Comparison of Channel Catfish and Blue Catfish Gut Microbiota Assemblages Shows Minimal Effects of Host Genetics on Microbial Structure and Inferred Function.

PubMed

Bledsoe, Jacob W; Waldbieser, Geoffrey C; Swanson, Kelly S; Peterson, Brian C; Small, Brian C

2018-01-01

The microbiota of teleost fish has gained a great deal of research attention within the past decade, with experiments suggesting that both host-genetics and environment are strong ecological forces shaping the bacterial assemblages of fish microbiomes. Despite representing great commercial and scientific importance, the catfish within the family Ictaluridae , specifically the blue and channel catfish, have received very little research attention directed toward their gut-associated microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Within this study we utilize multiple genetically distinct strains of blue and channel catfish, verified via microsatellite genotyping, to further quantify the role of host-genetics in shaping the bacterial communities in the fish gut, while maintaining environmental and husbandry parameters constant. Comparisons of the gut microbiota among the two catfish species showed no differences in bacterial species richness (observed and Chao1) or overall composition (weighted and unweighted UniFrac) and UniFrac distances showed no correlation with host genetic distances (Rst) according to Mantel tests. The microbiota of environmental samples (diet and water) were found to be significantly more diverse than that of the catfish gut associated samples, suggesting that factors within the host were further regulating the bacterial communities, despite the lack of a clear connection between microbiota composition and host genotype. The catfish gut communities were dominated by the phyla Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes; however, differential abundance analysis between the two catfish species using analysis of composition of microbiomes detected two differential genera, Cetobacterium and Clostridium XI . The metagenomic pathway features inferred from our dataset suggests the catfish gut bacterial communities possess pathways beneficial to their host such as those involved in nutrient metabolism and antimicrobial biosynthesis, while also containing

Channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This book chapter provides a comprehensive overview of channel catfish aquaculture. Sections include fish biology; commercial culture; culture facilities; production practices; water quality management; nutrition, feeding and feed formulation; infectious diseases; harvesting and processing; and the...

Nitrite-induced anemia in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus Rafinesque

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tucker, C.S.; Francis-Floyd, R.; Beleau, M.H.

1989-08-01

Since 1983 numerous cases of anemia have been reported in populations of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus Rafinesque cultured in the southeastern United States. Environmental nitrite-nitrogen concentrations of 4 mg/L or more occur sporadically in channel catfish culture ponds, and the frequency of occurrence is greatest in the fall and spring. The authors have observed that some cases of anemia in populations of pond-raised channel catfish follow prolonged exposure to high concentrations of environmental nitrite. However, there was no evidence that exposure of channel catfish to environmental nitrite was the cause of the observed anemia. Hemolytic anemia following nitrite exposure hasmore » been described for sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax (L.) and rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri, but not for channel catfish. In the present study the authors show that a variable, but generally mild, anemia develops in channel catfish exposed to nitrite. They also offer a management procedure for preventing the development of anemia during periods of elevated environmental nitrite concentrations.« less

Oral vaccination of channel catfish against enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) using a live attenuated Edwardsiella ictaluri isolate

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), caused by Edwardsiella ictaluri, is the most problematic bacterial disease affecting catfish aquaculture in the southeastern United States. Efforts to develop an effective ESC vaccine have had limited industrial success. In commercial settings, ESC vaccines are t...

Production of channel catfish and channel x blue hybrid catfish subjected to two minimum dissolved oxygen concentrations

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As the channel x blue hybrid catfish is stocked by an increasing number of catfish farmers, it is important to quantify the production response of this fish to dissolved oxygen management strategies. The purpose of this study was to compare the production and water quality responses of the channel x...

Metal levels in liver and kidney of catfish

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khan, A.T.; Medley, D.K.; Sherrell, C.

1995-12-31

Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is a popular consumer fish in the southern part of the USA. They are found in ponds and lakes where they can be used to monitor the aquatic environment. During the summer of 1994 catfish were caught and their livers and kidneys were dissected out for copper and zinc analysis. The mean concentrations of Cu and Zn were 41.22, and 16.97 ppm in livers and 20.00 and 10.67 ppm in kidneys, respectively. The concentrations of Zn did not show any significant difference between the livers and kidneys of catfish. However, the Cu concentrations showed a significant differencemore » between the livers and kidneys of catfish.« less

Identification of novel genes significantly affecting growth in catfish through GWAS analysis.

PubMed

Li, Ning; Zhou, Tao; Geng, Xin; Jin, Yulin; Wang, Xiaozhu; Liu, Shikai; Xu, Xiaoyan; Gao, Dongya; Li, Qi; Liu, Zhanjiang

2018-06-01

Growth is the most important economic trait in aquaculture. Improvements in growth-related traits can enhance production, reduce costs and time to produce market-size fish. Catfish is the major aquaculture species in the United States, accounting for 65% of the US finfish production. However, the genes underlying growth traits in catfish were not well studied. Currently, the majority of the US catfish industry uses hybrid catfish derived from channel catfish female mated with blue catfish male. Interestingly, channel catfish and blue catfish exhibit differences in growth-related traits, and therefore the backcross progenies provide an efficient system for QTL analysis. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide association study for catfish body weight using the 250 K SNP array with 556 backcross progenies generated from backcross of male F1 hybrid (female channel catfish × male blue catfish) with female channel catfish. A genomic region of approximately 1 Mb on linkage group 5 was found to be significantly associated with body weight. In addition, four suggestively associated QTL regions were identified on linkage groups 1, 2, 23 and 24. Most candidate genes in the associated regions are known to be involved in muscle growth and bone development, some of which were reported to be associated with obesity in humans and pigs, suggesting that the functions of these genes may be evolutionarily conserved in controlling growth. Additional fine mapping or functional studies should allow identification of the causal genes for fast growth in catfish, and elucidation of molecular mechanisms of regulation of growth in fish.

Low-intensity, stocker-based channel catfish culture

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Low-intensity Channel Catfish production is characterized by low stocking rates, low installed aeration capacity, and no automated dissolved oxygen monitoring. Two studies conducted in nine 0.25-acre ponds quantified production characteristics of stocker Channel Catfish stocked for low-intensity foo...

Verification of otolith identity used by fisheries scientists for aging channel catfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Long, James M.; Stewart, David R.

2010-01-01

Previously published studies of the age estimation of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus based on otoliths have reported using the sagittae, whereas it is likely they were actually using the lapilli. This confusion may have resulted because in catfishes (ostariophyseans) the lapilli are the largest of the three otoliths, whereas in nonostariophysean fish the sagittae are the largest. Based on (1) scanning electron microscope microphotographs of channel catfish otoliths, (2) X-ray computed tomography scans of a channel catfish head, (3) descriptions of techniques used to removed otoliths from channel catfish reported in the literature, and (4) a sample of channel catfish otoliths received from fisheries biologists from around the country, it is clear that lapilli are most often used for channel catfish aging studies, not sagittae, as has been previously reported. Fisheries scientists who obtain otoliths from channel catfish can use the information in this paper to correctly identify otolith age.

Effect of paternal blue catfish strain effects on hatchery fry production and performance of channel catfish X blue catfish F1 hybrid fry production and fingerling performance under commercial conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Four hundred four-year old mature Gold Kist strain channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus were induced to spawn with 10 mg common carp pituitary extract (CPE) /kg BW in 8 spawning trials. The stripped eggs were fertilized with sperm of either D&B or Rio Grande blue catfish, I.furcatus to produce D&B ...

Identification of Bacillus Strains for Biological Control of Catfish Pathogens

PubMed Central

Ran, Chao; Carrias, Abel; Williams, Malachi A.; Capps, Nancy; Dan, Bui C. T.; Newton, Joseph C.; Kloepper, Joseph W.; Ooi, Ei L.; Browdy, Craig L.; Terhune, Jeffery S.; Liles, Mark R.

2012-01-01

Bacillus strains isolated from soil or channel catfish intestine were screened for their antagonism against Edwardsiella ictaluri and Aeromonas hydrophila, the causative agents of enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) and motile aeromonad septicaemia (MAS), respectively. Twenty one strains were selected and their antagonistic activity against other aquatic pathogens was also tested. Each of the top 21 strains expressed antagonistic activity against multiple aquatic bacterial pathogens including Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae, Yersinia ruckeri, Flavobacterium columnare, and/or the oomycete Saprolegnia ferax. Survival of the 21 Bacillus strains in the intestine of catfish was determined as Bacillus CFU/g of intestinal tissue of catfish after feeding Bacillus spore-supplemented feed for seven days followed by normal feed for three days. Five Bacillus strains that showed good antimicrobial activity and intestinal survival were incorporated into feed in spore form at a dose of 8×107 CFU/g and fed to channel catfish for 14 days before they were challenged by E. ictaluri in replicate. Two Bacillus subtilis strains conferred significant benefit in reducing catfish mortality (P<0.05). A similar challenge experiment conducted in Vietnam with four of the five Bacillus strains also showed protective effects against E. ictaluri in striped catfish. Safety of the four strains exhibiting the strongest biological control in vivo was also investigated in terms of whether the strains contain plasmids or express resistance to clinically important antibiotics. The Bacillus strains identified from this study have good potential to mediate disease control as probiotic feed additives for catfish aquaculture. PMID:23029244

Chemical and nutritional properties of channel and hybrid catfish by-products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the past channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) accounted for most of the aquaculture reared fish; however, hybrid catfish (Ictalurus punctatus X Ictalurus furcatus) now account for an ever increasing percent of aquaculture reared catfish. The objective of this study was to chemically characteriz...

Oxygen requirements of separated hybrid catfish female Ictalurus punctatus male I. furcatus eggs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus egg masses require ambient water with over 95% air saturation to maintain maximum oxygen consumption as they near hatch. Since hybrid catfish eggs (channel catfish ' X blue catfish I. furcatus ') are often kept separated after fertilization by the addition of full...

Proximate Composition and Collagen Concentration of Processing Residue of Channel Catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Residues (including heads, skin, viscera, frames, and trimmings) from the channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus processing industry have generally been made into catfish meal and catfish oil that are used in animal feeds. There may be more efficient uses for these materials, such as producing collagen...

Miocene reef corals: A review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frost, S.H.

1988-01-01

Tectonic blockage in the Middle East of westward-flowing Tethys surface circulation during the latest Oligocene led to creation in the earliest Miocene of endemic Mediterranean, Western Atlantic-Caribbean, and Indo-Pacific realms. A great reduction in reef coral diversity from 60-80 Oligocene species to 25-35 early Miocene species occurred in the Western Atlantic-Caribbean and Mediterranean areas accompanied by a decrease in reef growth. A slower and less drastic change apparently occurred in the Indo-Pacific area. Early Miocene reef corals of the Western Atlantic-Caribbean comprise a transition between the cosmopolitan Oligocene fauna and its endemic mid-Miocene to modern counterpart. Although early Miocene reefsmore » were dominated by a Porites-Montastrea assemblage, eastward flow of Pacific circulation brought with it ''exotic'' corals such as Coscinaraea and Pseudocolumnastrea. Also, many cosmopolitan genera persisted from the Oligocene. During the middle to late Miocene, most of the species still living on Holocene reefs evolved. As the Mediterranean basin became more restricted, there was a slow decline in reef corals from 20 - 25 species in the Aquitainian to less than five species in the Messinian. Eustatic lowstand led to the extinction of reef-building corals in the late Messinian. In the Indo-Pacific, Neogene evolution of reef corals was conservative. Excluding the Acroporidae and Seriatoporidae, most Holocene framework species had evolved by the middle Miocene. Interplay between regional tectonics and eustatic sea level changes led to extensive development of middle to late Miocene pinnacle reefs over the southwestern Pacific.« less

Testicular germ line cell identification, isolation, and transplantation in two North American catfish species.

PubMed

Shang, Mei; Su, Baofeng; Perera, Dayan A; Alsaqufi, Ahmed; Lipke, Elizabeth A; Cek, Sehriban; Dunn, David A; Qin, Zhenkui; Peatman, Eric; Dunham, Rex A

2018-04-01

Our aim was to transplant blue catfish germ line stem cells into blastulae of triploid channel catfish embryos to produce interspecific xenogenic catfish. The morphological structure of the gonads of blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) in ~ 90- to 100-day-old juveniles, two-year-old juveniles, and mature adults was studied histologically. Both oogonia (12-15 μm, diameter with distinct nucleus 7-8 μm diameter) and spermatogonia (12-15 μm, with distinct nucleus 6-7.5 μm diameter) were found in all ages of fish. The percentage of germ line stem cells was higher in younger blue catfish of both sexes. After the testicular tissue was trypsinized, a discontinuous density gradient centrifugation was performed using 70, 45, and 35% Percoll to enrich the percentage of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Four distinct cell bands were generated after the centrifugation. It was estimated that 50% of the total cells in the top band were type A spermatogonia (diameter 12-15 μm) and type B spermatogonia (diameter 10-11 μm). Germ cells were confirmed with expression of vasa. Blastula-stage embryos of channel catfish (I. punctatus) were injected with freshly dissociated blue catfish testicular germ cells as donor cells for transplantation. Seventeen days after the transplantation, 33.3% of the triploid channel catfish fry were determined to be xenogenic catfish. This transplantation technique was efficient, and these xenogenic channel catfish need to be grown to maturity to verify their reproductive capacity and to verify that for the first time SSCs injected into blastulae were able to migrate to the genital ridge and colonize. These results open the possibility of artificially producing xenogenic channel catfish males that can produce blue catfish sperm and mate with normal channel catfish females naturally. The progeny would be all C × B hybrid catfish, and the efficiency of hybrid catfish production could be improved tremendously in the catfish industry.

Cannibalism in single-batch hybrid catfish production ponds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Hybrid catfish are more efficiently harvested by seining than are Channel Catfish. Due to that, and their faster growth, hybrids are typically produced in “single-batch” production systems, either in intensively-aerated commercial ponds or in split-pond systems. In either production system, hybrids...

First Season Catfish Farming. A Workbook for Beginning Pond and Cage Culture of Channel Catfish. Teacher Edition and Student Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Board of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This workbook, comprised of both the teacher and student editions, presents guidelines useful for first-year catfish farmers in Oklahoma using pond or cage cultures to raise channel catfish. The teacher edition is a set of unit guidelines only. Contents include a list of suggested readings, important addresses with types of information available…

Trophic relations of introduced flathead catfish in an atlantic river

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baumann, Jessica R.; Kwak, Thomas J.

2011-01-01

The flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris is a large piscivore that is native to the Mississippi and Rio Grande river drainages but that has been widely introduced across the United States. River ecologists and fisheries managers are concerned about introduced flathead catfish populations because of the negative impacts on native fish communities or imperiled species associated with direct predation and indirect competition from this apex predator. We studied the trophic relations of introduced flathead catfish in an Atlantic river to further understand the effects on native fish communities. Crayfish (Astacidea) occurred most frequently in the flathead catfish diet, while sunfish Lepomis spp. comprised the greatest percentage by weight. Neither of two sympatric imperiled fish species (the federally endangered Cape Fear shiner Notropis mekistocholas and the Carolina redhorse Moxostoma sp., a federal species of concern) was found in any diet sample. An ontogenetic shift in diet was evident when flathead catfish reached about 300 mm, and length significantly explained the variation in the percent composition by weight of sunfish and darters Etheostoma and Percina spp. Flathead catfish showed positive prey selectivity for taxa that occupied similar benthic microhabitat, highlighting the importance of opportunistic feeding and prey encounter rates. Flathead catfish displayed a highly variable diel feeding chronology during July, when they had a mean stomach fullness of 0.32%, but then showed a single midday feeding peak during August (mean fullness = 0.52%). The gastric evacuation rate increased between July (0.40/h) and August (0.59/h), as did daily ration, which more than doubled between the 2 months (3.06% versus 7.37%). Our findings increase the understanding of introduced flathead catfish trophic relations and the degree of vulnerability among prey taxa, which resource managers may consider in fisheries management and conservation of native fish populations and

Evaluation of a modified pH-shift process to reduce 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin in spiked catfish and produce a consumer acceptable fried catfish nugget-like product.

PubMed

Brown, T M; Cerruto-Noya, C A; Schrader, K K; Kleinholz, C W; DeWitt, C A Mireles

2012-10-01

Muddy and/or musty off-flavors in farmed-raised catfish occur as a result of the absorption of geosmin (GEO) and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), compounds produced by algae. Previous research suggests the acid pH-shift method may be able to reduce off-flavors to produce a consumer acceptable product. The objective of this research was to evaluate application of the acid pH-shift method using a shaker sieve for protein recovery and to evaluate consumer acceptability of a resultant batter-coated fried nugget-like catfish product. Farm-raised catfish were either allowed to depurate (control) or treated with 1 ppb GEO or MIB. Fillets from each replicate were collected and ground and treated by the acid pH-shift process. Samples from all treatments and replicates were evaluated for residual GEO and MIB. In addition, batter-coated fried catfish samples were prepared for a consumer sensory evaluation. Results demonstrated that the pH-shift process decreased moisture, ash, and collagen content of catfish fillet tissue (P < 0.05). Flavor of control samples was preferred (P < 0.05). Texture of catfish samples treated by the pH-shift process was preferred (P < 0.05). Results demonstrate the pH-shift process can be utilized to reduce off-flavors and increase the acceptability of a processed catfish product. Use of a sieve as an economic alternative for the pH-shift process was evaluated for removing off-flavors from catfish. Difficulties were encountered with regard to protein recovery using the sieve and suggestions are made to, perhaps, make the process more applicable for a sieve-based recovery step. The process as described reduced off-flavors, but only 2-fold suggesting the process would work best on catfish near or just over off-flavor thresholds. Results also indicated the pH-shift process could be used to improve texture of a fried catfish product designed to be similar to chicken nuggets. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®

Miocene Soil Database: Global paleosol and climate maps of the Middle Miocene Thermal Maximum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metzger, C. A.

2013-12-01

Paleosols, which record past climatic, biologic, and atmospheric conditions, can be used as a proxy to understand ancient terrestrial landscapes, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironment. In addition, the middle Miocene thermal maximum (~16 Ma) provides an ancient analog for understanding the effects of current and future climate change on soil and ecosystem regimes, as it contains records of shifts similar in magnitude to expected global climate change. The Miocene Soil Database (MSDB) combines new paleosol data from Australia and Argentina with existing and previously uncollated paleosol data from the literature and the Paleobiology Database. These data (n = 507) were then used to derive a paleogeographic map of climatically significant soil types zones during the Middle Miocene. The location of each diagnostic paleosol type (Aridisol, Alfisol, Mollisol, Histosol, Oxisol, and Ultisol) was plotted and compared with the extent of these soil types in the modern environment. The middle Miocene soil map highlights the extension of tropical soils (Oxisols, Ultisols), accompanied by thermophilic flora and fauna, into northern and southern mid-latitudes. Peats, lignites, and Histosols of wetlands were also more abundant at higher latitudes, especially in the northern hemisphere, during the middle Miocene. The paleosol changes reflect that the Middle Miocene was a peak of global soil productivity and carbon sequestration, with replacement of unproductive Aridisols and Gelisols with more productive Oxisols, Alfisols, Mollisols and Histosols. With expansion to include additional data such as soil texture, moisture, or vegetation type, the MSDB has the potential to provide an important dataset for computer models of Miocene climate shifts as well as future land use considerations of soils in times of global change.

Evaluation of portable near infrared spectrophotometer to stage maturity in channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Gonadal maturity of channel catfish varies within the same cohort of fish. Female channel catfish with superior maturity need to be identified and staged for higher success to induce spawn wit ovulating hormones to produce channel x blue hybrid catfish fry in hatcheries. Maturation is not synchron...

Postural control under clinorotation in upside-down catfish, Synodontis nigriventris.

PubMed

Ohnishi, K; Takahashi, A; Koyama, M; Ohnishi, T

1996-12-01

The upside-down catfish Synodontis nigriventris has a unique habit of swimming and resting upside-down in free water. This behavior leads to the assumption that the catfish has a specific gravity information processing system. We examined the postural control behaviors in the catfish under clinorotation which is usually used for producing pseudo-microgravity. Synodontis nigriventris kept its body posture at a stable area of the rotated flask in which the catfish was kept, when it was clinorotated at the rate of 60 rpm. In contrast to Synodontis nigriventris, a related species, Corydoras paleatus, did not show such steady postural control. When the flask was rotated at a lower rate of 30 rpm or a higher rate of 100 rpm, Synodontis nigriventris as well as Corydoras paleatus showed a considerable disturbed control of body posture. In this condition, they were frequently rotated with the flask. These findings suggest that Synodontis nigriventris has a high ability to keep upside-down posture and the gravity sensation in this catfish is likely to contribute to its different postural control from that of many other fishes.

Stress in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) following overland transportation.

PubMed

Manuel, Remy; Boerrigter, Jeroen; Roques, Jonathan; van der Heul, Jan; van den Bos, Ruud; Flik, Gert; van de Vis, Hans

2014-02-01

Of the many stressors in aquaculture, transportation of fish has remained poorly studied. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the effects of a (simulated) commercial transportation on stress physiology of market-size African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Catfish weighing approximately 1.25 kg were returned to the farm after 3 h of truck-transportation, and stress-related parameters were measured for up to 72 h following return. Recovery from transportation was assessed through blood samples measuring plasma cortisol, glucose and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and gill histology. Also, the number of skin lesions was compared before and after transport. Pre-transport handling and sorting elevated plasma cortisol levels compared to unhandled animals (before fasting). Plasma cortisol levels were further increased due to transportation. In control fish, plasma cortisol levels returned to baseline values within 6 h, whereas it took 48 h to reach baseline values in transported catfish. Plasma glucose and NEFA levels remained stable and were similar across all groups. Transported catfish did not, on average, have more skin lesions than the handling group, but the number of skin lesions had increased compared to unhandled animals. The macroscopic condition of the gills was similar in control, transported and unhandled catfish; however, light microscopy and immunohistochemistry revealed atypical morphology and chloride cell migration normally associated with adverse water conditions. From our data, we conclude that transportation may be considered a strong stressor to catfish that may add to other stressors and thus inflict upon the welfare of the fish.

Population characteristics of channel catfish near the northern edge of their distribution: implications for management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carter-Lynn, K. P.; Quist, Michael C.

2015-01-01

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), populations in six lakes in northern Idaho, USA, were sampled to describe their population characteristics. During the summers of 2011 and 2012, 4864 channel catfish were sampled. Channel catfish populations had low to moderate catch rates, and length structure was dominated by fish <400 mm. Channel catfish were in good body condition. All populations were maintained by stocking age-1 or age-2 fish. Growth of fish reared in thermally enriched environments prior to stocking was fast compared to other North American channel catfish populations. After stocking, growth of channel catfish declined rapidly. Once stocked, cold water temperatures, prey resources and (or) genetic capabilities limited growth. Total annual mortality of age 2 and older channel catfish was generally <40%. Tag returns indicated that angler exploitation was low, varying from 0 to 43% among lakes. This research provides insight on factors regulating channel catfish population dynamics and highlights important considerations associated with their ecology and management.

Production Practices of Commercial Catfish Producers in Northeast Louisiana.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Letlow, Richard M.; Verma, Satish

A study determined the yields obtained and the production practices followed by Louisiana commercial catfish farmers in Catahoula, Concordia, and Franklin Parishes. This information was used by the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (LCES) faculty to develop a catfish education program. The study: (1) determined use of selected recommended…

Rheological and Functional Properties of Catfish Skin Protein Hydrolysates

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Catfish skin is an abundant and underutilized resource that can be used as a unique protein source to make fish skin hydrolysates. The objectives of this study were to: isolating soluble and insoluble proteins from hydrolyzed catfish skin and study the chemical and functional properties of the prote...

An overview of Miocene reefs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jordan, C.F. Jr.; Colgan, M.W.; Frost, S.H.

1990-05-01

Miocene reefs lived approximately within the latitudes of 27{degree}S to 48{degree}N compared with 25{degree}S and 32{degree}N for Holocene reefs. This expansion of reef-growing environments was the result of warm Miocene climates, aided by a eustatic sea level rise and tectonic styles that provided numerous foundations for reef development. The majority of Miocene reefs are found in three main areas: (1) Southeast Asia and the western Pacific, (2) the Mediterranean-Middle East, and (3) Middle America and the Caribbean. These regions, with their distinctive suites of coral and foramineral species, formed three biological provinces; respectively, they are the Indo-Pacific, Tethyan, and Westernmore » Atlantic provinces. Miocene reefs in Southeast Asia occur in several foreland basins as patch reef complexes on paleohighs and as barrier reefs in back-arc basins. Those reefs in the Mediterranean occur as fringing reefs, middle-shelf patch reefs, or as barrier reefs on the edges of tectonic blocks associated with Alpine thrust belts. Most reefs in the Caribbean grew on isolated open-ocean highs of volcanic origin. Miocene reefs display a diversity of framework types: (1) coral-encrusting, red algal boundstones with diverse coral faunas, (2) branching coral-encrusting, red algal boundstones with a limited Poritid fauna, (3) encrusting red algal boundstones. Barrier reef systems are especially rich in encrusting red algae and robust corals; grainstones are common as interbedded sediment. Patch reef complexes, however, display muddy carbonate textures, may have less diverse coral faunas, and commonly have larger foraminifera. The global distribution of Miocene reefs is important because (1) it provides insight into a paleoclimatic view of the earth during a major greenhouse stage and (2) Miocene buildups, such as the Arun (EUR of 14 tcf) and Bima fields (EUR of about 100 MMBO), are exploration targets.« less

Efficiency of baited hoop nets for sampling catfish in southeastern U.S. small impoundments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wallace, Benjamin C.; Weaver, Daniel M.; Kwak, Thomas J.

