Field studies describe echinoplutei not only as grazers but also as prey of naturally occurring fish and shellfish larvae. This finding suggests their potential as live feed in aquaculture. This paper reports on consistent spawnings of the captive sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck 1816) (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) throughout the year using diets of plant origin (yellow maize and/or dried seaweed) with fixed environmental conditions equivalent to field conditions during late spring (14 h of daily illumination and 18 • C of temperature). Broodstock maturation without unwanted spontaneous spawnings was achieved in two ways: extending the natural season of reproduction and inducing out-of-season wild specimens to mature. Controlled spawnings of captive sea urchins were induced every month of the year by KCl 0.5 M injections. The diet maize/seaweed combination gave the best results (79% of the tested urchins) in terms of consistent large spawnings throughout the year, followed by the pure maize diet (50%) and the pure seaweed diet (36%). When out-of-season wild sea urchins were induced to maturation, the majority (72%) of tested individuals required at least 60 days to spawn under KCl injection when fed the combination diet. The results demonstrate the feasibility of producing larval P. lividus in that high numbers of fertilized eggs (up to 5 million per female) can be obtained year round. The main limitation of exploiting P. lividus as planktonic feed seems to be the mortality of broodstock after injection with 1 ml KCl 0.5 M, which prevents reutilization. The 1-month post-injection survival rate was 30 ± 8% (mean ± SE). All surviving sea urchins spawned again after re-injection 1 month later, with a 1-month survival rate of 29%.
PortugalSea urchin eggs and larvae have been suggested as potential live prey for marine fish larval feeding. This study evaluated the fatty acid composition of Paracentrotus lividus eggs, prisms and four-armed plutei, obtained from wild and captive broodstocks fed on raw diets: maize, seaweed and a combination of maize and seaweed. Amounts of essential fatty acids (EFA) for marine fish larvae [arachidonic acid (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA)] were determined in eggs and endotrophic larvae. ARA ranged from 3.93% in eggs from combination to 18.7% in plutei from maize diets. In any developmental stage, EPA amounts were always lower than 5% for the raw diets, and DHA showed null or trace amounts including the wild diet. Thus, broodstockprepared diets had to be formulated based on different lipid sources (Algamac, linseed oil, cod liver oil and olive oil) in order to test eggs and larvae EFA enhancement. EFA improvement was possible for all tested prepared diets. Algamac diet lead to superior EFA enhancement mainly in DHA (7.24%, 4.92% and 6.09% for eggs, prisms and plutei, respectively) followed by cod liver oil diet. Only these two lipid sources should be considered for prepared broodstock diets in order to obtain suitable live prey for fish larval feeding. KEY WORDS
Fisheries Management and EcologyEffective management of invasive fishes depends on the availability of updated information 5 about their distribution and spatial dispersion. Forensic analysis was performed using online and 6 published data on the European catfish, Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758, a recent invader in the 7Tagus basin (Iberian Peninsula). Eighty records were obtained mainly from anglers' fora and 8 blogs and more recently from www.youtube.com. Since the first record in 1998, S. glanis 9 expanded its geographic range by ≈ 700 km of river network, occurring mainly in reservoirs and 10 in high order sections. Human-mediated and natural dispersal events were identified, with the 11 former occurring during the first years of invasion and involving movements of > 50 km. 12 Downstream dispersal directionality was predominant. This study demonstrates that the 13 analysis of online data from anglers can provide useful information on the distribution and 14 dispersal patterns of this non-native fish, potentially applicable as a preliminary, exploratory 15 assessment tool for other non-native fishes. 16 17
Biological invasions are considered to be one of the leading causes of biodiversity loss worldwide. Freshwater ecosystems are amongst the most biodiverse, containing about 50% of the world’s known fish species but, ironically, are the most invaded ecosystems. In Portuguese freshwaters, there are currently 20 identified non-native fishes, arriving at an unprecedented rate of a new species every two years. A recent non-native is the European catfish Silurus glanis, a top predator native to Central and Eastern Europe, that arrived at the Lower Tagus (Portugal) circa 2006. This study compares the dietary habits of this top predator in two different habitats of the Lower Tagus in order to evaluate its potential impact. The stomach contents of 96 individuals were analyzed, 61 from the lotic environment and 35 from the lentic systems. A total of 66 stomachs contained prey items, 38 from the lotic and 28 from the lentic. Diet varied considerably between habitats, with shrimp and crayfish being the most abundant prey items in the lentic systems and shrimp and fish the most abundant prey items in the lotic section. Tendency to piscivory was observed in large-sized individuals. Overall, the findings in this study provide the first evidence of the potential impacts of European catfish through predation on the fish communities.
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