Reproductive cues in Panulirus ornatus

Two experiments were performed to assess the effect of photoperiod and temperature on spawning of Panulirus ornatus. In experiment 1, sexually mature lobsters taken from the wild during summer were held at one of two photoperiods, winter (13 Light: 11 Dark) and summer (14.5 Light:9.5 Dark). Additionally, lobsters were also exposed to either summer (29°C) or winter (24°C) average water temperatures. Spawning was significantly greater when animals were exposed to summer photoperiod than to winter photoperiod, irrespective of temperature. Although a higher percentage of lobsters spawned when placed under a higher temperature, this trend was not statistically significant. In experiment 2, sexually mature lobsters were taken from the wild during winter and exposed to the same two photoperiods as in experiment 1, at a summer equivalent temperature of 29°C. Breeding started earlier and was more successful at the summer photoperiod. Time to first breeding was 17 weeks after exposure to summer photoperiod, compared with less than 1 week in experiment 1, and did not occur until individuals had moulted. Moulting occurred in 81% of lobsters, primarily after an increase in temperature to 29°C. The time between moulting and mating was varied and there was no significant difference in moult frequency between the two experimental photoperiods. After the lobsters had moulted, breeding success was reached earlier if photoperiod was lengthened. Results suggest photoperiod is the primary cue for the onset of gonad maturity and mating activity, with temperature playing a less important role. Physiological rest and possibly a moult may be required between breeding seasons before spawning can occur. Furthermore, temperature may be an important cue for pre‐reproduction moulting.     

Evaluation of the "time factor" and "light factor" methods for estimating daily phytoplankton production at the sea surface

Daily phytoplankton production was estimated at the sea surface in the southern Benguela Current during January, March, April and October 1978 by different methods of calculation. Actual daily production (P_{24 meas}) was obtained from a series of short-term (3—4 h) incubations spanning 24 hours. Daily production was also extrapolated from single measurements during daylight by the "time factor" and "light factor" methods of calculation. These estimates (P_{24 calc}) vary considerably from P_{24 meas}, but on average they underestimate daily production. Estimates by the "light factor" method are generally lower and more variable than those from the "time factor" method. Differences in amplitude and timing of fluctuations in the rate of net production during daylight make it impossible to calculate reliable factors for correcting diel variations in photosynthesis when estimating daily production from short-term measurements. It is suggested that the effects of diel variation in production are likely to be less significant in the euphotic zone as a whole than at the sea surface alone.     

Movement patterns of individual migrating western rock lobster,Panulirus cygnus,in Western Australia

Abstract

Migrating and pre‐migrating western rock lobster Panulirus cygnus were tagged with datastorage tags that recorded temperature and pressure, which was converted to depth (Pressure (kPa) — surface pressure (kPa)/10)) at Dongara and Jurien Bay in Western Australia between December 2005 and December 2007. All lobsters were fitted with tag flotation devices, and returns were made by either commercial fishers or beachcombers who located detached tags. A total of 135 lobsters were released with “backpack” flotation tags, but only 84 (62.2%) of the backpacks carried data‐storage tags. Depths of release ranged from 5 to 113 m. Of the tagged lobsters released, commercial fishers recaptured 52 (38.5%), whereas 11 tags (8.1%) were found by beachcombers. At least 33%, and possibly up to 63%, of animals identified by their pale coloration as pre‐migrating individuals, failed to migrate. Those that did migrate (n = 11) were at liberty from 1 to 94 days and showed generally similar movement patterns in that they migrated only at night from darkness (after 2000 h) until after moonrise. However, their movement patterns were less constrained by the rising of the moon in deep water. Only 27% migrated nightly, compared with 73% that skipped migrating on one or more nights, to restart some days later. This latter proportion would likely have been considerably greater, but some migrating animals were only at large for short periods before recapture, and therefore had little time to show any variation to the nocturnal migration pattern. Individual speeds of migration during periods of activity were estimated for nine lobsters as 0.20 to 0.68 km h^?1, with a mean speed of 0.44 km h^?1, or 7.4 m min^?1. Improved knowledge of daily movement patterns resulting from this study provides a potentially important input into technological improvements in bait and pot design.     

