Food security status in rural areas of Mizoram,Northeast India

Rural areas of the Mizoram state, India practice subsistence agriculture where shifting cultivation dominates the farming systems. As a result, output from crops is very low and thus, the rural areas suffer from food insecurity. This paper analyses food security status in the rural areas of Mizoram and suggests the measures to attain food security. A case study of 16 villages, lying in all the eight districts of Mizoram, was conducted in 2014 and1527 households(76%) out of total 2010 households were surveyed through purposive random sampling method. Structured questionnaire was constructed and questions on three food security components and13 indicators were asked. We used Z score technique to calculate data and finally got a composite score of all the components of food security. Our result shows that food availability in the study villages is very less as composite score stands for 0.003 whereas food accessibility is comparatively higher, mainly due to availability of fair price shops(mean value is one),high agricultural working population(40.1%) and high literacy rate(70.6%). Therefore, its composite score is 0.236. Food stability scores only-0.062 and finally overall food security stands for 0.178, which is inadequate. We have suggested that ‘system rice intensification', which is already in practice, should be given priority. Adequate irrigation facilities, proper public distribution system, cultivation of fruits and vegetables, value addition in farm products and access to market may achieve food security.     

Cue hierarchy in the foraging behaviour of the brackish cladoceran Daphniopsis australis

Zooplankton communities are an essential component of marine and freshwater food webs. However, there is still a relative lack of information on how these organisms behaviourally respond to a range of abiotic and biotic stressors. Specifically, the behaviour of the cladoceran D aphniopsis australis, a species endemic to South-eastern Australian saline lakes and ponds, is still unknown despite its potential role in the structure and function of inland water ecosystems. The swimming behaviour of males, parthenogenetic females and epiphial females was investigated under various conditions and combinations of food and conspecific cues. In the absence of cues, males displayed the most extensive swimming behaviour, exploring all areas of the container, and swimming in a series of relatively straight trajectories. In contrast, females typically exhibited a hop-and-sink motion characterised by the alternation between short bursts of swimming and sinking phases. Both females spent long periods near the bottom of the container, but epiphial females appeared to be more active than parthenogenetic ones that rarely made an excursion in the water column. In the presence of cues, males and females showed abilities to detect infochemicals from food and conspecifics, but exhibited specific behavioural strategies. Males essentially increased their swimming speed in the presence of food and/or conspecific infochemicals, and this increase was independent on the source of the cues, i.e. food, conspecific or a mixture of food and conspecifics. In contrast, females exhibited cue hierarchies that were related to their sexual status. Parthenogenetic females swam faster in the presence of food and a mixture of food and conspecific infochemicals than in the presence of cue from the opposite sex, which did not significantly differ from control observations conducted in the absence of cues. Epiphial females decreased their swimming speed in the presence of cues, with the most significant behavioural answers being driven by sex-related cues.     

Spatial variations in food web structures with alternative stable states:evidence from stable isotope analysis in a large eutrophic lake

Food web structures are well known to vary widely among ecosystems. Moreover, many food web studies of lakes have generally attempted to characterize the overall food web structure and have largely ignored internal spatial and environmental variations. In this study, we hypothesize that there is a high degree of spatial heterogeneity within an ecosystem and such heterogeneity may lead to strong variations in environmental conditions and resource availability, in turn resulting in dif ferent trophic pathways. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were employed for the whole food web to describe the structure of the food web in different sub-basins within Taihu Lake. This lake is a large eutrophic freshwater lake that has been intensively managed and highly influenced by human activities for more than 50 years. The results show significant isotopic dif ferences between basins with dif ferent environmental characteristics. Such differences likely result from isotopic baseline dif ferences combining with a shift in food web structure. Both are related to local spatial heterogeneity in nutrient loading in waters. Such variation should be explicitly considered in future food web studies and ecosystem-based management in this lake ecosystem.     

Food intake rate and delivery strategy in aquaculture

In aquaculture, it is important to estimate in advance how much food cultured animals would take. The rate of food consumption by cultured animals to available food amount is defined as the food intake rate （FIR） in this paper. To some extents, FIR reflects the quality of food, the health of cultured animals and the delivery efficiency. In practice, it is difficult to estimate in advance the accurate quantity of food that cultured animal needs. Usually, food is provided more than the need by animals, causing excess food that may pollute water and environment. Our experiments in past years show that FIR at 80% is recommended.     