2011-01-01

Many U.S. natural resource agencies stock catfish (Ictaluridae) into small impoundments to provide recreational fishing opportunities. However, effective standardized methods for sampling catfish in small impoundments have not been developed for wide application, particularly in the southeastern United States. We evaluated the efficiency of three bait treatments (i.e., soybean cake, sunflower cake, and no bait) of tandem hoop nets in two North Carolina small impoundments during the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009 in a factorial experimental design. The impoundments were stocked with catchable-size channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus at contrastingly low (5.5 fi sh/ha) and high (90.0 fi sh/ha) rates prior to our sampling. Nets baited with soybean cake consistently sampled more channel catfish than any other treatment. Channel catfish catch ranged as high as 3,251 fi sh per net series during the fall in nets baited with soybean cake in the intensively stocked impoundment and was up to 8.5 and 15.3 times higher during the fall than in the spring in each impoundment. Nets baited with soybean cake sampled significantly (12 and 24 times) more channel catfish than those with no bait in the two impoundments. These trends did not occur among other catfish species. Nonictalurid fish and turtle catch was higher during spring compared to that of fall, corresponding with low channel catfish catches. Our results indicate that tandem hoop nets baited with soybean cake during the fall is a more efficient method for sampling channel catfish compared to nets baited with sunflower cake or no bait in spring or fall. Our findings validate this technique for application in southeastern U.S. small impoundments to assess catfish abundance to guide management and evaluate the success of catfish stocking programs.

An evaluation of agreement between pectoral spines and otoliths for estimating ages of catfishes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olive, J.A.; Schramm, Harold; Gerard, Patrick D.; Irwin, E.

2011-01-01

Otoliths have been shown to provide more accurate ages than pectoral spine sections for several catfish populations; but sampling otoliths requires euthanizing the specimen, whereas spines can be sampled non-lethally. To evaluate whether, and under what conditions, spines provide the same or similar age estimates as otoliths, we examined data sets of individual fish aged from pectoral spines and otoliths for six blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus populations (n=420), 14 channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus populations (n=997), and 10 flathead catfish Pylodictus olivaris populations (n=947) from lotic and lentic waters throughout the central and eastern U.S. Logistic regression determined that agreement between ages estimated from otoliths and spines was consistently related to age, but inconsistently related to growth rate. When modeled at mean growth rate, we found at least 80% probability of no difference in spine- and otolith-assigned ages up to ages 4 and 5 for blue and channel catfish, respectively. For flathead catfish, an 80% probability of agreement between spine- and otolith-assigned ages did not occur at any age due to high incidence of differences in assigned ages even for age-1 fish. Logistic regression models predicted at least 80% probability that spine and otolith ages differed by ≤1 year up to ages 13, 16, and 9 for blue, channel, and flathead catfish, respectively. Age-bias assessment found mean spine-assigned age differed by less than 1 year from otolith-assigned age up to ages 19, 9, and 17 for blue catfish, channel catfish, and flathead catfish, respectively. These results can be used to help guide decisions about which structure is most appropriate for estimating catfish ages for particular populations and management objectives.

Influence of Edwardsiella ictaluri Septicemia on nitrite-induced methemoglobinemia in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tucker, C.S.; MacMillan, J.R.; Schwedler, T.E.

1984-06-01

In a previous report, the authors showed that lack of acclimation to nitrite can result in abnormally high levels of methemoglobin in nitrite-exposed channel catfish. They also observed abnormal methemoglobin levels in fish when concurrent bacteremias are present. Enteric Septicemia of Catfish is an acute bacterial disease caused by Edwardsiella ictaluri. Nitrite-induced methemoglobinemia and Enteric Septicemia of Catfish are both economically important diseases of commercially cultured channel catfish. In the present study, the authors investigated the influence of acute infection with E. ictaluri on the level of methemoblobin in nitrite-exposed channel catfish fingerlings.

Neogene tropical sea catfish (Siluriformes; Ariidae), with insights into paleo and modern diversity within northeastern South America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilera, Orangel; Marceniuk, Alexandre Pires

2018-03-01

Herein we describe five new fossil species of the catfish family Ariidae: †Amphiarius paleoorinocoensis, †Ariopsis ariopsilus, †Bagre urumacoensis, †Sciades latissimum and †Sciades peregrinus from the late Miocene Urumaco Formation in Venezuela, South America. These identifications were based on comparison of morphological characters between the fossil skulls and the skulls of extant specimens from tropical America. The extant ariids from the Atlantic plume of the Orinoco-Amazon rivers reveal close taxonomic relationship to the fossil species. †Amphiarius paleoorinocoensis n. sp. and †Aspistor verumquadriscutis are closely related to Amphiarius rugispinis, Amphiarius phrygiatus and Aspistor quadriscutis, species endemic to areas under the influence of the Orinoco-Amazon plume. Another genus whose extant species are almost exclusively found in this region of the Atlantic is Sciades. Nevertheless, †Sciades latissimus n. sp. and †Sciades peregrinus n. sp., are closely related with Sciades dowii, found in the Pacific. This condition supports the extinction of Sciades dowii lineage in the Atlantic. The fossil †Ariopsis ariopsilus n. sp. shares many characters with extant species of the genus, which does not occur in the Amazon delta and which has no representative species in the Atlantic plume. The close relationship of †Bagre urumacoensis n. sp. to Bagre aff. marinus suggests a marine paleoenvironment with average to higher salinities. These new fossil catfish specimens from the Urumaco Formation suggest that they are ancestral lineages from both the Orinoco-Amazon Atlantic plume influence area (Aspistor and Amphiarius) and the Caribbean-Western Pacific (Ariopsis), and extinct lineage of Sciades from the Atlantic.

Incubation water temperature and parental effects on the hatching success and progeny performance of Channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel x blue catfish are exclusively produced by hormone-induced spawning of channel catfish and the stripped eggs are fertilized with pooled blue catfish sperm in hatcheries. Even though hybrid fry production has increased in recent years, variable and inconsistent hybrid catfish fry production ...

Retinal projections in the electric catfish (Malapterurus electricus).

PubMed

Ebbesson, S O; O'Donnel, D

1980-01-01

The poorly developed visual system of the electric catfish was studied with silver-degeneration methods. Retinal projections were entirely contralateral to the hypothalamic optic nucleus, the lateral geniculate nucleus, the dorsomedial optic nucleus, the pretectal nuclei including the cortical nucleus, and the optic tectum. The small size and lack of differentiation of the visual system in the electric catfish suggest a relatively small role for this sensory system in this species.

Treating catfish diseases: walking the line between excess and moderation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cost savings by using a cheaper disease treatment will increase profitability of any catfish farm. This invited producer presentation will discuss costs savings using copper sulfate in catfish production and a summation of our research, specifically in the hatchery. Copper sulfate is not approved ...

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals conserved branching morphogenesis related genes involved in chamber formation of catfish swimbladder.

PubMed

Yang, Yujia; Fu, Qiang; Liu, Yang; Wang, Xiaozhu; Dunham, Rex; Liu, Shikai; Bao, Lisui; Zeng, Qifan; Zhou, Tao; Li, Ning; Qin, Zhenkui; Jiang, Chen; Gao, Dongya; Liu, Zhanjiang

2018-01-01

The swimbladder is an internal gas-filled organ in teleosts. Its major function is to regulate buoyancy. The swimbladder exhibits great variation in size, shape, and number of compartments or chambers among teleosts. However, genomic control of swimbladder variation is unknown. Channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus), blue catfish ( Ictalurus furcatus), and their F1 hybrids of female channel catfish × male blue catfish (C × B hybrid catfish) provide a good model in which to investigate the swimbladder morphology, because channel catfish possess a single-chambered swimbladder, whereas blue catfish possess a bichambered swimbladder; C × B hybrid catfish possess a bichambered swimbladder but with a significantly reduced posterior chamber. Here we determined the transcriptional profiles of swimbladder from channel catfish, blue catfish, and C × B hybrid catfish. We examined their transcriptomes at both the fingerling and adult stages. Through comparative transcriptome analysis, ~4,000 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Among these DEGs, members of the Wnt signaling pathway ( wnt1, wnt2, nfatc1, rac2), Hedgehog signaling pathway ( shh), and growth factors ( fgf10, igf-1) were identified. As these genes were known to be important for branching morphogenesis of mammalian lung and of mammary glands, their association with budding of the posterior chamber primordium and progressive development of bichambered swimbladder in fish suggest that these branching morphogenesis-related genes and their functions in branching are evolutionarily conserved across a broad spectrum of species.

Miocene flooding events of western Amazonia

PubMed Central

Jaramillo, Carlos; Romero, Ingrid; D’Apolito, Carlos; Bayona, German; Duarte, Edward; Louwye, Stephen; Escobar, Jaime; Luque, Javier; Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge D.; Zapata, Vladimir; Mora, Alejandro; Schouten, Stefan; Zavada, Michael; Harrington, Guy; Ortiz, John; Wesselingh, Frank P.

2017-01-01

There is a considerable controversy about whether western Amazonia was ever covered by marine waters during the Miocene [23 to 5 Ma (million years ago)]. We investigated the possible occurrence of Miocene marine incursions in the Llanos and Amazonas/Solimões basins, using sedimentological and palynological data from two sediment cores taken in eastern Colombia and northwestern Brazil together with seismic information. We observed two distinct marine intervals in the Llanos Basin, an early Miocene that lasted ~0.9 My (million years) (18.1 to 17.2 Ma) and a middle Miocene that lasted ~3.7 My (16.1 to 12.4 Ma). These two marine intervals are also seen in Amazonas/Solimões Basin (northwestern Amazonia) but were much shorter in duration, ~0.2 My (18.0 to 17.8 Ma) and ~0.4 My (14.1 to 13.7 Ma), respectively. Our results indicate that shallow marine waters covered the region at least twice during the Miocene, but the events were short-lived, rather than a continuous full-marine occupancy of Amazonian landscape over millions of years. PMID:28508052

Miocene flooding events of western Amazonia.

PubMed

Jaramillo, Carlos; Romero, Ingrid; D'Apolito, Carlos; Bayona, German; Duarte, Edward; Louwye, Stephen; Escobar, Jaime; Luque, Javier; Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge D; Zapata, Vladimir; Mora, Alejandro; Schouten, Stefan; Zavada, Michael; Harrington, Guy; Ortiz, John; Wesselingh, Frank P

2017-05-01

There is a considerable controversy about whether western Amazonia was ever covered by marine waters during the Miocene [23 to 5 Ma (million years ago)]. We investigated the possible occurrence of Miocene marine incursions in the Llanos and Amazonas/Solimões basins, using sedimentological and palynological data from two sediment cores taken in eastern Colombia and northwestern Brazil together with seismic information. We observed two distinct marine intervals in the Llanos Basin, an early Miocene that lasted ~0.9 My (million years) (18.1 to 17.2 Ma) and a middle Miocene that lasted ~3.7 My (16.1 to 12.4 Ma). These two marine intervals are also seen in Amazonas/Solimões Basin (northwestern Amazonia) but were much shorter in duration, ~0.2 My (18.0 to 17.8 Ma) and ~0.4 My (14.1 to 13.7 Ma), respectively. Our results indicate that shallow marine waters covered the region at least twice during the Miocene, but the events were short-lived, rather than a continuous full-marine occupancy of Amazonian landscape over millions of years.

Effects of DO cencentration on growth of juvenile channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration has a major impact on feed consumption of channel catfish when raised in ponds; as DO concentration falls below 3.0 mg/L at night, feed consumption is negatively impacted. Channel catfish fry may experience a wide range of oxygen conditions in the hatchery depend...

A stochastic analysis of tractor overturn costs on catfish farms.

PubMed

Ibendahl, G A; Stephens, W B; Myers, M L

2012-10-01

An area of health and safety risk in agriculture that can be especially dangerous is catfish farming. One of the potential sources of injuries on catfish farms is tractor overturns that often result in crushing injuries. There is likely a higher probability of tractor overturns on a catfish farm than on a traditional crop farm due to the conditions that prevail on catfish farms. A catfish farm requires tractor movement near pond levees and water, and these levees have steep banks. Many of the activities on a catfish farm, such as mowing, feeding, and pond maintenance, require operating a tractor near a pond levee. Rollover protection structures (ROPS) on tractors can help to minimize the injuries caused by tractor overturns. ROPS do not lessen the probability of overturns, but ROPS mitigate the expected injury severity and lower the associated costs of an overturn. Despite the benefits of ROPS, not every tractor is so equipped. Some earlier work indicated that the cost to retrofit older tractors might outweigh the expected benefits. This article uses stochastic (i.e., randomly determined) analysis to determine if risk-averse farmers are more likely than risk-neutral farmers to retrofit tractors with ROPS. For this analysis, a distribution function of injury costs should an overturn occur was developed for both ROPS and non-ROPS tractors, and a Monte Carlo simulation was conducted. Results indicate that many risk-averse producers would be willing to retrofit older tractors with ROPS. However producers who are risk-neutral probably will not retrofit. These results might explain why not all tractors have been retrofitted despite the long-term availability of retrofit kits.

Effects of Endosulfan on Predator-Prey Interactions Between Catfish and Schistosoma Host Snails.

PubMed

Monde, Concillia; Syampungani, Stephen; Van den Brink, Paul J

2016-08-01

The effect of the pesticide endosulfan on predator-prey interactions between catfish and Schistosoma host snails was assessed in static tank experiments. Hybrid catfish (Clarias gariepinus × C. ngamensis) and Bulinus globosus were subjected to various endosulfan concentrations including an untreated control. The 48- and 96-h LC50 values for catfish were 1.0 and <0.5 µg/L, respectively, whereas the 48- and 96-h LC50 values for snails were 1137 and 810 µg/L. To assess sublethal effects on the feeding of the catfish on B. globosus, endosulfan concentrations between 0.03 and 1.0 µg/L were used. Predation was significantly greater (p < 0.001) in control tanks than in all other treatments. There was progressively decreasing predation with increasing toxicant concentration. Biological control of Schistosoma host snails using fish may be affected in endosulfan-polluted aquatic systems of Southern Africa because it has been found present at concentrations that are indicated to cause lethal effects on the evaluated hybrid catfish and to inhibit the predation of snails by this hybrid catfish.

Development and evaluation of an acoustic device to estimate size distribution of channel catfish in commercial ponds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As one step in the continued effort to utilize acoustic methods and techniques to the betterment of catfish aquaculture, an acoustic “catfish sizer” was designed to determine the size distribution of Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus in commercial ponds. The catfish sizer employed a custom-built 4...

Palaeontological evidence for the last temporal occurrence of the ancient western Amazonian river outflow into the Caribbean.

PubMed

Aguilera, Orangel; Lundberg, John; Birindelli, Jose; Sabaj Pérez, Mark; Jaramillo, Carlos; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo R

2013-01-01

Fossil catfishes from fluvio-lacustrine facies of late Miocene Urumaco, early Pliocene Castilletes and late Pliocene San Gregorio formations provide evidence of a hydrographic connection in what is today desert regions of northern Colombia and Venezuela. New discoveries and reevaluation of existing materials leads to the recognition of two new records of the pimelodid Brachyplatystoma cf. vaillantii, and of three distinct doradid taxa: Doraops sp., Rhinodoras sp., and an unidentified third form. The presence of fossil goliath long-whiskered catfishes and thorny catfishes are indicative of the persistence of a fluvial drainage system inflow into the South Caribbean during the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary, complementary to the previous western Amazonian hydrographic system described from the Middle Miocene Villavieja Formation in central Colombia and Late Miocene Urumaco Formation in northwestern Venezuela. The Pliocene Castilletes and San Gregorio formations potentially represent the last lithostratigraphic units related with an ancient western Amazonian fish fauna and that drainage system in the Caribbean. Alternatively, it may preserve faunas from a smaller, peripheral river basin that was cut off earlier from the Amazon-Orinoco, today found in the Maracaibo basin and the Magdalena Rivers.

Palaeontological Evidence for the Last Temporal Occurrence of the Ancient Western Amazonian River Outflow into the Caribbean

PubMed Central

Aguilera, Orangel; Lundberg, John; Birindelli, Jose; Sabaj Pérez, Mark; Jaramillo, Carlos; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo R.

2013-01-01

Fossil catfishes from fluvio-lacustrine facies of late Miocene Urumaco, early Pliocene Castilletes and late Pliocene San Gregorio formations provide evidence of a hydrographic connection in what is today desert regions of northern Colombia and Venezuela. New discoveries and reevaluation of existing materials leads to the recognition of two new records of the pimelodid Brachyplatystoma cf. vaillantii, and of three distinct doradid taxa: Doraops sp., Rhinodoras sp., and an unidentified third form. The presence of fossil goliath long-whiskered catfishes and thorny catfishes are indicative of the persistence of a fluvial drainage system inflow into the South Caribbean during the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary, complementary to the previous western Amazonian hydrographic system described from the Middle Miocene Villavieja Formation in central Colombia and Late Miocene Urumaco Formation in northwestern Venezuela. The Pliocene Castilletes and San Gregorio formations potentially represent the last lithostratigraphic units related with an ancient western Amazonian fish fauna and that drainage system in the Caribbean. Alternatively, it may preserve faunas from a smaller, peripheral river basin that was cut off earlier from the Amazon-Orinoco, today found in the Maracaibo basin and the Magdalena Rivers. PMID:24098778

The annotation of repetitive elements in the genome of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus).

PubMed

Yuan, Zihao; Zhou, Tao; Bao, Lisui; Liu, Shikai; Shi, Huitong; Yang, Yujia; Gao, Dongya; Dunham, Rex; Waldbieser, Geoff; Liu, Zhanjiang

2018-01-01

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is a highly adaptive species and has been used as a research model for comparative immunology, physiology, and toxicology among ectothermic vertebrates. It is also economically important for aquaculture. As such, its reference genome was generated and annotated with protein coding genes. However, the repetitive elements in the catfish genome are less well understood. In this study, over 417.8 Megabase (MB) of repetitive elements were identified and characterized in the channel catfish genome. Among them, the DNA/TcMar-Tc1 transposons are the most abundant type, making up ~20% of the total repetitive elements, followed by the microsatellites (14%). The prevalence of repetitive elements, especially the mobile elements, may have provided a driving force for the evolution of the catfish genome. A number of catfish-specific repetitive elements were identified including the previously reported Xba elements whose divergence rate was relatively low, slower than that in untranslated regions of genes but faster than the protein coding sequences, suggesting its evolutionary restrictions.

Postponed feeding does not substantially reduce production expense during pond rearing of hybrid catfish fry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Production variables of hybrid catfish (ChannelCatfish Ictalurus punctatus×BlueCatfish I. furcatus) reared in nursery ponds and then stocked were compared between fish fed immediately after stocking (standard industry practice) and fish forwhich feedingwas postponed after stocking. Ponds (0.04 ha) w...

Breeding strategy of US farm-raised channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus affects progeny production and performance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

catfish propagation for decades has been dependent on random mating of male and female channel catfish in ponds. It is simple and has been fairly successful in fulfilling the needs of the US farm-raised catfish industry. However, natural pond spawning is unreliable, unpredictable, and incurs 30 t...

Biofilm formation by Salmonella spp. in catfish mucus extract under industrial conditions.

PubMed

Dhowlaghar, Nitin; De Abrew Abeysundara, Piumi; Nannapaneni, Ramakrishna; Schilling, Mark W; Chang, Sam; Cheng, Wen-Hsing; Sharma, Chander S

2018-04-01

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of strain and temperature on the growth and biofilm formation of Salmonella spp. in high and low concentrations of catfish mucus extract on different food-contact surfaces at 22 °C and 10 °C. The second objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of disinfectants at recommended concentrations and contact times for removing Salmonella biofilms cells on a stainless steel surface containing catfish mucus extract. Growth and biofilm formation of all Salmonella strains increased with higher concentrations of catfish mucus extract at both 10 °C and 22 °C. In 15 μg/ml of catfish mucus extract inoculated with 3 log CFU/ml, the biofilm levels of Salmonella on stainless steel surface reached to 3.5 log CFU/cm 2 at 10 °C or 5.5 log CFU/cm 2 at 22 °C in 7 days. In 375 μg/ml of catfish mucus extract inoculated with 3 log CFU/ml, the biofilm levels of Salmonella on the stainless steel surface reached 4.5 log CFU/cm 2 at 10 °C and 6.5 log CFU/cm 2 at 22 °C in 7 days. No differences were observed between Salmonella strains tested for biofilm formation in catfish mucus extract on the stainless steel surface. The biofilm formation by Salmonella Blockley (7175) in catfish mucus extract was less (P < 0.05) on buna-N rubber when compared to stainless steel, polyethylene and polyurethane surfaces. Salmonella biofilm cells were not detectable on the stainless steel surface after treatment with a mixture of disinfectants but were still present when single compound disinfectants were used. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copper use and accumulation in catfish culture in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

PubMed

Marcussen, Helle; Løjmand, Helle; Dalsgaard, Anders; Hai, Dao M; Holm, Peter E

2014-01-01

Aquaculture of Pangasius hypophthalmus (striped catfish) in Vietnam reached 1.1 million tonnes in 2011 and catfish fillets are exported worldwide. The intensive cultures of catfish mainly in earth ponds have made it necessary to apply CuSO4 and other chemicals to control external parasites and other pathogens. However, accumulation of Cu in aquaculture ponds may pose a hazard to growth of fish or to the aquatic environment. The aim of this study was to determine accumulation of Cu in sediment, water and fish in a catfish pond with a history of repeated treatment with CuSO4 in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Copper concentrations in pond sediment were in the interval 21.3-45.7 mg kg(-1) dw and did not exceed the Vietnamese values for soil to be used for agricultural production (70 mg kg(-1) dw.). During three samplings the total mean concentration of Cu in pond water (4 μg L(-1)) did not exceed the LC50-value (70 μg L(-1)) for catfish and the mean dissolved concentration of Cu (0.986 μg L(-1)) did not seem to constitute a risk for the stability of the aquatic ecosystem. No significant variation in Cu concentrations between sampling sites in the pond and depth of sediment profile were determined. The accumulation of Cu in catfish was highest in the liver compared to the skin, gills and muscle tissue. With the current practice of removing pond sludge three to four times during a production cycle little if any Cu seems to accumulate in catfish ponds despite repeated anti-parasite treatments with CuSO4. Further studies are needed to assess the eco-toxicity and impact on agricultural production when pond sediment is discharged into aquatic recipients and used as soil fertilizer.

Co-culture of channel catfish with hybrid catfish facilitates 'herd effect' to improve production performance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Herd effect is an epidemiological phenomenon, where the presence or proximity of a certain proportion of improved (superior) individuals improve the performance of less improved (normal) individuals. Channel catfish, Ictalurus puntatus is the single largest aquaculture species cultured in US. Ho...

Miocene mass-transport sediments, Troodos Massif, Cyprus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lord, A.R.; Harrison, R.W.; BouDagher-Fadel, M.; Stone, B.D.; Varol, O.

2009-01-01

Sediment mass-transport layers of submarine origin on the northern and southern flanks of the Troodos ophiolitic massif are dated biostratigraphically as early Miocene and late Miocene, respectively and therefore represent different seismogenic events in the uplift and erosional history of the Troodos terrane. Analysis of such events has potential for documenting Miocene seismic and uplift events regionally in the context of changing stress field directions and plate vectors through time. ?? 2009 The Geologists' Association.

Demonstrating the Ecosystem Effects of Armored Suckermouth Catfishes (Loricariidae): A Feasibility Study Using Mesocosms

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-01

Figure 2. Native fish used in the mesocosm study: golden topminnow (Fundulus chrysotus). Photo by Mark Binkley, jonahsaquarium.com. Cover in each...Suckermouth Catfishes (Loricariidae): A Feasibility Study Using Mesocosms by Jan Jeffrey Hoover, Nicky M. Hahn, and Jay A. Collins PURPOSE: The...armored suckermouth catfishes, or simply suckermouth catfishes. The authors’ solution is to use mesocosms, medium-sized containers that replicate aquatic

Plasma polar lipid profiles of channel catfish with different growth rates

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Increased growth in channel catfish is an economically important trait and has been used as a criterion for the selection and development of brood fish. Selection of channel catfish toward increased growth usually results in the accumulation of large amounts of fats in their abdomen rather than incr...

Antarctic Miocene Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashworth, A. C.; Lewis, A. R.

2013-12-01

Fossils from Antarctic Miocene terrestrial deposits, coupled with stratigraphic, geochemical and paleontological data from marine boreholes, provide new insights into the climatic history of the continent. During the Miocene, ice caps coalesced to form ice sheets and vegetated surfaces gave way to barren expanses. The cryospheric changes especially have global climatic implications. The fossil data consists of diatoms, pollen and spores, and macroscopic remains of plants, ostracods, insects, molluscs and a fish. Plant fossils include wood and leaves of Nothofagus (southern beech), seeds of several vascular plants, including Ranunculus (buttercup), Hippuris (mare's-tail) and Myriophyllum (watermilfoil), megaspores of Isoetes (quillwort), and moss species. The insect chitin consists of larval head capsules of Chironomidae (midges) and exoskeletal parts of Coleoptera (beetles). The molluscs include freshwater gastropods and bivalves. The majority of these taxa are likely descendants of taxa that had survived on the continent from the Paleogene or earlier. Even though early Miocene glaciations may have been large, the climate was never cold enough to cause the extinction of the biota, which probably survived in coastal refugia. Early Miocene (c. 20 Ma) macrofossils from the McMurdo Dry Valleys (77°S) support palynological interpretations from the Cape Roberts and ANDRILL marine records that the upland vegetation was a shrub tundra. Mean summer temperature (MST) in the uplands was c. 6°C and possibly higher at the coast. The climate was wet, supporting mires and lakes. By the mid-Miocene, even though the climate continued to be wet. MST was c. 4°C which was too cold to support Nothofagus and most vascular plant species. Stratigraphic evidence indicates that the time between the Early and Mid-Miocene was a time of repeated ice advances and retreats of small glaciers originating from ice caps. At c. 14 Ma there appears to have been a modal shift in climate to

Reduction in Listeria monocytogenes and spoilage bacteria on smoked catfish using X-ray treatments.

