饲料蛋白水平对宝石鲈生长和体组成影响研究

选择体重一致、健康无病、初始体重104.13±0.46g宝石鲈105尾,随机分为5组,每组3重复,分别喂以蛋白水平为23.64%、28.45%、33.50%、3.04%和41.62%的等能颗粒饲料(以白鱼粉为蛋白源),在15口水泥池中控温养殖8周,研究饲料蛋白水平对宝石鲈生长和体组成的影响.饲养试验结果表明:饲料蛋白水平为33.50%时,宝石鲈的增重率最大,与饲料蛋白水平23.64%组相比差异极显著(P0.05).试验不同组间鱼体肥满度、肝体指数、蛋白质净利用率和饵料系数没有显著差异(P>0.05).通过增重率的折线法分析结果表明,宝石鲈获得最佳增重率的饲料蛋白需要量为33.94%.饲料蛋白水平对鱼体组成和肌肉成分研究表明,饲料蛋白水平为33.50%时鱼体蛋白含量最高,与蛋白水平23.64%组相比,差异极显著(P0.05).       

Sex-driven differences in Egyptian mongoose’s (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Herpestes ichneumon</Emphasis>) diet in its northwestern European range

Sexual dimorphism in carnivores can result from, or induce, variations in diet and foraging behaviour between individuals of different sexes. Sex-driven behavioural changes in feeding habits may also result in a reduction in intraspecific competition for resources, avoiding dietary overlap by concentrating on different prey sizes/types. We therefore evaluated the variation in feeding habits of both males and females of an invasive and range expanding southern European carnivore, the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), through gut content analysis of road or predator-control killed animals. The analysis of 59 gut samples, collected in Portugal, revealed that northwestern populations of mongooses prey mostly upon mammals [especially lagomorphs, percentage of biomass (PB) = 44%], reptiles (PB = 28%) and arthropods (PB = 2% but percentage of occurrence = 35%). However, females seem to focus mainly on reptiles (PB = 51%) and mammals (PB = 38%), whilst males consume mostly mammals (PB = 75%). The results suggest that this variation maybe a result of sexual dimorphism (since some variation is documented in a few Egyptian mongoose’s skull measures, namely condylobasal length and canine diameter), with males shifting their diets to prey from which they can obtain more energy. Females seem to be focused on predating lighter animals, probably females or juveniles, a fact that has important game management implications.     

Food habits of the Indian fox (Vulpes bengalensis) in Kutch, Gujarat, India

We characterized the diet of the Indian fox (Vulpes bengalensis) during the breeding season in a semi-desert region of Western India. Diet was estimated using scat analysis. We used Index of Relative Importance (IRI) to determine the contribution of prey items in the diet of the Indian fox.Indian foxes were observed to feed on a wide variety of prey items. Arthropods were the most frequently occurring prey in their diet. IRI scores were highest for the group Coleoptera and Orthoptera followed by rodents, termites, Ziziphus fruits and spiny tailed lizards (Uromastyx hardwickii). IRI scores for rodents were higher for pups, differing significantly from proportions present in adult diet, thus indicating that they are crucial food items for the young ones. Prey proportions in the fox diet differed between the two habitats in the study area (grassland and scrubland).Our data suggest that the Indian fox is essentially an omnivore showing similar diet (in terms of high incidence of arthropods) to foxes inhabiting arid and semi-arid regions. The opportunistic and generalist strategy has probably helped the species to survive in varied habitats across the Indian subcontinent.     