马氏珍珠贝肉风味食品开发研究

研究了马氏珍珠贝肉制作五香、蒜香、姜汁三种风味即食制品的加工工艺技术。采用幅照保鲜技术对风味制品进行灭菌防霉处理,产品的保质期达到 １８０ ｄ 以上。对风味制品进行营养成分分析,结果表明：马氏珍珠贝肉风味制品是一种高蛋白、低脂肪、营养价值丰富的海产品,并富含牛磺酸（３．９ ｍ ｇ／ｇ）、多不饱和脂肪酸（ＥＰＡ＋ ＤＨＡ 占脂肪总量 ３４．７％ ）和多种无机质、微量元素和维生素     

Feeding habits and food composition of half-fin anchovy,Setipinna taty (C et V) in the Bohai Sea

Analysis of the contents of 3,479 stomachs of half-fin anchovy (taken monthly from April 1982 to May 1983 from the Bohai Sea) shows that half-fin anchovy is a zooplanktivorous fish; the young fish feeds mainly on Copepoda while the adult fish feeds mainly on Mysidacea andAcetes chinensis; the food composition has a seasonal change, the main food is Mysidacea in spring butAcetes chinensis in summer and fall; the feeding intensity is closely related to its spawning. Contribution No. 1781 from the Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica.     

STUDIES ON THE OPTIMUM PROTEIN CONTENT AND THE RATIO OF ANIMAL TO PLANT PROTEIN IN THE DIET OF THE BLACK SEA BREAM(SPARUS MACROCEPHALUS)

An experiment on the optimum dietary protein content for the black sea bream using semi-purified dietsshowed the optimum content is 50.19% by weight as inferred from the growth rate and food consumptionof the fish. Another experiment on the proper ratio of animal to plant protein in its diet using sandeel as theanimal protein source and peanut cake meal as plant protein source showed that the ratio had great ef-fect on its growth and should be 1.00:0.89—0.96 as judged from the growth rate and food consumptionof the fish.     

Studies on the optimum protein content and the ratio of animal to plant protein in the diet of the black sea bream (Sparus macrocephalus)

An experiment on the optimum dietary protein content for the black sea bream using semi-purified diets showed the optimum is 50.19% by weight as inferred from the growth rate and food consumption of the fish. Another experiment on the proper ratio of animal to plant protein in its diet using sandeel as the animal protein source and peanut cake meal as plant protein source showed that the ratio had great effect on its growth and should be 1.00: 0.89–0.96 as judged from the growth rate and food consumption of the fish. Contribution No. 1973 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.     

Seasonal changes in food uptake by the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus in a farm pond: Evidence from C and N stable isotopes

This study investigated the seasonal changes in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stable isotope values of several typical food sources of Apostichopus japonicus in a farm pond, including particulate organic matter (POM), macroalgae, benthic microalgae and animals such as nematode and copepod. The stable isotope technique was used to quantify relative contributions of various sources to the food uptake by A. japonicus. The results showed that significant changes occurred in the C and N stable isotope values of sea cucumber food sources due to the seasonality of micro-or macroalgae prosperity and the fluctuation of environmental conditions. The sea cucumber A. japonicus exhibited corresponding alterations in feeding strategy in response to the changes in food conditions. Calculation with a stable isotope mixing model showed that macroalgae was the principal food source for A. japonicus throughout the 1-yr investigation, with the relative contribution averaging 28.1% - 63.2%. The relative contributions of other food sources such as copepod and nematode, POM, benthic microalgae to the total food uptake by sea cucumber averaged 22.6% - 39.1%, 6.3% - 22.2%, 2.8% - 6.5%, and 2.8% - 4.2%, respectively. Together these results indicated that the seasonal changes in food sources led to the obvious temporal differences in the relative contribution of various food sources utilized by A. japonicus. Such findings provide the basic scientific information for improving the aquaculture techniques of A. japonicus, particularly for optimizing the food environment of A. japonicus culture in farm ponds.     