PubMed

Mahmoud, B S M; Coker, R; Su, Y-C

2012-06-01

To determine the efficacy of X-ray processes in inactivating L. monocytogenes levels in smoked catfish during storage at 5°C and to determine the effects of X-ray doses on controlling the growth of spoilage bacteria on smoked catfish during storage at 5°C for up to 5 weeks. Smoked catfish fillets inoculated with L. monocytogenes were treated with 0.0-2.0 kGy X-ray and stored at 5°C for 5 weeks. The negative controls (uninoculated/untreated) and uninoculated samples treated with the lowest (0.1 kGy) and highest (2.0 kGy) doses were stored at 5°C and tested for psychrotrophs count during the 5 weeks of storage. The initial L. monocytogenes population on smoked catfish was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced to undetectable level by a treatment of 1.0 kGy or higher. The initial psychrotrophs count on smoked catfish was significantly reduced from 4.7 CFU g(-1) to below the detectable level by a treatment with 2.0 kGy. Smoked catfish treated with 2.0 kGy X-ray had no detectable L. monocytogenes throughout 35 days of storage at 5°C. A treatment with 2.0 kGy X-ray also kept the levels of psychrotrophs in the smoked catfish within the acceptable level until 35 days. The results of this investigation indicate that X-ray at 2.0 kGy can eliminate L. monocytogenes and extend the shelf life of smoked catfish stored at refrigeration temperature. © 2012 The Authors. Letters in Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Some enzymatic properties of brain Acetylcholinesterase from bluegill and channel catfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hogan, James W.; Knowles, Charles O.

1968-01-01

Using a manometric technique an acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7, acetylcholine acetyl-hydrolase) was demonstrated in brain tissue from the bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, and the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Walbaum). The activities were 19 and 37 μmoles acetylcholine hydrolyzed/milligram protein per hour for the bluegill and channel catfish enzymes, respectively. The optimum substrate concentration for the hydrolysis of acetylcholine was 10 mMfor the enzymes from both species. Generally, the catfish acetylcholinesterase was somewhat more susceptible than the bluegill to the inhibitors tested; however, the bluegill enzyme was more susceptible to inhibition by malathion and malaoxon.

The late early Miocene Sabine River

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Manning, E.

Work on a new late early Miocene vertebrate fossil site, in a paleochannel deposit of the upper Carnahan Bayou Member of the lower Fleming Formation, has revealed unexpected data on the course and nature of the Sabine River of that time. Screen washing for smaller vertebrate remains at the site, just west of the Sabine River in Newton County, central eastern Texas, has resulted in the recovery of early Permian, Early Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous (Maestrichtian), Paleocene/Eocene, late Eocene, and Oligocene/Miocene fossils, in addition to the main early Miocene fauna. The reworked fossils, as well as distinctive mineral grains, show thatmore » the late early Miocene Sabine River was connected to the Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas boundary section of the Red River, as well as to rivers draining the southern Ouachita Mountains. These rivers must have joined the Texas/Louisiana boundary section of the Sabine River somewhere in northwest Louisiana at that time. This suggests that the Louisiana section of the present Red River pirated the Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas boundary section of the river some time after the early Miocene. The preservation of recognizable fossils transported hundreds of miles in a large river itself requires explanation. It is speculated here that the late early Miocene Sabine River incorporated a large amount of the then recently deposited volcanic ash from the Trans-Pecos Volcanic Field. Montmorillonite clay from the altered volcanic ash would have made the river very turbid, which could have allowed coarse sand-sized particles to be carried in the suspended load of the river, rather than in its bed load (where they would have been destroyed by the rolling chert gravel). Additional evidence for such long-distance fossil transport in the late early Miocene rivers of the western Gulf Coastal Plain comes from the abundant Cretaceous fossils of the upper Oakville Formation of southeast Texas and the Siphonina davisi zone of the southeast Texas subsurface.« less

Efficacy of florfenicol for control of mortality associated with Edwardsiella ictaluri in three species of catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The efficacy of florfenicol against Edwardsiella icatluri infection was studied in channel catfish (Ictalurus puntatus (Delta strain)), hybrid catfish (Ictalurus punctatus (Delta strain) x Ictalurus furcatus (D&B strain)), and blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus (D&B strain) fingerlings in 65L aquaria....

The annotation of repetitive elements in the genome of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

PubMed Central

Yuan, Zihao; Zhou, Tao; Bao, Lisui; Liu, Shikai; Shi, Huitong; Yang, Yujia; Gao, Dongya; Dunham, Rex; Waldbieser, Geoff

2018-01-01

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is a highly adaptive species and has been used as a research model for comparative immunology, physiology, and toxicology among ectothermic vertebrates. It is also economically important for aquaculture. As such, its reference genome was generated and annotated with protein coding genes. However, the repetitive elements in the catfish genome are less well understood. In this study, over 417.8 Megabase (MB) of repetitive elements were identified and characterized in the channel catfish genome. Among them, the DNA/TcMar-Tc1 transposons are the most abundant type, making up ~20% of the total repetitive elements, followed by the microsatellites (14%). The prevalence of repetitive elements, especially the mobile elements, may have provided a driving force for the evolution of the catfish genome. A number of catfish-specific repetitive elements were identified including the previously reported Xba elements whose divergence rate was relatively low, slower than that in untranslated regions of genes but faster than the protein coding sequences, suggesting its evolutionary restrictions. PMID:29763462

The use of copper sulfate in catfish hatcheries: safety and effectiveness

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Copper sulfate (CuSO4) is cheap, safe to the applicator and effective for controlling fungus on catfish eggs. Several studies were designed to determine the effectiveness and safety of CuSO4 to channel catfish eggs in pursuit of an FDA approval. In an effectiveness study for the FDA, we found that ...

Comparative genomics of Aeromonas hydrophila isolates from an epidemic in channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background Aeromonas hydrophila was identified as the etiologic agent infecting farmed channel catfish in 2009/2010, resulting in higher mortality rates than typical for motile Aeromonas septicemia with over 5 million pounds of catfish lost to this outbreak. The biochemistry, molecular phylogeny, an...

Molecular Identification of XY Sex-Reversed Female and YY Male Channel Catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Production of channel catfish leads U.S. aquaculture, and monosex culture may provide higher production efficiencies. Determination of phenotypic sex is labor intensive and not practical for large scale culture. Catfish have an X-Y sex determination system with monomorphic sex chromosomes. Hormonal...

Maturity stage and plasma testosterone levels are related to sperm production in blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Recently, the channel catfish, Ictalurus puntatus' X blue catfish, I.furcatus ' F1 hybrid has demonstrated good potential for commercial production compared to the commonly raised channel catfish. Efforts by researchers and commercial producers in the last 40 years have improved hybrid fry product...

Criteria for successful exploration for Miocene reef production in the Philippines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Downey, M.W.

1990-06-01

An abundance of modern geologic, geophysical, and geochemical data has been provided to interested members of the petroleum industry by the Philippine government, in cooperation with the World Bank. These data have been analyzed to assess whether more, and larger, Miocene reef fields should be expected in the Philippines. In the past decade, exploration by Cities Service (OXY), Amoco, Alcorn, and others has resulted in the discovery of several small Miocene reef and Miocene sandstone oil fields in offshore Palawan. Phillips/Shell also made a significant gas discovery of about 750 bcf in a Palawan Miocene reef that is currently uneconomicmore » to develop given the water depth (1,090 ft) and distance from users. Miocene reefs are commonly buried within Miocene clastics, and, where these impinging clastics are porous, they allow pathways for hydrocarbons to leak from the Miocene reefs. Drape closure is an important positive factor in assessing seal risk for Philippine Miocene reefs. Source rocks to charge middle and upper Miocene reefs are typically restricted to lower Miocene horizons. Geothermal gradients are modest in much of the Philippine offshore, and only select areas provide sufficient burial to mature and expel significant hydrocarbons. It is predicted by the author that additional, larger, and highly profitable Miocene reef fields will be found by future explorers in areas where Miocene reefs have drape closure top seals and are adjacent to deeply buried Miocene source rocks.« less

Effects of calcium and magnesium hardness on the fertilization and hatching success of hybrid catfish eggs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Hybrid catfish are exclusively produced by strip spawning of channel catfish females, fertilizing stripped eggs with blue catfish sperm, and hatching the fertilized eggs. As egg development takes outside the fish’s body, water hardness is one abioitic parameter, suggested to have a major effect on ...

A survey of catfish pond water chemistry parameters for copper toxicity modelling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Water samples were collected from 20 catfish ponds in 2015 to obtain data useful in predicting copper toxicity and chemical behavior. Ponds were located in major catfish producing areas of west Alabama, east Arkansas, and Mississippi. Pond types included traditional levee ponds, split-ponds, water...

Taste receptors and gustatory associated G proteins in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.

PubMed

Gao, Sen; Liu, Shikai; Yao, Jun; Zhou, Tao; Li, Ning; Li, Qi; Dunham, Rex; Liu, Zhanjiang

2017-03-01

Taste sensation plays a pivotal role in nutrient identification and acquisition. This is particularly true for channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) that live in turbid waters with limited visibility. This biological process is mainly mediated by taste receptors expressed in taste buds that are distributed in several organs and tissues, including the barbels and skin. In the present study, we identified a complete repertoire of taste receptor and gustatory associated G protein genes in the channel catfish genome. A total of eight taste receptor genes were identified, including five type I and three type II taste receptor genes. Their genomic locations, phylogenetic relations, orthologies and expression were determined. Phylogenetic and collinear analyses provided understanding of the evolution dynamics of this gene family. Furthermore, the motif and dN/dS analyses indicated that selection pressures of different degrees were imposed on these receptors. Additionally, four genes of gustatory associated G proteins were also identified. It was indicated that expression patterns of catfish taste receptors and gustatory associated G proteins across organs mirror the distribution of taste buds across organs. Finally, the expression comparison between catfish and zebrafish organs provided evidence of potential roles of catfish skin and gill involved in taste sensation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The efficacy of mass-marking channel catfish fingerlings by immersion in oxytetracycline

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stewart, David R.

2011-01-01

Oxytetracycline (OTC) has been extensively used for marking a variety of fish species, but has never been successfully used to mark channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Channel catfish fingerlings (~ 25 mm TL) obtained from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation at Byron Fish Hatchery were kept in Living Streams (791 to 1,018 L) equipped with recirculation units. Marking trials consisted of immersing channel catfish in one of three concentrations (250, 450, and 700 mg/L) OTC hydrochloride [HCl] for 6 hours. Samples of channel catfish were obtained from each group at 1-week and 4-week postimmersion. Lapilli otoliths and pectoral spines were removed to assess mark presence with an epi-fluorescent compound microscope. After one week, no marks were detected on pectoral spines for all treatments, mark detection on otoliths depended on concentration, but never exceeded 43% (700 mg/L). After four weeks, all otoliths and pectoral spines were determined marked for 700 mg/L OTC, 20% for fish immersed in 450 mg/L OTC, and 0% were marked after four weeks at the 250 mg/L OTC. Results show, channel catfish fingerlings can be successfully marked with immersion in OTC at 700 mg/L for at least 6 hours.

T-cell receptor accessory and co-receptor molecules in channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

T cell receptor (TCR) associated invariant chains CD3gamma/delta,epsilon, and zeta as well as TCR co-receptors CD8alpha and CD8beta were isolated from the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, at both the gene and cDNA levels. All of catfish CD3 sequences encode for proteins that resemble their resp...

Air breathing and aquatic gas exchange during hypoxia in armoured catfish.

PubMed

Scott, Graham R; Matey, Victoria; Mendoza, Julie-Anne; Gilmour, Kathleen M; Perry, Steve F; Almeida-Val, Vera M F; Val, Adalberto L

2017-01-01

Air breathing in fish is commonly believed to have arisen as an adaptation to aquatic hypoxia. The effectiveness of air breathing for tissue O 2 supply depends on the ability to avoid O 2 loss as oxygenated blood from the air-breathing organ passes through the gills. Here, we evaluated whether the armoured catfish (Hypostomus aff. pyreneusi)-a facultative air breather-can avoid branchial O 2 loss while air breathing in aquatic hypoxia, and we measured various other respiratory and metabolic traits important for O 2 supply and utilization. Fish were instrumented with opercular catheters to measure the O 2 tension (PO 2 ) of expired water, and air breathing and aquatic respiration were measured during progressive stepwise hypoxia in the water. Armoured catfish exhibited relatively low rates of O 2 consumption and gill ventilation, and gill ventilation increased in hypoxia due primarily to increases in ventilatory stroke volume. Armoured catfish began air breathing at a water PO 2 of 2.5 kPa, and both air-breathing frequency and hypoxia tolerance (as reflected by PO 2 at loss of equilibrium, LOE) was greater in individuals with a larger body mass. Branchial O 2 loss, as reflected by higher PO 2 in expired than in inspired water, was observed in a minority (4/11) of individuals as water PO 2 approached that at LOE. Armoured catfish also exhibited a gill morphology characterized by short filaments bearing short fused lamellae, large interlamellar cell masses, low surface area, and a thick epithelium that increased water-to-blood diffusion distance. Armoured catfish had a relatively low blood-O 2 binding affinity when sampled in normoxia (P 50 of 3.1 kPa at pH 7.4), but were able to rapidly increase binding affinity during progressive hypoxia exposure (to a P 50 of 1.8 kPa). Armoured catfish also had low activities of several metabolic enzymes in white muscle, liver, and brain. Therefore, low rates of metabolism and gill ventilation, and a reduction in branchial gas

Diseases, Pathology and Recent Developments in US Farm-Raised Catfish (Ictalurus spp.)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and now hybrid catfish (I. punctatus x I. furcatus) have been the most economically important aquaculture species in the United States for many years. As such, they continue to be of considerable research interest. The focus of this presentation concerns some re...

Microbial quality of catfish nuggets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The microbiological quality of catfish nuggets is not known. Nuggets, purchased from local retailers in the northeast United States (NJ, NY, PA, and DE), were tested for aerobic plate count (APC) at 22 and 37 deg C, Enterobacteriacea, and Escherichia coli/coliform using Petrifilms**™. The BAX**™ ...

Seasonal food habits of introduced blue catfish in Lake Oconee, Georgia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jennings, Cecil A.; Mitchell, Geoffrey E.; Nelson, Chris

2018-01-01

Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) are native to the Coosa River drainage in northwest Georgia but have been widely introduced outside of this range including Lake Oconee, a 7677-ha impoundment on the Oconee River in central Georgia. Blue catfish abundance and growth rates have increased dramatically since their introduction in Lake Oconee, but their food habits are unknown. Therefore, food habits of blue catfish in this impoundment were determined by examining the stomachs of 808 specimens in the reservoir’s upper and lower regions across all seasons from summer 2012 to summer 2013. Diet was summarized using the Relative Importance of specific prey by weight. In the upper region of the reservoir, Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) were the dominant prey item during the summer (75.7%), fall (66.4%), and winter (37.6%); whereas crappie (Pomoxis spp.) was the dominant prey item in the spring (38.7%). Asian clams also were the dominant prey items in the lower region during the fall (68.4%), winter (33.9%), and spring (36.4%). Blue catfish seemed to feed opportunistically on seasonally abundant prey items in both the upper riverine and lower lacustrine portions of the reservoir. Of the many sportfishes in the reservoir, only crappie was an important prey item, and then only in the upper region during the spring. Our results do not support concerns that blue catfish are an apex predator that would decimate the sportfish assemblage in this recently colonized reservoir.

A common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) prey handling technique for marine catfish (Ariidae) in the northern Gulf of Mexico

PubMed Central

Barry, Kevin P.; Sinclair, Carrie; Grace, Mark A.; Allen, Jason; Balmer, Brian; Panike, Anna; Toms, Christina; Mullin, Keith D.; Wells, Randall S.

2017-01-01

Few accounts describe predator-prey interactions between common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus Montagu 1821) and marine catfish (Ariopsis felis Linnaeus 1766, Bagre marinus Mitchill 1815). Over the course of 50,167 sightings of bottlenose dolphin groups in Mississippi Sound and along the Florida coast of the Gulf of Mexico, severed catfish heads were found floating and exhibiting movements at the surface in close proximity to 13 dolphin groups that demonstrated feeding behavior. These observations prompted a multi-disciplinary approach to study the predator-prey relationship between bottlenose dolphins and marine catfish. A review was conducted of bottlenose dolphin visual survey data and dorsal fin photographs from sightings where severed catfish heads were observed. Recovered severed catfish heads were preserved and studied, whole marine catfish were collected and examined, and stranding network pathology reports were reviewed for references to injuries related to fish spines. Photographic identification analysis confirms eight dolphins associated with severed catfish heads were present in three such sightings across an approximately 350 km expanse of coast between the Mississippi Sound and Saint Joseph Bay, FL. An examination of the severed catfish heads indicated interaction with dolphins, and fresh-caught whole hardhead catfish (A. felis) were examined to estimate the presumed total length of the catfish before decapitation. Thirty-eight instances of significant trauma or death in dolphins attributed to ingesting whole marine catfish were documented in stranding records collected from the southeastern United States of America. Bottlenose dolphins typically adhere to a ram-feeding strategy for prey capture followed by whole prey ingestion; however, marine catfish skull morphology may pose a consumption hazard due to rigid spines that can puncture and migrate through soft tissue, prompting a prey handling technique for certain dolphins, facilitating

High-throughput cryopreservation of spermatozoa of blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus): Establishment of an approach for commercial-scale processing.

PubMed

Hu, E; Yang, Huiping; Tiersch, Terrence R

2011-02-01

Hybrid catfish created by crossing of female channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and male blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) are being used increasingly in foodfish aquaculture because of their fast growth and efficient food conversion. However, the availability of blue catfish males is limited, and their peak spawning is at a different time than that of the channel catfish. As such, cryopreservation of sperm of blue catfish could improve production of hybrid catfish, and has been studied in the laboratory and tested for feasibility in a commercial dairy bull cryopreservation facility. However, an approach for commercially relevant production of cryopreserved blue catfish sperm is still needed. The goal of this study was to develop practical approaches for commercial-scale sperm cryopreservation of blue catfish by use of an automated high-throughput system (MAPI, CryoBioSystem Co.). The objectives were to: (1) refine cooling rate and cryoprotectant concentration, and evaluate their interactions; (2) evaluate the effect of sperm concentration on cryopreservation; (3) refine cryoprotectant concentration based on the highest effective sperm concentration; (4) compare the effect of thawing samples at 20 or 40°C; (5) evaluate the fertility of thawed sperm at a research scale by fertilizing with channel catfish eggs; (6) test the post-thaw motility and fertility of sperm from individual males in a commercial setting, and (7) test for correlation of cryopreservation results with biological indices used for male evaluation. The optimal cooling rate was 5°C/min (Micro Digitcool, IMV) for high-throughput cryopreservation using CBS high-biosecurity 0.5-ml straws with 10% methanol, and a concentration of 1×10(9)sperm/ml. There was no difference in post-thaw motility when samples were thawed at 20°C for 40s or 40°C for 20s. After fertilization, the percentage of neurulation (Stage V embryos) was 80±21%, and percentage of embryonic mobility (Stage VI embryo) was 51±22

Effects of Season, Strain and Body Weight on Testes Development and Quality in Three Strains of Blue Catfish, Ictalurus furcatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Commercial production of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) female x blue catfish (I. furcatus) male hybrids has increased dramatically in the U.S. during the last 10 years. Hybrid fry production requires fertilization of channel catfish eggs with blue catfish sperm obtained by surgical removal ...

Miocene biochronology and paleoceanography of the North Pacific

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keller, G.

1981-01-01

Biostratigraphic correlation based on microfossil datum levels, directly or indirectly tied to the paleomagnetic time scale, provides a high resolution time control for the Miocene in the equatorial and middle latitude North Pacific. Faunal changes and abundance fluctuations of planktic foraminiferal species combined with the oxygen Pacific. Faunal changes and abundance fluctuations of planktic foraminiferal species combined with the oxygen isotope record of foraminifers, reveal the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic history. The planktic foraminiferal assemblage change in the early Miocene, extinction of Oligocene fauna and rise of a highly diverse Neogene fauna, appears to be related to increased water mass stratification in the world oceans presumably resulting from the establishment of circum-Antarctic circulation. An increase in the siliceous productivity in the eastern equatorial Pacific region between 20 and 18 Ma suggests that the vertical and horizontal circulation was intensified at that time. Climates cooled rapidly during the middle Miocene between 14 and 13 Ma suggesting the growth of a major east Antarctic ice sheet. Paleoclimatic conditions remained generally cool, although oscillating, during the late Miocene. In the late early to middle Miocene faunal provincialism developed between low and middle latitudes, and by late Miocene time a distinct provincialism similar to the present was established. ?? 1981.

Channel catfish response to ultraviolet-B radiation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ewing, M.S.; Blazer, V.S.; Fabacher, D.L.; Little, E.E.; Kocan, K.M.

1999-01-01

Fingerling channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus exposed to simulated ultraviolet-B radiation at an average daily dose of 2.9 J/cm2 were quite sensitive to the radiation. After a 24-h exposure, thinning of the most dorsal epidermis frequently was accompanied by edema. Compared with epidermis of unexposed fish, mucous cells in exposed fish were less superficial and club cells were less numerous both dorsally and high on the lateral surface of the body. Sunburn cells with pyknotic nuclei were evident in the epidermis of exposed fish. Among fish exposed for 48 h, focal necrosis and sloughing of the outer epidermal layer were widespread. A methanol-extractable skin substance that is associated with resistance to sunburn in other fish species was not detected in channel catfish.

Remediation of uranium-contaminated groundwater by sorption onto hydoxyapatite derived from catfish bones

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Hydroxyapatite was prepared from catfish bones, called catfish hydroxyapatite (CFHA), by mechanical and chemical treatment methods and was characterized by x-ray diffraction (X-RD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques to confirm the presence of hydroxyapatite. The ability of CFHA to rem...

Assembly of 500,000 inter-specific catfish expressed sequence tags and large scale gene-associated marker development for whole genome association studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Catfish Genome Consortium; Wang, Shaolin; Peatman, Eric

2010-03-23

Background-Through the Community Sequencing Program, a catfish EST sequencing project was carried out through a collaboration between the catfish research community and the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute. Prior to this project, only a limited EST resource from catfish was available for the purpose of SNP identification. Results-A total of 438,321 quality ESTs were generated from 8 channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and 4 blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) libraries, bringing the number of catfish ESTs to nearly 500,000. Assembly of all catfish ESTs resulted in 45,306 contigs and 66,272 singletons. Over 35percent of the unique sequences had significant similarities tomore » known genes, allowing the identification of 14,776 unique genes in catfish. Over 300,000 putative SNPs have been identified, of which approximately 48,000 are high-quality SNPs identified from contigs with at least four sequences and the minor allele presence of at least two sequences in the contig. The EST resource should be valuable for identification of microsatellites, genome annotation, large-scale expression analysis, and comparative genome analysis. Conclusions-This project generated a large EST resource for catfish that captured the majority of the catfish transcriptome. The parallel analysis of ESTs from two closely related Ictalurid catfishes should also provide powerful means for the evaluation of ancient and recent gene duplications, and for the development of high-density microarrays in catfish. The inter- and intra-specific SNPs identified from all catfish EST dataset assembly will greatly benefit the catfish introgression breeding program and whole genome association studies.« less

Intracranial and lavage mode of LHRHa administration improves ovulation and spawning performance of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Increased production of channel x blue F1 hybrid catfish fry production and their subsequent performance has advanced their adoption of hybrid catfish among the US catfish farmers. The use of hormone induction as a reproductive strategy to produce hybrid fry has been successfully applied. The aim o...

Modeling geologically abrupt climate changes in the Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haupt, B. J.; Seidov, D.

2010-12-01

The gradual cooling of the Cenozoic, including the Miocene epoch, was punctuated by many geologically abrupt warming and cooling episodes - strong deviations from the cooling trend with time span of ten to hundred thousands of years. Our working hypothesis is that some of those warming episodes at least partially might have been caused by dynamics of the emerging Antarctic Ice Sheet, which, in turn, might have caused strong changes of sea surface salinity in the Miocene Southern Ocean. Feasibility of this hypothesis is explored in a series of coupled ocean-atmosphere computer experiments. The results suggest that relatively small and geologically short-lived changes in freshwater balance in the Southern Ocean could have significantly contributed to at least two prominent warming episodes in the Miocene. Importantly, the experiments also suggest that the Southern Ocean was more sensitive to the salinity changes in the Miocene than today, which can attributed to the opening of the Central American Isthmus as a major difference between the Miocene and the present-day ocean-sea geometry.

Liquid chromatographic determination of acriflavine and proflavine residues in channel catfish muscle.

