of alteration, and thus there is a propensity for land managers and researchers to apply inaccurate baseline standards. Our methods provide a way around that limitation by using SDMs derived from larger and richer biodiversity databases of a broader geographic scope. Broadly applied, we propose that this technique has potential to overcome limitations of popular bioassessment metrics (e.g., IBI) to become a versatile and robust management tool for determining status of

[Effects of submarine topography and water depth on distribution of pelagic fish community in minnan-taiwan bank fishing ground].

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Shuimei; Yang, Shengyun; Zhang, Chengmao; Zhu, Jinfu

2002-11-01

According to the fishing record of the light-seine information vessel in Minnan-Taiwan bank ground during 1989 to 1999, the effects of submarine topography and water depth on distribution of pelagic fish community in Minnan-Taiwan bank fishing ground was studied. The results showed that the pelagic fish distributed concentratively, while the submarine topography and water depth varied widely, but in different fishing regions, the distribution of pelagic fishes was uneven. The distribution of fishing yield increased from north to south, and closed up from sides of the bank to south or north in the regions. Pelagic fish distributed mainly in mixed water in the southern Taiwan Strait, and in warm water in the Taiwan Strait. The central fishing grounds were at high salt regions. Close gathering regions of pelagic fish or central fishing ground would be varied with the seasonal variation of mixed water in the southern Taiwan Strait and warm water in the Taiwan Strait. Central fishing ground was not only related to submarine topography and water depth, but also related to wind direction, wind-power and various water systems. In the fishing ground, the gathering depth of pelagic fish was 30-60 m in spring and summer, and 40-80 m in autumn and winter.

Female and Male Juvenile Offenders with Disabilities: Differences in the Barriers to Their Transition to the Community

Science.gov (United States)

Unruh, Deanne; Bullis, Michael

2005-01-01

This article examined differences between young women and men who were incarcerated juvenile offenders with disabilities in Oregon in terms of the barriers they faced in their transition from the correctional system back into the community. Data were gathered on 72 females and 276 males, all of whom presented disabilities and who were…

Zooplankton diversity and the predatory impact by larval and small juvenile fish at the Fisher Banks in the North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Torkel Gissel; Munk, Peter

1998-01-01

The biomass and diversity of the mesozooplankton and fish larvae community were investigated across a frontal zone in the central North Sea in the early summer, to investigate whether larval fish predation is a regulator of mesozooplankton production. Pronounced changes in the mesozooplankton com...

Maximum Neutral Buoyancy Depth of Juvenile Chinook Salmon: Implications for Survival during Hydroturbine Passage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pflugrath, Brett D.; Brown, Richard S.; Carlson, Thomas J.

2012-03-01

This study investigated the maximum depth at which juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha can acclimate by attaining neutral buoyancy. Depth of neutral buoyancy is dependent upon the volume of gas within the swim bladder, which greatly influences the occurrence of injuries to fish passing through hydroturbines. We used two methods to obtain maximum swim bladder volumes that were transformed into depth estimations - the increased excess mass test (IEMT) and the swim bladder rupture test (SBRT). In the IEMT, weights were surgically added to the fishes exterior, requiring the fish to increase swim bladder volume in order to remain neutrally buoyant. SBRT entailed removing and artificially increasing swim bladder volume through decompression. From these tests, we estimate the maximum acclimation depth for juvenile Chinook salmon is a median of 6.7m (range = 4.6-11.6 m). These findings have important implications to survival estimates, studies using tags, hydropower operations, and survival of juvenile salmon that pass through large Kaplan turbines typical of those found within the Columbia and Snake River hydropower system.

Changes in the fish community and water quality during seven years of stocking piscivorous fish in a shallow lake

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skov, Christian; Perrow, M.R.; Berg, Søren

2002-01-01

evaluated between predatory fish and potential prey and between zooplanktivorous or benthivorous fish and water quality parameters. In addition, potential consumption of piscivorous fishes was calculated. 3. The density of fish feeding on larger zooplankton or benthos (roach >15 cm, crucian carp >15 cm......1. Piscivores (annual stocking of 1000 individuals ha(-1) of 0+ pike and a single stocking of 30 kg ha(-1) of large 20-30 cm perch) were stocked in seven consecutive years in a shallow eutrophic lake in Denmark. The stocking programme aimed at changing food-web structure by reducing...... zooplanktivorous and benthivorous fish, with resultant effects on lower trophic levels and ultimately water quality. 2. The fish community and water quality parameters (Secchi depth, concentrations of total phosphorus, chlorophyll a and suspended solids) were monitored between 1996 and 2000 and relationships were...

Community based fish culture in the public and private floodplains of Bangladesh

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mahfuzul Haque, A.B.

2015-01-01

Seasonal floodplains are water bodies that retain water for 5-6 months during which they are suitable to grow fish and other aquatic animals. Out of 2.8 million ha of medium and deep-flooded areas, about 1.5 million ha are estimated to be suitable for Community-Based Fish Culture (CBFC).

Functionally diverse reef-fish communities ameliorate coral disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Raymundo, Laurie J; Halford, Andrew R; Maypa, Aileen P; Kerr, Alexander M

2009-10-06

Coral reefs, the most diverse of marine ecosystems, currently experience unprecedented levels of degradation. Diseases are now recognized as a major cause of mortality in reef-forming corals and are complicit in phase shifts of reef ecosystems to algal-dominated states worldwide. Even so, factors contributing to disease occurrence, spread, and impact remain poorly understood. Ecosystem resilience has been linked to the conservation of functional diversity, whereas overfishing reduces functional diversity through cascading, top-down effects. Hence, we tested the hypothesis that reefs with trophically diverse reef fish communities have less coral disease than overfished reefs. We surveyed reefs across the central Philippines, including well-managed marine protected areas (MPAs), and found that disease prevalence was significantly negatively correlated with fish taxonomic diversity. Further, MPAs had significantly higher fish diversity and less disease than unprotected areas. We subsequently investigated potential links between coral disease and the trophic components of fish diversity, finding that only the density of coral-feeding chaetodontid butterflyfishes, seldom targeted by fishers, was positively associated with disease prevalence. These previously uncharacterized results are supported by a second large-scale dataset from the Great Barrier Reef. We hypothesize that members of the charismatic reef-fish family Chaetodontidae are major vectors of coral disease by virtue of their trophic specialization on hard corals and their ecological release in overfished areas, particularly outside MPAs.

PISCATOR, an individual-based model to analyze the dynamics of lake fish communities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nes, van E.H.; Lammens, E.H.R.R.; Scheffer, M.

2002-01-01

Unraveling the mechanisms that drive dynamics of multi-species fish communities is notoriously difficult. Not only are the interactions between fish populations complex, but also the functional niche of individual animals changes profoundly as they grow, making variation in size within populations

Does coastal lagoon habitat quality affect fish growth rate and their recruitment? Insights from fishing and acoustic surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Brehmer, P.; Laugier, T.; Kantoussan, J.; Galgani, F.; Mouillot, D.

2013-07-01

Ensuring the sustainability of fish resources necessitates understanding their interaction with coastal habitats, which is becoming ever more challenging in the context of ever increasing anthropogenic pressures. The ability of coastal lagoons, exposed to major sources of disturbance, to provide resources and suitable habitats for growth and survival of juvenile fish is especially important. We analysed three lagoons with different ecological statuses and habitat quality on the basis of their eutrophication and ecotoxicity (Trix test) levels. Fish abundances were sampled using fishing and horizontal beaming acoustic surveys with the same protocols in the same year. The relative abundance of Anguilla anguilla, Dicentrarchus labrax or the Mugilidae group was not an indicator of habitat quality, whereas Atherina boyeri and Sparus aurata appeared to be more sensitive to habitat quality. Fish abundance was higher in the two lagoons with high eutrophication and ecotoxicity levels than in the less impacted lagoon, while fish sizes were significantly higher in the two most severely impacted lagoons. This leads us to suggest low habitat quality may increase fish growth rate (by the mean of a cascading effect), but may reduce lagoon juvenile abundance by increasing larval mortality. Such a hypothesis needs to be further validated using greater investigations which take into account more influences on fish growth and recruitment in such variable environments under complex multi-stressor conditions.

Simulating Spawning and Juvenile Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Habitat in Colorado River Based on High-Flow Effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiwei Yao

2017-02-01

Full Text Available High flow generates significant alterations in downstream river reaches, resulting in physical condition changes in the downstream regions of the river such as water depth, flow velocity, water temperature and river bed. These alterations will lead to change in fish habitat configuration in the river. This paper proposes a model system to evaluate the high flow effects on river velocity, water depth, substrates changes, temperature distribution and consequently assess the change in spawning and juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss habitats in the downstream region of the Glen Canyon Dam. Firstly, based on the 2 dimensional (2D depth-averaged CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics model and heat transfer equation applied for simulation, three indices were simulated, namely depth, flow velocity and temperature distribution. Then, the spawning and juvenile fish preference curves were obtained based on these three indices and substrates distribution. After that, the habitat model was proposed and used to simulate the high flow effects on juvenile and spawning rainbow trout habitat structure. Finally, the weighted usable area (WUA and overall suitability index (OSI of the spawning and juvenile fish species were quantitatively simulated to estimate the habitat sensitivity. The results illustrate that the high flow effect (HFE increased the juvenile rainbow trout habitat quality but decreased the spawning rainbow trout habitat quality. The juvenile trout were mainly affected by the water depth while the spawning rainbow trout were dominated by the bed elevation.

CHARACTERISTICS OFBENTHIC FISH COMMUNITY OF DNIEPER STORAGE POOL LITTORAL ZONE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Novitskiy R. A.

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Specific composition of bull-calves is analyzed together with their quantitative and quality parameters in the littoral zone of the Dnepr storage pool. The structural-functional features of organization of littoral communities of bull-calves were studied. The patterns of spatial distribution of Bull-calf (Gobiidae representatives were analyzed for the storage pool; their role in the littoral fish communities was clarified.

Growth response of juveniles of Clarias bidorsalis to imported ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2010-08-02

Aug 2, 2010 ... Growth response of Clarias bidorsalis juveniles weighing between 5 - 10 g that were fed with extruded. (floating) imported ... and showed that daily food consumption and weight gain of fish that were ... mental period. The feed ...

Comparison of bacterial communities of tilapia fish from Cameroon ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Comparison of bacterial communities of tilapia fish from Cameroon and Vietnam using PCR-DGGE (polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) ... The different PCR-DGGE 16S rDNA banding profiles obtained were analysed and results showed that there were specific bands for each geographical ...

Gas bubble trauma monitoring and research of juvenile salmonids. 1995 Annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maule, A.G.; Mesa, M.G.; Hans, K.M.

1997-07-01

This report describes laboratory and field monitoring studies of gas bubble trauma (GBT) in migrating juvenile salmonids in the Snake and Columbia rivers. The first chapter describes laboratory studies of the progression of GBT signs leading to mortality and the use of the signs for GBT assessment. The progression and severity of GBT signs in juvenile salmonids exposed to different levels of total dissolved gas (TDG) and temperatures was assessed and quantified. Next, the prevalence, severity, and individual variation of GBT signs was evaluated to attempt to relate them to mortality. Finally, methods for gill examination in fish exposed to high TDG were developed and evaluated. Primary findings were: (1) no single sign of GBT was clearly correlated with mortality, but many GBT signs progressively worsened; (2) both prevalence and severity of GBT signs in several tissues is necessary; (3) bubbles in the lateral line were the earliest sign of GBT, showed progressive worsening, and had low individual variation but may develop poorly during chronic exposures; (4) fin bubbles had high prevalence, progressively worsened, and may be a persistent sign of GBT; and (5) gill bubbles appear to be the proximate cause of death but may only be relevant at high TDG levels and are difficult to examine. Chapter Two describes monitoring results of juvenile salmonids for signs of GBT. Emigrating fish were collected and examined for bubbles in fins and lateral lines. Preliminary findings were: (1) few fish had signs of GBT, but prevalence and severity appeared to increase as fish migrated downstream; (2) there was no apparent correlation between GBT signs in the fins, lateral line, or gills; (3) prevalence and severity of GBT was suggestive of long-term, non-lethal exposure to relatively low level gas supersaturated water; and (4) it appeared that GBT was not a threat to migrating juvenile salmonids. 24 refs., 26 figs., 3 tabs

Effect of replacing fish meal with extruded soybean meal on growth, feed utilization and apparent nutrient digestibility of juvenile white shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei)

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Qihui; Tan, Beiping; Dong, Xiaohui; Chi, Shuyan; Liu, Hongyu

2015-10-01

Extruded soybean meal (ESBM) was evaluated as a protein source for partial replacement of fish meal (FM) in diets of juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei. In the control diet (Diet 1), FM protein was replaced with increasing dietary levels of ESBM (4.28%, 8.40%, 12.62%, 16.82%, and 25.26%) at 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 60% levels (Diets 2 to 6, respectively). An eight-week feeding trial was conducted on 720 juvenile shrimp (0.67 g ± 0.01 g mean initial weight), and nutrient digestibility of the six diets was determined. ESBM could replace 20% of FM without causing a significant reduction in growth of shrimp, but other dietary treatments strongly affected whole body composition. Crude protein content of the whole body fed Diet 6 was significantly lower than that fed Diet 2 ( P digestibilities of Diets 5 and 6 were significantly lower than that of Diet 1 ( P Digestibility of lipids ranged from 96.97% in Diet 6 to 98.34% in Diet 3, whereas dry matter digestibility decreased with increasing replacement level. This study indicates that 20% FM replacement with ESBM in the basic diet containing 40% protein and 30% FM is optimal for juvenile L. vannamei.

Acoustic Telemetry Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Passage and Survival at John Day Dam, 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weiland, Mark A.; Woodley, Christa M.; Ploskey, Gene R.; Hughes, James S.; Kim, Jin A.; Deng, Zhiqun; Fu, Tao; Fischer, Eric S.; Skalski, J. R.; Townsend, Richard L.; Duncan, Joanne P.; Hennen, Matthew J.; Wagner, Katie A.; Arntzen, Evan V.; Miller, Benjamin L.; Miracle, Ann L.; Zimmerman, Shon A.; Royer, Ida M.; Khan, Fenton; Cushing, Aaron W.; Etherington, D. J.; Mitchell, T. D.; Elder, T.; Batton, George; Johnson, Gary E.; Carlson, Thomas J.

2013-05-01

This report presents survival, behavioral, and fish passage results for yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon smolts and juvenile steelhead tagged with JSATS acoustic micro-transmitters as part of a survival study conducted at John Day Dam during 2010. This study was designed to evaluate the passage and survival of yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead to assist managers in identifying dam operations for compliance testing as stipulated by the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion and the 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords. Survival estimates were based on a single-release survival estimate model.

Fish Individual-based Numerical Simulator (FINS): A particle-based model of juvenile salmonid movement and dissolved gas exposure history in the Columbia River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheibe, Timothy D.; Richmond, Marshall C.

2002-01-01

This paper describes a numerical model of juvenile salmonid migration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The model, called the Fish Individual-based Numerical Simulator or FINS, employs a discrete, particle-based approach to simulate the migration and history of exposure to dissolved gases of individual fish. FINS is linked to a two-dimensional (vertically-averaged) hydrodynamic simulator that quantifies local water velocity, temperature, and dissolved gas levels as a function of river flow rates and dam operations. Simulated gas exposure histories can be input to biological mortality models to predict the effects of various river configurations on fish injury and mortality due to dissolved gas supersaturation. Therefore, FINS serves as a critical linkage between hydrodynamic models of the river system and models of biological impacts. FINS was parameterized and validated based on observations of individual fish movements collected using radiotelemetry methods during 1997 and 1998 . A quasi-inverse approach was used to decouple fish swimming movements from advection with the local water velocity, allowing inference of time series of non-advective displacements of individual fish from the radiotelemetry data. Statistical analyses of these displacements are presented, and confirm that strong temporal correlation of fish swimming behavior persists in some cases over several hours. A correlated random-walk model was employed to simulate the observed migration behavior, and parameters of the model were estimated that lead to close correspondence between predictions and observations

Demographic and phenotypic responses of juvenile steelhead trout to spatial predictability of food resources

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew R. Sloat; Gordon H. Reeves

2014-01-01

We manipulated food inputs among patches within experimental streams to determine how variation in foraging behavior influenced demographic and phenotypic responses of juvenile steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to the spatial predictability of food resources. Demographic responses included compensatory adjustments in fish abundance, mean fish...

Is Fish Farming an Illusion for Lake Malawi Riparian Communities under Environmental Changes?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moses Majid Limuwa

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Global environmental changes have negatively affected many food systems while the demand for food has continued to rise. An urgent need exists to identify other sustainable means of producing food. This is a case in Malawi, where capture fisheries and agriculture are not supplying sufficient food. Fish farming food systems by communities who rely on inland fisheries have not been evaluated. Therefore, a study was conducted in two phases: January 2016 to May 2016 and in July 2017 to evaluate if fish farming could sustainably support livelihoods of Lake Malawi riparian communities. We used mixed methods to collect and analyze data. The data collection methods included explorative surveys, household survey interviews, focus group discussion and key informant interviews. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis for themes. This identified themes that were quantitatively analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. We observed that fish farming was dominated by men and also not the main occupation for the respondents despite owning fishponds. The respondents have water and land, which are prerequisite for any farming. The study also observed fish farming production challenges related to quality fingerlings, formulated diets, and extension services. Cases of food insecurity amongst the respondents were also prevalent due to lack of food to cover the entire year. Weak synergies existed between fish farming and agriculture restricting bio-resource flow and water usage between these two food systems, meaning the outcomes of the food systems provide unsustainable diets. Furthermore, water availability, money spent on food, and cassava cropping increased fish farming participation. Whereas operating a bicycle taxi, casual labor, former fish farming, as well as application of agricultural wastes negatively affected fish farming. On the other hand, extreme weather events (increased incidences of droughts and floods attributed to inter

The mangrove nursery paradigm revisited: otolith stable isotopes support nursery-to-reef movements by Indo-Pacific fishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimirei, Ismael A; Nagelkerken, Ivan; Mgaya, Yunus D; Huijbers, Chantal M

2013-01-01

Mangroves and seagrass beds have long been perceived as important nurseries for many fish species. While there is growing evidence from the Western Atlantic that mangrove habitats are intricately connected to coral reefs through ontogenetic fish migrations, there is an ongoing debate of the value of these coastal ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific. The present study used natural tags, viz. otolith stable carbon and oxygen isotopes, to investigate for the first time the degree to which multiple tropical juvenile habitats subsidize coral reef fish populations in the Indo Pacific (Tanzania). Otoliths of three reef fish species (Lethrinus harak, L. lentjan and Lutjanus fulviflamma) were collected in mangrove, seagrass and coral reef habitats and analyzed for stable isotope ratios in the juvenile and adult otolith zones. δ(13)C signatures were significantly depleted in the juvenile compared to the adult zones, indicative of different habitat use through ontogeny. Maximum likelihood analysis identified that 82% of adult reef L. harak had resided in either mangrove (29%) or seagrass (53%) or reef (18%) habitats as juveniles. Of adult L. fulviflamma caught from offshore reefs, 99% had passed through mangroves habitats as juveniles. In contrast, L. lentjan adults originated predominantly from coral reefs (65-72%) as opposed to inshore vegetated habitats (28-35%). This study presents conclusive evidence for a nursery role of Indo-Pacific mangrove habitats for reef fish populations. It shows that intertidal habitats that are only temporarily available can form an important juvenile habitat for some species, and that reef fish populations are often replenished by multiple coastal habitats. Maintaining connectivity between inshore vegetated habitats and coral reefs, and conserving habitat mosaics rather than single nursery habitats, is a major priority for the sustainability of various Indo Pacific fish populations.

