Preliminary Observations on the Feeding Activity of Fishes during Tidal and Diel Cycles in the Loire Estuary: The Bib Trisopterus luscus L. 1758

Abstract. .Series of experimental trawls repeated over the same area during both 12 and 24 h cycles coupled with an analysis of the stomach contents of the bib demonstrated quantitative and qualitative variations in the predator's diet. The population studied feeds continuously over 24 h, the coefficient of "fullness" is relatively constant, and freshly eaten prey can be observed both during the day and at night. The proportion of brown shrimp in the food increases after high tide, especially when this occurs at night, coinciding with the shrimp's period of maximum activity. However, the overall impact of the bib on the shrimp population depends more on the abundance of the former than on variations in their individual food intake.     

河口鱼类早期资源生态学研究进展*

河口是咸淡水交汇的水域,有大量的营养物质,是初级生产力和浮游生物最丰富的水域,为鱼类及其幼鱼的生长提供了丰富的饵料基础。本文综述了国内外有关河口鱼类早期资源(鱼类浮游生物)生态学研究的若干最新研究进展,内容包括：河口鱼类浮游生物的生态类型、种类组成和时空分布,温度、盐度、混浊度、食物、其他动物捕食等环境要素,厄尔尼诺和拉妮娜现象等气候现象,和大型工程建设、过度捕捞和污染等人为因素对河口鱼类浮游生物群落结构影响的研究。     

Changes in the Level of Proteins,Free Amino Acids and Protease Activities of Clarias batrachus in Response to Sodium meta‐arsenite Intoxication

Increased hazard of arsenic toxicity at many provinces of India causing extensive contamination of their wetlands. To illustrate the consequences of the arsenic menace on the aquatic fauna, a nutritionally important freshwater catfish Clarias batrachus (Linn.) was subjected to the stress of sublethal concentration (1 mg/L; 5% of 96‐h LC₅₀ value) of sodium meta‐arsenite. The alterations induced by the arsenic salt on certain biomolecules (proteins, free amino acids (FAA), and protease activities) in five tissue components (muscle, liver, brain skin, and gills) of the fish using biochemical techniques were estimated. Significant (p < 0.01) decrease in the concentration of proteins in all the tissues (19.74–44.84% in muscles; 3.17–49.39% in liver; 10.05–36.16% in brain; 12.62–52.01% in skin and 7.34–61.69% in gills), and significant (p < 0.01) increase in FAA (6.84–269.89% in muscles; 125.89–358.03% in liver; 1.07–152.90% in brain; 29.31–401.62% in skin and 38.53–165.07% in gills), and protease activities (43.59–183.33% in muscles; 19.52–131.90% in liver; 8.85–46.72% in brain; 33.33–261.53% in skin and 25.39–50.79% in gills) of the exposed fish were observed. This increase in amino acids and enzyme activity point out toward breakdown of protein leading to their depletion.     

The effect of biomanipulation on phosphorus exchange between sediment and water in shallow,tropical Huizhou West Lake,China

Three shallow basins in Huizhou West Lake, China, were compared with respect to phosphorus (P) cycling between sediment and water, binding forms of P in sediment, and macrophyte biomass. The basins had similar sediments and similar depths, but two of the basins were restored by carp fish removal and macrophyte transplantation. These two basins have had clear water, low Chl.a and high macrophyte coverage for seven and ten years, whilst the unrestored control basin had turbid water and higher Chl.a. Judged by diffusive ammonium efflux, sediments in restored basins had higher mineralization rates than the unrestored basin, but the release of total dissolved P were more similar. However, sediments of restored basins released primarily dissolved organic P, while the sediment from the unrestored basin only released dissolved inorganic P. One third of the P release in the unrestored basin occurred from resuspended sediment, while this pathway contributed less than 3% in restored basins where resuspension rates were 10 times lower and the surface sediments affinity for phosphate higher. Besides from the presence of carps in the unrestored basin, the main differences were a large pool of P (700–850 mg P m⁻²) in macrophyte biomass and a smaller pool (∼150 mg m⁻²) as loosely adsorbed P in the sediment of restored basins than in the unrestored (0 in macrophytes and 350 mg P m⁻² as loosely adsorbed). Also, a tendency of higher concentrations of oxidized iron was observed in the surface sediment from restored basins. The study underlines the potential of trophic structure changes to alter internal nutrient cycling in shallow lakes.     