Change of Cultivated Land and Its Implications on Food Security in China

1 Introduction FAO defined food security not only in terms of access to and availability of food, but also in terms of resources distribution to produce food and the purchasing power on food where it is not produced (Shi et al., 1996; Ning, 2004). Obviously, to guarantee everyone adequate food is the primary aim and most important content of food security (Xie et al., 1999). Thus, to increase food supply is a precondition for food security by domestic food production and international food t…     

远海梭子蟹幼体饵料初步研究

分别选用轮虫、轮虫 卤虫、轮虫 卤虫 扁藻、卤虫、扁藻为饵料 ,将刚孵化的远海梭子蟹氵蚤状幼体培育至幼蟹第二期。结果发现 :轮虫 卤虫 扁藻的效果最好 ,幼蟹第二期的成活率为 15% ,轮虫 卤虫的成活率为 11% ,卤虫的成活率为 10 %。而轮虫组仅能培育至 氵蚤状幼体第三期 ,没有氵蚤状幼体第四期幼体出现 ;扁藻最差 ,仅能培育至氵蚤状幼体第一期 ,没有氵蚤状幼体第二期个体出现。同时发现 ,轮虫 卤虫组与卤虫组培育时间均比轮虫卤虫 扁藻组长 ;各期幼体的阶段成活率比较而言 ,氵蚤状幼体第一期最高 ,而氵蚤状幼体幼体第五期最低     

MARKETIZATION OF GREEN FOOD RESOURCES INFOREST REGION OF THE CHANGBAI MOUNTAINS

The Changbai Mountains is rich in the resources of green food. At present, the low marketization of green food resources in the forest region of the Changbai Mountains becomes the bottleneck to restrict the benign development of its green food industry. With huge market demands at home and abroad, it is the urgent problem how to improve marketization process of green food resources and transfer the resources superiority into the market superiority in the region. According to the investigation, this paper analyzed the status quo and the cause of formation of low-marketization with the method of combining comparative research and practice research. It pointed out that necessary condition of marketization of green food resources in the forest region, such as strategy, economic environment, marketization allocation of sci-tech resources, etc. should be established. Furthermore, the concrete strategies of marketization of green food resources in the region such as market location, strategies of objective markets, combined strategy of marketing, etc. were advanced.     

GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ENDEMIC FLUOROSIS IN CHINA

Endemic fluorosis is given rise to by human intake of excess fluorine from environment by way of food chain. In China it is one of the extensively prevalent endemic diseases and its distribution shows clearly regional characteristics. In macroscopic sight, three large fluorosis zones may be divided: (1) The arid and semi-arid plains in the north of China. These regions have a dry climate, making fluorine accumulation in the Quaternary deposits. Thus, the drinking water with high content of fluorine is the main cause of the disease formation. (2) The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. In the region, rocks and soils rich in fluorine bring about fluorine excess in crop food. This plays an important role in the disease formation. (3) Southeast hills. The hot spring with high content of fluorine leads to fluorosis.The fluorine absorbed by people from the environment is firstly from the drinking water and secondly from the crop food originating from soil. The fluorine in the air can be accumulated in crop leaves to make     

Individual Variation in Growth in Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus （Selenck） Housed Individually

The exceptionally large individual growth variation has been previously recognized in several sea cucumber cohorts. However, there is a lack of information regarding the mechanism of such individual differences. In this study, the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus(Selenka)was reared individually in order to eliminate possible effects of social interaction, stocking density, etc. The results showed that there were substantial differences in growth among the sea cucumber individuals during the 100-day experiment. The special growth rate of the sea cucumber individuals differed by up to three folds(from 0. 40% to 1.01%), and the coefficient of variation in body weight increased from 12. 04% to 40. 51%. The final wet body weight, food intake and food conversion efficiency for each sea cucumber were generally positively correlated with their initial wet body weight(P<0. 05). Energy budget of the animals showed that the food energy spent on respiration was much greater(about four folds)but energy deposited for growth was much less for(initially)smaller than for larger A. Japonicus. The present result implies that there are obvious genetic differences among the sea cucumber individuals, largely accounting for the individual growth variation of the cohort sea cucumber. These results will provide some basic data for promoting selective breeding and farming of the sea cucumber.     

凡纳滨对虾不同生长阶段食物组成结构的研究

利用稳定同位素碳比率δ13C作为天然示踪物,对高位养殖池生态系统中人工饲料和天然饵料提供的能源物质对养殖凡纳滨对虾生长的贡献比率进行研究。结果表明:虾体的δ13C值受食物δ13C值的影响,由于其摄食饵料的δ13C值逐渐减小,虾体的δ13C值也逐渐降低,逐渐接近于最后人工饲料的δ13C值,试验虾体的δ13C值由养殖开始时的-19.52‰±0.09‰变为实验结束时的-21.74‰±0.17‰;对虾的食性在10d左右时发生转变,34d左右时人工饲料和浮游动物对虾体的能量贡献基本相同,养殖结束时对虾生长能量的97.29%±0.98%来源于人工饲料。     