中华倒刺鲃幼鱼饲料蛋白质需求量的研究

以白鱼粉为蛋白源,设计了6个不同蛋白质含量(20.49%、26.48%、34.20%、41.02%、49.94%和55.86%,分别表示为D1、D2、D3、D4、D5和D6)的等能饲料,采用室内循环水养殖系统,在水温为(27.5±0.5)℃的条件下对中华倒刺鲃幼鱼进行10周的养殖实验,探讨中华倒刺鲃幼鱼对饲料蛋白质的需求量。每个处理设4个重复,每个重复12尾鱼。结果显示：干物质摄食率(FRdm)随饲料蛋白质含量升高呈先降低然后稳定的趋势;蛋白质摄食率(FRp)与饲料蛋白质含量呈正相关关系(r=0.982,p<0.01)。干物质表观消化率随饲料蛋白质含量增加而降低,蛋白质消化率在各组间无显著差异。随饲料蛋白质含量由D1逐渐增加至D4,体重特定生长率(SGRw)、能量特定生长率(SGRe)和饲料效率(FE)均显著增高(p<0.05),而D4、D5和D6组间无显著差异,其中D4组的三个指标值均最高,分别为(0.97±0.04)%/d、(0.87±0.04)%/d、(68.96±3.00)%。蛋白质效率(PER)、蛋白质累积率(PPV)和能量累积率(EPV)在各饲料组间均存在显著差异。以SGRw、SGRe和FE为指标,采用折线模型分析表明,中华倒刺鲃幼鱼的最适饲料蛋白质含量为39.6%－42.2%。     

Foraging conditions of planktotrophic larvae of echinoderms in the southwestern part of Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan

Foraging of planktotrophic larvae of echinoderm common species in the Peter the Great Bay (Sea of Japan) was estimated on the basis of distribution of phyto- and meroplankton. The diversity and abundance of phytoplankton in the studied area in summer months were shown (141 algae species; abundance—up to 743000 cells/m³; biomass—more than 2.7 g/m³ of fresh weight). It was found that in Peter the Great Bay the diet of echinoderm larvae depended on their feeding behavior, duration of their pelagic stage, and abundance and size composition of phytoplankton, included up to several micrograms of fresh algae per larva.     

Identifying patterns in the diet of mackerel icefish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Champsocephalus gunnari)</Emphasis> at South Georgia using bootstrapped confidence intervals of a dietary index

Ontogenetic, inter-annual and regional variations in diet were investigated for mackerel icefish, Champsocephalus gunnari, in three successive summer seasons around South Georgia. Stomach contents from 2239 C. gunnari (130–560 mm total length) were examined. A bootstrapping technique was used to calculate confidence intervals for an index of relative importance of prey categories (% IRI_DC). Diet varied significantly between years and age classes but there was little regional difference in diet. In general, diet was dominated by krill, Euphausia superba and by the amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii. Smaller (younger) fish tended to prey on a higher proportion of T. gaudichaudii and small euphausiids such as Thysanoessa sp. and took smaller quantities of E. superba. In a season of poor krill availability (summer of 2003–2004) the proportion of krill in the diet, stomach fullness and fish condition (indicated by length–weight relationships) were significantly lower than in the other summer seasons. A large reduction (>80%) in the estimated annual (2005) biomass of the C. gunnari stock directly followed the season of poor krill availability. This decline was largely because of mortality of 2+ and 3+ fish, which were more krill dependent than 1+ fish. Younger fish appear to have survived, leading to an increase in the estimated population biomass in 2006.     

Measurement of dietary exposure: a challenging problem which may be overcome thanks to metabolomics?

The diet is an important environmental exposure, and its measurement is an essential component of much health-related research. However, conventional tools for measuring dietary exposure have significant limitations being subject to an unknown degree of misreporting and dependent upon food composition tables to allow estimation of intakes of energy, nutrients and non-nutrient food constituents. In addition, such tools may be inappropriate for use with certain groups of people. As an alternative approach, the recent techniques of metabolite profiling or fingerprinting, which allows simultaneous monitoring of multiple and dynamic components of biological fluids, may provide metabolic signals indicative of food intake. Samples can be analysed through numerous analytical platforms, followed by multivariate data analysis. In humans, metabolomics has been applied successfully in pharmacology, toxicology and medical screening, but nutritional metabolomics is still in its infancy. Biomarkers of a small number of specific foods and nutrients have been developed successfully but less targeted and more high-throughput methods, that do not need prior knowledge of which signals might be discriminatory, and which may allow a more global characterisation of dietary intake, remain to be tested. A proof a principle project (the MEDE Study) is currently underway in our laboratories to test the hypothesis that high-throughput, non-targeted metabolite fingerprinting using flow injection electrospray mass spectrometry can be applied to human biofluids (blood and urine) to characterise dietary exposure in humans.     