PubMed

Plakas, S M; el Said, K R; Jester, E L; Bencsath, F A; Hayton, W L

1997-01-01

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method was developed for determination of acriflavine (ACR) and proflavine (PRO) residues in channel catfish muscle. Residues were extracted with acidified methanol solution, and extracts were cleaned up with C18 solid-phase extraction columns. Residue concentrations were determined on an LC cyano column, with spectrophotometric detection at 454 nm. Catfish muscle was individually fortified with ACR (purified from commercial product) and PRO at concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 ppb (5 replicates per level). Mean recoveries from fortified muscle at each level ranged from 86 to 95%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.5 to 5.7%. The method was applied to incurred residues of ACR and PRO in muscle after waterborne exposure of channel catfish to commercial acriflavine (10 ppm total dye for 4 h). RSDs for incurred residues of ACR and PRO were in the same range as those for fortified muscle. Low residue concentrations (< 1% of exposure water concentration) suggested poor absorption of ACR and PRO in catfish.

Transcriptome analysis reveals enrichment of genes associated with auditory system in swimbladder of channel catfish.

PubMed

Yang, Yujia; Wang, Xiaozhu; Liu, Yang; Fu, Qiang; Tian, Changxu; Wu, Chenglong; Shi, Huitong; Yuan, Zihao; Tan, Suxu; Liu, Shikai; Gao, Dongya; Dunham, Rex; Liu, Zhanjiang

2018-04-30

In aquatic organisms, hearing is an important sense for acoustic communications and detection of sound-emitting predators and prey. Channel catfish is a dominant aquaculture species in the United States. As channel catfish can hear sounds of relatively high frequency, it serves as a good model for study auditory mechanisms. In catfishes, Weberian ossicles connect the swimbladder to the inner ear to transfer the forced vibrations and improve hearing ability. In this study, we examined the transcriptional profiles of channel catfish swimbladder and other four tissues (gill, liver, skin, and intestine). We identified a total of 1777 genes that exhibited preferential expression pattern in swimbladder of channel catfish. Based on Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, many of swimbladder-enriched genes were categorized into sensory perception of sound, auditory behavior, response to auditory stimulus, or detection of mechanical stimulus involved in sensory perception of sound, such as coch, kcnq4, sptbn1, sptbn4, dnm1, ush2a, and col11a1. Six signaling pathways associated with hearing (Glutamatergic synapse, GABAergic synapse pathways, Axon guidance, cAMP signaling pathway, Ionotropic glutamate receptor pathway, and Metabotropic glutamate receptor group III pathway) were over-represented in KEGG and PANTHER databases. Protein interaction prediction revealed an interactive relationship among the swimbladder-enriched genes and genes involved in sensory perception of sound. This study identified a set of genes and signaling pathways associated with auditory system in the swimbladder of channel catfish and provide resources for further study on the biological and physiological roles in catfish swimbladder. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Destiny-yield relationship for channel catfish reared in a biofloc technology production system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The effect of stocking density on yield of stocker channel catfish and water quality in a biofloc technology production system was studied in this completely randomized design experiment. Fingerling channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus; 48.0 g/fish, 17.8 cm/fish) were stocked into nine continuously ...

Growth performance, survival, and processing characteristics of hybrid catfish fed pre And probiotics

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There has been a lot of interest in the use of pre and probiotics to increase growth and improve disease resistance in the catfish industry. This study aimed to evaluate a commercially available prebiotic and probiotic under conditions simulating commercial production in hybrid catfish. The dietar...

Relative effectiveness of carp pituitary extract, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog LHRHa injections and LHRHa implants for producing hybrid catfish fry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Adoption of the hybrid catfish (channel catfish, Ictalruus punctatus, female x blue catfish, I. furcatus, male) is increasing in the catfish industry. The most effective way to produce fry is hormone induced spawning of females coupled with hand stripping and in vitro fertilization. The success of...

Blood flukes (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) of walking catfishes (Siluriformes: Clariidae): new genus and species from the Mekong River (Vietnam) with comments on related catfish aporocotylids.

PubMed

Truong, Triet Nhat; Bullard, Stephen A

2013-07-01

Nomasanguinicola canthoensis gen. et sp. n. infects the branchial vessels of bighead catfish, Clarias macrocephalus Günther (Siluriformes: Clariidae), in the Mekong River near Can Tho, southern Vietnam. Nomasanguinicola differs from all other genera of fish blood flukes (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) by the combination of lacking body spines and by having an anterior sucker with two flanking columns of large denticles, an intestine comprising several short papilla-like caeca, an inverse U-shaped uterus, and an ootype located near the separate genital pores. The new species has an ootype that is posterior to the level of the female genital pore. That feature most easily differentiates it from the only other putative aporocotylid species having an anterior sucker with two flanking columns of large denticles, Plehniella dentata Paperna, 1964 and Sanguinicola clarias Imam, Marzouk, Hassan et Itman, 1984, which have an ootype that is lateral (P. dentata) or anterior (S. clarias) to the level of the female genital pore. These two species apparently lack extant type materials, infect North African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), and herein are considered incertae sedis, but likely comprise species of Nomasanguinicola. An updated list of hosts, sites of infection and geographic localities for the six species and three genera of blood flukes that mature in catfishes is provided. The new species is the first fish blood fluke recorded from Vietnam and only the third reported from a walking catfish (Clariidae).

Catch of channel catfish with tandem-set hoop nets and gill nets in lentic systems of Nebraska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Richters, Lindsey K.; Pope, Kevin L.

2011-01-01

Twenty-six Nebraska water bodies representing two ecosystem types (small standing waters and large standing waters) were surveyed during 2008 and 2009 with tandem-set hoop nets and experimental gill nets to determine if similar trends existed in catch rates and size structures of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus captured with these gears. Gear efficiency was assessed as the number of sets (nets) that would be required to capture 100 channel catfish given observed catch per unit effort (CPUE). Efficiency of gill nets was not correlated with efficiency of hoop nets for capturing channel catfish. Small sample sizes prohibited estimation of proportional size distributions in most surveys; in the four surveys for which sample size was sufficient to quantify length-frequency distributions of captured channel catfish, distributions differed between gears. The CPUE of channel catfish did not differ between small and large water bodies for either gear. While catch rates of hoop nets were lower than rates recorded in previous studies, this gear was more efficient than gill nets at capturing channel catfish. However, comparisons of size structure between gears may be problematic.

Chicken-type lysozyme in channel catfish: expression analysis, lysozyme activity, and efficacy as immunostimulant against Aeromonas hydrophila infection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

To understand whether chicken-type lysozyme (Lys-c) in channel catfish was induced by infection of Aeromonas hydrophila, the transcriptional levels of Lys-c in skin, gut, liver, spleen, posterior kidney, and blood cells in healthy channel catfish was compared to that in channel catfish infected with...

Chicken-type lysozyme in channel catfish: Expression analysis, lysozyme activity and efficacy as immunostimulant against Aeromonas hydrophila infection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

To understand whether chicken-type lysozyme (Lys-c) in channel catfish was induced by infection of Aeromonas hydrophila, the transcriptional levels of Lys-c in skin, gut, liver, spleen, posterior kidney, and blood cells in healthy channel catfish was compared to that in channel catfish infected with...

Antarctic hydrology during mid-Miocene warmth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feakins, S. J.; Warny, S.; Lee, J.

2011-12-01

The Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) represents a period of global warmth 17-15 million years ago which resulted in the regrowth of vegetation on regions of Antarctica that were ice-covered since the Oligocene. A recent drilling campaign on the Antarctic ice shelf (ANDRILL SMS program) recovered middle Miocene sediments provided a first glimpse of a vegetated Antarctica at this time (Warny et al., 2009). However the hydrological regimes of Middle Miocene climate that enabled this vegetation expansion are not yet precisely known. Here we report leaf wax hydrogen isotope values of -170 to -120% indicate dD values for precipitation of -80 to -20% during the Middle Miocene. These values are significantly less negative than modern precipitation and together with microfossil evidence for warm, sea ice-free conditions, suggest an enhanced moisture flux. Experiments with isotopic tracers in idealized models under warm, ice free conditions indicate physical and dynamical support for 'heavy' polar precipitation isotopes reconstructed here. Pollen and biomarker abundances indicate peak conditions at 16.4 and 15.7Ma coeval with global anomalies of the MMCO (Zachos et al., 2001). Our results indicate increased moisture delivery to the Antarctic continent and an invigoration of meridional circulation and poleward latent heat flux during global warmth.

Behaviors of southwestern native fishes in response to introduced catfish predators

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ward, David L.; Figiel, Chester R.

2013-01-01

Native fishes reared in hatcheries typically suffer high predation mortality when stocked into natural environments. We evaluated the behavior of juvenile bonytail Gila elegans, roundtail chub Gila robusta, razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus, and Sonora sucker Catostomus insignis in response to introduced channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris. Our laboratory tests indicate these species did not inherently recognize catfish as a threat, but they can quickly (within 12 h) change their behavior in response to a novel predator paired with the sight and scent of a dead conspecific. Chubs appear to avoid predation by swimming away from the threat, whereas suckers reduced movement. Effects of antipredator conditioning on survival of fish reared in hatcheries is unknown; however, our results suggest some native fish can be conditioned to recognize introduced predators, which could increase poststocking survival.

Age, growth and fall diet of channel catfish in Cheat Lake, West Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hilling, Corbin D.; Welsh, Stuart A.; Smith, Dustin M.

2016-01-01

Acidification has historically impaired Cheat Lake's fish community, but recent mitigation efforts within the Cheat River watershed have improved water quality and species richness. Presently, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus are abundant and attain desirable sizes for anglers. We evaluated the age, growth, and fall diet of the population. We collected a sample of 155 channel catfish from Cheat Lake from 5 August to 4 December 2014, a subset of which we aged (n = 148) using lapillus otoliths. We fit four growth models (von Bertalanffy, logistic, Gompertz, and power) to length-at-age data and compared models using an information theoretic approach. We collected fall diets from 55 fish sampled from 13 October to 4 December 2014. Total lengths of individuals in the sample ranged from 154 to 721 mm and ages ranged from 2 to 19 y. We AICc-selected the von Bertalanffy growth model as the best approximating model, and the power and Gompertz models also had considerable support. Diets were numerically dominated by Diptera larvae, specifically Chironomidae and Chaoboridae, while 39% of stomachs contained terrestrial food items. This study provides baseline data for management of Cheat Lake's channel catfish population. Further, this study fills a knowledge gap in the scientific literature on channel catfish, because few previously published studies have examined the population ecology of channel catfish in the Central Appalachian region.

Iron status of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus affected by channel catfish anemia and response to parenteral iron

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Originally reported in 1983, channel catfish anemia (CCA), also ‘white lip’ or ‘no blood,’ is a major idiopathic disease affecting commercial production in the Mississippi Delta region of the USA. Affected individuals are characterized by lethargy, anorexia, extreme pallor, and packed cell volumes o...

Success of cuckoo catfish brood parasitism reflects coevolutionary history and individual experience of their cichlid hosts

PubMed Central

Polačik, Matej; Smith, Carl; Honza, Marcel; Reichard, Martin

2018-01-01

Obligate brood parasites manipulate other species into raising their offspring. Avian and insect brood parasitic systems demonstrate how interacting species engage in reciprocal coevolutionary arms races through behavioral and morphological adaptations and counteradaptations. Mouthbrooding cichlid fishes are renowned for their remarkable evolutionary radiations and complex behaviors. In Lake Tanganyika, mouthbrooding cichlids are exploited by the only obligate nonavian vertebrate brood parasite, the cuckoo catfish Synodontis multipunctatus. We show that coevolutionary history and individual learning both have a major impact on the success of cuckoo catfish parasitism between coevolved sympatric and evolutionarily naïve allopatric cichlid species. The rate of cuckoo catfish parasitism in coevolved Tanganyikan hosts was 3 to 11 times lower than in evolutionarily naïve cichlids. Moreover, using experimental infections, we demonstrate that parasite egg rejection in sympatric hosts was much higher, leading to seven times greater parasite survival in evolutionarily naïve than sympatric hosts. However, a high rejection frequency of parasitic catfish eggs by coevolved sympatric hosts came at a cost of increased rejection of their own eggs. A significant cost of catfish parasitism was universal, except for coevolved sympatric cichlid species with previous experience of catfish parasitism, demonstrating that learning and individual experience both contribute to a successful host response. PMID:29732407

Managing summertime off-flavors in catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Summertime phytoplankton blooms in channel catfish ponds often contain blue-green algae that produce musty or earthy odors. The odorous compounds are absorbed by fish across their gills and deposited in fatty tissues, giving fish undesirable “off-flavors.” When fish are declared off-flavored by proc...

Molecular Cloning and Sequencing of Hemoglobin-Beta Gene of Channel Catfish, Ictalurus Punctatus Rafinesque

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

: Hemoglobin-y gene of channel catfish , lctalurus punctatus, was cloned and sequenced . Total RNA from head kidneys was isolated, reverse transcribed and amplified . The sequence of the channel catfish hemoglobin-y gene consists of 600 nucleotides . Analysis of the nucleotide sequence reveals one o...

Statistical approaches to optimize detection of MIB off-flavor in aquaculture raised channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The catfish industry prides itself on preventing inadvertent sale of off-flavor fish. Typically, several fish are taste tested over several weeks before pond harvest to confirm good fish flavor quality. We collected several data sets of analytically measured off-flavor concentrations in catfish to...

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) bioassay for visceral toxicosis of catfish and botulinum neurotoxin serotype E

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Visceral toxicosis of catfish (VTC), a sporadic disease of cultured channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) often with high mortality, is caused by botulinum neurotoxin serotype E (BoNT/E). Presumptive diagnosis of VTC is based on characteristic clinical signs and lesions, and the production of these ...

Novel transcripts of the estrogen receptor α gene in channel catfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Patino, Reynaldo; Xia, Zhenfang; Gale, William L.; Wu, Chunfa; Maule, Alec G.; Chang, Xiaotian

2000-01-01

Complementary DNA libraries from liver and ovary of an immature female channel catfish were screened with a homologous ERα cDNA probe. The hepatic library yielded two new channel catfish ER cDNAs that encode N-terminal ERα variants of different sizes. Relative to the catfish ERα (medium size; 581 residues) previously reported, these new cDNAs encode Long-ERα (36 residues longer) and Short-ERα (389 residues shorter). The 5′-end of Long-ERα cDNA is identical to that of Medium-ERα but has an additional 503-bp segment with an upstream, in-frame translation-start codon. Recombinant Long-ERα binds estrogen with high affinity (Kd = 3.4 nM), similar to that previously reported for Medium-ERα but lower than reported for catfish ERβ. Short-ERα cDNA encodes a protein that lacks most of the receptor protein and does not bind estrogen. Northern hybridization confirmed the existence of multiple hepatic ERα RNAs that include the size range of the ERα cDNAs obtained from the libraries as well as additional sizes. Using primers for RT-PCR that target locations internal to the protein-coding sequence, we also established the presence of several ERα cDNA variants with in-frame insertions in the ligand-binding and DNA-binding domains and in-frame or out-of-frame deletions in the ligand-binding domain. These internal variants showed patterns of expression that differed between the ovary and liver. Further, the ovarian library yielded a full-length, ERα antisense cDNA containing a poly(A) signal and tail. A limited survey of histological preparations from juvenile catfish by in situ hybridization using directionally synthesized cRNA probes also suggested the expression of ERα antisense RNA in a tissue-specific manner. In conclusion, channel catfish seemingly have three broad classes of ERα mRNA variants: those encoding N-terminal truncated variants, those encoding internal variants (including C-terminal truncated variants), and antisense mRNA. The sense variants may

Analysis of apolipoprotein genes and their involvement in disease response of channel catfish after bacterial infection.

PubMed

Yang, Yujia; Fu, Qiang; Zhou, Tao; Li, Yun; Liu, Shikai; Zeng, Qifan; Wang, Xiaozhu; Jin, Yulin; Tian, Changxu; Qin, Zhenkui; Dunham, Rex; Liu, Zhanjiang

2017-02-01

Apolipoproteins are protein component of plasma lipoproteins. They exert crucial roles in lipoprotein metabolism and serve as enzyme cofactors, receptor ligands, and lipid transfer carriers in mammals. In teleosts, apolipoproteins are also involved in diverse processes including embryonic and ontogenic development, liver and digestive system organogenesis, and innate immunity. In this study, we identified a set of 19 apolipoprotein genes in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Phylogenetic analysis and syntenic analysis were conducted to determine their identities and evolutionary relationships. The expression signatures of apolipoproteins in channel catfish were determined in healthy tissues and after infections with two major bacterial pathogens, Edwardsiella ictaluri and Flavobacterium columnare. In healthy channel catfish, most apolipoprotein genes exhibited tissue-specific expression patterns in channel catfish. After ESC and columnaris infections, 5 and 7 apolipoprotein genes were differentially expressed respectively, which presented a pathogen-specific and time-dependent pattern of regulation. After ESC infection, three exchangeable apolipoproteins (apoA-IB, apoC-I, and apoE-B) were suppressed in catfish intestine, while two nonexchangeable apolipoproteins (apoB-A and apoB-B) were slightly up-regulated. After columnaris infection, apoB-B, apoD-B, and apoE-A were significantly down-regulated in catfish gill, while apoF, apoL-IV, apoO-like, and apo-14 kDa showed significantly up-regulation. Taken together, these results suggested that apolipoprotein genes may play significant roles in innate immune responses to bacterial pathogens in channel catfish. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The physico-chemical properties of pangas catfish (Pangasius pangasius) skin gelatin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pradarameswari, K. A.; Zaelani, K.; Waluyo, E.; Nurdiani, R.

2018-04-01

Gelatin can be used as emulsifier and stabilizer in food products. Until now, the most widely used raw materials for the production of gelatin industry are cow bone, cow skin and pig skin. Fish gelatin has been highlighted as a better alternative to replace mammals gelatin based on ethical and religious perspective. Fish gelatin was extracted from Pangas catfish skin to determine its physico-chemical properties. Different temperatures (45 °C, 50 °C, 55 °C) were employed during gelatin extraction. Higher temperature increased the yield and fat contents of Pangas catfish skin gelatin. In contrary, higher water, protein, ash contents were observed during lower temperature. Temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected the gel strength, viscosity, melting point, and gelling point of fish skin gelatin. Based on the FTIR spectrum catfish skin gelatin functional groups can be identified as N-H, O-H, C = H, C-O and C-H.

Efficacy of a live attenuated Edwardsiella ictaluri oral vaccine in channel and hybrid catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study evaluated the efficacy of an oral live-attenuated Edwardsiella ictaluri vaccine against enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) in channel and hybrid catfish. The vaccine was delivered orally by feeding fish a diet coated with an attenuated E. ictaluri isolate at four doses to deliver betwee...

Evaluation of hydrolyzed poultry feathers as a dietary ingredient for pond-raised channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The present study examined the use of hydrolyzed poultry feathers (HPF) as a replacement for soybean meal in diets for pond raised channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Four isonitrogenous (28% crude protein) diets were evaluated that contained 0, 5, 10, or 15% HPF. Fingerling Channel catfish (mean ±...

The performance analysis of hybrid seeds between catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell) semarang and sangkuriang strains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basuki, F.; Susilowati, T.; Harwanto, D.

2018-03-01

This study aimed to analyze the performance of hybrid seeds between catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell) semarang and sangkuriang strains by parameters of fecundity, length and weight gain and seeds survival rate. The material used in this study was the parent of catfish semarang and sangkuriang strains. The research method used was experimental method using Completely Randomized Design (RAL), consists of four treatments and three replications. Those were Treatment A (semarang/HH ♀ × semarang/HH ♂), Treatment B (semarang/HH ♀ × sangkuriang/SS ♂), Treatment C (sangkuriang/SS ♀ × sangkuriang/SS ♂) and Treatment D (sangkuriang/SS ♀ × sangkuriang/SS ♂). The results showed that fecundity of most catfish eggs were obtained from treatment A, B, C and D. The hatching rate of catfish eggs from various treatments was not significantly different. Performance of seeds with length and weight parameters showed that newly hatched larvae until the age of one-week-feeding catfish are not significantly, the difference in seed performance began to appear on the 14th day of feeding. The order of the best treatment result were C, B, D and A. The difference was more significant at 28 days of feeding.

Miocene reef carbonates of Mariana Islands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Siegrist, H.G. Jr.

1988-01-01

Miocene carbonates in the southern Mariana Islands are impressive for their lithologic diversity, thicknesses (over 250 m), and geographic extend (>20% combined outcrop coverage over four major high islands: Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan). Sections are dominated either by lagoonal algal-foraminiferal wackestones and mudstones with locally abundant high-energy shelly-skeletal facies, or by rubbly to muddy, fore-reef-to-bank deposits of packstones and grainstones with highly diverse and variable biogenic clasts. Fresh to deeply weathered volcaniclastic material may comprise at least 80% of some high-energy fore-reef facies, whereas lagoonal and bank deposits usually contain less than 0.5% terrigenous material. Surprisingly, the Miocene inmore » the Marianas lacks almost completely any reef-core facies. Several poorly developed coral-rich mounds on Saipan and localized laminated red algal buildups on Guam appear to constitute the extant reef-wall facies in the Miocene. The lack of buildups may be a matter of differential survival; it may result from headland erosion and benching associated with emergency of narrow reef tracts as has been postulated by others for south Guam. Radiometric age dating of these reef carbonates has proven unsuccessful because pervasive diagenesis has transformed the entire Miocene section into low-magnesium calcite with minor and occasional dolomite. Freshwater phreatic diagenesis accounts for the principal porosity variation and trace element distribution.« less

Evaluation of Catfish Skin Hydrolysates as a Glazing Material for Air-Blast Frozen Shrimp

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Catfish is one of the most widely consumed seafood in the United States. A by-product of this consumption is a large quantity of catfish skin (CS), approximately 8,200 metric tons in 2014. Enzymatic hydrolysis is used to produce protein hydrolysates from the skin. These hydrolysates have considerabl...

Miocene vegetation shift and climate change: Evidence from the Siwalik of Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Gaurav; Paudayal, Khum N.; Utescher, Torsten; Mehrotra, R. C.

2018-02-01

We reconstruct climate and vegetation applying the Coexistence Approach (CA) methodology on two palaeofloras recovered from the Lower (middle Miocene; 13-11 Ma) and Middle Siwalik (late Miocene; 9.5-6.8 Ma) sediments of Surai Khola section, Nepal. The reconstructed mean annual temperature (MAT) and cold month mean temperature (CMT) show an increasing trend, while warm month mean temperature (WMT) remains nearly the same during the period. The reconstructed precipitation data indicates that the summer monsoon precipitation was nearly the same during the middle and late Miocene, while the winter season precipitation significantly decreased in the late Miocene. The overall precipitation infers increased rainfall seasonality during the late Miocene. The vegetation during the middle Miocene was dominated by wet evergreen taxa, whereas deciduous ones increased significantly during the late Miocene. The reconstructed climate data indicates that high temperature and significantly low precipitation during the winter season (dry season) in the late Miocene might have enhanced forest fire which favoured the expansion of C4 plants over C3 plants during the period. This idea gets further support not only from a recent forest fire in northern India that was caused by the weakening of winter precipitation, but also from the burnt wood recovered from the late Miocene Siwalik sediments of northern India.

Effects of egg quality and method of incubation on the hatching success of channel X blue hybrid catfish eggs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of egg quality of stripped eggs from channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and method of incubation of fertilized hybrid catfish eggs on hatching success. Stripped eggs from 17 channel catfish females were evaluated in a 2 x 2 factorial...

Middle and upper Miocene natural gas sands in onshore and offshore Alabama

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mink, R.M.; Mancini, E.A.; Bearden, B.L.

1988-09-01

Thirty Miocene natural gas fields have been established in onshore and offshore Alabama since the discovery of Miocene gas in this area in 1979. These fields have produced over 16 bcf of natural gas from the middle Miocene Amos sand (24 fields) and upper Miocene Luce (3 fields), Escambia (1 field), and Meyer (3 fields) sands. Production from the Amos transgressive sands represents over 92% of the cumulative shallow Miocene natural gas produced in onshore and offshore Alabama. In addition, over 127 bcf of natural gas has been produced from upper Miocene sands in the Chandeleur area. The productive Miocenemore » section in onshore and coastal Alabama is interpreted to present transgressive marine shelf and regressive shoreface sands. The middle Miocene Amos sand bars are the most productive reservoirs of natural gas in onshore and coastal Alabama, principally due to the porous and permeable nature of these transgressive sands and their stratigraphic relationship to the underlying basinal clays in this area. In offshore Alabama the upper Miocene sands become thicker and are generally more porous and permeable than their onshore equivalents. Because of their deeper burial depth in offshore Alabama, these upper Miocene sands are associated with marine clays that are thermally more mature. The combination of reservoir grade lithologies associated with moderately mature petroleum source rocks enhances the natural gas potential of the upper Miocene sands in offshore Alabama.« less

DEET toxicity to channel catfish sac fry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The combination of open facilities, moisture, and warm weather during channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus spawning season causes mosquito-infestation problems. A common solution to mosquito problems in hatcheries is to use mosquito repellents applied to exposed skin and clothing. DEET (N,N-diethyl-...

Biomarker assessment of the effects of coal strip-mine contamination on channel catfish.