Are steroids really the cause for fish feminization? A mini-review of in vitro and in vivo guided TIEs

Feminization of fish has been reported throughout the world in freshwater and marine systems. While the population impacts are conflictive, enough negative effects warrant additional research into causation. In order to ascertain the identities of specific feminizing agents, variants of toxicity identification evaluations (TIEs) have been employed. The majority of these evaluations have utilized in vitro estrogen receptor-based cell-lines to identify chromatographic fractions that possess biological activity from predominately wastewater derived from municipal treatment facilities and have concluded that synthetic and natural estrogens are the primary cause for feminization of fish. This paper will focus on three aquatic systems impacted by wastewater originating from purely domestic, and industrial/domestic secondary treatment systems. Wastewater and sediment extracts were evaluated by in vitro and in vivo biological responses in a TIE fractionation design. While in vitro responses tended to mirror in vivo responses in purely domestic wastewater systems, in vitro responses tended to severely underestimate in vivo estrogenic activity when normalized to estradiol equivalents in more complex systems. TIE fractionation schemes using in vivo biological responses failed to indicate any relationship to steroids in either wastewater or sediment extractions. These data consistently support the view that mechanisms other than direct ER binding and activation by toxicants may be important in the feminization of fish particularly residing in habitats that receive complex wastewater or agricultural effluents.     

Evaluations of heavy metal pollution in sediment and Mullus barbatus from the Izmir Bay (Eastern Aegean) during 1997-2009

Izmir Bay is one of the great natural bays of the Mediterranean. The surface sediment and fish samples were collected during 1997-2009. The sediment concentrations of inner bay showed significant enrichments during sampling periods. Outer and middle bays exhibited low levels of metal enrichments except the estuary of Gediz River. The concentrations were generally higher than the background levels from the Mediterranean and Aegean except Cd and Pb levels gradually decreased. Metal EF is used as an index to evaluate anthropogenic influences of metals in sediments. Maximum metal enrichment was found for Hg in the outer bay, while Pb indicated maximum enrichment in the middle-inner bays. Metal levels were evaluated in sediments in accordance with the numerical SQG of the USEPA. The levels of fish tissues were lower than the results reported from polluted areas of the Mediterranean. The highest BAFs were detected for Hg and Cd in fish.     

Institutional and substantial uncertainty—Explaining the lack of adaptability in fish stocking policy

Adaptive management implies a system in which policy and practice are constantly revised in a continuous circular process to accommodate new ecological knowledge. In the case of current fish stocking practices, there is an evident gap between science and practice indicating a lack of adaptability. While fish stocking is perceived as a solution to many problems of modern fishery management, scientific researchers warn that current practices, including introducing alien populations, seriously threaten the sustainability of fish stocks. The aim of this study was to address, explain the existence of and, finally, discuss the prospect of narrowing this gap. For this purpose, the characteristics of the policy subsystem were analyzed. The empirical findings highlight the wickedness of the policy problem. The substantial and institutional uncertainties surrounding the issue are proposed as the main reasons for the deficits in adaptability. Fish stocking decisions are made within a complex policy subsystem that involves multiple actors and policy-making institutions, conflicting goals and competing notions of the problem. Cross-coalition learning—learning between coalitions of actors with different problem definitions, forming a joint view—is a necessary and, in the case of fish stocking, lacking variable in the adaptive management process.     

