Seawater tolerance in captive high-Arctic Svalbard charr (Salvelinus alpinus): effect of photoperiod and body size

Anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) returning after spending summer at sea were captured in a fish trap in the Dieset River on Spitsbergen (79°10'N), Svalbard. Fish selected for breeding were transported to Trondheim in mainland Norway. Eggs obtained from the charr were fertilized and incubated in total darkness. First-fed alevins and resulting parr were kept under continuous light until an age of 0+ and 1+ years, respectively. Some 1+ charr were kept as controls under a continuous short-day photoperiod (6L:18D) from autumn until the end of the experiment the following July. Charr aged 0+ and 1+ years old were exposed to a short-day photoperiod from October until January and a simulated natural photoperiod for 80°N from January until the end of the experiments. Challenge tests demonstrated a size-dependent seawater tolerance for charr with a body length less than 18 cm. Fish smaller than 12 cm did not survive the 96-h test period. The larger charr kept under simulated natural photoperiod developed increased hypoosmoregulatory capacity. Charr kept under short-day treatment showed a slight, short-lived increase in seawater tolerance. A 7-days seawater challenge test at the end of the experiment (July) demonstrated that the anticipatory seawater preparation in charr is influenced by photoperiod. We conclude that offspring from anadromous high-Arctic charr must achieve a threshold body size (>25 cm) before they can respond to photoperiod signals which trigger the development of the hypoosmoregulatory capacity typical for smoltifying salmonids.     

Dimethyl trisulphide is a strong attractant for some calliphorids and a muscid but not for the reindeer oestrids Hypoderma tarandi and Cephenemyia trompe

A field test with synthetic dimethyl trisulphide as attractant in flight traps was carried out in Finnmark, northern Norway, in July 1992 and 1994. The reindeer oestrids Hypoderma (=Oedemagena) tarandi (L.) and Cephenemyia trompe (Modeer) (Diptera: Oestridae), previously shown to react positively to dimethyl trisulphide on the olfactory receptor level, were only caught in small numbers, with no significant differences between baited and unbaited traps. In both years, however, the baited traps caught significantly more individuals of Calliphoridae and Hydrotaea anxia (Zetterstedt) (Diptera: Muscidae) than unbaited control traps. In 1992, Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and H. anxia were the predominant species (78.5% and 20.5%, respectively). In 1994, H. anxia was the most prevalent species (73.6%). Seven species of Calliphoridae were caught, with P. terraenovae, Calliphora vomitoria (L.), C. uralensis (Villeneuve) and C. loewi (Enderlain) as the most numerous ones. Dimethyl trisulphide is probably a decomposition product from bacterial activity and may be one of the major cues for calliphorid host finding. The significance of the reaction for oestrids on the receptor level, but evidently not on a behavioural level, remains unclear.     

Juvenile roach and invertebrate predators: delaying the recovery phase of eutrophic lakes by suppression of efficient filter-feeders

Two large pelagic enclosures were installed in a culturally eutrophic lake to assess the importance of predation by immature fish and invertebrate predators on efficient filter-feeders. Predation pressure in the pelagic zone from invertebrate predators (mainly Cyclops scutifer ) was similar to that from 2-year-old roach and led to suppression of the most important filter-feeding genus Daphnia. Those predators thus may have a stabilizing effect on culturally eutrophic lakes, by maintaining the eutrophic phase beyond the predictions from spring nutrient values. To speed up the recovery of such lakes it is necessary to suppress both types of predators.     

PNA∗Synthesis and Diagnostic Application

Abstract

An optimized automated PNA synthesis protocol is reported. Under optimal conditions the product yield of a test 17-mer PNA is approximately 90 %. The average coupling yield is 99.4 %. The synthesis strategy is Boc/Z. The protocol is developed in a 5 pmole scale but is easily scaled up to 10–50 μmole scale syntheses on the automated synthesizer (ABI 433A). DNA capture experiments by PNA was used to develop a method for PNA-mediated purification of genomic Chlamydia DNA from urine. This purification removed efficiently substances that impeded DNA amplification.

     

Movements and dispersal of farmed Atlantic salmon following a simulated-escape event

One of the major challenges for understanding the ecological impact of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) is predicting their dispersal patterns after an escape event. Here, we quantify the behaviour of escaped farmed salmon using a simulated-escape experiment within a Norwegian fjord system. Thirty-seven individuals were tagged with acoustic transmitters and their spatial distribution, horizontal movements and diving behaviour was monitored throughout the fjord and accompanying rivers using 29 acoustic receivers. A rapid movement away from the release site occurred. There was no movement into the rivers feeding the fjord and there was no preference for residence at the fish farms: nearly a third of the individuals had a final detection in the outer part of the fjord and no detections occurred from approximately 2 months after release. As it is unlikely that all fish died or remained undetected within the study area it is reasonable to assume that a substantial proportion of the fish moved out of the fjord system. If a recapture program is not implemented immediately after an escape event, we recommend spreading potential recapture efforts over a relatively large area.