PubMed

Martin, L K; Black, M C

1998-11-01

A suite of biomarkers was used to evaluate acute (1-day) to semichronic (3-month) heavy metal-induced toxicity in channel catfish, lctalurus punctatus, caged at an abandoned strip mine and a noncontaminated reference site. Assays performed include indicators of metabolic, hematological, osmoregulatory, and genotoxic stress. Two cage designs were used to evaluate the importance of exposure routes: one excluding contact with the sediments and the other allowing contact with water and sediments. Significant DNA strand breakage was observed in catfish exposed to both exposure regimens, but evidence of DNA repair was observed only in water-exposed catfish. Transient increases in hemoglobin, delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase, and hematocrit levels were observed at 1 month's exposure for both exposure regimens, followed by a return to control levels for the duration of the study. Environmental conditions (i.e., weather-related changes in water quality) may have contributed to the variable plasma chloride and glucose levels observed in all catfish exposed to strip-mine wastes. The transient changes in biomarkers followed by a return to reference values represent an initial stress and an acclimation to normal levels. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Toxicity of organophosphorus pesticide sumithion on larval stages of stinging catfish Heteropneustes fossilis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahjahan, Md.; Kabir, Md. Farajul; Sumon, Kizar Ahmed; Bhowmik, Lipi Rani; Rashid, Harunur

2017-01-01

Sumithion is widely used to control brittle in paddy fields and tiger bug in fish larval rearing ponds. The objective of this study was to elucidate the toxic effects of sumithion on larval stages of stinging catfish Heteropneustes fossilis. Larvae were exposed to two concentrations (150 and 250 μg/L) of sumithion with one control in three replicates of each. Larvae samples were collected at 20- and 24-h intervals followed by observation under a digital microscope. Exposures of stinging catfish larvae to sumithion produced deformities including irregular head shape, lordosis, yolk sac edema, body arcuation, tissue ulceration, etc. The mortality rates of larvae were significantly increased in response to increase in sumithion concentrations. Furthermore, around 30% of the total adult stinging catfish reared in sumithiontreated aquaculture ponds were found to be deformed permanently. These findings highlight that exposure of stinging catfish to sumithion at the critical and sensitive stages in their life cycle may significantly reduce the number of returning adults. Therefore, the use of sumithion for crop protection needs to be considered carefully and alternatives to sumithion should to be developed for controlling aquatic insects in aqua-ponds during larval rearing.

Miocene reef carbonates of Mariana Islands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Siegrist, H.G. Jr.

1988-02-01

Miocene carbonates in the southern Mariana Islands are impressive for their lithologic diversity, thicknesses (over 250 m), and geographic extent (> 20% combined outcrop coverage over four major high islands: Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan). Sections are dominated either by lagoonal algal-foraminiferal wackestones and mudstones with locally abundant high-energy shelly-skeletal facies, or by rubbly to muddy, fore-reef-to-bank deposits of packstones and grainstones with highly diverse and variable biogenic clasts. Fresh to deeply weathered volcaniclastic material may comprise at least 80% of some high-energy fore-reef facies, whereas lagoonal and bank deposits usually contain less than 0.5% terrigenous material. Surprisingly, the Miocenemore » in the Marianas lacks almost completely any reef-core facies. Several poorly developed coral-rich mounds on Saipan and localized laminated red algal buildups on Guam appear to constitute the extant reef-wall facies in the Miocene. The lack of buildups may be a matter of differential survival; it may result from headland erosion and benching associated with emergence of narrow reef tracts as has been postulated by others for south Guam. Alternatively, the authors are proposing that Miocene bathymetry and the volume of terrigenous influx militated against significant reef core formation. Radiometric age dating of these reef carbonates has proven unsuccessful because pervasive diagenesis has transformed the entire Miocene section into low-magnesium calcite with minor and occasional dolomite. Freshwater phreatic diagenesis accounts for the principal porosity variation and trace element distribution.« less

Pectoral sound generation in the blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus.

PubMed

Mohajer, Yasha; Ghahramani, Zachary; Fine, Michael L

2015-03-01

Catfishes produce pectoral stridulatory sounds by "jerk" movements that rub ridges on the dorsal process against the cleithrum. We recorded sound synchronized with high-speed video to investigate the hypothesis that blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus produce sounds by a slip-stick mechanism, previously described only in invertebrates. Blue catfish produce a variably paced series of sound pulses during abduction sweeps (pulsers) although some individuals (sliders) form longer duration sound units (slides) interspersed with pulses. Typical pulser sounds are evoked by short 1-2 ms movements with a rotation of 2°-3°. Jerks excite sounds that increase in amplitude after motion stops, suggesting constructive interference, which decays before the next jerk. Longer contact of the ridges produces a more steady-state sound in slides. Pulse pattern during stridulation is determined by pauses without movement: the spine moves during about 14 % of the abduction sweep in pulsers (~45 % in sliders) although movement appears continuous to the human eye. Spine rotation parameters do not predict pulse amplitude, but amplitude correlates with pause duration suggesting that force between the dorsal process and cleithrum increases with longer pauses. Sound production, stimulated by a series of rapid movements that set the pectoral girdle into resonance, is caused by a slip-stick mechanism.

Identification and Expression Analyses of Poly[I:C]-stimulated Genes in Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) have proven to be an excellent model with which to study immune responses in lower vertebrates. Identification of antiviral antibodies and cytotoxic cells, as well as both type I and II interferon (IFN), demonstrate that catfish likely mount a vigorous anti-vir...

Cart Regulates Food Intake in Channel Catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cocaine-and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript (CART) is a potent hypothalamic anorectic peptide in mammals and fish. We hypothesized that increased food intake is associated with changes in expression of CART mRNA within the brain of channel catfish. Objectives were to clone the CART gene, examine ...

Small molecules targeting LapB protein prevent Listeria attachment to catfish muscle

PubMed Central

Das, Bhaskar; Lawrence, Mark

2017-01-01

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive foodborne pathogen and the causative agent of listeriosis. L. monocytogenes lapB gene encodes a cell wall surface anchor protein, and mutation of this gene causes Listeria attenuation in mice. In this work, the potential role of Listeria LapB protein in catfish fillet attachment was investigated. To achieve this, boron-based small molecules designed to interfere with the active site of the L. monocytogenes LapB protein were developed, and their ability to prevent L. monocytogenes attachment to fish fillet was tested. Results indicated that seven out of nine different small molecules were effective in reducing the Listeria attachment to catfish fillets. Of these, three small molecules (SM3, SM5, and SM7) were highly effective in blocking Listeria attachment to catfish fillets. This study suggests an alternative strategy for reduction of L. monocytogenes contamination in fresh and frozen fish products. PMID:29253892

A non-lethal means to identify spermiating D&B strain of blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

US farm-raised catfish production was 334 million pounds in 2013, the first annual increase documented in a decade. This positive development is due to the increased adoption of channel x blue hybrid catfish in the industry. Research and development efforts to improve the genetics of channel catfi...

Performance evaluation of intensive, pond-based culture systems for catfish production in Mississippi: year one

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Catfish farming is the leading form of aquaculture in the U.S. and has a significant economic impact in the southern states. Increased feed and energy costs, and competition from foreign imports have recently caused catfish farmers to intensify production as a means of improving efficiency and profi...

A reconnaissance study of halogenated organic compounds in catfish from the lower Mississippi river and its major tributaries

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leiker, T.J.; Rostad, C.E.; Barnes, C.R.; Pereira, W.E.

1991-01-01

Blue catfish, (Ictarurus furcatus), black bullhead catfish, (Ictalurus melas), channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), and flathead catfish (Pylodictus olivaris), were collected along a 1200 mile river reach of the Mississippi River and its major tributaries. Tissue samples were extracted and analyzed by fused silica capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to determine the concentrations of hydrophobic organic halogenated contaminants that have bioconcentrated within the tissues. The compounds identified in the tissue include chlordane, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and its metabolites along with several other chlorinated pesticides. The data indicates that the southern reach of the river system appears to be more contaminated than the middle and upper reaches of the study area.

Effects of dietary sweet potato leaf meal on the growth, non-specific immune responses, total phenols and antioxidant capacity in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus).

PubMed

Lochmann, Rebecca T; Islam, Shahidul; Phillips, Harold; Adam, Zelalem; Everette, Jace

2013-04-01

Traditional energy sources in catfish diets have become costly, and economical alternatives are needed. Sweet potato leaves are underutilised agricultural by-products that provide energy and substantial amounts of phenols, which affect animal and human health. There is little information on the effects of these compounds on catfish, or the capacity of catfish to accumulate dietary phenols. Catfish enriched with phenols have marketing potential as functional foods. This study investigated the effects of diets with sweet potato leaf meal (SPLM) on growth performance, health and total phenolic compounds in catfish. SPLM was substituted for wheat middlings in three diets fed to groups of juvenile catfish for 10 weeks. Weight gain, feed conversion, survival, alternative complement activity and lysozyme activity were similar among diets. Haematocrit was lower in fish fed diets with SPLM, but within the normal range. Total phenols and antioxidant capacity in the whole body were similar among treatments. SPLM was an effective energy source for catfish up to the maximum level tested (230 g kg(-1) diet). SPLM did not enhance total phenols in catfish, but there were no apparent antinutritional effects of the meal on catfish growth, health or survival. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

Prevalence of pansteatitis in African sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

PubMed

Huchzermeyer, K David A

2012-11-09

Pansteatitis was confirmed in sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), from three main locations within the Kruger National Park (KNP); the Olifants River Gorge, Engelhard Dam on the Letaba River and from the Sabie River in the Sabiepoort. An increasing prevalence of pansteatitis was observed in catfish during repeated samplings from the Olifants Gorge from 2009 to 2011 and co-existence of old and recent lesions indicated on-going incitement of pansteatitis. Only a low prevalence of pansteatitis was observed in catfish sampled from the Olifants River upstream of the Gorge in the KNP and no pansteatitis was observed in catfish sampled from a rain-filled dam not connected to the Olifants River. Common to both the Olifants Gorge and the Sabiepoort is the damming of the rivers in Mozambique to form lakes Massingir and Corumana respectively. Anthropogenic activities resulting in potential pollution of the rivers differ greatly between these two catchments, providing argument against a primary pollution-related aetiology of the pansteatitis found at these two sites. Compared with other sites, analysis of stomach contents of catfish from the Olifants Gorge and the Sabiepoort strongly suggested that consumption of a predominantly fish diet was associated with the development of pansteatitis in these fish. In a farmed population of catfish used as positive control, development of pansteatitis could be ascribed to consumption of rancid fish waste from a trout slaughterhouse. In the Olifants Gorge, alien invasive silver carp, Hypophthalmychthys molitrix (Valenciennes), seasonally migrate upstream out of Lake Massingir to spawn. This schooling species is an obligate phytoplankton feeder with consequent high levels of adipose tissue n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. In the Olifants Gorge, at least, this may explain seasonal exposure to levels of polyunsaturated fats in the diets of catfish and crocodiles to which these animals are not adapted. The possible roles of

An AFLP-based genetic linkage map of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) constructed by using an interspecific hybrid resource family.

PubMed Central

Liu, Zhanjiang; Karsi, Attila; Li, Ping; Cao, Dongfeng; Dunham, R

2003-01-01

Catfish is the major aquaculture species in the United States. The hybrid catfish produced by crossing channel catfish females with blue catfish males exhibit a number of desirable production traits, but their mass production has been difficult. To introduce desirable genes from blue catfish into channel catfish through introgression, a genetic linkage map is helpful. In this project, a genetic linkage map was constructed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). A total of 607 AFLP markers were analyzed using 65 primer combinations and an interspecific backcross resource family. A total of 418 AFLP markers were assigned to 44 linkage groups. Among the remaining 189 markers, 101 were not used because of significant segregation distortion, 29 were unlinked, and 59 were eliminated because they span very large distances. The 418 AFLP markers covered 1593 cM Kosambi. The AFLP markers showed a high level of clustering that appears to be related to certain primer combinations. This linkage map will serve as the basis for mapping a greater number of markers to provide a map with high enough resolution for it to be useful for selective breeding programs using introgression. PMID:14573480

Effect of post-spawning broodfish diet with high lipid content and n-3 fatty acids on reproductive performance of channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel x blue hybrid catfish are exclusively produced by hormone-induced spawning protocols and this process has proved to be a reliable method to mass produce hybrid catfish in hatcheries. Strip spawning of channel catfish needs a continuous and reliable supply of mature (gravid) fish during the...

The early to mid-Miocene environment of Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashworth, A. C.; Lewis, A.

2012-12-01

Paleoecological studies in the Transantarctic Mountains of the McMurdo region provide evidence that the climate was both warmer and wetter in the early to mid-Miocene than it was during the late Miocene. The climate change was accompanied by a shift from wet- to cold-based glaciation in the TAM and the probable growth of the polar ice sheet. Terrestrial and freshwater aquatic fossil assemblages from the Friis Hills (77°S) and the Olympus Range (77°S), with endpoint 40Ar/39Ar ages on tephras of 19.76 Ma and 14.07 Ma, respectively, indicate climatic cooling during the interval. At c.14 Ma, the temperature dropped below the threshold required to support the plants and insects of a tundra biome, and they became extinct. This interpretation is supported by pollen studies from Ross Sea cores. The extinction of the tundra biota on the continent appears to have been time-transgressive, occurring at 12.8 Ma on the Antarctic Peninsula. Evidence of climatic cooling from early to mid-Miocene is based on a decrease in biodiversity. During interglacial phases of the early Miocene, the poorly drained valley of the Friis Hills supported a sexually-reproducing moss community dominated by Campylium cf. polygamum, which today grows on the margins of lakes and in soil between boulders. Wood and leaves of Nothofagus (Southern Beech), and the seeds of at least five other angiosperm species are preserved as fossils. In addition, there are abundant megaspores and spiny, curved leaves of the aquatic lycopod Isoetes (Quillwort), as well as chitinous remains of curculionid beetles and Chironomidae (midges). During glacial phases, the only fossils found are Nothofagus leaves of a species which appears to be different than that associated with the interglacial phases. Pollen supports the interpretation that there was more than one species of Nothofagus in the vegetation. The types and numbers of species indicate that the vegetation was a shrub tundra. The closest modern analog for the fossil

Empowering Farmer’s Wife Makes Catfish Feed (Pellet) in Nagari Limau Gadang Pesisir Selatan District, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armen, A.

2018-04-01

The life of Nagari Limau Gadang, Pesisir Selatan District, West Sumatra, Indonesia is poor. They conduct economic activities in Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS), so that TNKS become damaged. Catfish farming can serve as the main effort to increase family income. Economically catfish farming is very profitable. Catfish farming is not difficult and can be done by farmers who do not usually cultivate freshwater fish. The right family member is empowered to improve the family economy through the cultivation of catfish is the farmer's wife. Farmers' wives in Nagari Limau Gadang tend not to improve the family economically, they play the role of taking care of children, doing housework and sometimes delivering food to the fields and to the fields. How to research, selected 20 poor farmer’s wife, then trained to make ponds and pellets. The pool made are the main pond, spawning pond, nursery pool and pond enlargement. Pellet made from raw trash fish, quail feces, fine bran and cassava. The pellet formulation is made of 4 kinds. Each formulation produces a quality pellet. Based on laboratory test produced pellet contains very good nutrition for enlargement catfish. The nutritional range of protein is 21,79%-34,60%, fat is 1,95%-2,32% and carbohydrate is 26,55%-39,65%. The goal to be achieved in this research is for the wife of farmers can contribute to improve the family economy. Specific targets to be achieved in this study is the wife of skilled farmers cultivate catfish.

Oxygen requirement of separated hybrid catfish eggs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish egg masses require hatchery water with over 7.8 ppm dissolved oxygen at 80° F (95% air saturation) to maintain maximum oxygen consumption as they near hatching. This concentration is called the critical oxygen requirement by scientists but for the purpose of this article we will call...

Seasonal migration and homing of channel catfish in the lower Wisconsin River, Wisconsin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pellett, Thomas D.; Van Dyck, Gene J.; Adams, Jean V.

1998-01-01

A multiyear tag and recapture study was conducted to determine whether channel catfishIctalurus punctatus were migratory and if they had strong homing tendencies. Over 10,000 channel catfish were tagged from the lower Wisconsin River and adjacent waters of the upper Mississippi River during the 3-year sampling period. Data on movements were obtained from study recaptures and through tag returns and harvest information provided by sport anglers and commercial fishers. Channel catfish occupied relatively small home ranges during summer, migrated downstream to the upper Mississippi River in autumn, then migrated back up the Wisconsin River in spring to spawn and to occupy the same summer home sites they had used in previous summers. Fish size was a factor in the degree of fidelity to summer home sites, with larger fish showing greater fidelity.

Effects of metomindate hydrochloride and tricaine methanesulfonate on the short term cortisol response in channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The effects of metomidate hydrochloride and tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) on cortisol stress response of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, were examined during 10 minutes of sedation. Channel catfish were assigned to three treatments: 1. Metomidate hydrochloride (12.5 mg/L), 2. MS-222 (100...

Comparative transcriptome analysis of the swimbladder reveals expression signatures in response to low oxygen stress in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.

PubMed

Yang, Yujia; Fu, Qiang; Wang, Xiaozhu; Liu, Yang; Zeng, Qifan; Li, Yun; Gao, Sen; Bao, Lisui; Liu, Shikai; Gao, Dongya; Dunham, Rex; Liu, Zhanjiang

2018-05-25

Channel catfish is the leading aquaculture species in the US, and one of the reasons for its application in aquaculture is its relatively high tolerance against hypoxia. However, hypoxia can still cause huge economic losses to the catfish industry. Studies on hypoxia tolerance, therefore, are important for aquaculture. Fish swimbladder has been considered as an accessory respiration organ surrounded by a dense capillary countercurrent exchange system. In this regard, we conducted RNA-Seq analysis with swimbladder samples of catfish under hypoxic and normal conditions to determine if swimbladder was responsive to low oxygen treatment, and to reveal genes, their expression patterns and pathways involved in hypoxia responses in catfish. A total of 155 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from swimbladder of adult catfish, whereas a total of 2,127 DEGs were identified from swimbladder of fingerling catfish, under hypoxic condition as compared to untreated controls. Subsequent pathway analysis revealed that many DEGs under hypoxia were involved in HIF signaling pathway (nos2, eno2, camk2d2, prkcb, cdkn1a, eno1, and tfrc), MAPK signaling pathway (voltage-dependent calcium channel subunit genes), PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway (itga6, g6pc, and cdkn1a), Ras signaling pathway (efna3 and ksr2), and signaling by VEGF (fn1, wasf3, and hspb1) in catfish swimbladder. This study provided insights into regulation of gene expression and their involved gene pathways in catfish swimbladder in response to low oxygen stresses.

Efficacy of oxytetracycline hydrochloride bath immersion to control external columnaris disease on walleye and channel catfish fingerlings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rach, J.J.; Johnson, Aaron H.; Rudacille, J.B.; Schleis, S.M.

2008-01-01

The efficacy of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC-HCl) in controlling external columnaris disease caused by Flavobacterium columnare on fingerling walleyes Sander vitreus and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus was evaluated in two on-site hatchery trials. Microscopic examination of skin scrapings before treatment confirmed the presence of bacteria with characteristics indicative of F. columnare.in separate trials, walleyes (4.4 g) and channel catfish (1.5 g) were exposed to 60-min static bath treatments of OTC-HCl at 0, 10, and 20 mg/L (walleyes) or 0, 10, 20, and 40 mg/L (channel catfish) on three consecutive days. Each treatment regimen was tested in triplicate, and each replicate contained either 30 walleyes or 55 channel catfish. Posttreatment presumptive disease diagnosis indicated that F. columnare was the disease agent causing the mortality in both species of fish. Walleye survival at 10 d posttreatment was greater in the 10- and 20-mg/L treatment groups than in the control group; however, only the 10-mg/L treatment significantly (P < 0.05) increased walleye survival in comparison with controls. In the channel catfish trial, survival at 10 d posttreatment was significantly (P < 0.05) greater for all OTC-HCl treatment groups relative to controls. Results from these trials indicated that OTC-HCl treatments effectively reduced mortality in walleyes (10 mg/L only) and channel catfish infected with F. columnare. ?? Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2008.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the Freshwater Catfish Rita rita (Siluriformes, Bagridae).

PubMed

Lashari, Punhal; Laghari, Muhammad Younis; Xu, Peng; Zhao, Zixia; Jiang, Li; Narejo, Naeem Tariq; Deng, Yulin; Sun, Xiaowen; Zhang, Yan

2015-01-01

The complete mitochondrial genome of Catfish, Rita rita, was isolated by LA PCR (TakaRa LAtaq, Dalian, China); and sequenced by Sanger's method to obtain the complete mitochondrial genome, which is listed Critically Endangered and Red Listed species. The complete mitogenome was 16,449 bp in length and contains 13 typical vertebrate protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA and 22 tRNA genes. The whole genome base composition was estimated to be 33.40% A, 27.43% C, 14.26% G and 24.89% T. The complete mitochondrial genome of catfish, Rita rita provides the basis for genetic breeding and conservation studies.

Spatial variability and macro‐scale drivers of growth for native and introduced Flathead Catfish populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Massie, Danielle L.; Smith, Geoffrey; Bonvechio, Timothy F.; Bunch, Aaron J.; Lucchesi, David O.; Wagner, Tyler

2018-01-01

Quantifying spatial variability in fish growth and identifying large‐scale drivers of growth are fundamental to many conservation and management decisions. Although fish growth studies often focus on a single population, it is becoming increasingly clear that large‐scale studies are likely needed for addressing transboundary management needs. This is particularly true for species with high recreational value and for those with negative ecological consequences when introduced outside of their native range, such as the Flathead Catfish Pylodictis olivaris. This study quantified growth variability of the Flathead Catfish across a large portion of its contemporary range to determine whether growth differences existed between habitat types (i.e., reservoirs and rivers) and between native and introduced populations. Additionally, we investigated whether growth parameters varied as a function of latitude and time since introduction (for introduced populations). Length‐at‐age data from 26 populations across 11 states in the USA were modeled using a Bayesian hierarchical von Bertalanffy growth model. Population‐specific growth trajectories revealed large variation in Flathead Catfish growth and relatively high uncertainty in growth parameters for some populations. Relatively high uncertainty was also evident when comparing populations and when quantifying large‐scale patterns. Growth parameters (Brody growth coefficient [K] and theoretical maximum average length [L∞]) were not different (based on overlapping 90% credible intervals) between habitat types or between native and introduced populations. For populations within the introduced range of Flathead Catfish, latitude was negatively correlated with K. For native populations, we estimated an 85% probability that L∞ estimates were negatively correlated with latitude. Contrary to predictions, time since introduction was not correlated with growth parameters in introduced populations of Flathead Catfish

A comparison of dioxins, dibenzofurans and coplanar PCBs in uncooked and broiled ground beef, catfish and bacon.

PubMed

Schecter, A; Dellarco, M; Päpke, O; Olson, J

1998-01-01

The primary source of dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and coplanar PCBs for the general population is food, especially meat, fish, and dairy products. However, most data on the levels of these chemicals is from food in the raw or uncooked state. We report here the effect of one type of cooking (broiling) on the levels of PCDDs, PCDFs, and coplanar PCBs in ground beef (hamburger), bacon and catfish. Samples of hamburger, bacon, and catfish were broiled and compared to uncooked samples in order to measure changes in the amounts of dioxins in cooked food. The total amount of PCDD, PCDF, and coplanar PCB TEQ decreased by approximately 50% on average for each portion as a result of broiling the hamburger, bacon and catfish specimens. The mean concentration (pg TEQ/kg, wet weight) of PCDDs, PCDFs, and coplanar PCBs, however, remained the same in the hamburger, increased by 83% in the bacon, and decreased by 34% in the catfish. On average, the total measured concentration (pg/kg) of the congeners of PCDDs, PCDFs, and coplanar PCBs increased 14% in the hamburger, increased 29% in the bacon, and decreased 33% in the catfish.

Generation of Myostatin Gene-Edited Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) via Zygote Injection of CRISPR/Cas9 System.

PubMed

Khalil, Karim; Elayat, Medhat; Khalifa, Elsayed; Daghash, Samer; Elaswad, Ahmed; Miller, Michael; Abdelrahman, Hisham; Ye, Zhi; Odin, Ramjie; Drescher, David; Vo, Khoi; Gosh, Kamal; Bugg, William; Robinson, Dalton; Dunham, Rex

2017-08-04

The myostatin (MSTN) gene is important because of its role in regulation of skeletal muscle growth in all vertebrates. In this study, CRISPR/Cas9 was utilized to successfully target the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, muscle suppressor gene MSTN. CRISPR/Cas9 induced high rates (88-100%) of mutagenesis in the target protein-encoding sites of MSTN. MSTN-edited fry had more muscle cells (p < 0.001) than controls, and the mean body weight of gene-edited fry increased by 29.7%. The nucleic acid alignment of the mutated sequences against the wild-type sequence revealed multiple insertions and deletions. These results demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9 is a highly efficient tool for editing the channel catfish genome, and opens ways for facilitating channel catfish genetic enhancement and functional genomics. This approach may produce growth-enhanced channel catfish and increase productivity.

Utilization of solid catfish manure waste as carbon and nutrient source for lactic acid production.

PubMed

Shi, Suan; Li, Jing; Blersch, David M

2018-06-01

The aim of this work was to study the solid waste (manure) produced by catfish as a potential feedstock for the production of lactic acid (LA) via fermentation. The solid waste contains high levels of both carbohydrates and nutrients that are sufficient for LA bacteria. Simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) was applied using enzyme and Lactobacillus pentosus, and different loadings of enzyme and solid waste were tested. Results showed LA concentrations of 35.7 g/L were obtained at 15% solids content of catfish waste. Because of the high nutrient content in the fish waste, it could also be used as supplementary substrate for nitrogen and carbon sources with other lignocellulosic materials. A combined feedstock of catfish waste and paper mill sludge was tested, increasing the final LA concentration to 43.1 g/L at 12% solids loading. The catfish waste was shown to be a potential feedstock to provide both carbon and nutrients for LA production, suggesting its use as a sole substrate or in combination with other lignocellulosic materials.

