Observations of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, infected with Cryptobia salmostica

Rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri , were experimentally infected with Cryptobia salmositica . The parasitaemia was associated with increases in the size of the spleen, liver and heart (% body weight). The splenomegaly was pronounced and was often 600-fold larger. The amounts of blood lactic acid and lactic dehydrogenase in the infected and control fish were similar. However, glycogen levels of the liver, heart and epaxial muscle declined. Liver glycogen levels were most affected and decreased to values which represented 20% of the control values. The pattern of the glycogen levels of the liver, heart and epaxial muscle declined to rise to normal values by day 56 post-inoculation. Thus, the glycogen levels both paralleled the acute parasitaemia and the subsequent partial recovery of the infected fish as they tolerated a low chronic parasitaemia.     

Mise en evidence de l'existence de sensilles chemorecepteurs sur les antennes d'un crustace mysidace cavernicole et de l'intervention de ces sensilles dans la detection d'un extrait de nourriture

The cavernicolous crustacean Antromysis juberthiei showed unexpected behavior when presented with food extract : it avoids the area of odor inflow. This avoidance reaction is reduced by removal of various combinations of antennae and disappears almost with bilateral removal of the first antennae (the aesthetasc-bearing antennules).     

Screening method for microorganisms producing L-aminoacids from D,L-5-monosubstituted hydantoins

Summary The ability of microorganisms to produce hydantoinase and L-N-carbamoylase could be established by an overlay assay. Enzyme producing strains form clear areas around their colonies caused by the cleavage of D,L-indolylmethylhydantoin. A second overlayer with a tryptophan-auxotroph yeast enables us to detect microorganisms which are able to produce L-tryptophan from D,L-indolylmethylhydantoin.     

A predictive model for freshwater bioassessment (Mondego River,Portugal)

We sampled macroinvertebrates at 75 locations in the Mondego river catchment, Central Portugal, and developed a predictive model for water quality assessment of this basin, based on the Reference Condition Approach. Sampling was done from June to September 2001. Fifty-five sites were identified as “Reference sites” and 20 sites were used as “Test sites” to test the model. At each site we also measured 40 habitat variables to characterize water physics and chemistry, habitat type, land use, stream hydrology and geographic location. Macroinvertebrates were generally identified to species or genus level; a total of 207 taxa were found. By Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic mean (UPGMA) clustering and analysis of species contribution to similarities percentage (SIMPER), two groups of reference sites were established. Using Discriminant Analysis (stepwise forward), four variables correctly predicted 78% of the reference sites to the appropriate group: stream order, pool quality, substrate quality and current velocity. Test sites’ environmental quality was established from their relative distance to reference sites, in MDS ordination space, using a series of bands (BEAST methodology). The model performed well at upstream sites, but at downstream sites it was compromised by the lack of reference sites. As with the English RIVPACS predictive model, the Mondego model should be continually improved with the addition of new reference sites. The adaptation of the Mondego model methodology to the Water Framework Directive is possible and would consist mainly of the integration of the WFD typology and increasing the number of ellipses that define quality bands. Handling editor: K. Martens     

Zingiberanamalayanum sp. nov. (Zingiberaceae) from India

Zingiber anamalayanum (Zingiberaceae), a new species from the southern western Ghats, India is described and illustrated. A phenetic analyses to assess the similarity indices and the uniqueness of the new species have been performed. A diagnostic key to Zingiber spp. in south India is provided.