The mangrove nursery paradigm revisited: otolith stable isotopes support nursery-to-reef movements by Indo-Pacific fishes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismael A Kimirei

Full Text Available Mangroves and seagrass beds have long been perceived as important nurseries for many fish species. While there is growing evidence from the Western Atlantic that mangrove habitats are intricately connected to coral reefs through ontogenetic fish migrations, there is an ongoing debate of the value of these coastal ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific. The present study used natural tags, viz. otolith stable carbon and oxygen isotopes, to investigate for the first time the degree to which multiple tropical juvenile habitats subsidize coral reef fish populations in the Indo Pacific (Tanzania. Otoliths of three reef fish species (Lethrinus harak, L. lentjan and Lutjanus fulviflamma were collected in mangrove, seagrass and coral reef habitats and analyzed for stable isotope ratios in the juvenile and adult otolith zones. δ(13C signatures were significantly depleted in the juvenile compared to the adult zones, indicative of different habitat use through ontogeny. Maximum likelihood analysis identified that 82% of adult reef L. harak had resided in either mangrove (29% or seagrass (53% or reef (18% habitats as juveniles. Of adult L. fulviflamma caught from offshore reefs, 99% had passed through mangroves habitats as juveniles. In contrast, L. lentjan adults originated predominantly from coral reefs (65-72% as opposed to inshore vegetated habitats (28-35%. This study presents conclusive evidence for a nursery role of Indo-Pacific mangrove habitats for reef fish populations. It shows that intertidal habitats that are only temporarily available can form an important juvenile habitat for some species, and that reef fish populations are often replenished by multiple coastal habitats. Maintaining connectivity between inshore vegetated habitats and coral reefs, and conserving habitat mosaics rather than single nursery habitats, is a major priority for the sustainability of various Indo Pacific fish populations.

Diversity and community structure of epibenthic invertebrates and fish in the North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Callaway, R.; Alsväg, J.; de Boois, I.

2002-01-01

The structure of North Sea benthic invertebrate and fish communities is an important indicator of anthropogenic and environmental impacts. Although North Sea fish stocks are monitored regularly, benthic fauna are not. Here, we report the results of a survey carried out in 2000, in which five...

Seasonal variability of rocky reef fish assemblages: Detecting functional and structural changes due to fishing effects

Science.gov (United States)

Henriques, Sofia; Pais, Miguel Pessanha; Costa, Maria José; Cabral, Henrique Nogueira

2013-05-01

The present study analyzed the effects of seasonal variation on the stability of fish-based metrics and their capability to detect changes in fish assemblages, which is yet poorly understood despite the general idea that guilds are more resilient to natural variability than species abundances. Three zones subject to different levels of fishing pressure inside the Arrábida Marine Protected Area (MPA) were sampled seasonally. The results showed differences between warm (summer and autumn) and cold (winter and spring) seasons, with the autumn clearly standing out. In general, the values of the metrics density of juveniles, density of invertebrate feeders and density of omnivores increased in warm seasons, which can be attributed to differences in recruitment patterns, spawning migrations and feeding activity among seasons. The density of generalist/opportunistic individuals was sensitive to the effect of fishing, with higher values at zones with the lowest level of protection, while the density of individuals with high commercial value only responded to fishing in the autumn, due to a cumulative result of both juveniles and adults abundances during this season. Overall, this study showed that seasonal variability affects structural and functional features of the fish assemblage and that might influence the detection of changes as a result of anthropogenic pressures. The choice of a specific season, during warm sea conditions after the spawning period (July-October), seems to be more adequate to assess changes on rocky-reef fish assemblages.

INFLUENCE OF FEEDING TIME ON FEED UTILIZATION BY SIAMESE CATFISH, Pangasius hypophthalmus JUVENILE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Meilisza

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Siamese catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus at juvenile stage is used as ornamental fish by fish hobbies because of their beautiful shape and movement. Feeding time is a part of feeding management to get the best and effective strategy on feed input. This study aimed to determine the growth of Siamese catfish juvenile by looking at the influence of feeding time on feed utilization. The average individual weight of juveniles used was ± 3.2 g stocked 15 fish per aquarium equipped with recirculation system. Two level factors in the factorial design consisted of 4 feeding times (at 8:00, at 12:00, at 16:00, and as control (8:00, 12:00, 16:00 and feeding level (45 g feed kg-1 fish, 90 g feed kg-1 fish. Interaction between feeding time and feeding level resulting eight types of treatments research, namely A (8/45, B (12/45, C (16/45, D (8:12:16/45, E (8:12:16/90, F (8/90, G (12/90, and H (16/90. The results showed that feeding time had significant effect on the specific growth rate, feed conversion, and protein efficiency ratio and were significantly different among the treatments (P<0.05. Besides feeding time control (treatments D and E, treatment C also showed the highest of specific growth rate (2.03%, protein efficiency ratio (1.46, and the lowest feed conversion ratio (1.85.

The importance of surrogate habitats in lowland river floodplains for fish community composition

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ryšavá-Nováková, Michaela; Ondračková, Markéta; Jurajda, Pavel

2009-01-01

Roč. 16, č. 6 (2009), s. 468-477 ISSN 0969-997X R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC522 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60930519 Keywords : fish community * fish recruitment * flood * rehabilitation * substitute habitats Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 1.264, year: 2009

Impact of multiple stressors on juvenile fish in estuaries of the northeast Pacific.

Science.gov (United States)

Toft, Jason D; Munsch, Stuart H; Cordell, Jeffery R; Siitari, Kiira; Hare, Van C; Holycross, Brett M; DeBruyckere, Lisa A; Greene, Correigh M; Hughes, Brent B

2018-05-01

A key step in identifying global change impacts on species and ecosystems is to quantify effects of multiple stressors. To date, the science of global change has been dominated by regional field studies, experimental manipulation, meta-analyses, conceptual models, reviews, and studies focusing on a single stressor or species over broad spatial and temporal scales. Here, we provide one of the first studies for coastal systems examining multiple stressor effects across broad scales, focused on the nursery function of 20 estuaries spanning 1,600 km of coastline, 25 years of monitoring, and seven fish and invertebrate species along the northeast Pacific coast. We hypothesized those species most estuarine dependent and negatively impacted by human activities would have lower presence and abundances in estuaries with greater anthropogenic land cover, pollution, and water flow stress. We found significant negative relationships between juveniles of two of seven species (Chinook salmon and English sole) and estuarine stressors. Chinook salmon were less likely to occur and were less abundant in estuaries with greater pollution stress. They were also less abundant in estuaries with greater flow stress, although this relationship was marginally insignificant. English sole were less abundant in estuaries with greater land cover stress. Together, we provide new empirical evidence that effects of stressors on two fish species culminate in detectable trends along the northeast Pacific coast, elevating the need for protection from pollution, land cover, and flow stressors to their habitats. Lack of response among the other five species could be related to differing resistance to specific stressors, type and precision of the stressor metrics, and limitations in catch data across estuaries and habitats. Acquiring improved measurements of impacts to species will guide future management actions, and help predict how estuarine nursery functions can be optimized given anthropogenic

Turbulence Investigation and Reproduction for Assisting Downstream Migrating Juvenile Salmonids, Part I of II, 2001-2002 Final Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hotchkiss, Rollin H. (Washington State University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineers, Albrook Hydraulics Laboratory)

2002-12-01

Turbulence in gravel bed rivers plays a critical role in most stream processes including contaminant and nutrient transport, aquatic habitat selection, and natural channel design. While most hydraulic designs and fluid models are based on bulk velocity, migrating juvenile salmon experience and react to the temporally varied turbulent fluctuations. Without properly understanding and accounting for the continuous turbulent motions proper fishway design and guidance are impossible. Matching temporally varied flow to fish reactions is the key to guiding juvenile salmonids to safe passageways. While the ideal solution to fish guidance design would be to use specific fluid action-fish reaction mechanisms, such concrete cause and effect relations have not been established. One way to approach the problem of guidance is to hypothesize that in an environment lacking obvious bulk flow cues (like the reservoir environment), turbulent flow conditions similar to those experienced by juvenile salmonids in natural migration corridors will be attractive to juvenile salmonids. Proof of this hypothesis requires three steps: (1) gathering data on turbulence characteristics in natural migration corridors, (2) reproduction of the turbulence parameters in a controlled environment, and (3) testing the reproduced turbulence on actively migrating juvenile salmonids for increased passage efficiencies. The results from the third step have not been finalized, therefore this report will focus on understanding turbulent processes in gravel bed rivers and reproduction of turbulence in controlled environments for use in fish passage technologies. The purposes of this report are to (1) present data collected in natural gravel bed rivers, (2) present a simple method for reproduction of appropriate turbulence levels in a controlled environment, (3) compare these results to those from one prototype surface collector (PSC), and (4) discuss the implications on fish passage design.

Depth preference in released juvenile turbot Psetta maxima

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albertsen, Christoffer Moesgaard; Støttrup, Josianne; Nielsen, Anders

2014-01-01

Hatchery-reared juvenile turbot Psetta maxima were tagged with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags and released at three different depths in a sandy bay in Denmark. About 2–7% of the released fish were registered daily to monitor their distribution using a tag antenna mounted on a modified...

Fish communities in sandy pool of Magela Creek, Alligator Rivers Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodland, D.J.; Ward, P.J.

1992-01-01

Physico-chemical conditions, changes in fish communities and characteristics of species populations of eight permanent sandy pools along Magela Creek during the 1981 Dry season are described. Causes of mortality in each species, especially Craterocephalus marianae, were investigated. It is emphasised that in using baseline data to assess the impact of mining and animal communities, it may sometimes be difficult to differentiate natural mortality from mortality resulting from pollution. The aim of this study was to distinguish the most important environmental factors responsible for fish mortality. The study indicates that the mortality was low (<50% of the original population) in most pools. In populations that did suffer high mortality, anoxic conditions may have been an important cause. 67 refs., 36 tabs., 21 figs., ills

Prevention and Firesetting: Juvenile Justice and Intervention Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Slavkin, Michael L.

2003-01-01

Examines the literature on preventing firesetting behavior in preadolescents and adolescents, suggesting the need for policies and programs designed to help juveniles by providing community support and stability. Alternatives to juvenile justice interventions include making changes in the home environment, acquiring a greater sense of self, and…

Use of glacier river-fed estuary channels by juvenile coho salmon: transitional or rearing habitats?

Science.gov (United States)

Hoem Neher, Tammy D.; Rosenberger, Amanda E.; Zimmerman, Christian E.; Walker, Coowe M.; Baird, Steven J.

2014-01-01

Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the world and provide important rearing environments for a variety of fish species. Though generally considered important transitional habitats for smolting salmon, little is known about the role that estuaries serve for rearing and the environmental conditions important for salmon. We illustrate how juvenile coho salmonOncorhynchus kisutch use a glacial river-fed estuary based on examination of spatial and seasonal variability in patterns of abundance, fish size, age structure, condition, and local habitat use. Fish abundance was greater in deeper channels with cooler and less variable temperatures, and these habitats were consistently occupied throughout the season. Variability in channel depth and water temperature was negatively associated with fish abundance. Fish size was negatively related to site distance from the upper extent of the tidal influence, while fish condition did not relate to channel location within the estuary ecotone. Our work demonstrates the potential this glacially-fed estuary serves as both transitional and rearing habitat for juvenile coho salmon during smolt emigration to the ocean, and patterns of fish distribution within the estuary correspond to environmental conditions.

Copper, cadmium, and zinc concentrations in juvenile Chinook salmon and selected fish-forage organisms (aquatic insects) in the upper Sacramento River, California

Science.gov (United States)

Saiki, Michael K.; Martin, Barbara A.; Thompson, Larry D.; Walsh, Daniel

2001-01-01

This study assessed the downstream extent andseverity of copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), and zinc (Zn)contamination from acid mine drainage on juvenile chinook salmon(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and aquatic insects over aroughly 270-km reach of the Sacramento River below KeswickReservoir. During April–May 1998, salmon were collected fromfour sites in the river and from a fish hatchery that receiveswater from Battle Creek. Salmon from river sites were examinedfor gut contents to document their consumption of variousinvertebrate taxa, whereas salmon from river sites and thehatchery were used for metal determinations. Midge(Chironomidae) and caddisfly (Trichoptera) larvae and mayfly(Ephemeroptera) nymphs were collected for metal determinationsduring April–June from river sites and from Battle and Buttecreeks. The fish hatchery and Battle and Butte creeks served asreference sites because they had no history of receiving minedrainage. Salmon consumed mostly midge larvae and pupae (44.0%,damp-dry biomass), caddisfly larvae (18.9%), Cladocera (5.8%),and mayfly nymphs (5.7%). These results demonstrated thatinsects selected for metal determinations were important as fishforage. Dry-weight concentrations of Cu, Cd, and Zn weregenerally far higher in salmon and insects from the river thanfrom reference sites. Within the river, high metalconcentrations persisted as far downstream as South Meridian (thelowermost sampling site). Maximum concentrations of Cd (30.7 μg g-1) and Zn (1230 μg g-1),but not Cu (87.4 μg g-1), in insects exceeded amounts that other investigators reported as toxic when fed for prolonged periods to juvenile salmonids.

Alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviour in the fishing communities: evidence from two fish landing sites on Lake Victoria in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Tumwesigye, Nazarius M; Atuyambe, Lynn; Wanyenze, Rhoda K; Kibira, Simon Ps; Li, Qing; Wabwire-Mangen, Fred; Wagner, Glenn

2012-12-11

The fishing communities are among population groups that are most at risk of HIV infection, with some studies putting the HIV prevalence at 5 to 10 times higher than in the general population. Alcohol consumption has been identified as one of the major drivers of the sexual risk behaviour in the fishing communities. This paper investigates the relationship between alcohol consumption patterns and risky behaviour in two fishing communities on Lake Victoria. Face-to-face interviews were conducted among 303 men and 172 women at the fish landing sites; categorised into fishermen, traders of fish or fish products and other merchandise, and service providers such as casual labourers and waitresses in bars and hotels, including 12 female sexual workers. Stratified random sampling methodology was used to select study units. Multivariable analysis was conducted to assess independent relationship between alcohol consumption and sexual risky behaviour. Measures of alcohol consumption included the alcohol use disorder test score (AUDIT), having gotten drunk in previous 30 days, drinking at least 2 times a week while measures for risky behaviour included engaging in transactional sex, inconsistent condom use, having sex with non-regular partner and having multiple sexual partners. The level of harmful use of alcohol in the two fishing communities was quite high as 62% of the male and 52% of the female drinkers had got drunk in previous 30 days. The level of risky sexual behaviour was equally high as 63% of the men and 59% of the women had unprotected sex at last sexual event. Of the 3 occupations fishermen had the highest levels of harmful use of alcohol and risky sexual behaviour followed by service providers judging from values of most indicators. The kind of alcohol consumption variables correlated with risky sexual behaviour variables, varied by occupation. Frequent alcohol consumption, higher AUDIT score, having got drunk, longer drinking hours and drinking any day of

Alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviour in the fishing communities: evidence from two fish landing sites on Lake Victoria in Uganda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tumwesigye Nazarius M

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The fishing communities are among population groups that are most at risk of HIV infection, with some studies putting the HIV prevalence at 5 to 10 times higher than in the general population. Alcohol consumption has been identified as one of the major drivers of the sexual risk behaviour in the fishing communities. This paper investigates the relationship between alcohol consumption patterns and risky behaviour in two fishing communities on Lake Victoria. Methods Face-to-face interviews were conducted among 303 men and 172 women at the fish landing sites; categorised into fishermen, traders of fish or fish products and other merchandise, and service providers such as casual labourers and waitresses in bars and hotels, including 12 female sexual workers. Stratified random sampling methodology was used to select study units. Multivariable analysis was conducted to assess independent relationship between alcohol consumption and sexual risky behaviour. Measures of alcohol consumption included the alcohol use disorder test score (AUDIT, having gotten drunk in previous 30 days, drinking at least 2 times a week while measures for risky behaviour included engaging in transactional sex, inconsistent condom use, having sex with non-regular partner and having multiple sexual partners. Results The level of harmful use of alcohol in the two fishing communities was quite high as 62% of the male and 52% of the female drinkers had got drunk in previous 30 days. The level of risky sexual behaviour was equally high as 63% of the men and 59% of the women had unprotected sex at last sexual event. Of the 3 occupations fishermen had the highest levels of harmful use of alcohol and risky sexual behaviour followed by service providers judging from values of most indicators. The kind of alcohol consumption variables correlated with risky sexual behaviour variables, varied by occupation. Frequent alcohol consumption, higher AUDIT score, having

Trophic structure of a coastal fish community determined with diet and stable isotope analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Malek, A J; Collie, J S; Taylor, D L

2016-09-01

A combination of dietary guild analysis and nitrogen (δ(15) N) and carbon (δ(13) C) stable-isotope analysis was used to assess the trophic structure of the fish community in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds, an area off southern New England identified for offshore wind energy development. In the autumn of 2009, 2010 and 2011, stomach and tissue samples were taken from 20 fish and invertebrate species for analysis of diet composition and δ(15) N and δ(13) C signatures. The food chain in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds comprises approximately four trophic levels within which the fish community is divided into distinct dietary guilds, including planktivores, benthivores, crustacivores and piscivores. Within these guilds, inter-species isotopic and dietary overlap is high, suggesting that resource partitioning or competitive interactions play a major role in structuring the fish community. Carbon isotopes indicate that most fishes are supported by pelagic phytoplankton, although there is evidence that benthic production also plays a role, particularly for obligate benthivores such as skates Leucoraja spp. This type of analysis is useful for developing an ecosystem-based approach to management, as it identifies species that act as direct links to basal resources as well as species groups that share trophic roles. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Seasonal fish and invertebrate communities in three northern California estuaries

OpenAIRE

Osborn, Katherine

2017-01-01

The majority of Northern California estuaries are small, flooded, river valleys that are largely unstudied due to their small sizes and remote locations. Yet these estuaries serve as important nursery areas for many marine fish species including rockfish, flatfish, smelt, and herring, and they are vital to anadromous species such as Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Steelhead (O. mykiss). I sampled the summer and winter fish and invertebrate communities of the Big, Mad, and Ten Mi...

The Education of Juveniles in Detention: Policy Considerations and Infrastructure Development

Science.gov (United States)

Geib, Catherine Foley; Chapman, John F.; D'Amaddio, Amy H.; Grigorenko, Elena L.

2011-01-01

This article presents a discussion of the state of affairs pertaining to educating juvenile justice-involved youth. It summarizes general observations regarding the schooling of juveniles in pre-trial and post-trial incarceration settings, as well as, juveniles on probation or in community settings. The article selectively presents relevant…

Effect of the partial replacement of fish meal and oil by vegetable products on performance and quality traits of juvenile shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igino Andrighetto

2010-01-01

Full Text Available A four-month growth trial was carried out in order to evaluate performance and quality traits of juvenile shi drum fedwith two isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets having different amounts of vegetable products (Vegetable diet vs. Controldiet. Compared to the Control diet, the Vegetable diet was formulated by increasing the replacement of fish meal (14%with soybean and cereal products, and fish oil (12% with a mixture of vegetable oil. On June, 4 groups of 225 fish (2replicates per dietary treatment were sorted according to live weight and reared in fibreglass tanks over a four- monthlong experimental period. Fish were hand fed to apparent satiety. Offered feed, growth parameters and feed efficiencywere recorded as productive performance. At the end of the trial (October biometric, chemical and reological traits wereexamined to assess fish quality. The dietary treatments showed similar productive performance. The relatively high inclusionof vegetable sources led to a significant modification of body shape, mesenteric fat and viscera weight. Among qualitytraits, Vegetable diet-fed fish demonstrated a significantly lower whole body and fillet crude protein content.Yellowness value of the cooked fillet was significantly lower in the Control diet-fed fish, whereas fillet texture was similar.The results of this research showed that shi drum is a suitable candidate for Mediterranean marine aquaculture andits dietary formulation might include at least the amount of vegetable sources used in this trial.