Effects of salinity on survival,feeding behavior and growth of the juvenile swimming crab,Portunus trituberculatus (Miers, 1876)

Effect of salinity on survival,feeding behavior and growth of juvenile swimming crab P ortunus trituberculatus was investigated under 5 salinity levels of 5,10,20,30 and 40. The results show that the crab juveniles fed 2 or 3 times at the salinity 20 and 30,each lasted for about 25 minutes,for a total feeding time of 73.2±22.65 minutes per day. At these salinities,there were significantly higher in the frequency of feeding and in total feeding time than those at lower salinities of 5 and 10. All crab juveniles moulted when reared at a salinity of 20 during the 5 days duration of the experiment,which is significantly higher than those at other salinities. All juveniles survived at salinity 20,and the survivorship was not significantly different from that at 30,but was signif icantly higher than those at other salinities. The crab juveniles reared at a salinity of 20 had the highest value of food ration of 0.190 8±0.011 3 g/g BW,average body weight gain of 0.796±0.128 g,gain rate of 87%–96%,and food conversion ratio of 1.20±0.09. There was no significant difference in the values found between 20 and 30 but these values were significantly lower than that at the other salinities( P 0.05). Highest activities of digestive enzymes(Amylase,Protease,Lipase) and lowest activities of protective enzymes(SOD,PO,CAT) were also obtained on crab juveniles reared at salinity of 20.     

Notobathynella longipes sp. n. and new records of other Bathynellacea (Crustacea,Syncarida) from New Zealand

This paper deals with Bathynellacea collected by Entomology Division, DSIR, in 1972–73 by pumping water from wells and bores in different parts of New Zealand. Notobathynella longipes sp. n. is described from wells in Motueka (South Island). The distribution of the New Zealand Parabathynellidae is discussed briefly.     

Concentration of particulate organic nitrogen in the marlborough sounds,New Zealand (note)

Samples of particulate matter were analysed for nitrogen by the micro‐Kjeldahl technique in an attempt to obtain an indication of the food available for mussels. The small amounts of nitrogen available in the samples prevented the detection of seasonal variation by this method. The mean concentration of 11.8 μg‐at of nitrogen per litre obtained from this study compares favourably with data from mussel farming areas in Spain.     

三疣梭子蟹几丁质酶基因克隆鉴定及在低盐胁迫和蜕皮周期中的表达分析

几丁质酶在甲壳动物中参与多个生物学进程,发挥重要作用。本研究采用RACE技术,克隆获得总长为3694 bp的三疣梭子蟹(Portunus trituberculatus)几丁质酶基因全长c DNA序列,命名为Pt Cht基因。该基因5′和3′非编码区分别为200bp和455bp,开放阅读框为3039bp,推测编码1012个氨基酸,预测分子量为113.4k Da,理论等电点为6.289。生物信息学分析表明,Pt Cht基因含有2个催化结构域和1个几丁质结合结构域Cht BD2,催化结构域具有几丁质酶第18家族的保守基序MotifⅠ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ;同源性和系统进化分析表明,三疣梭子蟹Pt Cht基因与亚洲玉米螟(Ostrinia furnacalis)Cht的同源性最高;荧光定量RT-PCR分析表明,Pt Cht基因在各组织中均有表达,而在眼柄和表皮中的相对表达量较高。Pt Cht基因在蜕皮周期中的表达规律表明,Pt Cht基因在不同蜕皮时期存在明显变化,在表皮中先下调后上调;在眼柄中,呈整体上调趋势。通过分析Pt Cht基因在低盐胁迫进程中的表达规律发现,低盐胁迫可显著改变Pt Cht基因在鳃和肝胰腺中的表达模式,整体呈先下降后上升最后下降的表达趋势。该研究结果表明Pt Cht基因在三疣梭子蟹蜕皮发育和渗透压调节中发挥重要作用,为深入研究三疣梭子蟹和其它甲壳动物几丁质酶的功能提供了重要信息。     

贵州剑河八郎凯里组Olenoides paraptus的脱壳

本文研究和描述了采自凯里组一块完整的Olenoides paraptus标本和两块脱壳的Ole-noides paraptus标本。对脱壳标本的保存状态进行判断,其分别处于状态A和状态D。根据两块标本的保存状态推测处于脱壳周期的脱壳阶段(ecdysis);对其埋藏学特征进行探讨,支持了凯里生物群是原地埋藏的观点。