Sturgeon poaching and black market caviar: a case study

This paper documents a recent United States Federal prosecution of members of a poaching ring that sold caviar derived from illegally taken Columbia River white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus. Experts estimated that over 2000 adult sturgeon were killed in the process of illegally harvesting the more than 1500 kg of caviar involved in the case. Case studies of illegal activities related to exploitation of natural resources are rare. These crimes are difficult to discover and prosecute, for secrecy is essential, and by the time the facts are publicly available, irreparable environmental damage may have already been done. Sturgeons and paddle-fishes have long life spans but take many years to reach reproductive maturity; they reproduce infrequently and rely upon large, often urban rivers for their spawning migrations. These basic biological characteristics render these fishes especially susceptible to illegal exploitation, particularly when stocks have already been damaged by overfishing, dam construction or pollution (as has the Columbia River population of white sturgeon). Given the often exorbitant prices for sturgeon and paddlefish caviar, and the relative ease of capturing these fishes during their spawning migrations, persons may be tempted to circumvent state and federal regulations designed to protect acipenseriforms. Additionally, those involved in the distribution and sale of caviar can be motivated to fraudulently mislabel the product; for instance, in this case, white sturgeon caviar was marked as beluga caviar and sold at approximately five times the normal price of white sturgeon caviar. Despite the clear evidence of an environmental crime, the scale of the abuse, and the convictions, sentencing was light, a discouraging sign for those who hope to limit such destructive crimes in the future.     

长江口中华鲟幼鱼的食物组成及摄食习性

分析了2004年5-9月长江口水域中华鲟幼鱼的食物组成及摄食的月份变化.结果表明:长江口中华鲟幼鱼以底栖小型鱼类、多毛类和端足类为主要食物,兼食虾类、蟹类及瓣鳃类等小型底栖动物.幼鱼的摄食率和摄食强度较高,且摄食强度存在着月份变化.主要饵料生物组成有明显的月变化,且食物个体有逐渐增大的趋势,其中5月主食多毛类和蟹类,6月主食鱼类和端足类,7月为鱼类和多毛类,8月样本较少且为空胃,9月为鱼类和虾类.与历史资料进行比较发现,曾是幼鱼重要饵料的鲬类所占比例极小,其质量百分比仅占1.81%;而以前未曾记录的虾虎鱼类在食物中所占比例较高, 其质量百分比达50.54%;等足类以前也未曾记录,其出现频率达10.07%.     

The effects of starvation on plasma free amino acid and glucose concentrations in lake sturgeon

The effect of starvation on the metabolism of the lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens was examined by measuring haematocrit, plasma glucose concentrations, and plasma free amino acids. Plasma was sampled on day 0, 10, 20, 45 and 60 of a 60-day starvation period. Haematocrit was observed to decrease with starvation indicating a decreased oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. Plasma glucose levels differed only at day 10, with a decrease in blood glucose level in the starved group. No differences were detected between groups for alanine, aspartate, and serine, while elevated levels were observed for glutamine throughout the experiment. An increase in arginine, tyrosine, valine, methionine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, glutamate, glycine, isoleucine, histidine and leucine, concentrations were observed after 45 days of starvation. The maintenance, or increased plasma levels, of glucogenic amino acids in combination with the maintenance of blood glucose concentrations indicates active gluconeogenic processes in the liver supported by muscle proteolysis.     

五种鲟鱼线粒体控制区异质性和系统发育分析

利用保守引物得到五种鲟鱼的线粒体DNA（mtDNA）控制区（D-loop）全长,长度在795~813 bp。序列中包括了CBS（conserved sequence block）和TAS（termination-associated sequence）区域。利用最大似然法、最大简约法和贝叶斯法构建了系统发育树,发育树分成两枝,呈现明显的生物地理分布。分析表明,现有的鳇属鱼类不是单系群起源。五种鲟鱼D-loop序列都存在长度和数目不等串联重复序列,长度在78~82 bp之间,重复序列拷贝数在4~6次不等,因此造成了mtDNA广泛的异质性现象。不同种类的重复序列单元十分相似,达氏鳇和史氏鲟重复序列单元相似度为82.93%,西伯利亚鲟和俄罗斯鲟重复序列单元相似度为90.59%。在串联重复序列后是一段不完全重复序列。通过与已有同种的重复序列比对发现不同鲟鱼重复序列相同,不同地理区域相同物种的重复序列可能发生过分子内重组。这些表明重复序列在鲟鱼进化上具有相关意义,推测重复序列可能产生在种分化前,重组发生在种分化后。     