The effect of labyrinthectomy on postural control of upside-down swimming catfish, Synodontis nigriventris, under pseudomicrogravity.

PubMed

Ohnishi, K; Yamamoto, T; Takahashi, A; Tanaka, H; Koyama, M; Ohnishi, T

1999-08-01

The catfish (Synodontis nigriventris) has a unique habitat of keeping an upside-down posture under normal gravity. We examined its postural control under pseudomicrogravity generated artificially, and the effect of unilateral labyrinthectomy on the postural control. The stable swimming posture under pseudomicrogravity was observed in the upside-down swimming catfish but not in the catfish (Corydoras paleatus), which has normal swimming habitat. Furthermore, although S. nigriventris but not C. paleatus could keep the stable swimming posture under normal gravity condition after unilateral labyrinthectomy, the labyrinthectomized fishes could not keep it under pseudomicrogravity. Seven days after the operation, S. nigriventris alone partially recovered the ability to keep an upside-down swimming posture, and did completely, to the control level, 25 days after the operation. Furthermore, when S. nigriventris was under pseudomicrogravity in dark conditions, it showed disturbed swimming postures. These results suggest that the upside-down swimming catfish has superior ability of postural control depending on the labyrinth.

Evaluation of potassium permanganate against an experimental subacute infection of Flavobacterium columnare in channel catfish, Icatlurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The efficacy of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) as a prophylactic and therapeutic treatment for subacute infection of Flavobacterium columnare was demonstrated in experimentally infected channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Catfish experimentally infected with F. columnare to mimic a subacute infec...

Catfish production systems-where are we and why did it take fifty years to get here

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the early days of the catfish industry there were no specialized production systems. Catfish were raised in ponds ranging from 40-acres (built with a dragline) to small watershed ponds complete with stumps. Neither could be harvested efficiently. Fish in larger ponds were often baited into a corn...

The effects of a sublethal dose of botulinum serotype e on the swimming performance of channel catfish fingerlings.

PubMed

Beecham, Rachel; Thomas, Torri; Gao, Dana X; Gaunt, Patricia S

2014-09-01

Abstract Visceral toxicosis of catfish (VTC) is a disease of cultured Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus in the Mississippi Delta region and surrounding states. The etiology of VTC is associated with botulinum serotype E (BoNT/E), which causes blockage of acetylcholine release at the neuromuscular junction, leading to weakness and paralysis of skeletal muscles (including those involved in swimming). This study attempted to determine if sublethal exposure to purified BoNT/E caused reductions in swimming performance and metabolism of Channel Catfish. Catfish swimming performance was assessed on stocker-sized Channel Catfish (mean weight ± SD, 62.35 ± 2.5 g) with 10 sham-injected fish and 10 fish injected with a sublethal dose of BoNT/E. A modified Blazka-type swim chamber was used to assess swimming performance. We injected Channel Catfish with either 0.015% trypsin or 400 pg purified BoNT/E digested with 0.015% trypsin intracoelomically, then acclimated an individual catfish in the swim chamber for 17 h prior to the swimming trial. Water temperature was maintained at ∼28°C, and dissolved oxygen (DO) was between 4 and 7 mg/L. A critical swimming speed (Ucrit) protocol was followed, and DO and temperature were monitored every 2 min throughout the swim trial. Cost of transport was calculated from the oxygen consumption at each test speed (10-70 cm/s). There was a statistical difference between the Ucrits (P = 0.0034), but no differences were found between the cost of transports (P = 0.67) of the sham-injected and BoNT/E groups. There was a difference in the cost of transport as it relates to the speeds tested (P < 0.0001), cost of transports being highest at low speeds and decreasing as speed increased. These results indicate that botulinum E interferes with the swimming speed of the catfish, which could contribute to the mortality from the disease of VTC and potentially make the fish more susceptible to predation. Received September 20, 2013; accepted

Validation of daily ring deposition in the otoliths of age-0 channel catfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sakaris, P.C.; Irwin, E.R.

2008-01-01

We developed and validated methods for estimating the daily age of age-0 channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Two clutches of channel catfish eggs were hatched in the laboratory; subsequently, one was stocked in a 186-m2 earthen nursery pond and the other in a 757-L outdoor circular tank. Before stocking, subsamples of fish were collected at swim-up and 3 d after swim-up to evaluate early ring formation. Fish were sampled from the pond and tank on eight occasions ranging from 30 to 119 d posthatch. Distinct differences in early ring formation were found between yolk sac and free-swimming larval stages. Mean ring count and known age were closely related for tank- and pond-raised fish, indicating that daily ring deposition occurred in the otoliths of age-0 channel catfish up to 119 d posthatch. The accuracy of daily age estimation was similar between tank and pond samples, and daily ring counts were considerably accurate up to 60 d posthatch. Pond-raised fish were more difficult to age than tank-raised fish, which we attributed to ring compression resulting from slower growth among pond-raised fish after 30 d. The total length of tank- and pond-raised fish was positively related to otolith size; however, the slopes of the relationships between fish length and otolith radius were different between treatments. Therefore, we could not confirm that the relationship between fish length and otolith size was directly proportional for age-0 channel catfish. We encourage researchers to use this aging technique to determine how abiotic and biotic factors influence early life history characteristics and ultimately the population dynamics of catfishes (Ictaluridae). ?? Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2008.

Effect of stocking biomass on solids, phytoplankton communities, common off-flavors, and production parameters in a channel catfish biofloc technology production system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The effect of initial channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus, Rafinesque, 1818) fingerling biomass (1.4, 1.8, or 2.3 kg m-3) on phytoplankton communities, common off-flavors, and stocker catfish production parameters was evaluated in biofloc technology production tanks. Stocker catfish size (145.5 – 1...

Feasibility studies of using the Catfish Immune System to produce monoclonal antibodies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Poston, T.M.

1987-03-01

The objective of these studies was to determine the feasibility of using a teleost cell line to produce monoclonal antibodies. Studies were undertaken to demonstrate the production of a polyclonal response of channel catfish (Icatalurus punctatus) challenged with mycotoxins coupled to a protein carrier. Companion studies were also performed to induce a permanent cell line with catfish lymphocytes. Attempts to demonstrate a polyclonal response to haptenized mycotoxins were inconclusive. Tests to induce an immortal, permanent cell line with benzene and x-ray irradiated cells were also inconclusive. 3 refs., 13 tabs.

Molecular and morphological characterization of myxozoan actinospore types from a commercial catfish pond in the Mississippi Delta

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The actinospore diversity of infected Dero digitata was surveyed (May, 2011) from a channel catfish production pond in the Mississippi Delta region for the elucidation of unknown myxozoan life cycles. Only two myxozoan life cycles have been molecularly confirmed in channel catfish (Ictalurus puncta...

The pathology associated with visceral toxicosis of catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Visceral toxicosis of catfish (VTC) syndrome was recognized in the late 1990s and recently has been associated with exposure to Clostridium botulinum type E neurotoxin. Tentative diagnosis is based on clinical presentation and ross findings, and is confirmed by bioassay. In April 2009, channel cat...

Miocene-Oligocene sequence stratigraphy of the Malay Basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lovell, R.; Elias, M.R.; Hill, R.E.

1994-07-01

The Malay Basin has experienced extension of the Eocene ( ) through Oligocene, sag in the early Miocene, and compression in the middle Miocene through Pliocene-Pleistocene. The interaction of structurally induced and glacial-eustatic accommodation changes has resulted in complex, interrelated play elements, including multiple reservoirs, diverse nonmarine sources, discontinuous migration pathways, and thin seals. Extensional subbasins were filled with braided streams, associated coastal plain, lacustrine deltas, and thick lake shales (groups M-K). This initial rift fill comprises an overall second order progradational cycle punctuated by 3rd-order cycles. These 3rd-order cycles are capped by thick, source-rich, lacustrine shale packages. The lowermore » Miocene section (groups I and J) consists of progradational to aggradational fluvial to tidally-dominated estuarine sands. Hydrocarbons are generated from interbedded coals and other coal-related lithologies.« less

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Multiple Regions Associated with Head Size in Catfish

PubMed Central

Geng, Xin; Liu, Shikai; Yao, Jun; Bao, Lisui; Zhang, Jiaren; Li, Chao; Wang, Ruijia; Sha, Jin; Zeng, Peng; Zhi, Degui; Liu, Zhanjiang

2016-01-01

Skull morphology is fundamental to evolution and the biological adaptation of species to their environments. With aquaculture fish species, head size is also important for economic reasons because it has a direct impact on fillet yield. However, little is known about the underlying genetic basis of head size. Catfish is the primary aquaculture species in the United States. In this study, we performed a genome-wide association study using the catfish 250K SNP array with backcross hybrid catfish to map the QTL for head size (head length, head width, and head depth). One significantly associated region on linkage group (LG) 7 was identified for head length. In addition, LGs 7, 9, and 16 contain suggestively associated regions for head length. For head width, significantly associated regions were found on LG9, and additional suggestively associated regions were identified on LGs 5 and 7. No region was found associated with head depth. Head size genetic loci were mapped in catfish to genomic regions with candidate genes involved in bone development. Comparative analysis indicated that homologs of several candidate genes are also involved in skull morphology in various other species ranging from amphibian to mammalian species, suggesting possible evolutionary conservation of those genes in the control of skull morphologies. PMID:27558670

The late Miocene 'paradox' of the CO2 climate sensitivity (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Pagani, M.

2013-12-01

Ancient climates provide opportunities for studying the impact of CO2 change on global temperatures. While advances in CO2-reconstruction techniques are yielding a clearer picture of the Cenozoic history of CO2 (Beerling and Royer, 2011), the late Miocene (~12-5 Ma) remains enigmatic. For example, recent sea-surface temperature reconstructions from 12-5 Ma have shown that mid-latitude and equatorial regions of the Pacific cooled 6°C (LaRiviere et al., 2012) and 2°C (Zhang et al., 2013), respectively. This cooling trend was probably initiated at the mid-Miocene climate transition (14 Ma), and continued into the Plio-Pleistocene. However, existing compilation of late Miocene - Pliocene CO2 records show little variability, with some indicating a rise in CO2 concurrent with global cooling. Here we present four continuous alkenone-based CO2 records using Pacific sediment samples (ODP Sites 769, 806, 850 and 1143), from late Miocene to Pliocene. Compound-specific carbon isotope measurements show a broad decrease in alkenone δ13C values in all four sites, suggesting increasing pCO2 levels in the late Miocene. Decreasing ocean temperature and increasing pCO2 in the late Miocene appears to challenge a leading climatic role for CO2 during this time. Alternatively, alkenone-CO2 estimates are flawed in the late Miocene because factors other than CO2, such as algal growth rate, cell geometry, and carbon-fixation pathways, can influence carbon isotopic fractionation during algae growth. We explore the uncertainty of the alkenone-CO2 methodology and assess the potential influence that non-CO2 variables have in producing spurious CO2 estimates and trends. Beerling, D.J., Royer, D.L., 2011. Convergent Cenozoic CO2 history. Nat. Geosci. 4, 418-420. LaRiviere, J.P., Ravelo, A.C., Crimmins, A., Dekens, P.S., Ford, H.L., Lyle, M., Wara, M.W., 2012. Late Miocene decoupling of oceanic warmth and atmospheric carbon dioxide forcing. Nature 486, 97-100. Zhang, Y.G., Pagani, M., Liu, Z

Electric Organ Discharges of Mormyrid Fish as a Possible Cue for Predatory Catfish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanika, S.; Kramer, B.

During reproductive migration the electroreceptive African sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Siluriformes), preys mainly on a weakly electric fish, the bulldog Marcusenius macrolepidotus (Mormyridae; Merron 1993). This is puzzling because the electric organ discharges of known Marcusenius species are pulses of a duration (<1ms) too short for being detected by the catfishes' low-frequency electroreceptive system (optimum sensitivity, 10-30Hz Peters and Bretschneider 1981). On the recent discovery that M. macrolepidotus males emit discharges lasting approximately ten times longer than those of females (Kramer 1997a) we determined behavioral thresholds for discharges of both sexes, using synthetic playbacks of field-recorded discharges. C. gariepinus detected M. macrolepidotus male discharges down to a field gradient of 103μVpeak-peak/cm and up to a distance of 1.5m at natural field conditions. In contrast, thresholds for female discharges were not reached with our setup, and we presume the bulldogs eaten by catfish are predominantly male.

Phylogeny of lymphocyte heterogeneity: the cellular requirements for the mixed leucocyte reaction with channel catfish.

PubMed Central

Miller, N W; Deuter, A; Clem, L W

1986-01-01

Vigorous mixed leucocyte reactions (MLR) were obtained using channel catfish peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) when equal numbers of responder and stimulator cells (5 X 10(5) cells each) were cocultured. The use of 2000 rads of X-irradiation was sufficient to block subsequent proliferative responses of the stimulator cells. The cellular requirements for channel catfish MLR responses were assessed by using three functionally distinct leucocyte subpopulations isolated from the PBL. B cells (sIg+ lymphocytes) and T cells (sIg- lymphocytes) were isolated by an indirect panning procedure employing a monoclonal antibody specific for channel catfish Ig. A third population, monocytes, was isolated or depleted by adherence to baby hamster kidney cell microexudate-coated surfaces or adherence to Sephadex G-10, respectively. The results indicated that only the T cells were able to respond in the fish MLR, with monocytes being required as accessory cells. In contrast, all three cell types could function as stimulator cells. In addition, it was observed that low in vitro culture temperatures inhibited the generation of channel catfish MLRs, thereby supporting the contention that low temperature immunosuppression in fish results from a preferential inhibition of the generation of primary T-cell responses. PMID:2944817

Molluscan evidence for early middle Miocene marine glaciation in southern Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marincovich, L.

1990-01-01

Profound cooling of Miocene marine climates in southern Alaska culminated in early middle Miocene coastal marine glaciation in the northeastern Gulf of Alaska. This climatic change resulted from interaction of the Yakutat terrane with southern Alaska beginning in late Oligocene time. The ensuing extreme uplift of the coastal Chugach and St. Elias Mountains resulted in progressive regional cooling that culminated in coastal marine glaciation beginning in the early middle Miocene (15-16 Ma) and continuing to the present. The counterclockwise flow of surface water from the frigid northeastern Gulf of Alaska resulted in a cold-temperate shallow-marine environment in the western Gulf of Alaska, as it does today. Ironically, dating of Gulf of Alaska marine glaciation as early middle Miocene is strongly reinforced by the presence of a few tropical and subtropical mollusks in western Gulf of Alaska faunas. Shallow-marine waters throughout the Gulf of Alaska were cold-temperate to cold in the early middle Miocene, when the world ocean was undergoing peak Neogene warming. -Author

Water hardness influences Flavobacterium columnare pathogenesis in channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Studies were conducted to determine aspects of water chemistry responsible for large differences in pathogenesis and mortality rates in challenges of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus with Flavobacterium columnare; challenges were conducted in water supplying the Stuttgart National Aquaculture Res...

Boundary conditions for the Middle Miocene Climate Transition (MMCT v1.0)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frigola, Amanda; Prange, Matthias; Schulz, Michael

2018-04-01

The Middle Miocene Climate Transition was characterized by major Antarctic ice sheet expansion and global cooling during the interval ˜ 15-13 Ma. Here we present two sets of boundary conditions for global general circulation models characterizing the periods before (Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum; MMCO) and after (Middle Miocene Glaciation; MMG) the transition. These boundary conditions include Middle Miocene global topography, bathymetry, and vegetation. Additionally, Antarctic ice volume and geometry, sea level, and atmospheric CO2 concentration estimates for the MMCO and the MMG are reviewed. The MMCO and MMG boundary conditions have been successfully applied to the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3) to provide evidence of their suitability for global climate modeling. The boundary-condition files are available for use as input in a wide variety of global climate models and constitute a valuable tool for modeling studies with a focus on the Middle Miocene.

Phylogenetic sequence analysis, recombinant expression, and tissue distribution of a channel catfish estrogen receptor beta

USGS Publications Warehouse

Xia, Zhenfang; Gale, William L.; Chang, Xiaotian; Langenau, David; Patino, Reynaldo; Maule, Alec G.; Densmore, Llewellyn D.

2000-01-01

An estrogen receptor β (ERβ) cDNA fragment was amplified by RT-PCR of total RNAextracted from liver and ovary of immature channel catfish. This cDNA fragment was used to screen an ovarian cDNA library made from an immature female fish. A clone was obtained that contained an open reading frame encoding a 575-amino-acid protein with a deduced molecular weight of 63.9 kDa. Maximum parsimony and Neighbor Joining analyses were used to generate a phylogenetic classification of channel catfish ERβ on the basis of 25 full-length teleost and tetrapod ER sequences. The consensus tree obtained indicated the existence of two major vertebrate ER subtypes, α and β. Within each subtype, and in accordance with established phylogenetic relationships, teleost and tetrapod ER were monophyletic confirming the results of a previous analysis (Z. Xiaet al., 1999, Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 113, 360–368). Extracts of COS-7 cells transfectedwith channel catfish ERβ cDNA bound estrogen with high affinity (Kd = 0.21 nM) and specificity. The affinity of channel catfish ERβ for estrogen was higher than previously reported for channel catfish ERα. As determined by qualitative RT-PCR, the tissue distributions of ERα and ERβ were similar but not identical. Both ER subtypes were present in ovary and testis. ERα was found in all other tissues examined from juvenile and mature fish of both sexes. ERβ was also found in most tissues except, in most cases, whole blood and head kidney. Interestingly, the pattern of expression of ER subtypes in head kidney always corresponded to the pattern in whole blood. In conclusion, we isolated a channel catfish ERβ with ligand-binding affinity and tissue expression patterns different from ERα. Also, we confirmed the validity of our previously proposed general classification scheme for vertebrate ER into α and β subtypes and within each subtype, into teleost and tetrapod clades.

TOXAPHENE: CHRONIC TOXICITY TO FATHEAD MINNOWS AND CHANNEL CATFISH

EPA Science Inventory

Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were continuously exposed to several toxaphene concentrations (13-630 ng) in flow-through diluter systems for 8 to 10 months. Growth and backbone quality of adult fathead minnows were decreased at 97 ...

A major reorganization of Asian climate by the early Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Z. T.; Sun, B.; Zhang, Z. S.; Peng, S. Z.; Xiao, G. Q.; Ge, J. Y.; Hao, Q. Z.; Qiao, Y. S.; Liang, M. Y.; Liu, J. F.; Yin, Q. Z.; Wei, J. J.

2008-08-01

The global climate system experienced a series of drastic changes during the Cenozoic. In Asia, these include the climate transformation from a zonal pattern to a monsoon-dominated pattern, the disappearance of typical subtropical aridity, and the onset of inland deserts. Despite major advances in the last two decades in characterizing and understanding these climate phenomena, disagreements persist relative to the timing, behaviors and underlying causes. This paper addresses these issues mainly based on two lines of evidence. First, we compiled newly collected data from geological indicators of the Cenozoic environment in China as paleoenvironmental maps of ten intervals. In confirming the earlier observation that a zonal climate pattern was transformed into a monsoonal one, the maps within the Miocene indicate that this change was achieved by the early Miocene, roughly consistent with the onset of loess deposition in China. Although a monsoon-like regime would have existed in the Eocene, it was restricted to tropical-subtropical regions. The latitudinal oscillations of the climate zones during the Paleogene are likely attributable to the imbalance in evolution of polar ice-sheets between the two hemispheres. Secondly, we examine the relevant depositional and soil forming processes of the Miocene loess-soil sequences to determine the circulation characteristics with emphasis on the early Miocene. Continuous eolian deposition in the middle reaches of the Yellow River since the early Miocene firmly indicates the formation of inland deserts, which have been constantly maintained during the past 22 Ma. Grain-size gradients between loess sections indicate northerly dust-carrying winds from northern sources, a clear indication of an Asian winter monsoon system. Meanwhile, well-developed Luvisols show evidence that moisture from the oceans reached northern China. This evidence shows the coexistence of two kinds of circulations, one from the ocean carrying moisture and

Determination and health risk assessment of enrofloxacin, flumequine and sulfamethoxazole in imported Pangasius catfish products in Thailand.

PubMed

Jansomboon, Worawat; Boontanon, Suwanna Kitpati; Boontanon, Narin; Polprasert, Chongrak

2018-02-01

The goals of this study were to determine the levels of three antibiotics - enrofloxacin, flumequine and sulfamethoxazole - in Pangasius catfish products imported into Thailand and to assess the health risks from consumption. To extract these antibiotic residues, acetonitrile, methanol and a small amount of formic acid were used as solvents. Determination of the antibiotics after extraction steps was carried out by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique. The results showed that 14 and 3 samples of Pangasius catfish products were contaminated with enrofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole, respectively. No flumequine residue was found. While the concentration levels of these antibiotics in most contaminated samples were lower than the European Union (EU) standard, one sample was found to contain sulfamethoxazole at 245.91 µg kg -1 , which was higher than the EU standard (100 µg kg -1 ), indicating the likelihood that some contaminated freshwater fish products are widely distributed in Thai markets. Notably, the concentration levels of enrofloxacin in samples of Pangasius catfish with skin were higher than in non-skin products, suggesting that products with skin might retain more antibiotic residues than non-skin products. Although the hazard quotient showed that consuming imported Pangasius catfish products, based on the current consumption rate, will not adversely affect consumer health, antibiotic residues in Pangasius catfish products imported into Thailand should be continually monitored.

Frequency and gravity of human envenomations caused by marine catfish (suborder siluroidei): a clinical and epidemiological study.

PubMed

Haddad, Vidal; Martins, Itamar Alves

2006-06-15

Catfish occur in marine and freshwater environments worldwide. They have three serrated venomous bony stings in the dorsal and pectoral fins that are used for defence against predators and are refilled by glandular tissues under the epithelium. However, some catfishes do not have poisonous glands next to the sting and cause traumatic wounds without poisoning. The objective of this study was to provide data for, and comment on, the epidemiological and clinical problems caused by marine catfish. The authors have observed, followed and documented 127 injuries caused by marine catfish stings during different phases of the envenoming over a time period of 8 years at three points along the Western Atlantic Ocean coast. The patients presented intense pain during the acute phase of envenoming and complications, such as bacterial and fungi infections and retention of bony fragments, in the later phase. Immersion of the affected extremity in hot water was used in about 20% of cases with excellent results. Injuries caused by marine catfish are common (about 20% of injuries caused by marine animals in a series of more than 700 injuries recorded by the author) and cause intense pain and later complications. Immersion of the affected extremity in hot water results in improvement in the acute phase, but does not prevent the appearance of secondary infection or foreign body reactions.

The effects of a sublethal dose of botulinum serotype E on the swimming performance of channel catfish fingerlings

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Visceral toxicosis of catfish (VTC) is a disease of cultured Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus in the Mississippi Delta region and surrounding states. The etiology of VTC is associated with botulinum serotype E (BoNT/E), which causes blockage of acetylcholine release at the neuromuscular junction,...

Dissolved oxygen and aeration in ictalurid catfish aquaculture

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Feed-based production of ictalurid catfish in ponds is the largest aquaculture sector in the United States. The feed biochemical oxygen demand (FBOD) typically is 1.1-1.2 kg O2/kg feed. Feed also results in a substantial increase of carbon dioxide, ammonia nitrogen, and phosphate to ponds, and this ...

Microinjection of CRISPR/Cas9 Protein into Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Embryos for Gene Editing.

PubMed

Elaswad, Ahmed; Khalil, Karim; Cline, David; Page-McCaw, Patrick; Chen, Wenbiao; Michel, Maximilian; Cone, Roger; Dunham, Rex

2018-01-20

The complete genome of the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, has been sequenced, leading to greater opportunities for studying channel catfish gene function. Gene knockout has been used to study these gene functions in vivo. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system is a powerful tool used to edit genomic DNA sequences to alter gene function. While the traditional approach has been to introduce CRISPR/Cas9 mRNA into the single cell embryos through microinjection, this can be a slow and inefficient process in catfish. Here, a detailed protocol for microinjection of channel catfish embryos with CRISPR/Cas9 protein is described. Briefly, eggs and sperm were collected and then artificial fertilization performed. Fertilized eggs were transferred to a Petri dish containing Holtfreter's solution. Injection volume was calibrated and then guide RNAs/Cas9 targeting the toll/interleukin 1 receptor domain-containing adapter molecule (TICAM 1) gene and rhamnose binding lectin (RBL) gene were microinjected into the yolk of one-cell embryos. The gene knockout was successful as indels were confirmed by DNA sequencing. The predicted protein sequence alterations due to these mutations included frameshift and truncated protein due to premature stop codons.

Regional biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental history of Miocene of onshore and offshore Alabama

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, C.C.