Performance of Nile tilapia juvenile fed diet containing different dosages ofrecombinant common carpgrowth hormone

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Dian Hardiantho

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The studywas conductedtodetermine thedose of recombinant common carp growth hormone (rCcGH supplemented in the commercial diet that generates the best performanceonbodyweight, biomass, andfeed conversion rate of juvenile tilapia.The dose of rCcGH administered was10, 20, and30mg/kg of commercial feed, andnorGH supplementation as control. Eachtreatment was designed in triplicates. Juveniles at average bodylengthof about2cm(average body weight of 0.7 g were reared in a density of25fish/m2, for three weeks in hapa net at a size of 2×2×1 m3. Fish were fed diet containing rCcGH twicea week with an interval ofthreedays. The juvenile were fed with the rCcGH supplemented diet three times daily at satiation. The results showedthat average body weight andbiomass of fish treated by rCcGH with the doses of 20 and 30 mg/kg feed was higher (p<0.05 than that of 10 mg/kg and control. In addition, feed conversionrate of 20 and 30 mg/kg feed treatments was lower (p<0.05 than that of 10 mg/kg and control. RT-PCR analysisshowedthat expression level of IGF-1 gene in juvenile liver was increased in parallel with the increasing of rCcGH dosages supplemented in diet.This suggestedthatIGF-1 plays an important rolein the induction ofgrowth,andfeed conversionefficiencyof tilapiafed diet containing rCcGH. The bestperformance of juvenile can be obtainedby feeding with diet containingrCcGH20‒30mg/kgof feed. Keywords: rCcGH, IGF-I, recombinant growthhormone,performance, Nile tilapia.

Umatilla River Fish Passage Operations Program, 2002-2003 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bronson, James P. (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Department of Natural Resources, Pendleton, OR); Duke, Bill B. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pendleton, OR)

2004-03-01

Threemile Falls Dam (Threemile Dam), located near the town of Umatilla, is the major collection and counting point for adult salmonids returning to the Umatilla River. Returning salmon and steelhead were enumerated at Threemile Dam from August 17, 2002 to September 29, 2003. A total of 3,080 summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss); 1716 adult, 617 jack, and 1,709 subjack fall chinook (O. tshawytscha); 3,820 adult and 971 jack coho (O. kisutch); and 3,607 adult and 135 jack spring chinook (O. tshawytscha) were counted. All fish were enumerated at the east bank facility. Of the fish counted, 6 summer steelhead and 330 adult and 49 jack spring chinook were hauled upstream from Threemile Dam. There were 2,882 summer steelhead; 1161 adult, 509 jack and 1,546 subjack fall chinook; 3,704 adult and 915 jack coho; and 2,406 adult and 31 jack spring chinook either released at, or allowed to volitionally migrate past, Threemile Dam. Also, 109 summer steelhead; 532 adult and 32 jack fall chinook; and 560 adult and 28 jack spring chinook were collected for brood. In addition, 282 spring chinook were collected for the outplanting efforts in the Walla Walla Basin. The Westland Canal juvenile facility (Westland), located near the town of Echo at rivermile (RM) 27, is the major collection point for outmigrating juvenile salmonids and steelhead kelts. The canal was open for 159 days between January 27 and July 4, 2003. During that period, fish were bypassed back to the river 145 days and were trapped 11 days. An estimated 205 pounds of juvenile fish were transported from Westland to the Umatilla River boat ramp (RM 0.5). Approximately 82% of the juveniles transported were salmonids. No steelhead kelts were hauled from Westland this year. The Threemile Dam west bank juvenile bypass was opened on September 16, 2002. and continued until November 1, 2002. The bypass was reopened March 3, 2003 and ran until July 3, 2003. The juvenile trap was operated by the Umatilla Passage Evaluation

How reproductive ecology contributes to the spread of a globally invasive fish.

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Amy E Deacon

Full Text Available Invasive freshwater fish represent a major threat to biodiversity. Here, we first demonstrate the dramatic, human-mediated range expansion of the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata, an invasive fish with a reputation for negatively impacting native freshwater communities. Next, we explore possible mechanisms that might explain successful global establishment of this species. Guppies, along with some other notable invasive fish species such as mosquitofish (Gambusia spp., have reproductive adaptations to ephemeral habitats that may enable introductions of very small numbers of founders to succeed. The remarkable ability of single pregnant guppies to routinely establish viable populations is demonstrated using a replicated mesocosm set up. In 86% of cases, these populations persisted for two years (the duration of the experiment. Establishment success was independent of founder origin (high and low predation habitats, and there was no loss of behavioural performance amongst mesocosm juveniles. Behavioural "signatures" of the founding locality were, however, evident in mesocosm fish. Our results demonstrate that introductions consisting of a single individual can lead to thriving populations of this invasive fish and suggest that particular caution should be exercised when introducing this species, or other livebearers, to natural water bodies.

Patchiness in a large floodplain river: Associations among hydrology, nutrients, and fish communities

Science.gov (United States)

DeJager, Nathan R.; Houser, Jeff N.

2016-01-01

Large floodplain rivers have internal structures shaped by directions and rates of water movement. In a previous study, we showed that spatial variation in local current velocities and degrees of hydrological exchange creates a patch-work mosaic of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and ratios in the Upper Mississippi River. Here, we used long-term fish and limnological data sets to test the hypothesis that fish communities differ between the previously identified patches defined by high or low nitrogen to phosphorus ratios (TN:TP) and to determine the extent to which select limnological covariates might explain those differences. Species considered as habitat generalists were common in both patch types but were at least 2 times as abundant in low TN:TP patches. Dominance by these species resulted in lower diversity in low TN:TP patches, whereas an increased relative abundance of a number of rheophilic (flow-dependent) species resulted in higher diversity and a more even species distribution in high TN:TP patches. Of the limnological variables considered, the strongest predictor of fish species assemblage and diversity was water flow velocity, indicating that spatial patterns in water-mediated connectivity may act as the main driver of both local nutrient concentrations and fish community composition in these reaches. The coupling among hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biodiversity in these river reaches suggests that landscape-scale restoration projects that manipulate hydrogeomorphic patterns may also modify the spatial mosaic of nutrients and fish communities. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

The Impacts of Recently Established Fish Populations on Zooplankton Communities in a Desert Spring, and Potential Conflicts in Setting Conservation Goals

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Sujan M. Henkanaththegedara

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Desert springs, which harbor diverse and endemic invertebrate assemblages, are often used as refuge habitats for protected fish species. Additionally, many of these springs have been colonized by invasive fish species. However, the potential impacts of recently established fish populations on invertebrate communities in desert springs have been relatively unexplored. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to assess the impact of both protected and invasive fish on community structure of spring-dwelling invertebrates focusing on zooplankton. Experimental populations of spring zooplankton communities were established and randomly assigned to one of three treatments, (1 invasive western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis; (2 endangered Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis; and (3 fishless control. Final populations of zooplankton and fish were sampled, sorted, identified and counted. The treatment differences of zooplankton communities were analyzed by comparing the densities of six major zooplankton taxa. Further, we performed nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS to visualize the patterns of zooplankton community assemblages. Four zooplankton taxa, crustacean nauplii, cladocera, calanoid and cyclopoid copepods had significantly lower densities in fish treatments compared to fishless control. Overall, invasive mosquitofish caused a 78.8% reduction in zooplankton density, while Mohave tui chub caused a 65.1% reduction. Both protected and invasive fish had similar effects on zooplankton except for cladocerans where tui chub caused a 60% reduction in density, whereas mosquitofish virtually eliminated cladocerans. The presence of fish also had a significant effect on zooplankton community structure due to population declines and local extirpations presumably due to fish predation. This work shows that conservation-translocations undertaken to conserve protected fish species may impact spring-dwelling invertebrate communities, and such impacts are

Coding early naturalists' accounts into long-term fish community changes in the Adriatic Sea (1800-2000.

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Tomaso Fortibuoni

Full Text Available The understanding of fish communities' changes over the past centuries has important implications for conservation policy and marine resource management. However, reconstructing these changes is difficult because information on marine communities before the second half of the 20(th century is, in most cases, anecdotal and merely qualitative. Therefore, historical qualitative records and modern quantitative data are not directly comparable, and their integration for long-term analyses is not straightforward. We developed a methodology that allows the coding of qualitative information provided by early naturalists into semi-quantitative information through an intercalibration with landing proportions. This approach allowed us to reconstruct and quantitatively analyze a 200-year-long time series of fish community structure indicators in the Northern Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea. Our analysis provides evidence of long-term changes in fish community structure, including the decline of Chondrichthyes, large-sized and late-maturing species. This work highlights the importance of broadening the time-frame through which we look at marine ecosystem changes and provides a methodology to exploit, in a quantitative framework, historical qualitative sources. To the purpose, naturalists' eyewitness accounts proved to be useful for extending the analysis on fish community back in the past, well before the onset of field-based monitoring programs.

Accounting for Incomplete Species Detection in Fish Community Monitoring

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McManamay, Ryan A [ORNL; Orth, Dr. Donald J [Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Jager, Yetta [ORNL

2013-01-01

Riverine fish assemblages are heterogeneous and very difficult to characterize with a one-size-fits-all approach to sampling. Furthermore, detecting changes in fish assemblages over time requires accounting for variation in sampling designs. We present a modeling approach that permits heterogeneous sampling by accounting for site and sampling covariates (including method) in a model-based framework for estimation (versus a sampling-based framework). We snorkeled during three surveys and electrofished during a single survey in suite of delineated habitats stratified by reach types. We developed single-species occupancy models to determine covariates influencing patch occupancy and species detection probabilities whereas community occupancy models estimated species richness in light of incomplete detections. For most species, information-theoretic criteria showed higher support for models that included patch size and reach as covariates of occupancy. In addition, models including patch size and sampling method as covariates of detection probabilities also had higher support. Detection probability estimates for snorkeling surveys were higher for larger non-benthic species whereas electrofishing was more effective at detecting smaller benthic species. The number of sites and sampling occasions required to accurately estimate occupancy varied among fish species. For rare benthic species, our results suggested that higher number of occasions, and especially the addition of electrofishing, may be required to improve detection probabilities and obtain accurate occupancy estimates. Community models suggested that richness was 41% higher than the number of species actually observed and the addition of an electrofishing survey increased estimated richness by 13%. These results can be useful to future fish assemblage monitoring efforts by informing sampling designs, such as site selection (e.g. stratifying based on patch size) and determining effort required (e.g. number of

Evaluation of Fish Passage Conditions for Juvenile Salmonids Using Sensor Fish at Detroit Dam, Oregon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duncan, Joanne P.

2010-01-01

Fish passage conditions through two spillways at Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River in Oregon were evaluated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District, using Sensor Fish devices. The objective of the study was to describe and compare passage exposure conditions through Spillbay 3 and Spillbay 6 at 1.5- and 3.5-ft gate openings, identifying potential fish injury regions of the routes. The study was performed in July 2009, concurrent with HI-Z balloon-tag studies by Normandeau Associates, Inc. Sensor Fish and live fish were deployed at elevations approximately 3 ft above structure at depths determined using a computational fluid dynamics model. Data collected were analyzed to estimate (1) exposure conditions, particularly exposure to severe collision and shear events by passage route sub-regions; (2) differences in passage conditions between passage routes; and (3) relationships to live-fish injury and mortality data estimates.

Optimising methods for community-based sea cucumber ranching: Experimental releases of cultured juvenile Holothuria scabra into seagrass meadows in Papua New Guinea

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Cathy Hair

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Hatchery-cultured juveniles of the commercial holothurian, sandfish (Holothuria scabra, were used for release experiments in a variety of marine habitats under traditional marine tenure near Kavieng, Papua New Guinea (PNG. Juveniles of approximately 4 g mean weight were released inside 100 m2 sea pens installed within seagrass meadows nearby partner communities, under the care of local ‘wardens’. Within each sea pen, varying levels of protection (free release, 1-day cage and 7-day cage were provided at release in order to determine if short-term predator exclusion improved survival. Ossicles of juvenile sandfish were tagged with different fluorochromes for each treatment and sandfish survival and growth was recorded after release. A range of biophysical parameters were recorded at the four sites. Contrary to expectations, short-term cage protection did not lead to higher survival at three sites, while a fourth site, despite meeting all considered criteria for suitable release habitat, experienced total loss of juveniles. There were significant differences in mean weight of juveniles between sites after four months. Multivariate analysis of biophysical factors clearly separated the sea pen habitats, strongly differentiating the best-performing site from the others. However, further research is needed to elucidate which biophysical or human factors are most useful in predicting the quality of potential sea ranch sites. Methods developed or refined through these trials could be used to establish pilot test plots at potential ranching sites to assess site suitability and provide guidance on the level of animal husbandry required before commencing community sea ranching operations in New Ireland Province, PNG. Keywords: Holothuria scabra, Mariculture, Sea pens, Predator exclusion, Principal components analysis, Biophysical variables

Long-term changes in fish communities of the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (southern Portugal) based on two studies made 20 years apart

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeiro, Joaquim; Monteiro, Carlos C.; Monteiro, Pedro; Bentes, Luis; Coelho, Rui; Gonçalves, Jorge M. S.; Lino, Pedro G.; Erzini, Karim

2008-01-01

Fish communities of the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (south Portugal) were sampled on a monthly basis with a beach seine at 4 sites, during two different time periods: 1980-1986 and 2001-2002. Community indices, species ranking and multivariate analysis were used in order to identify changes in the fish community between the two time periods. A total of 153,511 fish representing 57 taxa were recorded. Although species composition was very similar for both sampling periods, multivariate analysis performed on annual species abundance in number and weight revealed differences in fish community structure between the two periods. Structural changes in fish community were related mostly to a sharp decrease in the abundance of Mugilidae from 1980-1986 to 2001-2002. These changes were probably associated to a decrease in organic matter contents and nutrients concentrations due to improvements in sewage treatment and better water circulation inside the lagoon. The changes in fish community structure are more evident in the inner areas of the lagoon than near the inlet. The association between changes in sewage patterns and changes in the ichthyofaunal community structure reinforces the importance of fish communities as a biological indicator of human induced changes in marine systems.

Modelling an exploited marine fish community with 15 parameters - results from a simple size-based model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pope, J.G.; Rice, J.C.; Daan, N.; Jennings, S.; Gislason, H.

2006-01-01

To measure and predict the response of fish communities to exploitation, it is necessary to understand how the direct and indirect effects of fishing interact. Because fishing and predation are size-selective processes, the potential response can be explored with size-based models. We use a

Fish community of the river Tiber basin (Umbria-Italy: temporal changes and possible threats to native biodiversity

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Carosi A.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The introduction of exotic fish species in the river Tiber basin has probably caused a serious alteration of original faunal composition. The purpose of this research was to assess the changes occurred over time in the state of the fish communities with particular reference to the reduction of local communities of endemic species. The study area comprised 68 watercourses of the Umbrian portion of the River Tiber basin; the analyses were carried out using the data of the Regional Fish Map of 1st and 2nd level and the 1st update, respectively collected during the periods between the 1990–1996, 2000–2006 and 2007–2014, in 125 sampling stations. The results show a progressive alteration of the fish communities’ structure, as confirmed by the appearance in recent times of new alien species. A total of 40 species was found, only 14 native. The qualitative change of the fish communities appear to be closely related to the longitudinal gradient of the river. The results shows that particularly in the downstream reaches, the combined action of pollution and introduction of exotic species resulted in a gradual decrease in the indigenous component of fish communities. The information collected are the indispensable premise for taking the necessary strategies for conservation of endangered species.

Standardization of 2-phenoxyethanol as anesthetic for juvenile Brycon cephalus (Gunther, 1869: the use in field procedures

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Inoue Luis Antônio Kioshi Aoki

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Hyper motility is a negative factor in fish handling procedures due to the risks of damages to the animals. Chemicals are widely used to anesthetize fish during biometry and many other handling procedures. 2-Phenoxyethanol is largely employed, but many studies are necessary about tropical fish responses. The present research evaluated the anesthesia induction time for juvenile matrinxã submitted to eight different levels of 2-phenoxyethanol. The range of 2-phenoxyethanol concentration was 250-600mg liter-1. Induction time of anesthesia decreased as a function of 2-phenoxyethanol concentrations. Fish were safely anesthetized approximately after one minute of exposure to 2-phenoxyethanol batches in concentrations above 400mg/liter, and the recover period was about one minute for all anesthetic concentrations. 2-Phenoxyethanol is a safe anesthetic for juvenile matrinxã even in exposures up to 600mg liter-1 being recommended for many field procedures of fish handling.

Mercury exposure as a function of fish consumption in two Asian communities in coastal Virginia, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiaoyu; Newman, Michael C

2015-04-01

Fish consumption and associated mercury exposure were explored for two Asian-dominated church communities in coastal Virginia and compared with that of two non-Asian church communities. Seafood-consumption rates for the Chinese (36.9 g/person/day) and Vietnamese (52.7 g/person/day) church communities were greater than the general United States fish-consumption rate (12.8 g/person/day). Correspondingly, hair mercury concentrations for people from the Chinese (0.52 µg/g) and the Vietnamese church (1.46 µg/g) were greater than the overall level for United States women (0.20 µg/g) but lower than the published World Health Organization exposure threshold (14 µg/g). A conventional regression model indicated a positive relationship between seafood consumption rates and hair mercury concentrations suggesting the importance of mercury exposure through seafood consumption. The annual-average daily methylmercury intake rate for the studied communities calculated by Monte Carlo simulations followed the sequence: Vietnamese community > Chinese community > non-Asian communities. Regardless, their daily methylmercury intake rates were all lower than the United States Environmental Protection Agency reference dose of 0.1 µg/kg body weight-day. In conclusion, fish-consumption patterns differed among communities, which resulted in different levels of mercury exposure. The greater seafood and mercury ingestion rates of studied Asian groups compared with non-Asian groups suggest the need for specific seafood consumption advice for ethnic communities in the United States. Otherwise the health benefits from fish consumption could be perceived as trivial compared with the ill-defined risk of mercury exposure.

Flowing water affects fish fast-starts: escape performance of the Hawaiian stream goby, Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

Science.gov (United States)

Diamond, Kelly M; Schoenfuss, Heiko L; Walker, Jeffrey A; Blob, Richard W

2016-10-01

Experimental measurements of escape performance in fishes have typically been conducted in still water; however, many fishes inhabit environments with flow that could impact escape behavior. We examined the influences of flow and predator attack direction on the escape behavior of fish, using juveniles of the amphidromous Hawaiian goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni In nature, these fish must escape ambush predation while moving through streams with high-velocity flow. We measured the escape performance of juvenile gobies while exposing them to a range of water velocities encountered in natural streams and stimulating fish from three different directions. Frequency of response across treatments indicated strong effects of flow conditions and attack direction. Juvenile S. stimpsoni had uniformly high response rates for attacks from a caudal direction (opposite flow); however, response rates for attacks from a cranial direction (matching flow) decreased dramatically as flow speed increased. Mechanical stimuli produced by predators attacking in the same direction as flow might be masked by the flow environment, impairing the ability of prey to detect attacks. Thus, the likelihood of successful escape performance in fishes can depend critically on environmental context. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Effect of salinity on survival, growth and biochemical parameters in juvenile Lebranch mullet Mugil liza (Perciformes: Mugilidae

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Viviana Lisboa

Full Text Available Teleost fish growth may be improved under isosmotic condition. Growth and metabolic performance of juvenile Mugil liza (isosmotic point: 12‰ were evaluated after 40 days in different salinities (0, 6, 12 and 24‰. Tests were performed in quadruplicate (30 fish/tank; 0.48 ± 0.1 g body weight; 3.27 ± 0.1 cm total length under controlled water temperature (28.2 ± 0.1ºC and oxygen content (>90% saturation. Fish were fed on artificial diet (50% crude protein four times a day until apparent satiation. Results showed that salinity influenced juvenile mullet growth. Fish reared at salinity 24‰ grew better than those maintained in freshwater (salinity 0‰. Gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity and whole body oxygen consumption showed an U-shape-type response over the range of salinities tested, with the lower values being observed at the intermediate salinities. Although no significant difference was observed in liver glycogen content at different salinities, it tended to augment with increasing salinity. These findings indicate that energy demand for osmorregulation in juvenile M. liza can be minimized under isosmotic condition. However, the amount of energy spared is not enough to improve fish growth. Results also suggest that M. liza is able to alternate between different energy-rich substrates during acclimation to environmental salinity.