Jellyfish blooms perception in Mediterranean finfish aquaculture

In recent years, negative impacts of jellyfish blooms (JB) on marine human activities have been increasingly reported. Aquaculture has been affected by jellyfish outbreaks, mostly documented through repeated episodes of farmed salmon mortalities in Northern Europe; however, the valuation of JB consequences on the aquaculture sector still remains poorly quantified. This study aims to provide the first quantitative evaluation effects of JB on finfish aquaculture in the Mediterranean Sea and to investigate the general awareness of JB impacts among Mediterranean aquaculture professional workers. The aquaculture workers' perception about JB was assessed through a structured interview-based survey administered across 21 aquaculture facilities in central and western Mediterranean. The workers' awareness about JB impacts on aquaculture differed among countries. Italian and Spanish fish farmers were better informed about jellyfish proliferations and, together with Tunisian farmers, they all recognized the wide potential consequences of JB on sea bream and sea bass aquaculture. On the contrary, the majority of Maltese respondents considered JB as a non-significant threat to their activity, mostly based on off-shore tuna farming. This study for the first time shows that JB may negatively affect different Mediterranean aquaculture facilities from Tunisia (Sicily Channel) and Spain (Alboran Sea), by increasing farmed fish gill disorders and mortality, clogging net cages, or inflicting painful stings to field operators, with severe economic consequences. Available knowledge calls for the development of coordinated preventive plans, adaptation policies, and mitigation countermeasures across European countries in order to address the JB phenomenon and its impacts on coastal water activities.     

Social interactions can affect feeding behaviour of fish in tanks

Fish from the same clutch of eggs, so of the same age and family, can differ substantially in size after some time in a tank as result of social interactions. On the basis of computer simulation studies I here demonstrate that it is possible to mimic this empirical observation using the rules of the standard Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model, supplemented with a simple stochastic module for interaction between individuals that have identical parameters. The remarkable result is that length-at-age of two individuals in a tank where the number of food particles is kept constant closely follows von Bertalanffy growth curves with very different parameters, while in reality the individuals have identical parameters. The empirical observation demonstrates that fish are close to the supply end of the supply–demand spectrum and that age-based models for growth don't apply to supply systems. The significance of the result is discussed.     

Regime shifts: Can ecological theory illuminate the mechanisms?

“Regime shifts” are considered here to be low-frequency, high-amplitude changes in oceanic conditions that may be especially pronounced in biological variables and propagate through several trophic levels. Three different types of regime shift (smooth, abrupt and discontinuous) are identified on the basis of different patterns in the relationship between the response of an ecosystem variable (usually biotic) and some external forcing or condition (control variable). The smooth regime shift is represented by a quasi-linear relationship between the response and control variables. The abrupt regime shift exhibits a nonlinear relationship between the response and control variables, and the discontinuous regime shift is characterized by the trajectory of the response variable differing when the forcing variable increases compared to when it decreases (i.e., the occurrence of alternative “stable” states). Most often, oceanic regime shifts are identified from time series of biotic variables (often commercial fish), but this approach does not allow the identification of discontinuous regime shifts. Recognizing discontinuous regime shifts is, however, particularly important as evidence from terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems suggests that such regime shifts may not be immediately reversible. Based on a review of various generic classes of mathematical models, we conclude that regime shifts arise from the interaction between population processes and external forcing variables. The shift between ecosystem states can be caused by gradual, cumulative changes in the forcing variable(s) or it can be triggered by acute disturbances, either anthropogenic or natural. A protocol for diagnosing the type of regime shift encountered is described and applied to a data set on Georges Bank haddock, from which it is concluded that a discontinuous regime shift in the abundance of haddock may have occurred. It is acknowledged that few, if any, marine data are available to confirm the occurrence of discontinuous regime shifts in the ocean. Nevertheless, we argue that there is good theoretical evidence for their occurrence as well as some anecdotal evidence from data collection campaigns and that the possibility of their occurrence should be recognized in the development of natural resource management strategies.