1989-09-01

Subsurface Miocene sediments of coastal Alabama and the adjoining state and federal waters consist of a clastic wedge varying in thickness from less than 1,000 ft in southern Alabama to a maximum of about 6,000 ft in the northeastern portion of the Main Pass area. Relatively deep-water and open-marine transgressive basal Miocene clays and shales unconformably overlie a gently southwestward-dipping late Oligocene-earliest Miocene carbonate platform. Middle and late Miocene sediments consist of a regressive offlapping sequence of sand and shale deposited in varying neritic paleoenvironments. Analysis of planktonic and benthonic foraminifera has resulted in a refined biostratigraphic zonation of thesemore » sediments, permitting the recognition of several regional time-equivalent datum levels, or biohorizons. These biohorizons are shown on a series of subsurface cross sections that show the dramatic southwestward thickening of middle and late Miocene sediments as well as illustrate the relationships of the producing intervals within the Cibicides carstensi and Discorbis 12 interval zones. The paleoenvironmental history of the Miocene has been reconstructed on a series of paleobathymetric maps drawn for selected regional biohorizons. Among other features, these maps have proven the existence and outlined the margins of previously unrecognized shallow-meritic deltaic sediments in southeastern Mobile County and in the Chandeleur and Viosca Knoll (north) areas. Analysis of sedimentation rates, which range from less than 25 to 1,370 ft/m.y., further aids in understanding the coastal shelf, deltaic, and open-marine depositional history of the Miocene of Alabama and the adjoining state and federal waters.« less

Longitudinal patterns in flathead catfish relative abundance and length at age within a large river: Effects of an urban gradient

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paukert, C.P.; Makinster, A.S.

2009-01-01

We investigated the spatial variation of flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) relative abundance and growth in the 274 km long Kansas River to determine if population dynamics of catfish are related to urbanization. Electrofishing was conducted at 462 random sites throughout the river in summer, 2005-2006 to collect fish. Relative abundance of age 1 fish (???200mm), subadult (>200-400mm) and adult fish (>400 mm) ranged from 0.34 to 14.67 fish h-1, mean length at age 1 was 165 (range: 128-195) mm total length (TL) and mean length at age 3 was 376 mm TL (range: 293-419mm TL). The proportion of land use within 200 m of the river edge was between 0 and 0.54 urban. River reaches with high relative abundance of age 1 flathead catfish had high relative abundance of subadult and adult catfish. River reaches with fast flathead catfish growth to age 1 had fast growth to age 3. High urban land use and riprap in the riparian area were evident in river reaches near the heavily populated Kansas City and Topeka, Kansas, USA. Reaches with increased number of log jams and islands had decreased riparian agriculture. Areas of low urbanization had faster flathead catfish growth (r = 0.67, p = 0.005). Relative abundance of flathead catfish was higher in more agricultural areas (r = -0.57, p = 0.02). Changes in land use in riverine environments may alter population dynamics of a fish species within a river. Spatial differences in population dynamics need to be considered when evaluating riverine fish populations. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rapid loss of lampricide from catfish and rainbow trout following routine treatment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dawson, V.K.; Schreier, Theresa M.; Boogaard, M.A.; Spanjers, N.J.; Gingerich, W.H.

2002-01-01

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were exposed to 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and Bayluscide (niclosamide) during a sea lamprey control treatment of the Ford River, located in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Caged fish were exposed to a nominal concentration of 0.02 mg/L of niclosamide for a period of approximately 12 h. Samples of fillet tissue were collected from each fish species before treatment and at 6, 12, 18, 24, 48, 96, and 192 h following the arrival of the block of chemical at the exposure site. The fish were dissected, homogenized, extracted, and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The major residues found in the fillet tissues were TFM and niclosamide. Niclosamide concentrations were highest 12 h after arrival of the chemical block for rainbow trout (0.0395 ?? 0.0251 ??g/g) and 18 h after arrival of the chemical block for channel catfish (0.0465 ?? 0.0212 ??g/g). Residues decreased rapidly after the block of lampricide had passed and were below the detection limits in fillets of rainbow trout within 24 h and channel catfish within 96 h after the arrival of the lampricide.

Near infrared spectrometers determine stage maturity in channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maturation is not synchronized in channel catfish and hence, individual fish are frequently handled and manually stage for maturation based on a selective subjective method. Fully matured fish are more responsive to hormone-induced spawning, and often result in better egg quality, higher relative f...

Global Miocene tectonics and the modern world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, Paul Edwin; Szatmari, Peter

2009-11-01

An amazing congruence of seemingly unrelated, diverse global events began in the Middle and Upper Miocene and established our modern world. Two global orogenic belts were active, mostly in the Middle and Upper Miocene, while backarc basins formed along the eastern margin of Asia. Coincident with these events global temperatures cooled in both the ocean and atmosphere, desertification occurred from Central Asia into and across most of northern Africa and also in Australia, and in southern South America. Coincident with the expansion of the Antarctic ice cap at 14 Ma, there was initial widespread deep sea erosion and changes in patterns of deep sea sedimentation. Muddy pelagic sedimentation increased six-fold in the North and Central Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and global changes in circulation lead to more diatomites in the Pacific and fewer in the Atlantic. By the end of the Miocene most of the Mediterranean Sea had evaporated. Broadly coincident with these events, many old, large river systems were destroyed and new ones formed as much of the world's landscape changed. Collectively, these global on-shore tectonic and ocean-atmospheric events provide the foundation for our modern world—a mixture of new and rejuvenated orogenic belts and their far-field effects (distant epiorogenic uplift, rain-shadow deserts, large alluvial aprons, and distant deltas) as inherited Gondwanan landscapes persisted remote from plate boundaries. Thus at the end of the Miocene much of the world's landscape, except for that changed by Pleistocene continental glaciation, would be recognizable to us today. We argue that all of these events had the same ultimate common cause-an internal Earth engine-that drove plate motions in two broad ways: first, the opening and closing of seven key gateways to deep-water oceanic currents radically altered global heat transfer and changed a lingering Greenhouse to an Icehouse world; secondly, these events were in part coincident with renewed heat flow

Evaluation of three aging techniques and back-calculated growth for introduced Blue Catfish from Lake Oconee, Georgia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Homer, Michael D.; Peterson, James T.; Jennings, Cecil A.

2015-01-01

Back-calculation of length-at-age from otoliths and spines is a common technique employed in fisheries biology, but few studies have compared the precision of data collected with this method for catfish populations. We compared precision of back-calculated lengths-at-age for an introducedIctalurus furcatus (Blue Catfish) population among 3 commonly used cross-sectioning techniques. We used gillnets to collect Blue Catfish (n = 153) from Lake Oconee, GA. We estimated ages from a basal recess, articulating process, and otolith cross-section from each fish. We employed the Frasier-Lee method to back-calculate length-at-age for each fish, and compared the precision of back-calculated lengths among techniques using hierarchical linear models. Precision in age assignments was highest for otoliths (83.5%) and lowest for basal recesses (71.4%). Back-calculated lengths were variable among fish ages 1–3 for the techniques compared; otoliths and basal recesses yielded variable lengths at age 8. We concluded that otoliths and articulating processes are adequate for age estimation of Blue Catfish.

Exploration of indigenous bacteria in an intensive aquaculture system of African catfish (Clarias sp.) in Banyuwangi, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prayogo; Rahardja, B. S.; Asshanti, A. N.; Dewi, N. N.; Santanumurti, M. B.

2018-04-01

Intensive African catfish culture in tarpaulin pond was popular in Banyuwangi, Indonesia since the government supported the fisheries sector. Unfortunately, the failure of African catfish culture still occurred since the waste from fish metabolite process and feed residue decreased the water quality. Bacteria in the water could be the solution to increase the success rate of aquaculture by improving the water quality. This study purpose was to obtained indigenous bacteria in intensive aquaculture system of African catfish to improve water quality. This study successfully isolated bacteria contained with amylase, protease and lipase characteristic. Isolated bacteria in this study were identified as Pseudomonas pseudomallei (97.81%), Bacillus subtilis (95.81%) and Pseudomonas stutzeri (61.21%).

Detection of Off-Flavor in Catfish Using a Conducting Polymer Electronic-Nose Technology

PubMed Central

Wilson, Alphus D.; Oberle, Charisse S.; Oberle, Daniel F.

2013-01-01

The Aromascan A32S conducting polymer electronic nose was evaluated for the capability of detecting the presence of off-flavor malodorous compounds in catfish meat fillets to assess meat quality for potential merchantability. Sensor array outputs indicated that the aroma profiles of good-flavor (on-flavor) and off-flavor fillets were strongly different as confirmed by a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Quality Factor value (QF > 7.9) indicating a significant difference at (P < 0.05). The A32S e-nose effectively discriminated between good-flavor and off-flavor catfish at high levels of accuracy (>90%) and with relatively low rates (≤5%) of unknown or indecisive determinations in three trials. This A32S e-nose instrument also was capable of detecting the incidence of mild off-flavor in fillets at levels lower than the threshold of human olfactory detection. Potential applications of e-nose technologies for pre- and post-harvest management of production and meat-quality downgrade problems associated with catfish off-flavor are discussed. PMID:24287526

Antibiotic Application and Emergence of Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) in Global Catfish Aquaculture.

PubMed

Chuah, Li-Oon; Effarizah, M E; Goni, Abatcha Mustapha; Rusul, Gulam

2016-06-01

Catfish is one of the most cultivated species worldwide. Antibiotics are usually used in catfish farming as therapeutic and prophylactic agents. In the USA, only oxytetracycline, a combination of sulfadimethoxine and ormetoprim, and florfenicol are approved by the Food Drug Administration for specific fish species (e.g., catfish and salmonids) and their specific diseases. Misuse of antibiotics as prophylactic agents in disease prevention, however, is common and contributes in the development of antibiotic resistance. Various studies had reported on antibiotic residues and/or resistance in farmed species, feral fish, water column, sediments, and, in a lesser content, among farm workers. Ninety percent of the world aquaculture production is carried out in developing countries, which lack regulations and enforcement on the use of antibiotics. Hence, efforts are needed to promote the development and enforcement of such a regulatory structure. Alternatives to antibiotics such as antibacterial vaccines, bacteriophages and their lysins, and probiotics have been applied to curtail the increasing emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria due to the imprudent application of antibiotics in aquaculture.

Acute toxicity of nitrofurazone to channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, and goldfish, Carassius auratus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wise, M.L.; Stiebel, C.L.; Grizzle, J.M.

1987-01-01

Nitrofurazone (5-nitro-2-furaldehyde semicarbazone) is a nitrofuran, a group of organic compounds which have inhibitory activity against many Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and against some protozoan parasites. Although not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use with food fish, nitrofurazone has been found effective in fish against external and internal infections by various species of Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and myxobacteria and can be administered either as a food additive or as a bath treatment. Attempts to control the microsporidian parasite Pleistophora ovariae in golden shiners, Notemigonus crysoleucas, with nitrofurazone met with equivocal results. The following experiment was performedmore » to determine acute toxicity, including lesions, of nitrofurazone to channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, and goldfish, carassius auratus, fingerlings. Toxicity of nitrofurazone to channel catfish was determined with low dissolved oxygen concentrations (2 mg/L) to simulate conditions frequently encountered in channel catfish culture. Information abut toxic levels of drugs and the lesions occurring in exposed fish is important to determine the safety of treatment levels and the effects of toxic concentrations.« less

Thirty-Year-Old Paradigm about Unpalatable Perch Egg Strands Disclaimed by the Freshwater Top-Predator, the European Catfish (Silurus glanis)

PubMed Central

Kočvara, Luboš; Sajdlová, Zuzana; Hoang The, Son Chung; Šmejkal, Marek; Peterka, Jiří

2017-01-01

So far, perch egg strands have been considered unpalatable biological material. However, we repeatedly found egg strands of European perch (Perca fluviatilis) in the diet of European catfish (Silurus glanis) caught by longlines in Milada and Most Lakes, Czech Republic. The finding proves that perch egg strands compose a standard food source for this large freshwater predatory fish. It extends the present knowledge on catfish foraging plasticity, showing it as an even more opportunistic feeder. Utilization of perch egg strands broadens the catfish diet niche width and represents an advantage against other fish predators. Comparison of datasets from extensive gillnet and SCUBA diver sampling campaigns gave the evidence that at least in localities where food sources are limited, multilevel predation by catfish may have an important impact on the perch population. PMID:28060862

The pathology associated with visceral toxicosis of catfish.

PubMed

Khoo, Lester H; Goodwin, Andrew E; Wise, David J; Holmes, William E; Hanson, Larry A; Steadman, James M; McIntyre, Larry M; Gaunt, Patricia S

2011-11-01

Visceral toxicosis of catfish (VTC) syndrome was recognized in the late 1990 s and recently has been associated with exposure to Clostridium botulinum type E neurotoxin. Tentative diagnosis is based on clinical presentation and gross findings, and is confirmed by bioassay. In April 2009, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) from 2 different farms presented with abnormal swimming behavior and mortalities. Nine fish were submitted to the Aquatic Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (Stoneville, Mississippi) for evaluation. Bacterial cultures from these fish were negative. Necropsy findings included intestinal intussusceptions, ascites, pale proximal intestines with engorged serosal blood vessels, splenic congestion, and a reticular pattern to the liver. Significant histopathologic findings were limited to cerebral, splenic, and hepatic congestion, splenic lymphoid depletion and perivascular edema, vascular dilation and edema of the gastrointestinal tract, and perivascular edema in the anterior and posterior kidneys. Intoxication from C. botulinum type E neurotoxin was suspected based on the clinical signs and lack of gross and microbiological evidence of an infectious disease process. The toxicosis was confirmed with a positive bioassay using serum collected from the submitted fish.

Miocene actinommid Radiolaria from the equatorial Pacific

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blueford, J.R.

1982-01-01

Actinommids (spumellarian Radiolaria) are a group of microfossils in which taxonomy and phylogeny hitherto have been based on features of morphology that change with the growth of individuals. To make Miocene actinommids from the equatorial Pacific useful in biostratigraphy, paleocenography, and paleoecology, ontogenetically invariant morphological features can be analyzed by methods of numerical taxonomy to group the specimens into genera, which are further subdivided into species by visual comparison. According to these criteria, 31 species, 18 of which are new, are recognized in the Late Miocene section of DSDP Sites 77 and 289, and an informal revision of actinommid higher taxa is tentatively proposed.

Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies specific to pangasius catfish, basa, and tra.

PubMed

Gajewski, K G; Chen, Y-T; Hsieh, Y-H P

2009-04-01

Four IgG (subclass IgG1) class monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) strongly reactive to Asian farm-raised Pangasius catfish, tra (Pangasius hypophthalmus) and basa (Pangasius bocourti), have been developed. These MAbs were raised by immunizing an animal with thermal-stable crude sarcoplasmic protein extract of cooked tra. The MAbs were selected by screening hybridoma clones against more than 70 common fish and meat protein extracts. Two MAbs, T7E10 and T1G11, were found to be specific to the Asian Pangasius catfish, tra, and basa, with no cross-reactions with any of the common fish and meat species or with the food additive proteins (bovine serum albumin, soy proteins, milk proteins, egg proteins, and gelatin) tested. MAb T7E10 recognized 2 antigenic proteins (molecular weight approximately 36 and 75 kDa) in raw and cooked tra and basa extracts, while T1G11 bound to several proteins (molecular weight between 13 and 18 kDa) in tra and basa extracts. Two other MAbs, F7B8 and F1G11, recognized a common protein (36 KDa) and cross-reacted with all the fish extracts tested and with several mammalian species. These MAbs can be employed individually or in combination in various formats of immunoassays for rapid identification of Pangasius catfish, either raw or cooked. They can also be used to study the biological, biochemical, and physiological aspects of thermal-stable antigenic proteins. This is the first study identifying these thermal-stable antigenic proteins present in Pangasius catfish as species-specific biomarkers.

Growth Performance of Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus Burchell, 1822) Cultured in High Density on the Biofloc System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basuki, Fajar; Yuniarti, Tristiana; Harwanto, Dicky; Susilowati, Titik

2018-02-01

Start your The fish farmers and researchers have made efforts to increase catfish production through high levels of dispersal and application of biofloc systems. This system, in addition to increase production, can also predict when the harvest is done, control the quality of water causing death so that the Survival Rate (SR) is high. The purpose of this study is to determine the growth performance and predict the harvest weight and catfish survival rate (SR) that are cultured with different high density on the biofloc system. The research method used is experimental with test fish in the form of catfish seeds weighing of 8 ± 0.2 gram/fish with each density as treatment: P1. Density of 1,100 fish/m3; P2. Density of 1,200 fish/m3 and P3. Density of 1,300 fish/m3. Pond: The pond used is made of 3m in diameter of tarpaulin, equipped with a 6mm diameter of iron frame. Total volume of water in each pond is 3 m3. Catfish seeds have been adapted and put into the pond at random with the length of cultivation period is 4 weeks. Growth performance analysis uses the SPSS regression statistic series 20. The research results showed that the growth performance for 4 weeks showed that P1 generates the regression equation Y1 = 6.46 +7.81 X with r2 = 0.971 means that if the harvest is done at week 12th then the weight of catfish has reached 100 grams; P2 generates the regression equation Y2 = 6.53 + 6.0 X den r2 = 0.969 means if the harvest is done at week 12th then the weight of new catfish has reached 78.53 grams and P3 generates the regression equation Y3 = 6.71 + 5.94 X with r2 = 0.976 means if harvest is done on week 12th then the weight of new catfish has reached 77.99 grams. Survival rate at P1 = 97.73%; P2 = 95.91% and P3 = 94.55% while the oxygenated water quality is more than 3.5 ppm; pH ranged from 6.7-7 and ammonia content at week 3 is P1 = 0.04 mg/l; P2 = 0.13 mg/l and P3 = 0.27 mg/l.

Physiology and immunology of mucosal barriers in catfish (Ictalurus spp.)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The mucosal barriers of catfish (Ictalurus spp.) constitute the first line of defense against pathogen invasion while simultaneously carrying out a diverse array of other critical physiological processes, including nutrient adsorption, osmoregulation, waste excretion, and environmental sensing. Catf...

Distribution history and climatic controls of the Late Miocene Pikermian chronofauna.

PubMed

Eronen, Jussi T; Ataabadi, Majid Mirzaie; Micheels, Arne; Karme, Aleksis; Bernor, Raymond L; Fortelius, Mikael

2009-07-21

The Late Miocene development of faunas and environments in western Eurasia is well known, but the climatic and environmental processes that controlled its details are incompletely understood. Here we map the rise and fall of the classic Pikermian fossil mammal chronofauna between 12 and 4.2 Ma, using genus-level faunal similarity between localities. To directly relate land mammal community evolution to environmental change, we use the hypsodonty paleoprecipitation proxy and paleoclimate modeling. The geographic distribution of faunal similarity and paleoprecipitation in successive timeslices shows the development of the open biome that favored the evolution and spread of the open-habitat adapted large mammal lineages. In the climate model run, this corresponds to a decrease in precipitation over its core area south of the Paratethys Sea. The process began in the latest Middle Miocene and climaxed in the medial Late Miocene, about 7-8 million years ago. The geographic range of the Pikermian chronofauna contracted in the latest Miocene, a time of increasing summer drought and regional differentiation of habitats in Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Its demise at the Miocene-Pliocene boundary coincides with an environmental reversal toward increased humidity and forestation, changes inevitably detrimental to open-adapted, wide-ranging large mammals.

Age and growth of flathead catfish, Pylodictus olivaris rafinesque, in the Altamaha River system, Georgia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grabowski, T.B.; Isely, J.J.; Weller, R.R.

2004-01-01

Flathead catfish were introduced to the Altamaha River system, Georgia in the 1970's. We determined the length-weight relationship, Von Bertalanffy growth parameters, and back calculated lengths by examining the sagittal otoliths of 331 individuals captured from this population. We found that there were no sex related differences in length weight relationship or Von Bertalanffy growth parameters. Flathead catfish in the Altamaha River system grow at about the same rate as individuals in other introduced populations.

Development and performance evaluation of air fine bubbles on water quality of thai catfish rearing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subhan, Ujang; Muthukannan, Vanitha; Azhary, Sundoro Yoga; Mulhadi, Muhammad Fakhri; Rochima, Emma; Panatarani, Camellia; Joni, I. Made

2018-02-01

The efficiency and productivity of aquaculture strongly depends on the development of advanced technology for water quality management system. The most important factor for the success of intensive aquaculture system is controlling the water quality of fish rearing media. This paper reports the design of fine bubbles (FBs) generator and performance evaluation of the system to improve water quality in thai catfish media (10 g/ind) with density (16.66 ind./L). The FBs generator was designed to control the size distribution of bubble by controlling its air flow rate entry to the mixing chamber of the generator. The performance of the system was evaluated based on the produced debit, dissolved oxygen rate and ammonia content in the catfish medium. The size distribution was observed by using a high speed camera image followed by processing using ImageJ. freeware application. The results show that air flow rate 0.05 L/min and 0.1 L/min received average bubble size of 29 µm and 31 µm respectively. The generator produced bubbles with capacity of 6 L/min and dissolved oxygen rate 0.2 ppm/min/L. The obtained DO growth was 0.455 ppm/second/L while the average decay rate was 0.20 ppm/second/L. (0.011/0.005 fold). In contrast, the recieved DO growth rate is faster compared to the DO consumption rate of the Thai catfish. This results indicated that the potential application of FBs enhanced the density of thai catfish seed rearing. In addition, ammonia can be reduced at 0.0358 ppm/hour/L and it is also observed that the inhibition of bacterial growth of air FBs is postive to Aeromonas hydrophila bacteria compared to the negative control. It is concluded that as-developed FBs system can be potentially applied for intensive thai catfish culture and expected to improve the feeding efficiency rate.

Late Oligocene and Early Miocene Muroidea of the Zinda Pir Dome.

PubMed

Lindsay, Everett H; Flynn, Lawrence J

2016-02-17

A series of Oligocene through Early Miocene terrestrial deposits preserved in the foothills of the Zinda Pir Dome of western Pakistan produce multiple, superposed fossil mammal localities. These include small mammal assemblages that shed light on the evolution of rodent lineages, especially Muroidea, in South Asia. Nine small mammal localities span approximately 28-19 Ma, an interval encompassing the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. The Early Miocene rodent fossil assemblages are dominated by muroid rodents, but muroids are uncommon and archaic in earlier Oligocene horizons. The Zinda Pir sequence includes the evolutionary transition to modern Muroidea at about the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. We review the muroid record for the Zinda Pir Dome, which includes the early radiation of primitive bamboo rats (Rhizomyinae) and early members of the modern muroid radiation, which lie near crown Cricetidae and Muridae. The Zinda Pir record dates diversification of modern muroids in the Indian Subcontintent and establishment by 19 Ma of muroid assemblages characteristic of the later Siwaliks.

Hormone-injected gravid channel catfish held in individual mesh bag reduces handling stress and improves reproductive performance in hatcheries

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study compared holding hormone-injected female channel catfish in soft-mesh bags to communally held hormone-injected female catfish in a tank as a stress reduction strategy to improve reproductive performance. Fish held in tanks were crowded, handled multiple times to record weight prior to ho...

Efficacy of metomidate and tricaine methanesulfonate to modulate the short-term cortisol stress response in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The ability of the anesthetics metomidate and tricaine methanesulfonate to mitigate the cortisol stress response of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus was evaluated during a 10 min confinement stress. Channel catfish (11.9 ± 0.5 g; mean ± SE) were transferred from holding tanks to confinement buck...

Mid Miocene Terrestrial Ecosystems: Information from Mammalian Herbivore Communities.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janis, C. M.; Damuth, J.; Theodor, J. M.

2001-05-01

In present day ecosystems the numbers and proportions of different kinds of ecologically distinct ungulates (hoofed mammals) provide an indicator of the nature of the vegetation in the habitat. Different vegetation types (such as forest, savanna, or grassland) are characteristically associated with different arrays of ungulates, with species exhibiting differences in diet, body size, and type of digestive fermentation system. These biological attributes can also be inferred for fossil ungulate species, the first two from quantitative assessment of skull and dental anatomy, and the last from phylogenetic affinity. Thus fossil ungulate communities may be used as indicators of the vegetation types of the habitats in which they lived. Vegetation types, in turn, are determined largely by a number of physical environmental factors. Typical ungulate communities of the late early to early middle Miocene (17 - 15 Ma) from the Great Plains of North America contained a diversity of browsing (leaf-eating) and grazing (grass-eating) species, with proportions of dietary types and a diversity of body sizes indicative of a woodland savanna habitat. Paleobotanical evidence also indicates a woodland savanna type of vegetation. However, these communities included a much larger number of ungulate species than can be found in any present-day community. The "excess" ungulate species were primarily browsers. Throughout the rest of the middle Miocene both species numbers and the proportion of browsers in ungulate communities appear to have declined steadily. During this decline in browser species the numbers of grazer species remained relatively constant. Within-community species numbers comparable to the present day were attained by the late Miocene. We suggest that the early Miocene browser-rich communities, and their subsequent decline, carry an important paleoenvironmental signal. In particular, communities "over rich" in browsers may reflect higher levels of primary productivity in

In situ assessment of two catfish species (pisces, Ariidae) to evaluate pollution in a harbor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neta, Raimunda Nonata Fortes Carvalho; Junior, Audalio Rebelo Torres; Sousa, Débora Batista Pinheiro; de Sousa de Oliveira Mota Andrade, Ticianne; Torres, Hetty Salvino; da Silva Castro, Jonatas; da Silva de Almeida, Zafira; Santos, Débora Martins Silva; Tchaicka, Lígia

2016-12-01

A histopathological and biometric database for the catfish Sciades herzbergii and Bagre bagre from São Luís Island (Harbor area) and Caranguejos Island (reference area) in Brazil is presented. Branchial and hepatic lesions were classified into three reaction patterns: 1) circulatory or inflammatory disturbances; 2) regressive changes; 3) progressive changes. The total length (Lt), standard length (Ls), furcal length (Lf), total weight (Wt), and gonad weight (Wg) of each fish were recorded. As expected, most populations of catfish considered in this study are highly heterogeneous, with lengths and weights deviating from the reference sample. No histopathological lesions were observed in Sciades herzbergii examined at the reference site (Caranguejos Island). In contrast, 90% of the catfish S. herzbergii from sites located in the Harbor Area (São Luís Island) had one or more types of branchial and hepatic lesions. As opposed to what was observed in S. herzbergii, more than 86.33% of Bagre bagre individuals showed histopathological alterations in both areas. The utility of histopathological lesions and biometric data as sensitive indicators of the health of wild catfish populations has been demonstrated. Sciades herzbergii proved to be a better species for biomonitoring because it was able to differentiate one impacted site (Port Area/ São Luís Island) from a region relatively free of contaminants (Reference Area/ Caranguejos Island).