Passage survival of juvenile steelhead, coho salmon, and Chinook salmon in Lake Scanewa and at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Cowlitz River, Washington, 2010–16

Science.gov (United States)

Liedtke, Theresa L.; Kock, Tobias J.; Hurst, William

2018-04-03

A multi-year evaluation was conducted during 2010–16 to evaluate passage survival of juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and coho salmon (O. kisutch) in Lake Scanewa, and at Cowlitz Falls Dam in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington. Reservoir passage survival was evaluated in 2010, 2011, and 2016, and included the tagging and release of 1,127 juvenile salmonids. Tagged fish were released directly into the Cowlitz and Cispus Rivers, 22.3 and 8.9 km, respectively, upstream of the reservoir, and were monitored as they moved downstream into, and through the reservoir. A single release-recapture survival model was used to analyze detection records and estimate reservoir passage survival, which was defined as successful passage from reservoir entry to arrival at Cowlitz Falls Dam. Tagged fish generally moved quickly downstream of the release sites and, on average, arrived in the dam forebay within 2 d of release. Median travel time from release to first detection at the dam ranged from 0.23 to 0.96 d for juvenile steelhead, from 0.15 to 1.11 d for juvenile coho salmon, and from 0.18 to 1.89 d for juvenile Chinook salmon. Minimum reservoir passage survival probabilities were 0.960 for steelhead, 0.855 for coho salmon and 0.900 for Chinook salmon.Dam passage survival was evaluated at the pilot-study level during 2013–16 and included the tagging and release of 2,512 juvenile salmonids. Juvenile Chinook salmon were evaluated during 2013–14, and juvenile steelhead and coho salmon were evaluated during 2015–16. A paired-release study design was used that included release sites located upstream and downstream of Cowlitz Falls Dam. The downstream release site was positioned at the downstream margin of the dam’s tailrace, which allowed dam passage survival to be measured in a manner that included mortality that occurred in the passage route and in the dam tailrace. More than one-half of the tagged Chinook salmon (52 percent

Estrogenic Activity of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Juvenile Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss)

Science.gov (United States)

The potential estrogenic activity of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) was determined using separate screening and dose response studies with juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Results of this study indicate that some PFAAs may act as estrogens in fish.

Evaluation of Fish Passage Sites in the Walla Walla River Basin, 2008

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chamness, Mickie A. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

2008-08-29

In 2008, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory evaluated the Hofer Dam fish screen and provided technical assistance at two other fish passage sites as requested by the Bonneville Power Administration, the Walla Walla Watershed Council, or the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Evaluation of new sites such as Hofer Dam focuses on their design, construction, operation, and maintenance to determine if they effectively provide juvenile salmonids with safe passage through irrigation diversions. There were two requests for technical assistance in 2008. In the first, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation requested an evaluation of the Nursery Bridge fish screens associated with the fish ladder on the east side of the Walla Walla River. One set of brushes that clean the screens was broken for an extended period. Underwater videography and water velocity measurements were used to determine there were no potential adverse effects on juvenile salmonids when the west set of screens was clean enough to pass water normally. A second request, received from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Walla Walla Watershed Council, asked for evaluation of water velocities through relatively new head gates above and adjacent to the Eastside Ditch fish screens on the Walla Walla River. Water moving through the head gates and not taken for irrigation is diverted to provide water for the Nursery Bridge fish ladder on the east side of the river. Elevations used in the design of the head gates were incorrect, causing excessive flow through the head gates that closely approached or exceeded the maximum swimming burst speed of juvenile salmonids. Hofer Dam was evaluated in June 2008. PNNL researchers found that conditions at Hofer Dam will not cause impingement or entrainment of juvenile salmonids but may provide habitat for predators and lack strong sweeping flows to encourage juvenile salmonid passage downstream. Further evaluation of

Spatial distribution of juvenile and adult stages of limnetic Cladocera in relation to selected environmental factors

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Małgorzata Adamczuk

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental factors have a varied impact on the development of juvenile and adult Cladocera, depending on their different physiological conditions and body size. The values of these factors alter spatially and temporarily, thus implying that they play a role in the spatial distribution of the pre-reproductive and potentially reproductive stages of cladocerans. The aim of the study was to determine seasonal and spatial variations in the distribution of juvenile and adult individuals of limnetic Cladocera in relation to selected physicochemical factors (temperature, conductivity, pH, concentration of dissolved oxygen, total organic carbon, total suspended solids and fish predation pressure (measured by Chesson’s coefficient λ in deep Lake Piaseczno (eastern Poland. Adult Cladocera displayed spatial distribution related to fish predation pressure. The species selectively eaten, B. coregoni and D. longispina, and non-selectively eaten, D. cucullata, selected the pelagic zone to exist, whereas those avoided by fish, D. brachyurum and B. longirostris, were evenly distributed in the littoral and pelagic zone. Juvenile cladocerans were strongly impacted by physico-chemical factors. Juvenile Daphnia, Diaphanosoma and B. longirostris showed preferences to biotic zones similar to the adults but differed in their habitat choices. Juvenile and adult stages of B. coregoni differed in their distribution, indicating that adult individuals impacted by high predation pressure alternatively modified their habitat selection. Principal component analysis (PCA ordination showed a seasonal tendency for the spatial segregation of the cladocerans, suggesting that possible competitive interactions between the studied cladocerans may also influence their distribution patterns.

Non-Random Variability in Functional Composition of Coral Reef Fish Communities along an Environmental Gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Plass-Johnson, Jeremiah G; Taylor, Marc H; Husain, Aidah A A; Teichberg, Mirta C; Ferse, Sebastian C A

2016-01-01

Changes in the coral reef complex can affect predator-prey relationships, resource availability and niche utilisation in the associated fish community, which may be reflected in decreased stability of the functional traits present in a community. This is because particular traits may be favoured by a changing environment, or by habitat degradation. Furthermore, other traits can be selected against because degradation can relax the association between fishes and benthic habitat. We characterised six important ecological traits for fish species occurring at seven sites across a disturbed coral reef archipelago in Indonesia, where reefs have been exposed to eutrophication and destructive fishing practices for decades. Functional diversity was assessed using two complementary indices (FRic and RaoQ) and correlated to important environmental factors (live coral cover and rugosity, representing local reef health, and distance from shore, representing a cross-shelf environmental gradient). Indices were examined for both a change in their mean, as well as temporal (short-term; hours) and spatial (cross-shelf) variability, to assess whether fish-habitat association became relaxed along with habitat degradation. Furthermore, variability in individual traits was examined to identify the traits that are most affected by habitat change. Increases in the general reef health indicators, live coral cover and rugosity (correlated with distance from the mainland), were associated with decreases in the variability of functional diversity and with community-level changes in the abundance of several traits (notably home range size, maximum length, microalgae, detritus and small invertebrate feeding and reproductive turnover). A decrease in coral cover increased variability of RaoQ while rugosity and distance both inversely affected variability of FRic; however, averages for these indices did not reveal patterns associated with the environment. These results suggest that increased

Estuarine habitat use by juvenile dusky kob Argyrosomus japonicus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The spatial and temporal area-use patterns of estuarinedependent juvenile dusky kob Argyrosomus japonicus in the Great Fish Estuary, South Africa, were examined using acoustic telemetry. In all, 29 individuals (307–400 mm total length) were surgically equipped with individually coded transmitters and monitored for a ...

[The fish community in the Términos lagoon: compared current structure].

Science.gov (United States)

Amado Ayala-Pérez, Luis; Ramos Miranda, Julia; Flores Hernández, Domingo

2003-01-01

The structure of the fish community in Terminos Lagoon, Campeche, is analyzed on the base the description of the abundance, distribution, length composition and identification of the dominant species. The results are discussed and compared with the published information. 437 trawl tows were made in 19 monthly collection in 23 sites between September 1997 to March 1999. A total of 25,588 individual with a total weight of 601.5 kg were grouped in 107 species, 76 gender and 37 families. The abundance of the fish community showed the following intervals in temporal scale: 0.395 to 0.895 ind/m2; 8.637 to 18.316 g/m2 and 18.358 to 34.837 g/ind. The Shannon index oscillated between 1.875 and 3.995 and 4.94 and 7.88 respectively. 18 dominant species were identified. The most important species by its numerical abundance and appearance frequency is Arius melanopus that represents to the 26.5% of the total catch followed by Diapterus rhombeus with 18.9%. As dominant species, Bairdiella chrysura, B. ronchus, Archosargus rhomboidalis, Eugerres plumieri, Cynoscion arenarius and Chaetodipterus faber, are fishing resources with local and regional value.

Sustainable fishing of inland waters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeppe Kolding

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Sustainability in fisheries has over the past decades evolved from a single species maximization concept to covering ecosystem and biodiversity considerations. This expansion of the notion, together with increased evidence that the targeted removal of selected components of the fish community may have adverse ecological consequences, poses a serious dilemma to the conventional fisheries management approach of protecting juveniles and targeting adults. Recently, the idea of balanced harvest, i.e., harvesting all components in the ecosystem in proportion to their productivity, has been promoted as a unifying solution in accordance with the ecosystem approach to fisheries, but this will require a fundamental change to management. In this paper, we review the objectives, theoretical background, and practicalities of securing high yielding fisheries in inland waters, with empirical examples from tropical freshwater fisheries which satisfy the extended objectives of minimal impact on community and ecosystem structure. We propose a framework of ecological indicators to assess these objectives.  Normal 0 false false false EN-GB ZH-CN HE

Using otolith microstructure to analyse growth of juvenile Baltic cod Gadus morhua

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hüssy, Karin; Mosegaard, Henrik; Hinrichsen, H.H.

2003-01-01

to fish age. At both localities, fish that hatched early in the season spent a shorter time in the pelagic stage than late-hatched fish. However, significant differences in growth rate during the pelagic stage were observed, where fish captured on the slope grew faster. On the bank, individuals with fast...... otolith growth rates before settling continued to grow fast after settling. On the slope, no relationship between growth before and after settling was found. These results indicate that the different settling habitats occupied by juvenile Baltic cod have different potential for settling and nursery areas....

Surgical implantation techniques for electronic tags in fish

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wagner, Glenn N.; Cooke, Steven J.; Brown, Richard S.; Deters, Katherine A.

2011-01-01

Intracoelomic implantation of transmitters into fish requires making a surgical incision, incision closure, and other surgery related techniques; however, the tools and techniques used in the surgical process vary widely. We review the available literature and focus on tools and techniques used for conducting surgery on juvenile salmonids because of the large amount of research that is conducted on them. The use of sterilized surgical instruments properly selected for a given size of fish will minimize tissue damage and infection rates, and speed the wound healing of fish implanted with transmitters. For the implantation of transmitters into small fish, the optimal surgical methods include making an incision on the ventral midline along the linea alba (for studies under 1 month), protecting the viscera (by lifting the skin with forceps while creating the incision), and using absorbable monofilament suture with a small-swaged-on swaged-on tapered or reverse-cutting needle. Standardizing the implantation techniques to be used in a study involving particular species and age classes of fish will improve survival and transmitter retention while allowing for comparisons to be made among studies and across multiple years. This review should be useful for researchers working on juvenile salmonids and other sizes and species of fish.

Overestimating fish counts by non-instantaneous visual censuses: consequences for population and community descriptions.

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Christine Ward-Paige

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Increasingly, underwater visual censuses (UVC are used to assess fish populations. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of protected areas for increasing fish abundance or provided insight into the natural abundance and structure of reef fish communities in remote areas. Recently, high apex predator densities (>100,000 individuals x km(-2 and biomasses (>4 tonnes x ha(-1 have been reported for some remote islands suggesting the occurrence of inverted trophic biomass pyramids. However, few studies have critically evaluated the methods used for sampling conspicuous and highly mobile fish such as sharks. Ideally, UVC are done instantaneously, however, researchers often count animals that enter the survey area after the survey has started, thus performing non-instantaneous UVC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed a simulation model to evaluate counts obtained by divers deploying non-instantaneous belt-transect and stationary-point-count techniques. We assessed how fish speed and survey procedure (visibility, diver speed, survey time and dimensions affect observed fish counts. Results indicate that the bias caused by fish speed alone is huge, while survey procedures had varying effects. Because the fastest fishes tend to be the largest, the bias would have significant implications on their biomass contribution. Therefore, caution is needed when describing abundance, biomass, and community structure based on non-instantaneous UVC, especially for highly mobile species such as sharks. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Based on our results, we urge that published literature state explicitly whether instantaneous counts were made and that survey procedures be accounted for when non-instantaneous counts are used. Using published density and biomass values of communities that include sharks we explore the effect of this bias and suggest that further investigation may be needed to determine pristine shark abundances and the

Responses of epibenthic and nektonic macroinvertebrate communities to a gradient of fish size in ponds

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Marek Nieoczym

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Size relationships between fish and organisms from adjacent trophic levels are crucial for predicting the structure and dynamics of aquatic ecosystems. We compared macroinvertebrate communities along a fish-size gradient created by separate stocking of three age cohorts of common carp Cyprinus carpio in semi-natural ponds. The specific size range of fish (small, medium and large corresponding to fish age in ponds was the factor most strongly associated with macroinvertebrate composition. The other significant habitat variables were dissolved oxygen concentration in the water and submerged vegetation abundance in the open-water zone. Among the most numerous taxa in the ponds, relative abundances of Hirudinea, Gastropoda, Odonata and Coleoptera were larger in the presence of small-sized than of larger-sized carp. However, fish size effect was not linear, in that macroinvertebrate assemblages were less similar between ponds containing medium- vs large-sized fish than between ponds with small- vs large-sized fish. The dissimilarity patterns were mainly determined by disparities in abundance of Corixidae, which unlike other taxa common in the ponds occurred in the greatest numbers in the presence of large-sized carp. Macroinvertebrate diversity was greatest in ponds with small-sized fish and was positively related to emergent macrophyte cover. Enhancement of emergent vegetation is recommended as the most effective management strategy to buffer adverse impacts of fish on macroinvertebrates. If fish are present in the system, assessment of the size structure of fish populations can be advantageous in unravelling the essential processes driving the variation in pond communities.

Low Functional β-Diversity Despite High Taxonomic β-Diversity among Tropical Estuarine Fish Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Villéger, Sébastien; Miranda, Julia Ramos; Hernandez, Domingo Flores; Mouillot, David

2012-01-01

The concept of β-diversity, defined as dissimilarity among communities, has been widely used to investigate biodiversity patterns and community assembly rules. However, in ecosystems with high taxonomic β-diversity, due to marked environmental gradients, the level of functional β-diversity among communities is largely overlooked while it may reveal processes shaping community structure. Here, decomposing biodiversity indices into α (local) and γ (regional) components, we estimated taxonomic and functional β-diversity among tropical estuarine fish communities, through space and time. We found extremely low functional β-diversity values among fish communities (diversities, α and γ functional diversities were very close to the minimal value. These patterns were caused by two dominant functional groups which maintained a similar functional structure over space and time, despite the strong dissimilarity in taxonomic structure along environmental gradients. Our findings suggest that taxonomic and functional β-diversity deserve to be quantified simultaneously since these two facets can show contrasting patterns and the differences can in turn shed light on community assembly rules. PMID:22792395

Assessing survival of Mid-Columbia River released juvenile salmonids at McNary Dam, Washington, 2008-09

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Scott D.; Walker, Christopher E.; Brewer, Scott J.; Adams, Noah S.

2010-01-01

Few studies have evaluated survival of juvenile salmon over long river reaches in the Columbia River and information regarding the survival of sockeye salmon at lower Columbia River dams is lacking. To address these information gaps, the U.S. Geological Survey was contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the possibility of using tagged fish released in the Mid-Columbia River to assess passage and survival at and downstream of McNary Dam. Using the acoustic telemetry systems already in place for a passage and survival study at McNary Dam, fish released from the tailraces of Wells, Rocky Reach, Rock Island, Wanapum, and Priest Rapids Dams were detected at McNary Dam and at the subsequent downstream arrays. These data were used to generate route-specific survival probabilities using single-release models from fish released in the Mid-Columbia River. We document trends in passage and survival probabilities at McNary Dam for yearling Chinook and sockeye salmon and juvenile steelhead released during studies in the Mid-Columbia River. Trends in the survival and passage of these juvenile salmonid species are presented and discussed. However, comparisons made across years and between study groups are not possible because of differences in the source of the test fish, the type of acoustic tags used, the absence of the use of passive integrated transponder tags in some of the release groups, differences in tagging and release protocols, annual differences in dam operations and configurations, differences in how the survival models were constructed (that is, number of routes that could be estimated given the number of fish detected), and the number and length of reaches included in the analysis (downstream reach length and arrays). Despite these differences, the data we present offer a unique opportunity to examine the migration behavior and survival of a group of fish that otherwise would not be studied. This is particularly true for sockeye salmon because

Avoidance of thermal effluent by juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshowytscha) and its implications in waste heat management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, R.H.

1977-03-01

Knowledge of behavioral responses of aquatic organisms to thermal discharges at power plants is essential to evaluate thermal exposure and subsequent effects on survival and ecological success. Instantaneous responses of juvenile salmon that encountered a simulated river-thermal plume interface were assessed in a model raceway with a thermal discharge. Fish movement and response to the discharge were recorded on videotape. Juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) tested under three discharge conditions (no plume, ambient plume and heated plume) avoided plume temperatures greater than 9 to 11 0 C above ambient. Fish occasionally oriented to the discharge current, but were not attracted to the thermal component of the plume when plume ΔT's were below the avoidance level of 11 0 C. Fish did not pass to the lower end of the raceway when plume ΔT exceeded 9 to 11 0 C. The responses noted in our experiments suggest organismic behavior may prevent juvenile salmon in nature from experiencing lethal conditions from thermal discharges and have application in waste heat management and utilization

Effects of fish community on occurrences of Yangtze finless porpoise in confluence of the Yangtze and Wanhe Rivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoke; Yu, Daoping; Wang, Huili; Wan, An; Chen, Minmin; Tao, Feng; Song, Zunrong

2015-06-01

The Yangtze finless porpoise is a subspecies of narrow-ridged finless porpoise endemic to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the adjoining Poyang and Dongting Lakes. With the depletion of fish stocks in the Yangtze River in recent decades, food availability has become the most important factor affecting the survival of this subspecies. Despite this, the relationships between fish community and occurrences of porpoise are far from being fully understood. Therefore, during September 2013 to August 2014, the occurrences of porpoise were investigated in confluence of the Yangtze and Wanhe Rivers; fish community was also surveyed synchronously in confluence and two adjacent transects. The results showed that (1) the confluence had maximum fish species richness, and the main dominant species was upper fish, while the other two transects were mainly dominated by demersal fish. ANOVA analyses showed that individual number and yield of upper fish which can be eaten by porpoise (upper edible fish) in the confluence were significantly higher than other two transects. (2) Average group size of the porpoise was 3.7 ± 1.8 individuals. The occurrences of porpoise in different seasons had great differences, and the porpoise was more likely to be detected in autumn and winter. (3) Fish community had significant effects on occurrences of porpoise, and the main influencing factors were fish species richness, individual number, and yield of edible fish, especially the upper edible fish. The results of this study will have important implications for the conservation of porpoise.