柯氏鼠兔的食性分析

柯氏鼠兔(Ochotona koslowi)是兔形目(Lagomorpha)鼠兔属中最古老的遗留种,也是稀有的濒危物种,自1894年命名以来,国内外对该物种的生存现状、生物学特征知之甚少.2007年10~11月,在藏北地区捕获到13只柯氏鼠兔,通过显微组织分析法对其胃及结肠内容物和收集的60份粪样进行了食性分析.结果表明,柯氏鼠兔胃、结肠内容物和粪便中镜检到可识别植物碎片属6科15种,其中豆科植物碎片占可识别植物碎片的39.44%,藜科植物碎片占36.00%,莎草科植物碎片占16.42%,禾本科、十字花科和菊科植物碎片分别占3.75%、2.67%和1.25%.食性分析表明,柯氏鼠兔偏爱豆科植物.     

Biology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lasioglossum</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">L.</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">majus</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), a largely solitary sweat bee with behavioural adaptations to communality

Within the bee family Halictidae there have been three origins of sociality. Although detection of origins and reversal from sociality requires phylogenetic studies, at a behavioural level a predisposition to sociality can be detected by analysis of intra-specific interactions. We studied aspects of nesting biology and behavioural interactions in Lasioglossum (Lasioglossum) majus, a poorly known halictine inhabiting temperate regions of Europe, which is suspected to be solitary. Nests were found to be largely used by one female, but some were shared by more than one individual. These few nests, whose entrances were very close to each other, were found to be connected underground. A few individuals were observed to enter in a nest where a female was waiting, behaving as a guard and allowing the incoming bee to enter the nest. By use of circle-tube experiments, the behavioural repertoire exhibited by females during encounters was assessed. Levels of withdrawal and cooperative events were comparable with those observed in other solitary nesting species, but aggressive events were very rare, as in several observed communal species. We conclude that L. (L.) majus females, despite general solitary nesting, possess behavioural components enabling them to adopt, probably in high nest-density areas, nest-sharing strategies. A similar kind of local social polymorphism has been observed in two other species of the subgenus Lasioglossum, but these are the first data available on a European species and the first record of subterranean connections among nests of halictid bees.     

Effect of meal size on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption in fishes with different locomotive and digestive performance

Effects of feeding on pre-exercise VO₂ and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) after exhaustive exercise were investigated in sedentary southern catfish, active herbivorous grass carp, omnivorous crucian carp, and sluggish omnivorous darkbarbel catfish to test whether feeding had different effects on EPOC and to compare EPOC in fishes with different ecological habits. For fasting fish, the pre-exercise and peak post-exercise VO₂ were higher and recovery rates were faster in crucian carp and grass carp compared to those of darkbarbel catfish and southern catfish. EPOC magnitudes of grass carp and southern catfish were significantly larger than those of crucian carp and darkbarbel catfish. Feeding had no significant effect on peak post-exercise VO₂, recovery rate, and EPOC magnitude in grass carp. Both the pre-exercise and peak post-exercise VO₂ increased with meal size, while the EPOC magnitude and duration decreased significantly in the larger meal size groups of crucian carp and southern catfish. In darkbarbel catfish, both the pre-exercise and peak post-exercise VO₂ increased with meal size, but the VO₂ increment elicited by exercise was larger in feeding groups compared with the fasting group. These results suggest that (1) the characteristics of the post-exercise VO₂ profile, such as peak post-exercise VO₂ and recovery rate, were closely related to the activity of fishes, whereas the EPOC magnitude was not and (2) the effects of feeding on EPOC were more closely related to the postprandial increase in VO₂.