No abstract

We estimated the stock size of Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) in the Sea of Japan and East China Sea since 1953 using cohort analysis based on the changes of growth patterns. Growth of Japanese sardine, estimated by using annual rings on archived scales since 1961, showed that body lengths were extremely stunted in the 1980-1987 year-classes. The body length at age 3 from February to April in the 1980-1987 year-classes, a period when the stock size exceeded 4 million tons, was 180.0 ± 2.6 mm (mean ± SD), and in the other year-classes was 195.1 ± 7.6 mm. The body length at age 3 and wet weight of zooplankton in August in the offshore area of the Sea of Japan had a significantly positive correlation. We assumed three scenarios for maturation ratios, and estimated Ricker's spawner-recruitment relationships. We analyzed the correlations between logarithmic recruitment residuals (LNRR) and environmental factors in winter, represented by the North Pacific index (NPI), Aleutian low pressure index (ALPI), Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), monsoon index (MOI), Arctic oscillation (AO) and Southern oscillation index (SOI). Significant correlations were observed between MOI and LNRR and between AO and LNRR. A combination of strong MOI and weak AO would increase the biomass of phytoplankton and zooplankton and subsequently increase the recruitment of Japanese sardine.

Feeding habits and gill raker morphology were examined for the three major planktivorous pelagic fishes, Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus, Pacific round herring Etrumeus teres and Japanese jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus, off the northern and western coasts of Kyushu, in the north-eastern part of the East China Sea in the summer months of 2001. Using fishes in the same size range (80-140 mm, standard length), the stomach contents of the three fish species were compared. The diet of the Japanese anchovy mainly consisted of Oncaeidae copepods, while the diets of the Pacific round herring and Japanese jack mackerel were dominated by calanoid copepods at all stations. Comparisons between prey size in the stomach, zooplankton size in the water and gill raker morphology suggested that the stomach contents of the three species were characterized mainly by the difference in the feeding behaviour between Japanese anchovy (filter-feeding) and the other two species (particulate-feeding), rather than by the difference in the morphology of feeding apparatus only. It was concluded that behavioural adaptations in the feeding of these pelagic fishes brought about trophic partitioning to some degree in this pelagic ecosystem in summer. Although the diets of these three species overlapped to some extent, there was still little likelihood of competition between the Japanese anchovy and the other two species. The potential for competition between the Pacific round herring and the Japanese jack mackerel is discussed.

This paper presents a new approach to search for a gas/odor source using an autonomous mobile robot. The robot is equipped with a CMOS camera, gas sensors, and airflow sensors. When no gas is present, the robot looks for a salient object in the camera image. The robot approaches any object found in the field of view, and checks it with the gas sensors to see if the object is releasing gas. On the other hand, if the robot detects the presence of gas while wandering around the area, it turns toward the direction of the wind that carries the gas. The robot then looks for any visible object in that direction. These navigation strategies are implemented into the robot under the framework of the behavior-based subsumption architecture. Experimental results on the search for a leaking bottle in an indoor environment are presented to demonstrate the validity of the navigation strategies.

The tensile bond strength in the groups treated with the ultrasonic scaler exhibited approximately twice the strength observed in groups treated with laser irradiation alone.