Assessment of genotoxicity and depuration of anthracene in the juvenile coastal fish Trachinotus carolinus using the comet assay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Matsu Hasue

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In the environment, anthracene is characterized as being persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic to aquatic organisms. Biotransformation of xenobiotic substances, such as anthracene, produces reactive oxygen species that may induce DNA strand breaks. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the DNA damage in juvenile T. carolinus exposed to different concentrations (8, 16 and 32 µg.L-1 of anthracene for 24 h in the dark then subsequently allowed to depurate in clean water for different periods of time (48, 96 or 144 h using the comet assay. Our results show that anthracene is genotoxic to T. carolinus and that DNA damage was dose- and depuration/time- dependent. Anthracenegenotoxicity was observed in all experimental concentrations. Depuration seemed to be more efficient in fish exposed to thelowest anthracene concentration and maintained in clean water for 96 h.

Fish community responses to submerged aquatic vegetation in Maumee Bay, Western Lake Erie

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Jacob; Kocovsky, Patrick; Wiegmann, Daniel; Miner, Jeffery G.

2018-01-01

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in clearwater systems simultaneously provides habitat for invertebrate prey and acts as refugia for small fishes. Many fishes in Lake Erie rely on shallow, heavily vegetated bays as spawning grounds and the loss or absence of which is known to reduce recruitment in other systems. The Maumee River and Maumee Bay, which once had abundant macrophyte beds, have experienced a decline of SAV and an increase in suspended solids (turbidity) over the last century due to numerous causes. To compare fish communities in open‐water (turbid) and in SAV (clearer water) habitats in this region, which is designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an Area of Concern, and to indicate community changes that could occur with expansion of SAV habitat, we sampled a 300‐ha sector of northern Maumee Bay that contained both habitats. Using towed neuston nets through patches of each habitat, we determined that areas of SAV contained more species and a different species complex (based on the Jaccard index and the wetland fish index), than did the open‐water habitat (averaging 8.6 versus 5 species per net trawl). The SAV habitat was dominated by centrarchids, namely Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, and Black Crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus. Open‐water habitat was dominated by Spottail Shiner Notropis hudsonius, Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum, and White Perch Morone americana, an invasive species. These results indicate that restoration efforts aimed at decreasing turbidity and increasing the distribution of SAV could cause substantive shifts in the fish community and address important metrics for assessing the beneficial use impairments in this Area of Concern.

Muscle fiber type distribution in climbing Hawaiian gobioid fishes: ontogeny and correlations with locomotor performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cediel, Roberto A; Blob, Richard W; Schrank, Gordon D; Plourde, Robert C; Schoenfuss, Heiko L

2008-01-01

Three species of Hawaiian amphidromous gobioid fishes are remarkable in their ability to climb waterfalls up to several hundred meters tall. Juvenile Lentipes concolor and Awaous guamensis climb using rapid bursts of axial undulation, whereas juvenile Sicyopterus stimpsoni climb using much slower movements, alternately attaching oral and pelvic sucking disks to the substrate during prolonged bouts of several cycles. Based on these differing climbing styles, we hypothesized that propulsive musculature in juvenile L. concolor and A. guamensis would be dominated by white muscle fibers, whereas S. stimpsoni would exhibit a greater proportion of red muscle fibers than other climbing species. We further predicted that, because adults of these species shift from climbing to burst swimming as their main locomotor behavior, muscle from adult fish of all three species would be dominated by white fibers. To test these hypotheses, we used ATPase assays to evaluate muscle fiber type distribution in Hawaiian climbing gobies for three anatomical regions (midbody, anal, and tail). Axial musculature was dominated by white muscle fibers in juveniles of all three species, but juvenile S. stimpsoni had a significantly greater proportion of red fibers than the other two species. Fiber type proportions of adult fishes did not differ significantly from those of juveniles. Thus, muscle fiber type proportions in juveniles appear to help accommodate differences in locomotor demands among these species, indicating that they overcome the common challenge of waterfall climbing through both diverse behaviors and physiological specializations.

Determine the Influence of Time Held in “Knockdown” Anesthesia on Survival and Stress of Surgically Implanted Juvenile Salmonids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woodley, Christa M.; Wagner, Katie A.; Knox, Kasey M.

2012-01-31

The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) was developed for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Portland District (USACE) to address questions related to survival and performance measures of juvenile salmonids as they pass through the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). Researchers using JSATS acoustic transmitters (ATs) were tasked with standardizing the surgical implantation procedure to ensure that the stressors of handling and surgery on salmonids were consistent and less likely to cause effects of tagging in survival studies. Researchers questioned whether the exposure time in 'knockdown' anesthesia (or induction) to prepare fish for surgery could influence the survival of study fish (CBSPSC 2011). Currently, fish are held in knockdown anesthesia after they reach Stage 4 anesthesia until the completion of the surgical implantation of a transmitter, varies from 5 to 15 minutes for studies conducted in the Columbia Basin. The Columbia Basin Surgical Protocol Steering Committee (CBSPSC ) expressed concern that its currently recommended 10-minute maximum time limit during which fish are held in anesthetic - tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222, 80 mg L-1 water) - could increase behavioral and physiological costs, and/or decrease survival of outmigrating juvenile salmonids. In addition, the variability in the time fish are held at Stage 4 could affect the data intended for direct comparison of fish within or among survival studies. Under the current recommended protocol, if fish exceed the 10-minute time limit, they are to be released without surgical implantation, thereby increasing the number of fish handled and endangered species 'take' at the bypass systems for FCRPS survival studies.

Assessing Caribbean Shallow and Mesophotic Reef Fish Communities Using Baited-Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) and Diver-Operated Video (DOV) Survey Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Macaya-Solis, Consuelo; Exton, Dan A.; Gress, Erika; Wright, Georgina; Rogers, Alex D.

2016-01-01

Fish surveys form the backbone of reef monitoring and management initiatives throughout the tropics, and understanding patterns in biases between techniques is crucial if outputs are to address key objectives optimally. Often biases are not consistent across natural environmental gradients such as depth, leading to uncertainty in interpretation of results. Recently there has been much interest in mesophotic reefs (reefs from 30–150 m depth) as refuge habitats from fishing pressure, leading to many comparisons of reef fish communities over depth gradients. Here we compare fish communities using stereo-video footage recorded via baited remote underwater video (BRUV) and diver-operated video (DOV) systems on shallow and mesophotic reefs in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean. We show inconsistent responses across families, species and trophic groups between methods across the depth gradient. Fish species and family richness were higher using BRUV at both depth ranges, suggesting that BRUV is more appropriate for recording all components of the fish community. Fish length distributions were not different between methods on shallow reefs, yet BRUV recorded more small fish on mesophotic reefs. However, DOV consistently recorded greater relative fish community biomass of herbivores, suggesting that studies focusing on herbivores should consider using DOV. Our results highlight the importance of considering what component of reef fish community researchers and managers are most interested in surveying when deciding which survey technique to use across natural gradients such as depth. PMID:27959907

Hydroacoustic Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Passage and Distribution at Lookout Point Dam, 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, Fenton; Johnson, Gary E.; Royer, Ida M.; Hughes, James S.; Fischer, Eric S.; Trott, Donna M.; Ploskey, Gene R.

2011-07-01

This report presents the results of an evaluation of juvenile salmonid passage and distribution at Lookout Point Dam (LOP) on the Middle Fork Willamette River. The study was conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (USACE). The goal of the study was to provide fish passage and distribution data to support decisions on long-term measures to enhance downstream passage at LOP and others dams in USACE’s Willamette Valley Project in response to the listing of Upper Willamette River Spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Upper Willamette River steelhead (O. mykiss) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. During the year-long study period - February 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011the objectives of the hydroacoustic evaluation of fish passage and distribution at LOP were to: 1. Estimate passage rates, run timing, horizontal distribution, and diel distribution at turbine penstock intakes for smolt-size fish. 2. Estimate passage rates, run timing and diel distribution at turbine penstock intakes for small-size fish. 3. Estimate passage rates and run timing at the regulating outlets for smolt-size fish. 4. Estimate vertical distribution of smolt-size fish in the forebay near the upstream face of the dam. The fixed-location hydroacoustic technique was used to accomplish the objectives of this study. Transducers (420 kHz) were deployed in each penstock intake, above each RO entrance, and on the dam face; a total of nine transducers (2 single-beam and 7 split-beam) were used. We summarize the findings from the hydroacoustic evaluation of juvenile salmonid passage and distribution at LOP during February 2010 through January 2011 as follows. • Fish passage rates for smolt-size fish (> ~90 mm) were highest during December-January and lowest in mid-summer through early fall. • During the entire study period, an estimated total of 142,463 fish ± 4,444 (95% confidence interval) smolt

Natural shorelines promote the stability of fish communities in an urbanized coastal system.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven B Scyphers

Full Text Available Habitat loss and fragmentation are leading causes of species extinctions in terrestrial, aquatic and marine systems. Along coastlines, natural habitats support high biodiversity and valuable ecosystem services but are often replaced with engineered structures for coastal protection or erosion control. We coupled high-resolution shoreline condition data with an eleven-year time series of fish community structure to examine how coastal protection structures impact community stability. Our analyses revealed that the most stable fish communities were nearest natural shorelines. Structurally complex engineered shorelines appeared to promote greater stability than simpler alternatives as communities nearest vertical walls, which are among the most prevalent structures, were most dissimilar from natural shorelines and had the lowest stability. We conclude that conserving and restoring natural habitats is essential for promoting ecological stability. However, in scenarios when natural habitats are not viable, engineered landscapes designed to mimic the complexity of natural habitats may provide similar ecological functions.

Host specificity and the structure of helminth parasite communities of fishes in a Neotropical river in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Salgado-Maldonado, Guillermo; Novelo-Turcotte, María Teresa; Caspeta-Mandujano, Juan Manuel; Vazquez-Hurtado, Gabriela; Quiroz-Martínez, Benjamin; Mercado-Silva, Norman; Favila, Mario

2016-01-01

In a tropical locality of Río La Antigua, Veracruz, Mexico, 11 fish species, represented by 244 individual fish from six freshwater fish families living sympatrically and synchronically, were examined for helminth parasites. A total of 36 taxa of helminths were recorded, 24 autogenic and 12 allogenic forms, including 6 monogeneans, 14 trematodes, 1 cestode, and 15 nematodes. Most helminth taxa were recovered for 10/11 of the component communities we analyzed. The results contribute empirical evidence that host specificity is an important force in the development of helminth communities of freshwater fishes. Each fish family has their own set of parasites, host species belonging to the same taxon share parasite species. High component community similarity among related host species was recorded, demonstrated by high prevalence and abundance, as well as dominance, of autogenic specialist species in each component community. Most autogenic helminth species are numerically and reproductively successful in relatively few host species. Autogenic helminths common in one host species are not common in others. Our findings give empirical support to the idea that low levels of sharing of parasites favor animal coexistence and high species richness, because large phylogenetic differences allow potentially competing animals to consume the same resources without being sensitive of another’s parasites. PMID:28004635

Ecology of selected marine communities in Glacier Bay: Zooplankton, forage fish, seabirds and marine mammals

Science.gov (United States)

Robards, Martin D.; Drew, Gary S.; Piatt, John F.; Anson, Jennifer Marie; Abookire, Alisa A.; Bodkin, James L.; Hooge, Philip N.; Speckman, Suzann G.

2003-01-01

We studied oceanography (including primary production), secondary production, small schooling fish (SSF), and marine bird and mammal predators in Glacier Bay during 1999 and 2000. Results from these field efforts were combined with a review of current literature relating to the Glacier Bay environment. Since the conceptual model developed by Hale and Wright (1979) ‘changes and cycles’ continue to be the underlying theme of the Glacier Bay ecosystem. We found marked seasonality in many of the parameters that we investigated over the two years of research, and here we provide a comprehensive description of the distribution and relative abundance of a wide array of marine biota. Glacier Bay is a tidally mixed estuary that leads into basins, which stratify in summer, with the upper arms behaving as traditional estuaries. The Bay is characterized by renewal and mixing events throughout the year, and markedly higher primary production than in many neighboring southeast Alaska fjords (Hooge and Hooge, 2002). Zooplankton diversity and abundance within the upper 50 meters of the water column in Glacier Bay is similar to communities seen throughout the Gulf of Alaska. Zooplankton in the lower regions of Glacier Bay peak in abundance in late May or early June, as observed at Auke Bay and in the Gulf of Alaska. The key distinction between the lower Bay and other estuaries in the Gulf of Alaska is that a second smaller peak in densities occurs in August. The upper Bay behaved uniformly in temporal trends, peaking in July. Densities had begun to decline in August, but were still more than twice those observed in that region in May. The highest density of zooplankton observed was 17,870 organisms/m3 in Tarr Inlet during July. Trends in zooplankton community abundance and diversity within the lower Bay were distinct from upper-Glacier Bay trends. Whereas the lower Bay is strongly influenced by Gulf of Alaska processes, local processes are the strongest influence in the upper

Evaluation of Juvenile Fall Chinook Salmon Stranding on the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, 2000 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nugent, John; Nugent, Michael; Brock, Wendy (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

2002-05-29

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has been contracted through the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the Grant County Public Utility District (GCPUD) to perform an evaluation of juvenile fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stranding on the Hanford Reach. The evaluation, in the fourth year of a multi-year study, has been developed to assess the impacts of water fluctuations from Priest Rapids Dam on rearing juvenile fall chinook salmon, other fishes, and benthic macroinvertebrates of the Hanford Reach. This document provides the results of the 2000 field season.

Evaluation of Juvenile Fall Chinook Salmon Stranding on the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, 1999 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nugent, John

2002-01-24

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has been contracted through the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the Grant County Public Utility District (GCPUD) to perform an evaluation of juvenile fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stranding on the Hanford Reach. The evaluation, in the third year of a multi-year study, has been developed to assess the impacts of water fluctuations from Priest Rapids Dam on rearing juvenile fall chinook salmon, other fishes, and benthic macroinvertebrates of the Hanford Reach. This document provides the results of the 1999 field season.

Evaluation of Juvenile Fall Chinook Salmon Stranding on the Hanford Reach in the Columbia River, 1998 Interim Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nugent, John; Newsome, Todd; Nugent, Michael (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

2001-07-27

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has been contracted through the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the Grant County Public Utility District (GCPUD) to perform an evaluation of juvenile fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stranding on the Hanford Reach. The evaluation, in the second year of a multi-year study, has been developed to assess the impacts of water fluctuations from Priest Rapids Dam on rearing juvenile fall chinook salmon, other fish species, and benthic macroinvertebrates of the Hanford Reach. This document provides the results of the 1998 field season.

Seasonal composition, abundance and biomass of the subestuarine fish assemblage in Solís Chico (Río de la Plata estuary, Uruguay).

Science.gov (United States)

Plavan, A Acuña; Gurdek, R; Muñoz, N; Gutierrez, J M; Spósito, M; Correa, P; Caride, A

2017-01-01

The large estuaries can present long narrow branches called subestuaries or tidal creeks. These types of subsystems are distributed along the Uruguayan coast of the Río de la Plata estuary and are very important as nursery and refuge areas for fish. For the first time, the seasonal composition and abundance of the fish community of the Solís Chico subestuary was studied by using beach and gill nets. Fourteen species, mainly euryhaline (86%) presented a significant representation of juvenile stages. The fish community was dominated by Odontesthes argentinensis, Platanichthys platana, Mugil liza, Brevoortia aurea, Micropogonias furnieri and Paralichthys orbignyanus, similar to adjacent subestuaries. While Micropogonias furnieri and B. aurea were the most abundant species, some other species were rarely caught. A seasonal variation of the fish assemblage abundance was detected, with higher values in autumn showing a positive correlation with temperature. Species that complete their life cycle in the Río de la Plata estuary, some of which are relevant to fisheries (64% of the analyzed species) were captured in the Solís Chico subestuary. The importance of this environment as a transitional system for some estuarine fish species is advised.

Flying fish accelerate at 5 G to leap from the water surface

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Patricia; Phonekeo, Sulisay; Xu, Ke; Chang, Shui-Kai; Hu, David

2013-11-01

Flying fish can both swim underwater and glide in air. Transitioning from swimming to gliding requires penetration of the air-water interface, or breaking the ``surface tension barrier,'' a formidable task for juvenile flying fish measuring 1 to 5 cm in length. In this experimental investigation, we use high-speed videography to characterize the kinematics of juvenile flying fish as they leap from the water surface. During this process, which lasts 0.05 seconds, flying fish achieve body accelerations of 5 times earth's gravity and gliding speeds of 1.3 m/s, an order of magnitude higher than their steady swimming speed. We rationalize this anomalously high speed on the basis of the hydrodynamic and surface tension forces and torques experienced by the fish. Specifically, leaping fish experience skin friction forces only on the submerged part of their body, permitting them to achieve much higher speeds than in steady underwater swimming. We also perform experiments using a towed flying fish mimc to determine optimality of various parameters in this process, including body angle and start position with respect to the water surface.

Baseline assessment of fish and benthic communities of the Flower Garden Banks

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The work developed baseline information on fish and benthic communities within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). Surveys employed diving,...

Recruitment and retention of women in fishing communities in HIV ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... complete all study visits. Conclusion: Women had better retention rates than men at 18 months. Strategies for recruiting and retaining younger women and those who have stayed for less than 5 years need to be developed for improved retention of women in fishing communities in HIV prevention and research Programs.

Growth and social behavior in a cichlid fish are affected by social rearing environment and kinship

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Saskia; Thünken, Timo

2014-04-01

Living in groups is a widespread phenomenon in many animal taxa. The reduction of predation risk is thought to be an important cause for the formation of groups. Consequently, grouping behavior is particularly pronounced during vulnerable life stages, i.e., as juveniles. However, group living does not only provide benefits but also imposes costs on group members, e.g., increased competition for food. Thus, benefits of grouping behavior might not be evident when predation risk is absent. The adaptive significance of living and also developing in a group independent from predation risk has received relatively little attention although this might have important implications on the evolution and maintenance of group living. The first aim of the present study was to examine whether the social environment affects juvenile performance in the cichlid fish Pelvicachromis taeniatus and, secondly, whether kinship affects social behavior. Kin selection theory predicts benefits from grouping with kin. Here, we demonstrate that juveniles reared in a group grow on average faster compared to juveniles reared in isolation under standardized laboratory conditions without predation risk. Furthermore, we found significant differences in social behavior between juveniles reared in a group and reared in isolation. Fish reared in isolation were significantly more aggressive and less willing to shoal than group-reared fish. As expected, genetic relatedness influenced social behavior in group-reared fish as well: dyads of juveniles consisting of kin showed increased group cohesiveness compared to non-kin dyads. We discuss the potential benefits of group living in general and living with kin in particular.

A preliminary analysis of the fish communities' dynamic in the Slovak section of the Danube in last two decades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakubcinova, K.; Kovac, V.

2015-01-01

The Danube is the river with the highest richness of fish species (102 species reported) in Europe. Nevertheless, it also faces various human pressures with serious negative impacts on its ecosystems, including fish communities. In this work, data from The Joint Danube Survey 2 (2007), The Joint Danube Survey 3 (2013) and the Gabcikovo Hydroelectric Scheme Monitoring (GHS) (1991-2011) were analyser briefly. The Fish Index of Slovakia (FIS) was used to compare the Cunovo - Szap section, which is under the influence of GHS, with the section of Danube in Bratislava, which is upstream to GHS. Significantly lower values of FIS indicate the negative impact of GHS on local fish communities. However invasive species have also impacted fish communities negatively. (authors)

Acoustic Imaging Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Behavior in the Immediate Forebay of the Water Temperature Control Tower at Cougar Dam, 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, Fenton; Johnson, Gary E.; Royer, Ida M.; Phillips, Nathan RJ; Hughes, James S.; Fischer, Eric S.; Ploskey, Gene R.