FOOD SOURCES AND CARBON BUDGET OF CHINESE PRAWN PENAEUS CHINENSIS

This study deals with contribution of artificial food pellet and natural food to Chinese prawn (Penaeus orientalis) growth in a semiintensive culture pond. The prawn carbon consumption, budget, and the effects of some factors on the budget were investigated. The results showed that 26.2% of P. orientalis growth carbon came from formulated feed at the initial culture stage (when the prawns were 0.06±0.01 g in wet weight), and was 62.5% when the prawns were 9.56±1.04 g. The remaining part of the growth carbon was derived from organic fertilizer and natural food. The highest growth rate occurred at 20×10-3 salinity. Suitable salinity for culturing Chinese prawn was (20-28)×10-3.     

Structure and Function of the Digestive System of Solen Grandis Dunker

Structure and function of the digestive system of a bivalve mollusc, Solen grandis, were studied using light microscopy and histochemical methods. The wall of digestive tube consists of four layers: the mucosal epithelium, connective tissue, muscular and fibrosa or serosa (only in the portion of rectum) from the inner to the outer. The ciliated columnar epithelial cells, dispersed by cup-shaped mucous cells, rest on a thin base membrane. There are abundant blood spaces in connective tissue layer. The digestive diverticula are composed of multi-branched duct and digestive tubules. The digestive tubules are lined with digestive and basophilic secretory cells, and surrounded by a layer of smooth muscle fibers and connective tissues. Activities of acid and alkaline phosphatases, esterase and lipase are detected in the digestive cells, and the epithelia of stomach and intestine, suggesting that these cells are capable of intracellular digesting of food materials and absorbing. Besides, acid phosphatase and e     

Behaviour of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) under defensible and indefensible patterns of food delivery

The goal of this study was to investigate the behaviour of rainbow trout (n=30), Oncorhynchus mykiss, in small raceways when either self-feeders (T2) or hand-feeding (t2) were used. The method of food delivery in T2 was defensible while that of t2 was indefensible. Fish in both raceways were subjected to restricted feeding (RF) for 25 days. Food was available in the morning (09:00–10:00) in the downstream area and in the afternoon (16:00–17:00) in the upstream area of the raceways. The results showed that the behaviour of rainbow trout was significantly different under interference competition (T2) for food compared with that under scramble competition (t2). RF in T2 fish limited food availability to meal times when feeding rewards were available while t2 fish only responded to the location of food delivery. The aggressive fish in T2 were dominant, and t2 fish at high densities showed intense social interactions under the indefensible pattern of food distribution; these interactions did not dampen to a minimum level to suppress the development of dominance hierarchies. Further, the stocking density did not break down the dominance hierarchies between the T2 fish. This suggests that decreased efficiency in the search for food or inefficient foraging, induced by interference competition at high densities, affected the behaviour of rainbow trout.     

Structure and function of the digestive system of <Emphasis Type="Italic">solen grandis</Emphasis> dunker

Structure and function of the digestive system of a bivalve mollusc, Solen grandis, were studied using light microscopy and histochemical methods. The wall of digestive tube consists of four layers: the mucosal epithelium, connective tissue, muscular and fibrosa or serosa (only in the portion of rectum) from the inner to the outer. The ciliated columnar epithelial cells, dispersed by cup-shaped mucous cells, rest on a thin base membrane. There are abundant blood spaces in connective tissue layer. The digestive diverticula are composed of multi-branched duct and digestive tubules. The digestive tubules are lined with digestive and basophilic secretory cells, and surrounded by a layer of smooth muscle fibers and connective tissues. Activities of acid and alkaline phosphatases, esterase and lipase are detected in the digestive cells, and the epithelia of stomach and intestine, suggesting that these cells are capable of intracellular digesting of food materials and absorbing. Besides, acid phosphatase and esterase activities are present in the posterior portion of esophagus. Phagocytes are abundant in blood spaces and the lumens of stomach and intestine, containing brown granules derived from the engulfed food materials. The present work indicates that phagocytes play important roles in ingestion and digestion of food materials, which is supported as well by the activities of acid phosphatase, esterase and lipase detected in blood spaces.     

Food Security of Shifting Cultivation Systems： Case Studies from Luang Prabang and Oudomxay Provinces, Lao PDR

Introduction The shifting cultivation system is one of the most important agricultural systems in Luang Prabang and Oudomxay provinces, where many production systems are found in the uplands. The factors, determining the systems, include ethnicity,Journal…