饲料脂肪水平对杂交鲟幼鱼生长、饲料消化率、抗氧化水平和肌肉脂肪酸组成的影响

研究旨在探究饲料中不同脂肪水平对西伯利亚杂交鲟(Acipenser baerii Brandt♀×A. schrenckii Brandt♂)幼鱼生长、饲料消化率、血清生化指标及肌肉脂肪酸组成的影响。以鱼油为脂肪源,配制4种脂肪水平分别为5%(D05)、10%(D10)、15%(D15)和20%(D20)的等氮饲料。选用初始体重为(152.83±0.67) g的杂交鲟,随机分为4组,每组3个重复,每个重复25尾鱼。养殖周期为12周。结果显示,饲料中不同脂肪水平对杂交鲟的生长性能有显著影响(P<0.05)。其中, D15组杂交鲟幼鱼的末均重(FBW)、增重率(WGR)和特定生长率(SGR)显著高于D05、D10和D20组(P<0.05),饲料效率(FE)显著高于D05和D10组(P<0.05)。随着饲料中脂肪含量的增加,杂交鲟幼鱼脏体比(VSI)、肝体比(HSI)及肌肉、肝脏中的脂肪含量显著上升(P<0.05)。饲料中不同脂肪水平对干物质(ADCd)、蛋白质(ADCp)表观消化率无显著影响(P>0.05)。D10、D15和D20组脂肪表观消化率(ADCf)显...     

Microscopic identification of novel cell types in the integument of larval lake sturgeon,Acipenser fulvescens

Osmoregulation, respiration, nutrient/mineral transport, and defense mechanisms are all evident in the integument of fish. The role of the integument in these physiological processes is particularly important during early life history in larval fishes, as functional systems such as the gills and gastrointestinal tract are not fully developed. Using a variety of microscopy techniques, we describe the morphology of keratinocytes, mitochondria rich cells, ciliated cells and mucous cells of the skin, yolk sac, and gills. The cytology we observed was similar to previous studies describing the integument of larval fish, however, we have also identified two novel cell types on the integument of larval Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, between 9 and 34 days post fertilization. Our detailed analysis included a multifaceted microscopy approach using scanning electron, transmission electron, and light microscopy to elucidate the histology of the tissue and cellular morphology in addition to quantification and distribution of these novel cell types. The first cell type had a characteristic ampullary shape with a central cavity and a pore opening at the surface. The second, located on the free surface of the epidermis, had an uneven plasma membrane surface. Based on the abundance of secretory vesicles, organelles necessary for protein synthesis, and the lack of neural connection in both cell types, we propose these cells to be involved in the release of semiochemicals that may act as a pheromone, alarm substance, or chemical defense mechanism. J. Morphol. 277:86–95, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Isolation and characterization of microsatellites in Chinese sturgeon,Acipenser sinensis

From (GATA)_n and (AAAG)_n enriched genomic libraries for the Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis), 50 primer pairs were developed using the fast isolation by AFLP of sequences containing repeats (FIASCO) protocol. Forty‐six primer pairs exhibited highly polymorphic with two to 11 alleles per locus, while the rest four displayed monomorphic. These markers yielded 246 alleles in a survey of eight specimens of wild A. sinensis. Average observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.13 to 1.00. These loci should provide sufficient levels of genetic diversity to allow parentage analysis for artificial stocking management and delineation of fine‐scale population structure.     

水体中铜对中华鲟幼鱼血液生化指标的影响

通过检测中华鲟在不同铜离子浓度的水体中暴露60d后血液生化指标,研究Cu2+对幼鱼血浆生化成分和离子含量变化的影响及致毒效应.结果表明:中华鲟幼鱼血浆中血糖( Glu)、碱性磷酸酶(ALP)、尿素(Urea)、胆固醇(TC)、肌酐(CREA)含量随Cu2+浓度的增加而升高,低浓度组(0.40 μg· L-1)ALP含量与对照组有显著性差异(P＜0.05),Glu、Urea、TC、CREA含量无显著性差异;中浓度组(0.89 μg· L-1)和高浓度组(2.00 μg·L-1)含量与对照组均有显著性差异(P＜0.05).甘油三酯(TG)随着Cu2+浓度的增加而下降,低浓度组与对照组无显著性差异;中、高浓度组与对照组有显著差异(P＜0.05),总蛋白(TP)、谷草转氨酶(AST)、谷丙转氨酶(ALT)、乳酸脱氢酶(LDH-L)不受Cu2+的影响.Na+、Cl-、P含量和pH值随Cu2+浓度的增加而显著下降,Ca2+、Mg2+显著上升,其变化与Cu2+浓度存在相关性,K+含量不受Cu2+的影响.实验表明,Cu2+对中华鲟幼鱼血液生化指标的最低可观察效应浓度和最高无观察效应浓度分别为0.89和0.4 μg·L-1.血浆中ALP受Cu2+影响最明显,其含量除受Cu2+浓度影响外,随着时间的延长也显著升高,是Cu2+污染的敏感指标.     

Verification of meiotic gynogenesis in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri Brandt) using microsatellite DNA and cytogenetical markers

Diploid gynogenesis was induced in Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baeri using ultra violet (UV)-irradiated bester ( Huso huso × Acipenser ruthenus ) sperm. The higher survival rate of meiotic diploids was noted after 1350 ergs mm⁻² UV irradiation. A total of 80 meiotic diploids of known parentage from two different experimental treatments were screened using microsatellite DNA and cytogenetical analysis, and uniparental transmission in meiotic diploids was confirmed.