2011-10-01

This report presents the results of an evaluation of juvenile Chinook salmonid (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) behavior in the immediate forebay of the Water Temperature Control (WTC) tower at Cougar Dam in 2010. The study was conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The overall goal of the study was to characterize juvenile salmonid behavior and movement patterns in the immediate forebay of the WTC tower for fisheries resource managers to use to make decisions on bioengineering designs for long-term structures and/or operations to facilitate safe downstream passage for juvenile salmonids. We collected acoustic imaging (Dual-Frequency Identification Sonar; DIDSON) data from February 1, 2010 through January 31, 2011 to evaluate juvenile salmonid behavior year-round in the immediate forebay surface layer of the WTC tower (within 20 m, depth 0-5 m). From October 28, 2010 through January 31, 2011 a BlueView acoustic camera was also deployed in an attempt to determine its usefulness for future studies as well as augment the DIDSON data. For the DIDSON data, we processed a total of 35 separate 24-h periods systematically covering every other week in the 12-month study. Two different 24-hour periods were processed for the BlueView data for the feasibility study. Juvenile salmonids were present in the immediate forebay of the WTC tower throughout 2010. The juvenile salmonid abundance index was low in the spring (<200 fish per sample-day), began increasing in late April and peaked in mid-May. Fish abundance index began decreasing in early June and remained low in the summer months. Fish abundance increased again in the fall, starting in October, and peaked on November 8-9. A second peak occurred on December 22. Afterwards, abundance was low for the rest of the study (through January 2011). Average fish length for juvenile salmonids during early spring 2010 was 214 {+-} 86 mm (standard deviation). From May through early November

Probiotic modulation of the gut bacterial community of juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei challenged with Vibrio parahaemolyticus CAIM 170

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irasema E Luis-Villaseñor

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The protective effects of two probiotic mixtures was studied using the fingerprints of the bacterial community of Litopenaeus vannamei juveniles exposed to probiotics and challenged with Vibrio parahaemolyticus CAIM 170. Fingerprints were constructed using 16S rRNA gene and the PCR-SSCP (Single strand conformation polymorphism technique, and the probiotics used were an experimental Bacillus mixture (Bacillus tequilensis YC5-2 + B. endophyticus C2-2 and YC3-B and the commercial probiotic Alibio. The DNA for PCR-SSCP analyses was extracted directly from the guts of shrimps treated for 20 days with the probiotics and injected with 2.5*10(5 CFU g-1 of V. parahaemolyticus one week after suspension of the probiotic treatment. Untreated shrimps served as positive (injected with V. parahaemolyticus and negative (not injected controls Analysis of the bacterial community carried out after inoculation and 12 and 48 h later confirmed that V. parahaemolyticus was present in shrimps of the positive control , but not in the negative control or treated with the probiotic mixtures. A significant difference in the diversity of the bacterial community was observed between times after infection. The band patterns in 0-12 h were clustered into a different group from that determined after 48 h, and suggested that during bacterial infection the guts of whiteleg shrimp were dominated by gamma proteobacteria represented by Vibrio sp. and Photobacterium sp. Our results indicate that the experimental and the commercial mixtures are suitable to modulate the bacterial community of L. vannamei and could be used as a probiotic to control vibriosis in juvenile shrimp.

Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Outmigration and Survival in the Lower Umatilla River Basin, Annual Report 2003-2006.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

White, Tara

2007-02-01

This report summarizes activities conducted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Juvenile Outmigration and Survival M&E project in the Umatilla River subbasin between 2004-2006. Information is used to make informed decisions on hatchery effectiveness, natural production success, passage improvement and flow enhancement strategies. Data collected includes annual estimates of smolt abundance, migration timing, and survival, life history characteristics and productivity status and trends for spring and fall Chinook salmon, coho salmon and summer steelhead. Productivity data provided is the key subbasin scale measure of the effectiveness of salmon and steelhead restoration actions in the Umatilla River. Information is also used for regional planning and recovery efforts of Mid-Columbia River (MCR) ESA-listed summer steelhead. Monitoring is conducted via smolt trapping and PIT-tag interrogation at Three Mile Falls Dam. The Umatilla Juvenile Outmigration and Survival Project was established in 1994 to evaluate the success of management actions and fisheries restoration efforts in the Umatilla River Basin. Project objectives for the 2004-2006 period were to: (1) operate the PIT tag detection system at Three Mile Falls Dam (TMFD), (2) enhance provisional PIT-tag interrogation equipment at the east bank adult fish ladder, (3) monitor the migration timing, abundance and survival of naturally-produced juvenile salmonids and trends in natural production, (4) determine migration parameters and survival of hatchery-produced fish representing various rearing, acclimation and release strategies, (5) evaluate the relative survival between transported and non-transported fish, (6) monitor juvenile life history characteristics and evaluate trends over time, (7) investigate the effects of river, canal, fishway operations and environmental conditions on smolt migration and survival, (8) document the temporal distribution and diversity of resident fish species, and (9

Program Performance Inventory: Six Juvenile Offender Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomalla, Terri Groff; Dougherty, Victoria J.

This report describes the performance of 6 Connecticut juvenile justice alternative sanction programs in 14 qualitative areas: community reintegration; outcomes and evaluation; assessment methods; risk factors; escalation of criminal activity; family involvement; community involvement; work ethic and vocational training; education and life skills;…

Migratory Characteristics of Juvenile Spring Chinook Salmon in the Willamette River : Completion Report 1994.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schreck, Carl B.; Snelling, J.C.; Ewing, R.E.; Bradford, C.S.; Davis, L.E.; Slater, C.H.

1994-01-01

The objective of this research was to examine in detail the migration of juvenile spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Willamette River, Oregon. The authors wanted to determine characteristics of seaward migration of spring chinook smolts in relation to the oxygen supplementation practices at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Willamette Hatchery and use this information to strengthen the design of the oxygen supplementation project. There is little information available on the effects of oxygen supplementation at hatcheries on the migratory characteristics of juvenile salmon. Such information is required to assess the use of oxygen supplementation as a means of improving hatchery production, its effect on imprinting of juveniles, and finally the return of adults. In the event that oxygen supplementation provides for improved production and survival of juvenile chinook salmon at Willamette Hatchery, background information on the migration characteristics of these fish will be required to effectively utilize the increased production within the goals of the Willamette Fish Management Plan. Furthermore this technology may be instrumental in the goal of doubling the runs of spring Chinook salmon in the Columbia River. While evaluation of success is dependent on evaluation of the return of adults with coded wire tags, examination of the migratory characteristics of hatchery smolts may prove to be equally informative. Through this research it is possible to determine the rate at which individuals from various oxygenation treatment groups leave the Willamette River system, a factor which may be strongly related to adult return rate.

Migratory characteristics of juvenile spring chinook salmon in the Willamette River. Completion report 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schreck, C.B.; Snelling, J.C.; Ewing, R.E.; Bradford, C.S.; Davis, L.E.; Slater, C.H.

1994-01-01

The objective of this research was to examine in detail the migration of juvenile spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Willamette River, Oregon. The authors wanted to determine characteristics of seaward migration of spring chinook smolts in relation to the oxygen supplementation practices at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Willamette Hatchery and use this information to strengthen the design of the oxygen supplementation project. There is little information available on the effects of oxygen supplementation at hatcheries on the migratory characteristics of juvenile salmon. Such information is required to assess the use of oxygen supplementation as a means of improving hatchery production, its effect on imprinting of juveniles, and finally the return of adults. In the event that oxygen supplementation provides for improved production and survival of juvenile chinook salmon at Willamette Hatchery, background information on the migration characteristics of these fish will be required to effectively utilize the increased production within the goals of the Willamette Fish Management Plan. Furthermore this technology may be instrumental in the goal of doubling the runs of spring Chinook salmon in the Columbia River. While evaluation of success is dependent on evaluation of the return of adults with coded wire tags, examination of the migratory characteristics of hatchery smolts may prove to be equally informative. Through this research it is possible to determine the rate at which individuals from various oxygenation treatment groups leave the Willamette River system, a factor which may be strongly related to adult return rate

Variation in fish community structure, richness, and diversity in 56 Danish lakes with contrasting depth, size, and trophic state: does the method matter?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Menezes, Rosemberg; Borchsenius, Finn; Svenning, J.-C.

2013-01-01

a better understanding of fish communities. We compare fish community composition, richness, and diversity in 56 Danish lakes using data obtained by gillnetting in different lake zones and near-shore electrofishing, respectively. On average, electrofishing captured more species than offshore gillnets......, but not more than littoral gillnets. Overall, the different fish sampling methods showed consistency as to fish community structure, but noticeable differences in community–environment relationships. Lake area was the best predictor for fish species richness in the littoral samplings, while it was poor...... community, as all methods miss some important species that other methods capture. However, electrofishing seems to be a fast alternative to gillnets for monitoring fish species richness and composition in littoral habitats of Danish lakes....

Hydroacoustic Evaluation of Fish Passage through Bonneville Dam in 2004

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ploskey, Gene R.; Weiland, Mark A.; Schilt, Carl R.; Kim, Jina; Johnson, Peter N.; Hanks, Michael E.; Patterson, Deborah S.; Skalski, John R.; Hedgepeth, J

2005-12-22

The Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested that the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conduct fish-passage studies at Bonneville Dam in 2004. These studies support the Portland District's goal of maximizing fish-passage efficiency (FPE) and obtaining 95% survival for juvenile salmon passing Bonneville Dam. Major passage routes include 10 turbines and a sluiceway at Powerhouse 1 (B1), an 18-bay spillway, and eight turbines and a sluiceway at Powerhouse 2 (B2). In this report, we present results of four studies related to juvenile salmonid passage at Bonneville Dam. The studies were conducted between April 15 and July 15, 2004, encompassing most of the spring and summer migrations. Studies included evaluations of (1) Project fish passage efficiency and other major passage metrics, (2) B2 fish guidance efficiency and gap loss, (3) smolt approach and fate at the B2 Corner Collector (B2CC), and (4) B2 vertical barrier screen head differential.

Evaluation of Behavioral Guidance Structure on Juvenile Salmonid Passage and Survival at Bonneville Dam in 2009

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faber, Derrek M.; Ploskey, Gene R.; Weiland, Mark A.; Deng, Zhiqun; Hughes, James S.; Kim, Jin A.; Fu, Tao; Fischer, Eric S.; Monter, Tyrell J.; Skalski, J. R.

2011-03-01

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted an acoustic-telemetry study at Bonneville Dam in 2009 to evaluate the effects of a behavioral guidance structure (BGS) in the Bonneville Dam second powerhouse forebay on fish passage and survival through the second powerhouse (B2), the dam as a whole, and through the first powerhouse and spillway combined. The BGS was deployed to increase the survival of fish passing through B2 by increasing the percentage of outmigrating smolts entering the B2 Corner Collector (B2CC)—a surface flow outlet known to be a relatively benign route for downstream passage at this dam. The study relied on releases of live Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System tagged smolts in the Columbia River and used acoustic telemetry to evaluate the approach, passage, and survival of passing juvenile salmon. Study results indicated that having turbine 11 in service is important for providing flow conditions that are comparable to those observed in pre-BGS years (2004 and 2005) and in 2008. This study supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continual effort to improve conditions for juvenile anadromous fish passing through Columbia River dams.

Spatial and temporal distribution of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)-size fish near the floating surface collector in the North Fork Reservoir, Oregon, 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Noah S.; Smith, Collin D.

2017-06-26

Acoustic cameras were used to assess the behavior and abundance of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)-size fish at the entrance to the North Fork Reservoir juvenile fish floating surface collector (FSC). The purpose of the FSC is to collect downriver migrating juvenile salmonids at the North Fork Dam, and safely route them around the hydroelectric projects. The objective of the acoustic camera component of this study was to assess the behaviors of bull trout-size fish observed near the FSC, and to determine if the presence of bull trout-size fish influenced the collection or abundance of juvenile salmonids. Acoustic cameras were deployed near the surface and floor of the entrance to the FSC. The acoustic camera technology was an informative tool for assessing abundance and spatial and temporal behaviors of bull trout-size fish near the entrance of the FSC. Bull trout-size fish were regularly observed near the entrance, with greater abundances on the deep camera than on the shallow camera. Additionally, greater abundances were observed during the hours of sunlight than were observed during the night. Behavioral differences also were observed at the two depths, with surface fish traveling faster and straighter with more directed movement, and fish observed on the deep camera generally showing more milling behavior. Modeling potential predator-prey interactions and influences using collected passive integrated transponder (PIT) -tagged juvenile salmonids proved largely unpredictable, although these fish provided relevant timing and collection information. Overall, the results indicate that bull trout-size fish are present near the entrance of the FSC, concomitant with juvenile salmonids, and their abundances and behaviors indicate that they may be drawn to the entrance of the FSC because of the abundance of prey-sized fish.

Adirondack lakes survey: An interpretive analysis of fish communities and water chemistry, 1984--1987

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, J.P. (Baker (Joan P.), Raleigh, NC (USA)); Gherini, S.A.; Munson, R.K. (Tetra Tech, Inc., Pasadena, CA (USA)); Christensen, S.W. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)); Driscoll, C.T. (Syracuse Univ., NY (USA)); Gallagher, J. (Adirondack Lakes Survey Corp., Ray Brook, NY (USA)); Newton, R.M. (Smith Coll., Northampton, MA (USA)); Reckhow, K.H. (Duke Univ., Durham, NC (USA)); Schofield, C.L. (Co

1990-01-01

The Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation (ALSC) was formed as a cooperative effort of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Empire State Electric Energy Research Corporation to better characterize the chemical and biological status of Adirondack lakes. Between 1984 and 1987, the ALSC surveyed 1469 lakes within the Adirondack ecological zone. As a follow-up to the survey, the ALSC sponsored a series of interpretive analyses of the ALSC data base. The primary objectives of these analyses were as follows: Evaluate the influence of mineral acids (from acidic deposition) and nonmineral acids (natural organic acids) on lake pH levels; classify Adirondack lakes according to lake and watershed features expected to influence their responsiveness to changes in acidic deposition; evaluate the sensitivity of Adirondack lakes to changes in environmental conditions, such as changes in mineral acids or dissolved organic carbon concentrations; identify lake characteristics important in explaining the observed present-day status of fish communities in Adirondack lakes, in particular the relative importance of lake acidity; evaluate changes that have occurred over time in Adirondack fish communities and probable causes for these trends by using the available historical data on fish communities in the Adirondacks and the ALSC data base; and determine the degree to which the existing fish resource might be at risk from continued acidic deposition, or might recover if acidity levels were reduced. The basic approach examined relationships observed in the ALSC data base among watershed characteristics, lake chemistry, and fish status. Individual reports are processed separately for the data bases.

Community structure and seasonal variation of an inshore demersal fish community at Goa, west coast of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ansari, Z.A.; Chatterji, A.; Ingole, B.S.; Sreepada, R.A.; Rivonker, C.U.; Parulekar, A.H.

as an environment for nekton. Fish Community Ecology in Estuaries aud Coastal Lagoons: Towards an Ecosystem Integration (Yanez-Arancibia, A., ed.). DR(R) UNAM Press Mexico, Mexico City, pp. 17-34. Fisher, W. & Biachi, G. 1984 FAO Species Indenttjkation Sheets...

Taurine supplemented plant protein based diets with alternative lipid sources for juvenile sea bream, sparus aurata

Science.gov (United States)

Two lipid sources were evaluated as fish oil replacements in fishmeal free, plant protein based diets for juvenile gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata. A twelve week feeding study was undertaken to examine the performance of fish fed the diets with different sources of essential fatty acids (canola o...

The community composition and production of phytoplankton in fish pens of Cape Bolinao, Pangasinan: a field study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yap, Leni G.; Azanza, Rhodora V.; Talaue-McManus, Liana

2004-01-01

From 1995 up to the present, fish pens proliferated in the municipal waters of Bolinao, northern Philippines. Since then, fish kills and phytoplankton blooms have been recurrent. Have fishpens altered the phytoplankton community composition and production of these waters? The phytoplankton community in Cape Bolinao, Lingayen Gulf is typical of a tropical coastal area where diatoms alternate with dinoflagellates during the dry and wet seasons. In the nutrient-rich fish pens, phytoplankton in this study showed a lower diatom/dinoflagellate ratio and unusually high phytoplankton counts of 10 4 cells/l and even as high as 10 5 cells/l. Correlations between physico-chemical parameters, phytoplankton production and community composition were made in 2001. This paper tried to explain the occurrence of a Cylindrotheca closterium bloom (10 5 cells/l), during the dry season of the same year and a Prorocentrum minimum bloom (4.7 x 10 5 cells/l), which accompanied a massive fish kill during January 2002

HIV testing among non-incarcerated substance-abusing juvenile offenders.

Science.gov (United States)

Tolou-Shams, Marina; Conrad, Selby; Louis, Alaina; Shuford, Sarah Hart; Brown, Larry K

2015-11-01

Juvenile offenders are a subgroup of adolescents at particular risk for HIV/STI infection. Although HIV prevalence among these youth is low (justice system, which is known to have an extremely high rate of HIV infection. US constitutional mandates provide HIV/STI testing for incarcerated juveniles, but close to 80% of juvenile arrestees are never detained. Moreover, although they engage in similar HIV risk behaviors as those detained, they have limited access to available HIV/STI testing services. Thus, our study examined rates of lifetime HIV testing among a pilot sample of 60 court-involved, substance-using juveniles monitored in the community to explore rates of testing and the reasons related to lifetime testing among a high-risk, yet understudied US juvenile population.

Feeding frequency affects stress, innate immunity and disease resistance of juvenile blunt snout bream Megalobrama amblycephala.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiang-Fei; Tian, Hong-Yan; Zhang, Ding-Dong; Jiang, Guang-Zhen; Liu, Wen-Bin

2014-05-01

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of feeding frequency on stress, innate immunity and disease resistance of juvenile blunt snout bream Megalobrama amblycephala (average weight: 9.92 ± 0.06 g). Fish were randomly assigned to one of six feeding frequencies (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 times/day) following the same ration size for 8 weeks. After the feeding trial, fish were challenged by Aeromonas hydrophila and cumulative mortality was recorded for the next 10 days. Daily gain index of fish fed 3-5 times/day was significantly higher than that of the other groups. High feeding frequencies induced significantly elevated plasma levels of both cortisol and lactate. Fish fed 3-4 times/day exhibited relatively low liver catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities as well as malondialdehyde contents, but obtained significantly higher reduced glutathione levels and post-challenged haemato-immunological parameters (include blood leukocyte and erythrocyte counts as well as plasma lysozyme, alternative complement, acid phosphatase and myeloperoxidase activities) compared with that of the other groups. After challenge, the lowest mortality was observed in fish fed 4 times/day. It was significantly lower than that of fish fed 1-3 times/day, but exhibited no statistical difference with that of the other groups. In conclusion, both low and high feeding frequencies could cause oxidative stress of juvenile M. amblycephala, as might consequently lead to the depressed immunity and reduced resistance to A. hydrophila infection. The optimal feeding frequency to enhance growth and boost immunity of this species at juvenile stage is 4 times/day. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Composition and temporal patterns of larval fish communities in Chesapeake and Delaware Bays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipe Ribeiro

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Comparing larval fish assemblages in different estuaries provides insights about the coastal distribution of larval populations, larval transport, and adult spawning locations (Ribeiro et al. 2015. We simultaneously compared the larval fish assemblages entering two Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB estuaries (Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay, USA through weekly sampling from 2007 to 2009. In total, 43 taxa (32 families and 36 taxa (24 families were collected in Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, respectively. Mean taxonomic diversity, mean richness, and evenness were generally lower in Delaware Bay. Communities of both bays were dominated by Anchoa spp., Gobiosoma spp., Micropogonias undulatus, and Brevoortia tyrannus; Paralichthys spp. was more abundant in Delaware Bay and Microgobius thalassinus was more abundant in Chesapeake Bay. Inter-annual variation in the larval fish communities was low at both sites, with a relatively consistent composition across years, but strong seasonal (intra-annual variation in species composition occurred in both bays. Two groups were identified in Chesapeake Bay: a ‘winter’ group dominated by shelf-spawned species (e.g. M. undulatus and a ‘summer’ group comprising obligate estuarine species and coastal species (e.g. Gobiosoma spp. and Cynoscion regalis, respectively. In Delaware Bay, 4 groups were identified: a ‘summer’ group of mainly obligate estuarine fishes (e.g. Menidia sp. being replaced by a ‘fall’ group (e.g. Ctenogobius boleosoma and Gobionellus oceanicus; ‘winter’ and ‘spring’ groups were dominated by shelf-spawned (e.g. M. undulatus and Paralichthys spp. and obligate estuarine species (e.g. Leiostomus xanthurus and Pseudopleuronectes americanus, respectively. This study demonstrates that inexpensive and simultaneous sampling in different estuaries provides important insights into the variability in community structure of fish assemblages at large spatial scales.

Boys Go Fishing, Girls Work at Home: Gender Roles, Poverty and Unequal School Access among Semi-Nomadic Fishing Communities in South Western Madagascar

Science.gov (United States)

Nascimento Moreira, Catarina; Rabenevanana, Man Wai; Picard, David

2017-01-01

Drawing from data gathered in South Western Madagascar in 2011, the work explores the combination of poverty and traditional gender roles as a critical factor in determining unequal school access among young people from semi-nomadic fishing communities. It demonstrates that from the age of early puberty, most boys go fishing with their fathers and…

Gills of juvenile fish piaractus mesopotamicus as histological biomarkers for experimental sub-lethal contamination with the Organophosphorus Azodrin®400

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cácia Aparecida Mendes Rudnicki

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Piaractus mesopotamicus is a freshwater native fish from rivers of the Paraná-Paraguay Basin and of the Pantanal region and has been used for repopulation programs in Brazil. Juvenile fishes were exposed to the sub-lethal dose of 1.08mg/L of the OP Azodrin®400 containing 0.43µL/L of the active principle monocrotophos for 96 h. A frequent pathology in the gills at all times of exposure was epithelial detachment, from minimal until 24 h of exposure, to intense after 48 h of contamination. Deformed pillar cells in the respiratory lamellae leading to irregular blood spaces and blood congestion, as well as hyperplasia and lamellar fusion were observed. These histopathologies suggested that 48 h after T0 was an important time when a reduction in the capability for gaseous exchange with consequent weakening of the fishes' condition could occur. This could impair growth and development of juveniles introduced in water bodies for repopulation programs.Piaractus mesopotamicus é um peixe de água doce encontrado na Bacia Paraná-Paraguai e na região do Pantanal, tendo sido usado em programas de repovoamento no Brasil. Peixes juvenis foram expostos por 96 horas à dose sub-letal de 1.08mg/L do organofosforado (OP Azodrin®400 que contém 0,43µL/L do principio ativo monocrotofós. A patologia freqüente nas brânquias foi o descolamento epitelial que variou de mínimo nas primeiras 24 horas a severo ou intenso após 48 horas de contaminação. Deformações e degeneração de células pilares nas lamelas respiratórias levando à formação de espaços sanguíneos irregulares e congestão sanguínea, hiperplasia e fusão lamelar também foram observadas. Sugere-se que 48 horas após o T0 é um tempo crítico após exposição a níveis subletais de OP, pois a capacidade de trocas gasosas poderá ter diminuído, levando ao enfraquecimento dos peixes. Os sintomas poderão prejudicar o desenvolvimento dos juvenis introduzidos em corpos de água em

Evaluation of marking efficiency of different alizarin red S concentrations on body fish structures in Oreochromis niloticus (Perciformes: Cichlidae juveniles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana L. Ibáñez

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The use of alizarin red S (ARS marked tilapias could provide valuable fisheries management information to evaluate fish stocking events and may facilitate aquaculture management practices. As a new technique in fishes, the aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the chemical marks produced in tilapia juveniles by ARS through two treatments: 1 12 hours of immersion and 2 immersion after osmotic induction. This was analyzed at three concentrations: 50, 75 and 100mg/l, and in three structures: otoliths, fish scales and caudal fin rays of Oreochromis niloticus juveniles. After three culture months 80% of specimens were analyzed and significant differences (pEl uso de alizarina roja S (ARS para marcar tilapias podría proporcionar información valiosa para el manejo de su pesquería. Para evaluar pesquerías acuaculturales manejadas con siembras o repoblamientos de peces se comparó y evaluó la marca producida por la alizarina roja S, empleando dos tratamientos: 1 Inmersión en ARS durante 12h; e 2 Inmersión en ARS después de un choque osmótico. El análisis se realizó a tres concentraciones: 50, 75 y 100mg/l y en tres estructuras: otolitos, escamas y radios de la aleta caudal de Oreochromis niloticus. Ochenta por ciento de los ejemplares fueron cultivados durante tres meses y analizados posteriormente. Los resultados mostraron diferencias entre las concentraciones de la marca para el tratamiento de 12h de inmersión mientras que no hubo diferencias entre las concentraciones para el tratamiento con inducción osmótica. Se encontraron diferencias en la intensidad de la marca entre los tratamientos para otolitos y radios de las aletas pero para las escamas no hubo diferencias significativas. Todas las concentraciones produjeron marcas (desde débiles a intensas, sin embargo la concentración de 100mg/l no produjo marcas débiles. El tratamiento por inducción osmótica presentó mayores niveles de mortalidad. Después de ocho meses de

Climate-driven changes in functional biogeography of Arctic marine fish communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Frainer, André; Primicerio, Raul; Kortsch, Susanne; Aune, Magnus; Dolgov, Andrey V; Fossheim, Maria; Aschan, Michaela M

2017-11-14

Climate change triggers poleward shifts in species distribution leading to changes in biogeography. In the marine environment, fish respond quickly to warming, causing community-wide reorganizations, which result in profound changes in ecosystem functioning. Functional biogeography provides a framework to address how ecosystem functioning may be affected by climate change over large spatial scales. However, there are few studies on functional biogeography in the marine environment, and none in the Arctic, where climate-driven changes are most rapid and extensive. We investigated the impact of climate warming on the functional biogeography of the Barents Sea, which is characterized by a sharp zoogeographic divide separating boreal from Arctic species. Our unique dataset covered 52 fish species, 15 functional traits, and 3,660 stations sampled during the recent warming period. We found that the functional traits characterizing Arctic fish communities, mainly composed of small-sized bottom-dwelling benthivores, are being rapidly replaced by traits of incoming boreal species, particularly the larger, longer lived, and more piscivorous species. The changes in functional traits detected in the Arctic can be predicted based on the characteristics of species expected to undergo quick poleward shifts in response to warming. These are the large, generalist, motile species, such as cod and haddock. We show how functional biogeography can provide important insights into the relationship between species composition, diversity, ecosystem functioning, and environmental drivers. This represents invaluable knowledge in a period when communities and ecosystems experience rapid climate-driven changes across biogeographical regions. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Impingement and entrainment of fishes at the Savannah River Plant: an NPDES 316b demonstration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McFarlane, R.W.; Frietsche, R.F.; Miracle, R.D.

1978-02-01

Environmental impacts of the Savannah River Plant's withdrawal of Savannah River water include impingement of juvenile and adult fish on trash removal screens, and entrainment of planktonic fish eggs and larval fish into the pumping system. The Savannah River Plant (SRP) has the capacity to pump 3.6 million cubic meters of water per day--25% of the minimal river discharge--for cooling and other purposes. Present removal is 7% of the actual river discharge. In the river and intake canals reside sixty-nine species of fishes. The species composition of the resident fish community of the intake canals is similar to the species composition in the river, but different in relative species abundance. The dominant sunfishes tend to reside in the canals for long periods and seldom go from canal to canal. The fish impingement rate at the plant ranks very low in comparison with electric power plants on inland waters. Thirty-five species of fishes were impinged during 1977. The average impingement rate of 7.3 fish per day extrapolates to 2,680 fish per year. No single species comprised more than 10% of the sample. The most commonly impinged species were bluespotted sunfish, warmouth, channel catfish, and yellow perch. The relative abundance of those species impinged deviates from their relative abundance in the canal fish population

Fluctuating interaction network and time-varying stability of a natural fish community

Science.gov (United States)

Ushio, Masayuki; Hsieh, Chih-Hao; Masuda, Reiji; Deyle, Ethan R.; Ye, Hao; Chang, Chun-Wei; Sugihara, George; Kondoh, Michio

2018-02-01

Ecological theory suggests that large-scale patterns such as community stability can be influenced by changes in interspecific interactions that arise from the behavioural and/or physiological responses of individual species varying over time. Although this theory has experimental support, evidence from natural ecosystems is lacking owing to the challenges of tracking rapid changes in interspecific interactions (known to occur on timescales much shorter than a generation time) and then identifying the effect of such changes on large-scale community dynamics. Here, using tools for analysing nonlinear time series and a 12-year-long dataset of fortnightly collected observations on a natural marine fish community in Maizuru Bay, Japan, we show that short-term changes in interaction networks influence overall community dynamics. Among the 15 dominant species, we identify 14 interspecific interactions to construct a dynamic interaction network. We show that the strengths, and even types, of interactions change with time; we also develop a time-varying stability measure based on local Lyapunov stability for attractor dynamics in non-equilibrium nonlinear systems. We use this dynamic stability measure to examine the link between the time-varying interaction network and community stability. We find seasonal patterns in dynamic stability for this fish community that broadly support expectations of current ecological theory. Specifically, the dominance of weak interactions and higher species diversity during summer months are associated with higher dynamic stability and smaller population fluctuations. We suggest that interspecific interactions, community network structure and community stability are dynamic properties, and that linking fluctuating interaction networks to community-level dynamic properties is key to understanding the maintenance of ecological communities in nature.

Effects of calanoid copepod Schmackeria poplesia as a live food on the growth, survival and fatty acid composition of larvae and juveniles of Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Guangxing; Xu, Donghui

2009-12-01

Zooplankton constitutes a major part of the diet for fish larvae in the marine food web, and it is generally believed that copepods can meet the nutritional requirements of fish larvae. In this study, calanoid copepod Schmackeria poplesia, rotifer Brachionus plicatilis and anostraca crustacean Artemia sp. were analyzed for fatty acid contents, and were used as live food for culturing larval Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. The total content of three types of HUFAs (DHA, EPA and ARA) in S. poplesia was significantly higher than that in the other two live foods ( P<0.01). Three live organisms were used for raising larvae and juveniles of Paralichthys olivaceus respectively for 15 and 10 d. Then the growth, survival and fatty acid composition of the larvae and juveniles were investigated. The results showed that the larvae and juveniles fed with copepods ( S. poplesia) had significantly higher growth rate than those fed with the other two organisms ( P<0.01). The survival of the flounder larvae fed with copepods was significantly higher than that of the others ( P<0.01), and the survival of the juvenile fish fed with copepods was higher than that fed with Artemia ( P<0.05). The contents of three types of HUFAs (DHA, EPA and ARA) and the ratio of DHA/EPA in larval and juvenile flounder P. olivaceus were analyzed. The results showed that the contents of DHA, EPA and ARA in the larvae and juveniles fed with S. poplesia were higher than those fed with a mixed diet or Artemia only, and the ratio of EPA/ARA in larvae and juveniles of P. olivaceus fed with S. poplesia was lower than that in the case of feeding with a mixed diet or Artemia only. The present data showed that copepod is the best choice for feeding the larvae and juveniles of fish considering its effects on the survival, growth and nutrition composition of the fish.

Ecology of Juvenile Salmon in Shallow Tidal Freshwater Habitats in the Vicinity of the Sandy River Delta, Lower Columbia River, 2008 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sather, NK; Johnson, GE; Storch, AJ [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

2009-07-06

River delta. (2) Characterize the fish community and juvenile salmon migration, including species composition, length-frequency distribution, density (number/m{sup 2}), and temporal and spatial distributions in the vicinity of the Sandy River delta in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE). (3) Determine the stock of origin for juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) captured at sampling sites through genetic identification. (4) Characterize the diets of juvenile Chinook and coho (O. kisutch) salmon captured within the study area. (5) Estimate run timing, residence times, and migration pathways for acoustic-tagged fish in the study area. (6) Conduct a baseline evaluation of the potential restoration to reconnect the old Sandy River channel with the delta. (7) Apply fish density data to initiate a design for a juvenile salmon monitoring program for beach habitats within the tidal freshwater segment of the LCRE (river kilometer 56-234).

Gonad development in Midas cichlids and the evolution of sex change in fishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Oldfield, Ronald G

2011-01-01

Some fishes mature and function as one sex and later transform to the other sex in response to social interactions. Previous evidence suggested that a change in developmental timing may be involved in the evolution of adult sex change in fishes. The most recent support for this idea came from reports that sex in the Midas cichlid, Amphilophus citrinellus, was determined by social conditions experienced at the juvenile stage. Differentiation as a male was reported to be dependent on large body size relative to group-mates, and thought to be mediated through aggressive interactions. Here I demonstrate that socially controlled sex determination does not occur as was originally reported. Previously, I found that sex was not associated with body size in juveniles either in nature or in captivity. Similarly, I found no association between aggressive behavior and sex in juveniles. I later demonstrated that socially controlled sex determination does not typically occur in the Midas cichlid and closely related species and supported an alternative mechanism to explain large body size in adult males. Finally, in the current study I analyze gonad histology of fish from the same population used by the original authors and lay to rest the idea of socially controlled sex determination in this species. Recent observations of socially controlled sex determination in juveniles of species that typically change sex at the adult stage are examples of phenotypic plasticity, not genetic variation. Therefore, juvenile socially controlled sex determination does not support a theory that a change in developmental timing is involved in the evolution of adult sex change in fishes. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Impacts of climate warming on lake fish community structure and potential effects on ecosystem function

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jeppesen, E.; Meerhoff, M.; Holmgren, K.; González-Bergonzoni, I.; Teixeira-de Mello, F.; Declerck, Steven A.J.; De Meester, L.; Søndergaard, M.; Lauridsen, T.; Bjerring, R.; Conde-Porcuna, J-M.; Mazzeo, N.; Iglesias, C.; Reizenstein, M.; Malmquist, H.J.; Liu, Z.; Balayla, D.; Lazzaro, X.

2010-01-01

Fish play a key role in the trophic dynamics of lakes, not least in shallow systems. With climate warming, complex changes in fish community structure may be expected owing to the direct and indirect effects of temperature, and indirect effects of eutrophication, water-level changes and salinisation

Exploring the larval fish community of the central Red Sea with an integrated morphological and molecular approach

KAUST Repository

Isari, Stamatina

2017-08-03

An important aspect of population dynamics for coral reef fishes is the input of new individuals from the pelagic larval pool. However, the high biodiversity and the difficulty of identifying larvae of closely related species represent obstacles to more fully understanding these populations. In this study, we combined morphology and genetic barcoding (Cytochrome Oxidase I gene) to characterize the seasonal patterns of the larval fish community at two sites in close proximity to coral reefs in the central-north Red Sea: one shallower inshore location (50 m depth) and a nearby site located in deeper and more offshore waters (~ 500 m depth). Fish larvae were collected using oblique tows of a 60 cm-bongo net (500 μm mesh size) every month for one year (2013). During the warmer period of the year (June-November), the larval fish stock was comparable between sampling sites. However, during the colder months, abundances were higher in the inshore than in the offshore waters. Taxonomic composition and temporal variation of community structure differed notably between sites, potentially reflecting habitat differences, reproductive patterns of adults, and/or advective processes in the area. Eleven out of a total of 62 recorded families comprised 69–94% of the fish larval community, depending on sampling site and month. Richness of taxa was notably higher in the inshore station compared to the offshore, particularly during the colder period of the year and especially for the gobiids and apogonids. Two mesopelagic taxa (Vinciguerria sp. and Benthosema spp.) comprised an important component of the larval community at the deeper site with only a small and sporadic occurrence in the shallower inshore waters. Our data provide an important baseline reference for the larval fish communities of the central Red Sea, representing the first such study from Saudi Arabian waters.

Heterogeneity of the HIV epidemic in agrarian, trading, and fishing communities in Rakai, Uganda: an observational epidemiological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Larry W; Grabowski, Mary K; Ssekubugu, Robert; Nalugoda, Fred; Kigozi, Godfrey; Nantume, Betty; Lessler, Justin; Moore, Sean M; Quinn, Thomas C; Reynolds, Steven J; Gray, Ronald H; Serwadda, David; Wawer, Maria J

2016-08-01

Understanding the extent to which HIV burden differs across communities and the drivers of local disparities is crucial for an effective and targeted HIV response. We assessed community-level variations in HIV prevalence, risk factors, and treatment and prevention service uptake in Rakai, Uganda. The Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS) is an open, population-based cohort of people aged 15-49 years in 40 communities. Participants are HIV tested and interviewed to obtain sociodemographic, behavioural, and health information. RCCS data from Aug 10, 2011, to May 30, 2013, were used to classify communities as agrarian (n=27), trading (n=9), or lakeside fishing sites (n=4). We mapped HIV prevalence with Bayesian methods, and characterised variability across and within community classifications. We also assessed differences in HIV risk factors and uptake of antiretroviral therapy and male circumcision between community types. 17 119 individuals were included, 9215 (54%) of whom were female. 9931 participants resided in agrarian, 3318 in trading, and 3870 in fishing communities. Median HIV prevalence was higher in fishing communities (42%, range 38-43) than in trading (17%, 11-21) and agrarian communities (14%, 9-26). Antiretroviral therapy use was significantly lower in both men and women in fishing communities than in trading (age-adjusted prevalence risk ratio in men 0·64, 95% CI 0·44-0·97; women 0·53, 0·42-0·66) and agrarian communities (men 0·55, 0·42-0·72; women 0·65, 0·54-0·79), as was circumcision coverage among men (vs trading 0·48, 0·42-0·55; vs agrarian 0·64, 0·56-0·72). Self-reported risk behaviours were significantly higher in men than in women and in fishing communities than in other community types. Substantial heterogeneity in HIV prevalence, risk factors, and service uptake in Rakai, Uganda, emphasises the need for local surveillance and the design of targeted HIV responses. High HIV burden, risk behaviours, and low use of combination

Biodiversity and spatial patterns of benthic habitat and associated demersal fish communities at two tropical submerged reef ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Abdul Wahab, Muhammad Azmi; Radford, Ben; Cappo, Mike; Colquhoun, Jamie; Stowar, Marcus; Depczynski, Martial; Miller, Karen; Heyward, Andrew

2018-06-01

Submerged reef ecosystems can be very diverse and may serve as important refugia for shallow-water conspecifics. This study quantified the benthic and fish communities of two proximate, predominantly mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs), Glomar Shoal and Rankin Bank, which are geographically isolated from other similar features in the region. Glomar Shoal is identified as a key ecological feature (KEF) in the North West Marine Region of Australia. Multibeam surveys were performed to characterise the seafloor and to derive secondary environmental variables, used to explain patterns in benthic and fish communities. Towed video surveys quantified benthic cover, and stereo baited remote underwater stations were used to survey fish abundance and diversity. Surveys were completed in depths of 20-115 m. The two MCEs exhibited distinct communities; Rankin Bank consistently had higher cover (up to 30×) of benthic taxa across depths, and fish communities that were twice as abundant and 1.5× more diverse than Glomar Shoal. The location of the MCEs, depth and rugosity were most influential in structuring benthic communities. Phototrophic taxa, specifically macroalgae and hard corals, had up to 22 × higher cover at Rankin Bank than at Glomar Shoal and were dominant to 80 m (compared to 60 m at Glomar Shoal), presumably due to greater light penetration (lower turbidity) and lower sand cover at greater depths. The 20% coral cover at Rankin Bank was comparable to that reported for shallow reefs. The cover of sand, hard corals and sponges influenced fish communities, with higher abundance and diversity of fish associated with shallow hard coral habitats. This study demonstrated that the two MCEs were unique within the local context, and when coupled with their geographical isolation and biodiversity, presents compelling support for the additional recognition of Rankin Bank as a KEF.

Statistical power to detect change in a mangrove shoreline fish community adjacent to a nuclear power plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolan, T E; Lynch, P D; Karazsia, J L; Serafy, J E

2016-03-01

An expansion is underway of a nuclear power plant on the shoreline of Biscayne Bay, Florida, USA. While the precise effects of its construction and operation are unknown, impacts on surrounding marine habitats and biota are considered by experts to be likely. The objective of the present study was to determine the adequacy of an ongoing monitoring survey of fish communities associated with mangrove habitats directly adjacent to the power plant to detect fish community changes, should they occur, at three spatial scales. Using seasonally resolved data recorded during 532 fish surveys over an 8-year period, power analyses were performed for four mangrove fish metrics (fish diversity, fish density, and the occurrence of two ecologically important fish species: gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) and goldspotted killifish (Floridichthys carpio). Results indicated that the monitoring program at current sampling intensity allows for detection of <33% changes in fish density and diversity metrics in both the wet and the dry season in the two larger study areas. Sampling effort was found to be insufficient in either season to detect changes at this level (<33%) in species-specific occurrence metrics for the two fish species examined. The option of supplementing ongoing, biological monitoring programs for improved, focused change detection deserves consideration from both ecological and cost-benefit perspectives.

Dietary exposure of juvenile common sole (Solea solea L.) to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs): Part 2. Formation, bioaccumulation and elimination of hydroxylated metabolites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munschy, C.; Heas-Moisan, K.; Tixier, C.; Pacepavicius, G.; Alaee, M.

2010-01-01

The uptake, elimination and transformation of six PBDE congeners (BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, -153, -209) were studied in juvenile common sole (Solea solea L.) exposed to spiked contaminated food over a three-month period, and then depurated over a five-month period. Methoxylated (MeO-) and hydroxylated (OH-) PBDEs were determined in fish plasma exposed to PBDEs and compared to those obtained in control fish. While all MeO- and some OH- congeners identified in fish plasma were found to originate from non-metabolic sources, several OH- congeners, i.e., OH-tetraBDEs and OH-pentaBDEs, were found to originate from fish metabolism. Among these, 4'-OH-BDE-49 was identified as a BDE-47 metabolite. Congener 4'-OH-BDE-101, identified here for the first time, may be the result of BDE-99 metabolic transformation. Our results unequivocally showed that PBDEs are metabolised in juvenile sole via the formation of OH- metabolites. However, this was not a major biotransformation route compared to biotransformation through debromination. - Juvenile sole exposed to artificially-contaminated food showed the ability to biotransform PBDEs into hydroxylated metabolites; these meta-bolites accumulated in fish.

Nursery use of shallow habitats by epibenthic fishes in Maine nearshore waters

Science.gov (United States)

Lazzari, M. A.; Sherman, S.; Kanwit, J. K.

2003-01-01

Species richness and abundance of epibenthic fishes were quantified with daytime beam trawl tows in shallow water habitats during April-November 2000 of three mid-coast Maine estuaries: Casco Bay, Muscongus Bay and the Weskeag River. Five shallow (Gasterosteus aculeatus, Apeltes quadracus, Pungitius pungitius, Myoxocephalus aenaeus, and Cylcopterus lumpus. The fish community of mid-coast estuaries was dominated by young-of-the-year (YOY) and juvenile fishes and all of the habitat types function as nursery areas. Twelve species (38%) of commercial and recreational importance were collected in the three estuaries, but the percentage was higher in Casco Bay (44%) and the Weskeag River (46%). These species included Anguilla rostrata, Clupea harengus, Gadus morhua, Microgadus tomcod, Pollachius virens, Urophycis chuss, Urophycis regia, Urophycis tenuis, Osmerus mordax, Macrozoarces americanus, Tautogolabrus adspersus, and Pleuronectes americanus. Four species, G. morhua, M. tomcod, P. virens, and U. tenuis were more common in spring than summer or autumn. P. americanus was most abundant in summer followed by spring and autumn. This study documents the importance of shallow estuarine areas in Maine as nurseries for these species.

Patterns and drivers of fish community assembly in a large marine ecosystem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pécuchet, Lauréne; Törnroos, Anna; Lindegren, Martin

2016-01-01

. To determine assembly rules, ecological similarities of co-occurring species are often investigated. This can be evaluated using trait-based indices summarizing the species’ niches in a given community. In order to investigate the underlying processes shaping community assembly in marine ecosystems, we...... investigated the patterns and drivers of fish community composition in the Baltic Sea, a semi-enclosed sea characterized by a pronounced environmental gradient. Our results showed a marked decline in species- and functional richness, largely explained by decreasing salinities. In addition, habitat complexity...

Investigations of entrainment mortality among larval and juvenile fishes using a Power Plant Simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cada, G.F.; Suffern, J.S.; Kumar, K.D.; Solomon, J.A.

1980-01-01

A Power Plant Simulator (PPS) was constructed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to examine the component sources of entrainment mortality. This experimental apparatus circulates temperature-controlled water through a closed loop consisting of a pump, a condenser bundle, and vertically adjustable piping. Larval bluegill, channel catfish, carp, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass and juvenile bluegill and mosquitofish were exposed to different combinations of pump speed and water temperatures in the PPS. Wide differences among species in their sensitivity to pipe and condenser passage were observed. For most of the species tested, short-term conditional mortalities resulting from the physical stresses of pipe and condenser passage increased with ΔT and/or pumping rate. Pump passage was not a major source of physical damage, and no clear relationship was found between pump efficiency and mortality. Susceptibility to physical stresses associated with entrainment was inversely related to the size of the entrained organisms. Delayed mortality frequently occurred among fishes exposed to stresses in the PPS. However, delayed mortality estimates in these experimental groups were significantly greater than corresponding values in handling control groups in only 15 of 64 comparisons. Like short-term mortalities, relatively higher delayed mortalities were often observed for the smaller species tested

Reef fish community in presence of the lionfish (Pterois volitans) in Santa Marta, Colombian Caribbean

OpenAIRE

García-Urueña, Rocío; Acero P, Arturo; Coronado-Carrascal, Víctor

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective. Fish species community structure and benthic organisms coverage were studied in five localities in Santa Marta where the lionfish is present. Materials and methods. Abundance of fish species, including lion fish, was established using 30 m random visual censuses and video transects; trophic guilds were established according to available references. On the other hand benthic coverage was evaluated using the software Coral Point Count (CPCe) 4.0. Results. Families with highe...

Laboratory studies on the effects of shear on fish: Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neitzel, Duane A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Richmond, M. C. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Dauble, D. D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mueller, R. P. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Moursund, R. A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Abernethy, C. S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Guensch, G. R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Cada, G. F. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2000-09-01

The overall objective of these studies was to specify an index describing the hydraulic force that fish experience when subjected to a shear environment. Fluid shear is a phenomenon that is important to fish. However, elevated levels of shear may result in strain rates that injure or kill fish. At hydroelectric generating facilities, concerns have been expressed that strain rates associated with passage through turbines, spillways, and fish bypass systems may adversely affect migrating fish. Development of fish-friendly hydroelectric turbines requires knowledge of the physical forces (injury mechanisms) that impact entrained fish and the fish’s tolerance to these forces. It requires up-front, pre-design specifications for the environmental conditions that occur within the turbine system; in other words, determining or assuming conditions known to injure fish will assist engineers in the design of a fish-friendly turbine system. To address the development of biological specifications, this experiment designed and built a test facility where juvenile fish could be subjected to a range of shear environments and quantified their biological response. The test data reported here provide quantified strain rates and the relationship of these forces to direct and indirect biological effects on fish. The study concludes that juvenile salmonids and American shad should survive shear environments where strain rates do not exceed 500 cm/s/cm at a Dy of 1.8 cm. Additional studies are planned with a sensor fish to better link hydraulic conditions found within the laboratory and field environments.

Fish community reassembly after a coral mass mortality: higher trophic groups are subject to increased rates of extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso, David; Pinyol-Gallemí, Aleix; Alcoverro, Teresa; Arthur, Rohan

2015-05-01

Since Gleason and Clements, our understanding of community dynamics has been influenced by theories emphasising either dispersal or niche assembly as central to community structuring. Determining the relative importance of these processes in structuring real-world communities remains a challenge. We tracked reef fish community reassembly after a catastrophic coral mortality in a relatively unfished archipelago. We revisited the stochastic model underlying MacArthur and Wilson's Island Biogeography Theory, with a simple extension to account for trophic identity. Colonisation and extinction rates calculated from decadal presence-absence data based on (1) species neutrality, (2) trophic identity and (3) site-specificity were used to model post-disturbance reassembly, and compared with empirical observations. Results indicate that species neutrality holds within trophic guilds, and trophic identity significantly increases overall model performance. Strikingly, extinction rates increased clearly with trophic position, indicating that fish communities may be inherently susceptible to trophic downgrading even without targeted fishing of top predators. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Evidence for serial discontinuity in the fish community of a heavily impounded river

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda, Leandro E.; Dembkowski, D.J.

2016-01-01

In the Tennessee River, USA, we examined lengthwise patterns in fish community structure and species richness within and among nine reservoirs organized in sequence and connected through navigational locks. Within reservoirs, the riverine, transition and lacustrine zones supported distinct, although overlapping, nearshore fish assemblages; differences were also reflected in measures of species richness. Spatial patterns were most apparent for rheophilic species, which increased in species richness and representation upstream within each reservoir and downstream across the chain of reservoirs. This pattern resembled a sawtooth wave, with the amplitude of the wave peaking in the riverine zone below each dam, and progressively higher wave amplitude developing downstream in the reservoir chain. The observed sawtooth pattern supports the serial discontinuity concept in that the continuity of the riverine fish community is interrupted by the lacustrine conditions created behind each dam. Upstream within each reservoir, and downstream in the chain of reservoirs, habitat characteristics become more riverine. To promote sustainability of rheophilic fishes and maintain biodiversity in impounded rivers, conservation plans could emphasize maintenance and preservation of riverine environments of the reservoir's upper reaches, while remaining cognizant of the broader basin trends that provide opportunities for a lengthwise array of conservation and management policy. 

What a difference a bay makes: natural variation in dietary resources mediates growth in a recently settled herbivorous fish

Science.gov (United States)

Priest, Mark A.; Halford, Andrew R.; Clements, Kendall D.; Douglas, Emily; Abellana, Sheena L.; McIlwain, Jennifer L.

2016-12-01

Processes acting during the early stages of coral reef fish life cycles have a disproportionate influence on their adult abundance and community structure. Higher growth rates, for example, confer a major fitness advantage in larval and juvenile fishes, with larger fish undergoing significantly less mortality. The role of dietary resources in the size-structuring process has not been well validated, especially at the early post-settlement phase, where competition and predation are seen as preeminent drivers of juvenile fish assemblage structure. Here, we report on a size differential of 10-20% between recently settled Siganus spinus rabbitfish recruits from different bays around the Pacific island of Guam. This difference was maintained across multiple recruitment events within and between years. After confirming the validity of our observations through otolith increment analysis, subsequent investigation into the drivers of this variation revealed significant differences in the structure of algal assemblages between bays, congruent with the observed differences in size of the recently settled fish. Gut analyses showed a greater presence of algal types with higher levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the stomachs of fish from Tanguisson, the bay with the largest observed recruits. To ensure this mechanism was one of causation and not correlation, we conducted a fully factorial experiment in which S. spinus recruits sampled from different bays were reared on all combinations of algal diets representative of the different bays. Recruits on the `Tanguisson' diet grew faster than recruits on other diets, regardless of their origin. We propose that the greater availability of high-quality dietary resources at this location is likely conferring benefits that impact on the population-level dynamics of this species. The spatial and temporal extent of this process clearly implicates food as a limiting resource, capable of mediating fish population dynamics at multiple

Effects of canarium fruit (Canarium odontophyllum oil as a dietary lipid source for juvenile mahseer (Tor tambroides performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.L. Bami

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Canarium is among the riverine fruits that are commonly found in the natural diet of Malaysian mahseer, Tor tambroides. The fruit contains a high percentage of lipids. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of canarium crude oil on the growth performance, body composition and fatty acid profile of juvenile T. tambroides. Five isonitrogenous (40% crude protein diets containing varying canarium oil levels (0, 1.25, 2.5, 3.75 and 5% were prepared. Crude palm oil (CPO was used as the control. The juveniles (2.08 ± 0.10 g were given the test diets for 12 weeks in triplicate groups. Diets containing canarium oil were found to be less accepted by the fish which led to a significantly lower (P  0.05 on survival and lean portion of juvenile T. tambroides. The fish fed canarium oil-free diet also had better tissue fatty acid profile (especially n-3 and n-6 PUFA as well as better protein, lipid and energy retention than those fed diets including canarium oil. From the results, canarium oil extracted from the whole fruit was not recommended as a dietary lipid source for T. tambroides. Moreover, juveniles fed on 0% canarium oil (5% CPO utilized dietary saturated fatty acids (SFA and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA more efficiently for their energy requirement than fish given canarium oil.

Importance of Mangroves, Seagrass Beds and the Shallow Coral Reef as a Nursery for Important Coral Reef Fishes, Using a Visual Census Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Nagelkerken, I.; van der Velde, G.; Gorissen, M. W.; Meijer, G. J.; Van't Hof, T.; den Hartog, C.

2000-07-01

The nursery function of various biotopes for coral reef fishes was investigated on Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. Length and abundance of 16 commercially important reef fish species were determined by means of visual censuses during the day in six different biotopes: mangrove prop-roots ( Rhizophora mangle) and seagrass beds ( Thalassia testudinum) in Lac Bay, and four depth zones on the coral reef (0 to 3 m, 3 to 5 m, 10 to 15 m and 15 to 20 m). The mangroves, seagrass beds and shallow coral reef (0 to 3 m) appeared to be the main nursery biotopes for the juveniles of the selected species. Mutual comparison between biotopes showed that the seagrass beds were the most important nursery biotope for juvenile Haemulon flavolineatum, H. sciurus, Ocyurus chrysurus, Acanthurus chirurgus and Sparisoma viride, the mangroves for juvenile Lutjanus apodus, L. griseus, Sphyraena barracuda and Chaetodon capistratus, and the shallow coral reef for juvenile H. chrysargyreum, L. mahogoni , A. bahianus and Abudefduf saxatilis. Juvenile Acanthurus coeruleus utilized all six biotopes, while juvenile H. carbonarium and Anisotremus surinamensis were not observed in any of the six biotopes. Although fishes showed a clear preference for a specific nursery biotope, most fish species utilized multiple nursery biotopes simultaneously. The almost complete absence of juveniles on the deeper reef zones indicates the high dependence of juveniles on the shallow water biotopes as a nursery. For most fish species an (partial) ontogenetic shift was observed at a particular life stage from their (shallow) nursery biotopes to the (deeper) coral reef. Cluster analyses showed that closely related species within the families Haemulidae, Lutjanidae and Acanthuridae, and the different size classes within species in most cases had a spatial separation in biotope utilization.

Helminth communities of four commercially important fish species from Chetumal Bay, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguirre-Macedo, M L; Vidal-Martínez, V M; González-Solís, D; Caballero, P I

2007-03-01

The relative importance of ecology and evolution as factors determining species richness and composition of the helminth communities of fish is a matter of current debate. Theoretical studies use host-parasite lists, but these do not include studies on a temporal or spatial scale. Local environmental conditions and host biological characteristics are shown to influence helminth species richness and composition in four fish species (Eugerres plumieri, Hexanematichthys assimilis, Oligoplites saurus, and Scomberomorus maculatus) in Chetumal Bay, Mexico. With the exception of H. assimilis, the helminth communities had not been previously studied and possible associations between environmental and host biological characteristics as factors determining helminth species richness and composition using redundancy analysis (RDA) are described. Thirty-four helminth species are identified, with the highest number of species (19 total (mean = 6.3 +/- 2.1)) and the lowest (9 (4.0 +/- 1.0)) occurring in H. assimilis and S. maculatus, respectively. The larval nematodes Contracaecum sp. and Pseudoterranova sp. were not only the helminth species shared by all four host species but also were the most prevalent and abundant. Statistical associations between helminth community parameters and local ecological variables such as host habitat use, feeding habits, mobility, and time of residence in coastal lagoons are identified. Phylogeny is important because it clearly separates all four host species by their specialist parasites, although specific habitat and feeding habits also significantly influence the differentiation between the four fish species.

The acute toxicity of clove oil to fish Danio rerio and Poecilia reticulata

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Petra Doleželová

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Clove oil (active substance eugenol is an anaesthetic used in aquaculture for stress prevention and prevention of mechanical damage during veterinary procedures. The aim of this study was to determine the acute toxicity of clove oil in two aquarium fish species - zebrafish (Danio rerio and guppy (Poecilia reticulata, which are considered the most commonly used model organisms in toxicity testing. The semi-static method according to OECD no. 203 (Fish, Acute toxicity test was used for testing the toxicity of clove oil for juvenile fish. A series of 5 acute toxicity tests was performed, with 10 fish of both species used for each concentration and for the control. The results obtained (number of dead individuals at particular test concentrations were subjected to a probit analysis using the EKO-TOX 5.2 program in order to determine 96hLC50 clove oil values. The significance of the difference between 96hLC50 values in D. rerio and P. reticulata was tested using the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test. The 96hLC50 mean value for clove oil was 18.2 ± 5.52 mg·l–1 in juvenile D. rerio and 21.7 ± 0.8 mg·l–1 in P. reticulata. In spite of variability in clove oil composition, acute toxicity values of clove oil for juvenile stages of both fish species were comparable. The results did not show different sensitivities to clove oil in tested fish species. This is the first similar study in these fish species.

Evaluation of commercial marine fish feeds for production of juvenile cobia in recirculating aquaculture systems

Science.gov (United States)

The effect of feeding three commercially available diets manufactured by three U.S. feed companies on production characteristics and body composition of juvenile cobia Rachycentron canadum reared in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) was evaluated in a 57 d growth trial. Juvenile cobia (26.7 +...

Environmental factors predicting fish community structure in two neotropical rivers in Brazil

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Yzel Rondon Súarez

Full Text Available In order to assess the organization patterns of the fish communities in the Jogui and Iguatemi rivers, we collected fish with gill nets tri-monthly from November 1999 to August 2000. Hypostomus ancistroides and Parauchenipterus galeatus were the most abundant species in the Jogui and Iguatemi rivers, respectively. Longitudinal variation was more important than seasonal in determining the species composition in both rivers, and the difference between seasons was not statistically significant. Altitude was the most important factor determining species distribution.

Impact of habitat diversity on the sampling effort required for the assessment of river fish communities and IBI

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Liefferinge, C.; Simoens, I.; Vogt, C.; Cox, T.J.S.; Breine, J.; Ercken, D.; Goethals, P.; Belpaire, C.; Meire, P.

2010-01-01

The spatial variation in the fish communities of four small Belgian rivers with variable habitat diversity was investigated by electric fishing to define the minimum sampling distance required for optimal fish stock assessment and determination of the Index of Biotic Integrity. This study shows that