The Streambank Erosion Control Evaluation and Demonstration Act of 1974, Section 32, Public Law 93-251. Appendix G. Demonstration Projects on Other Streams, Nationwide. Volume 2.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

deposit. The formations are of the oligocene and miocene geologic age. The logs of borings presented in Appendix A show the results of five borings. Holes...Rainbow trout) and warm -water (Channel catfish) fish are maintained. b. Terrestrial Vegetation. The vegetation in the vicinity of 0 Abiquiu trends

El Nino-like events during Miocene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Casey, R.E.; Nelson, C.O.; Weinheimer, A.L.

El Nino-like events have been recorded from the Miocene laminated siliceous facies of the Monterey Formation. These El Nino-like Miocene events are compared to El Nino events recorded from Holocene varved sediments deposited within the anoxic Santa Barbara basin. Strong El Nino events can be recognized from Holocene Santa Barbara basin sediments by increases in radiolarian flux to the sea floor during those events. For the last 100-plus years, frequency of strong El Ninos has been on the order of one extremely strong event about every 100 years, and one easily recognizable event about every 18 years. Frequencies in themore » laminated (varved) Miocene range from about every 4-5 years to over 20 years. The higher frequencies occur within generally warm intervals and the lower frequencies within generally cold intervals. Perhaps the frequencies of these events may, in fact, be an important indicator in determining whether the intervals were cold or warm. Reconstructions of the paleo-California Current system during El Nino-like periods have been made for the west coast from the Gulf of California to northern California. Strong El Nino-like events occurred 5.5 and 8 Ma, and a strong anti-El Nino-like event occurred at about 6.5 Ma. Evidence from the 5.5 and 8 Ma events combined with other evidence suggests that modern El Ninos, similar to today's, were initiated at 5.5 Ma or earlier.« less

Method for inducing saprolegniasis in channel catfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howe, G.E.; Rach, J.J.; Olson, J.J.

1998-01-01

A method was developed to uniformly and systematically induce saprolegniasis in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Three different methods for inducing saprolegniasis were evaluated in waters containing known zoospore concentrations of Saprolegnia parasitica (1) low-temperature shock to induce immunosuppression: (2) physical abrasion stress; and (3) a combination of both low temperature shock and abrasion stress. Low-temperature shock or abrasion stress alone were not effective for inducing saprolegniasis. Only 10% of fish stressed by low-temperature shock alone became infected. No fish receiving abrasion stress treatments alone became infected even though these fish were subject to significant abrasion and dewatering stress. A combination of low-temperature and abrasion stress, however, was sufficient to induce saprolegniasis in 100% of fish tested and resulted in 90% mortality. No fish became infected in the positive control group (exposed to zoospores of S. Parasitica without stress) or in the negative control group. The combined-stress method should enable researchers to induce saprolegniasis in channel catfish at will to study its pathogenesis or to test the efficacy of candidate antifungal treatments. In conducting efficacy studies, therapeutic treatments must begin immediately when the first signs of saprolegniasis are observed because the disease progresses quickly and is deadly.

Anthracothere dental anatomy reveals a late Miocene Chado-Libyan bioprovince

PubMed Central

Lihoreau, Fabrice; Boisserie, Jean-Renaud; Viriot, Laurent; Coppens, Yves; Likius, Andossa; Mackaye, Hassane Taisso; Tafforeau, Paul; Vignaud, Patrick; Brunet, Michel

2006-01-01

Recent discovery of an abundant and diverse late Miocene fauna at Toros-Ménalla (Chad, central Africa) by the Mission Paléoanthropologique Franco-Tchadienne provides a unique opportunity to examine African faunal and hominid evolution relative to the early phases of the Saharan arid belt. This study presents evidence from an African Miocene anthracotheriid Libycosaurus, particularly well documented at Toros-Ménalla. Its remains reveal a large semiaquatic mammal that evolved an autapomorphic upper fifth premolar (extremely rare in Cenozoic mammals). The extra tooth appeared ≈12 million years ago, probably in a small northern African population isolated by climate-driven fragmentation and alteration of the environments inhabited by these anthracotheriids [Flower, B. P. & Kennett, J. P. (1994) Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 108, 537–555 and Zachos, J., Pagani, M., Sloan, L., Thomas, E. & Billups, K. (2001) Science 292, 686–693]. The semiaquatic niche of Libycosaurus, combined with the distribution and relationships of its late Miocene species, indicates that by the end of the Miocene, wet environments connected the Lake Chad Basin to the Libyan Sirt Basin, across what is now the Sahara desert. PMID:16723392

Application of carbon isotope stratigraphy to late miocene shallow marine sediments, new zealand.

PubMed

Loutit, T S; Kennett, J P

1979-06-15

A distinct (0.5 per mil) carbon-13/carbon-12 isotopic shift in the light direction has been identified in a shallow marine sedimentary sequence of Late Miocene age at Blind River, New Zealand, and correlated with a similar shift in Late Miocene Deep Sea Drilling Project sequences throughout the Indo-Pacific. A dated piston core provides an age for the shift of 6.2 +/- 0.1 million years. Correlations based on the carbon isotopic change require a revision of the previously established magnetostratigraphy at Blind River. The carbon shift at Blind River occurs between 6.2 and 6.3 +/- 0.1 million years before present. A new chronology provides an age for the evolutionary first appearance datum of Globorotalia conomiozea at 6.1 +/- 0.1 million years, the beginning of a distinct latest Miocene cooling event associated with the Kapitean stage at 6.2 +/- 0.1 million years, and the beginning of a distinct shallowing of water depths at 6.1 +/- 0.1 million years. The Miocene-Pliocene boundary as recognized in New Zealand is now dated at 5.3 +/- 0.1 million years. Extension of carbon isotope stratigraphy to other shallow Late Miocene sequences should provide an important datum for international correlation of Late Miocene shallow and deep marine sequences.

Effects of Cryoprotectants and Diluents on the Cryopreservation of Spermatozoa from Far Eastern Catfish, Silurus asotus

PubMed Central

Gil, Hyun Woo; Lee, Tae Ho; Park, In-Seok

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of cryopreservation methods for ex situ conservation of spermatozoa from far eastern catfish, Silurus asotus. The spermatozoa activity index (SAI) and hatching rates were higher in spermatozoa stored in Alserver’s solution than those of spermatozoa stored in glucose solution. The SAI and hatching rates in all experimental groups gradually decreased with increasing duration of storage. Additionally, the SAI and hatching rates gradually decreased with increasing thawing temperatures at all storage durations (P<0.05). Based on the SAI and hatching rates, our results suggest that the optimal cryopreservation conditions of catfish spermatozoa involve storage in Alserver’s solution with 15% ethylene glycol, and thawing at 25℃. Cryopreservation of spermatozoa is a useful and reliable technique for conserving gene resources and for artificial propagation of far eastern catfish. PMID:28484747

Dioxin congener patterns in commercial catfish from the United States and the indication of mineral clays as the potential source

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Since 1991 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has conducted annual surveys of pesticide residues in foods under the Agricultural Marketing Service’s Pesticide Data Program (PDP). To assess chemical residues in domestically marketed catfish products, 1479 catfish samples were collected during ...

Histological and computed tomographic evaluation of a parasitic conjoined twin in hybrid catfish (Ictalurus punctatus [rafinesque] X Ictalurus furcatus [lesueur])

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is growing use of hybrid catfish (Ictalurus punctatus ' X Ictalurus furcatus ') in commercial aquaculture to utilize hybrid vigour to improve production A conjoined twin specimen found during the course of production studies by the United States Department of Agriculture Catfish Genetic Resear...

Reduction in Surface Ocean Carbon Storage across the Middle Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babila, T. L.; Sosdian, S. M.; Foster, G. L.; Lear, C. H.

2017-12-01

During the Middle Miocene, Earth underwent a profound climate shift from the warmth of the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO; 14-17 Ma) to the stable icehouse of today during the Middle Miocene Climate transition (MMCT). Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO2) revealed by boron isotope records (δ11B) link massive volcanic outputs of Columbia River Flood Basalts to the general warmth of MCO. Superimposed on the long-term cooling trend (MMCT) is a gradual pCO2 decline and numerous positive carbon isotope (δ13C) excursions that indicate dynamic variations in the global carbon cycle. Enhanced organic carbon burial via marine productivity, increased silicate weathering and volcanic emission cessation are each invoked to explain the drawdown of pCO2. To better constrain the oceanic role in carbon sequestration over the Middle Miocene detailed records of carbonate chemistry are needed. We present high resolution Boron/Calcium (B/Ca) and δ13C records in planktonic foraminifer T.trilobus spanning 12-17 Ma at ODP 761 (tropical eastern Indian Ocean) to document changes in surface ocean carbonate chemistry. An overall 30% increase in B/Ca ratios is expressed as two stepwise phases occurring at 14.7 and 13 Ma. Cyclic B/Ca variations are coherent with complimentary δ13C records suggesting a tight coupling between ocean carbonate chemistry parameters. Lower resolution B/Ca data at DSDP 588 (Pacific) and ODP 926 (Atlantic) corroborate the trends observed at ODP 761. We employ a paired approach that combines B/Ca (this study) to δ11B (Foster et al., 2012) and an ad hoc calibration to estimate changes in surface ocean dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). We estimate a substantial decrease in surface ocean DIC spanning the Middle Miocene that culminates with modern day like values. This gradual decline in surface ocean DIC is coeval with existing deep-ocean records which together suggests a whole ocean reduction in carbon storage. We speculate that enhanced weathering

Potential interactions between metazoan parasites of the Mayan catfish Ariopsis assimilis and chemical pollution in Chetumal Bay, Mexico.

PubMed

Vidal-Martínez, V M; Aguirre-Macedo, M L; Noreña-Barroso, E; Gold-Bouchot, G; Caballero-Pinzón, P I

2003-06-01

The effect of pollutants on the intensity of infection of metazoan parasites in the Mayan catfish, Ariopsis assimilis was investigated. Data were collected on pollutants and metazoan parasites from 76 catfish from five localities in Chetumal Bay in October, 1996. Nineteen pollutants (pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) were found in the catfish livers. Heavy metal content was not determined. Nineteen metazoan parasite species were recovered. After controlling for fish length and sampling station, there was a significant negative linear relationship between the intensity of the larval digenean Mesostephanus appendiculatoides and 1,1,1,-trichloro-2,2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT) concentrations. This negative relationship may be explained either by the effect of the pesticide on the mortality of (i) free-living larval forms, (ii) metacercariae in the fish, (iii) infected fish or (iv) intermediate host snails. There were significant differences between fish parasitized and not parasitized with M. appendiculatoides with respect to their DDT concentrations. There were also significant differences between the variances of the mean Clark's coefficient of condition values between catfish parasitized and not parasitized by M. appendiculatoides, with the variance of non-parasitized catfish being significantly larger. The results provided statistical evidence that DDT has a detrimental effect on M. appendiculatoides infection intensity. Furthermore, the significantly larger variance value of Clark's coefficient for non-parasitized fish suggested that DDT affects both the parasite and general host condition.

Chad Basin: Paleoenvironments of the Sahara since the Late Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuster, Mathieu; Duringer, Philippe; Ghienne, Jean-François; Roquin, Claude; Sepulchre, Pierre; Moussa, Abderamane; Lebatard, Anne-Elisabeth; Mackaye, Hassan Taisso; Likius, Andossa; Vignaud, Patrick; Brunet, Michel

2009-08-01

Since the mid 1990s, the Mission paléoanthropologique francotchadienne (MPFT) conducts yearly paleontological field investigations of the Miocene-Pliocene of the Chad Basin. This article synthesizes some of the results of the MPFT, with focus on the Chad Basin development during the Neogene. We propose an overview of the depositional paleoenvironments of this part of Africa at different scales of time and space, based on a multidisciplinary approach (sedimentary geology, geomorphology, geophysic, numerical simulations and geochronology). The Miocene-Pliocene paleoenvironments are examined through the sedimentary archives of the early hominids levels and the Holocene Lake Mega-Chad episode illustrates the last major paleoenvironmental change in this area. The sedimentary record of the Chad Basin since the Late Miocene can be schematized as the result of recurrent interactions from lake to desert environments.

Determination of quarantine period in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fed with pig (Sus sp.) offal to assure compliance with halal standards.

PubMed

Wan Norhana, M N; Dykes, G A; Padilah, B; Ahmad Hazizi, A A; Masazurah, A R

2012-12-01

Pig (Sus sp.) and pig by-products are considered as najasa (impurities) in Islam and forbidden in Muslim consumer products. Animals fed on najasa are categorised as al-jallālah (contaminated animals) which are allowed to be consumed as long as they have been quarantined for a certain period of time. During this quarantine period the animals will have undergone a natural purification process or istihālah. African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) are commonly consumed in Malaysia and may be fed on najasa. This study was carried out to estimate the istihālah period for catfish after feeding with pig offal, based on the absence of pig DNA in catfish gut and to suggest the quarantine period in catfish fed with pig offal. The results indicated that the maximum istihālah period could reach 36h in the stomach, 6h in the midgut and less than 2h in the hindgut although in many cases shorter periods were observed. Based on these results it is estimated that the minimum quarantine period for catfish fed with pig offal is 1.5days. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of mannose binding lectin from channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is an important component of innate immunity capable of activating the lectin pathway of the complement system. A MBL gene was isolated from channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). The deduced protein contains a canonical collagen-like domain, a carbohydrate recognition d...

Emergence of Edwardsiella piscicida in farmed channel femal, Ictalurus punctatus X blue male, Ictalurus furcatus, hybrid catfish cultured in Mississippi

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

here is a trend toward the increased incidence and prevalence of Edwardsiella piscicida septicemia in US catfish aquaculture, particularly in channel ', Ictalurus punctatus, × blue ', I. furcatus, hybrid catfish. From 2013 to 2017, a total of 3242 disease case submissions were made to the Aquatic Re...

Accumulation, distribution, and toxicity of copper in sediments of catfish ponds receiving periodic copper sulfate applications.

PubMed

Han, F X; Hargreaves, J A; Kingery, W L; Huggett, D B; Schlenk, D K

2001-01-01

Copper sulfate (CuSO4) is applied periodically to commercial channel catfish (Ictalurus panctatus) ponds as an algicide or parasiticide. Current understanding of the chemistry of copper in soil-water systems suggests that copper may accumulate in pond sediments, although the forms and potential bioavailability of copper in catfish pond sediments are not known. This study investigated the accumulation and distribution of copper in the sediment of catfish ponds receiving periodic additions of CuSO4.5H2O. All ponds were constructed in Sharkey (very-fine, smectitic, thermic Chromic Epiaquert) soil. Nine 0.40-ha ponds received 59 applications of 2.27 kg CuSO4.5H2O per application per pond over 3 yr; no CuSO4.5H2O applications were made to nine additional ponds. Total Cu concentration in the sediments of CuSO4.5H2O-amended catfish ponds (172.5 mg kg(-1)) was four to five times higher than that in the sediments of nonamended ponds (36.1 mg kg(-1)). Copper accumulated in catfish pond sediments at a rate of 41 microg kg(-1) dry sediment for each 1 kg ha(-1) of CuSO4. 5H2O applied to ponds. Copper in the sediments of amended ponds was mainly in the organic matter-bound (30.7%), carbonate-bound (31.8%), and amorphous iron oxide-bound (22.1%) fractions with a considerable fraction (3.4%; 3 to 8 mg kg(-1)) in soluble and exchangeable fractions. This indicates that Cu accumulates differentially in various fractions, with proportionally greater initial accumulation in potentially bioavailable forms. However, toxicity bioassays with amphipods (Hyallela azteca) and common cattail (Typha latifolia L.) indicated that the effect of exposure to amended or nonamended pond sediments was not different.

Subduction, erosion and the sediment record: Insights from Miocene sediments, Hengchun Peninsula, Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirstein, Linda; Carter, Andrew; Chen, Yue-Gau

2010-05-01

Detrital sedimentary records include vast archives of material that have been removed from developing tectonically active regions. These archives have been used to investigate challenging questions on continental deformation, exhumation and palaeodrainage using a variety of different techniques including heavy minerals, fission-track dating and palaeocurrent reconstructions. The Hengchun Peninsula of southern Taiwan and offshore Hengchun Ridge form a present day accretionary prism, with accretionary wedge growth occurring both by frontal accretion, with sediments from the continental margin scraped up into the accretionary wedge and by underplating. Miocene sediments in Hengchun include foreland basin deposits, deep marine turbidites and forearc basin deposits. As a result the detrital sediments record details of accretionary prism growth associated with continued Luzon arc-continent collision. Diametrically opposite palaeocurrents are preserved in the Miocene sandstones of the Hengchun Peninsula, southern Taiwan. Controversial explanations include an exotic source terrane to the south and/or 180 ° rotation of a depositional basin. We document the tecto-thermal evolution of the Miocene sediment source(s) using a double dating approach. U-Pb grain ages range from Miocene to Archaean, while zircon fission-tracks record thermal cooling primarily in the Cretaceous with minor peaks in the Miocene, Triassic, Jurassic and Permian. The primary source of the Miocene sediments at the centre of the controversy was similar. Palaeocurrent data are influenced by local basin geometry and submarine topography and suggest that sediment deposition in the Miocene was strongly controlled by incipient subduction, associated structural trends and submarine topography. A similar control on deposition in the modern Taiwan collision zone is apparent in the offshore region today.

A Transitional Gundi (Rodentia: Ctenodactylidae) from the Miocene of Israel

PubMed Central

López-Antoñanzas, Raquel; Gutkin, Vitaly; Rabinovich, Rivka; Calvo, Ran; Grossman, Aryeh

2016-01-01

We describe a new species of gundi (Rodentia: Ctenodactylidae: Ctenodactylinae), Sayimys negevensis, on the basis of cheek teeth from the Early Miocene of the Rotem Basin, southern Israel. The Rotem ctenodactylid differs from all known ctenodactylid species, including Sayimys intermedius, which was first described from the Middle Miocene of Saudi Arabia. Instead, it most resembles Sayimys baskini from the Early Miocene of Pakistan in characters of the m1-2 (e.g., the mesoflexid shorter than the metaflexid, the obliquely orientated hypolophid, and the presence of a strong posterolabial ledge) and the upper molars (e.g., the paraflexus that is longer than the metaflexus). However, morphological (e.g., presence of a well-developed paraflexus on unworn upper molars) and dimensional (regarding, in particular, the DP4 and M1 or M2) differences between the Rotem gundi and Sayimys baskini distinguish them and testify to the novelty and endemicity of the former. In its dental morphology, Sayimys negevensis sp. nov. shows a combination of both the ultimate apparition of key-characters and incipient features that would be maintained and strengthened in latter ctenodactylines. Thus, it is a pivotal species that bridges the gap between an array of primitive ctenodactylines and the most derived, Early Miocene and later, gundis. PMID:27049960

Production of viable homozygous, doubled haploid channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Production of doubled haploids via mitotic gynogenesis is a useful tool for the creation of completely inbred fish. In order to produce viable doubled haploid channel catfish, we utilized hydrostatic pressure or thermal treatments on eggs fertilized with sperm that had been exposed to ultraviolet l...

The influence of supplemented Curcuma in feed formulation to improve growth rate and feed efficiency of catfish (Clarias sp.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulum, M. M.; Zubaidah, M.; Arief, M.; Prayogo

2018-04-01

Catfish (Clarias sp.) is very potential to be developed as a food fish. The use of the feed additive in feed intended to improve the health, productivity and compliance with animal nutrition. Feed additive is to use ginger are derived from nature.The purpose of this study was to determine the potential increase in feed formulation. The Curcuma effect on growth rate and feed efficiency of catfish (Clarias sp.). The method used experimental methods and design complete random with 4 treatments and 5 replications. The parameters examined in this study aregrowth rate and efficiency feed.The research showed that the ANOVA markedly dissimilar ( P< 0.05 ) against growth rate and efficiency feed catfishes. The average is 0.275 - 0.33 growth and the results efficiency feed catfishes of 60.70 % - 73.10 % and the results obtained temperature water quality around 27-30°C, pH 7-8, and DO 3.09-6.4. Based on this research cultivator of the suggested use flour curcuma as feed additive on formulations feed.

Pond-raised hybrid catfish, male Ictalurus punctatus X female Ictalurus furcatus, do not respond to microbial phytase “super-dosing”

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Two experiments were conducted in consecutive years to evaluate responses of hybrid catfish, male Ictalurus punctatus X female Ictalurus furcatus, to “super-dosing” of 6-phytase added to existing commercial catfish feeds. In each experiment, two diets with or without a phytase super-dose (2,500 and ...

A macroecological glance at the structure of late Miocene rodent assemblages from Southwest Europe

PubMed Central

Cano, Ana Rosa Gómez; Cantalapiedra, Juan L.; Álvarez-Sierra, M. Ángeles; Fernández, Manuel Hernández

2014-01-01

Deep-time perspectives in macroecology are essential with regard to understanding the impact of climate forcing on faunal communities. Using late Miocene rodent faunas (12 to 5 Ma) from two different biogeographical provinces from southwestern Europe, we asked whether the waxing and waning of faunas with dissimilar ecological affinities tracked climate in different ways. The latest middle Miocene featured a fauna dominated by dormice with forest and mixed-habitat affinities. This group declined towards the Upper Miocene. Rodent taxa with the highest values of richness at the beginning of the Upper Miocene are generalists in the southern province and specialists of forested habitats in the northern province. Finally, we identified a third, increasingly significant group of rodents linked to open landscapes towards the end of the Miocene. These three broad ecological groups showed differential responses to a complex set of interconnected circumstances, including the biogeographic structure of the study area and climatic changes throughout time. PMID:25297009

A macroecological glance at the structure of late Miocene rodent assemblages from Southwest Europe.

PubMed

Gómez Cano, Ana Rosa; Cantalapiedra, Juan L; Álvarez-Sierra, M Ángeles; Hernández Fernández, Manuel

2014-10-09

Deep-time perspectives in macroecology are essential with regard to understanding the impact of climate forcing on faunal communities. Using late Miocene rodent faunas (12 to 5 Ma) from two different biogeographical provinces from southwestern Europe, we asked whether the waxing and waning of faunas with dissimilar ecological affinities tracked climate in different ways. The latest middle Miocene featured a fauna dominated by dormice with forest and mixed-habitat affinities. This group declined towards the Upper Miocene. Rodent taxa with the highest values of richness at the beginning of the Upper Miocene are generalists in the southern province and specialists of forested habitats in the northern province. Finally, we identified a third, increasingly significant group of rodents linked to open landscapes towards the end of the Miocene. These three broad ecological groups showed differential responses to a complex set of interconnected circumstances, including the biogeographic structure of the study area and climatic changes throughout time.

A macroecological glance at the structure of late Miocene rodent assemblages from Southwest Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cano, Ana Rosa Gómez; Cantalapiedra, Juan L.; Álvarez-Sierra, M. Ángeles; Fernández, Manuel Hernández

2014-10-01

Deep-time perspectives in macroecology are essential with regard to understanding the impact of climate forcing on faunal communities. Using late Miocene rodent faunas (12 to 5 Ma) from two different biogeographical provinces from southwestern Europe, we asked whether the waxing and waning of faunas with dissimilar ecological affinities tracked climate in different ways. The latest middle Miocene featured a fauna dominated by dormice with forest and mixed-habitat affinities. This group declined towards the Upper Miocene. Rodent taxa with the highest values of richness at the beginning of the Upper Miocene are generalists in the southern province and specialists of forested habitats in the northern province. Finally, we identified a third, increasingly significant group of rodents linked to open landscapes towards the end of the Miocene. These three broad ecological groups showed differential responses to a complex set of interconnected circumstances, including the biogeographic structure of the study area and climatic changes throughout time.

Precision of channel catfish catch estimates using hoop nets in larger Oklahoma reservoirs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stewart, David R.; Long, James M.

2012-01-01

Hoop nets are rapidly becoming the preferred gear type used to sample channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, and many managers have reported that hoop nets effectively sample channel catfish in small impoundments (<200 ha). However, the utility and precision of this approach in larger impoundments have not been tested. We sought to determine how the number of tandem hoop net series affected the catch of channel catfish and the time involved in using 16 tandem hoop net series in larger impoundments (>200 ha). Hoop net series were fished once, set for 3 d; then we used Monte Carlo bootstrapping techniques that allowed us to estimate the number of net series required to achieve two levels of precision (relative standard errors [RSEs] of 15 and 25) at two levels of confidence (80% and 95%). Sixteen hoop net series were effective at obtaining an RSE of 25 with 80% and 95% confidence in all but one reservoir. Achieving an RSE of 15 was often less effective and required 18-96 hoop net series given the desired level of confidence. We estimated that an hour was needed, on average, to deploy and retrieve three hoop net series, which meant that 16 hoop net series per reservoir could be "set" and "retrieved" within a day, respectively. The estimated number of net series to achieve an RSE of 25 or 15 was positively associated with the coefficient of variation (CV) of the sample but not with reservoir surface area or relative abundance. Our results suggest that hoop nets are capable of providing reasonably precise estimates of channel catfish relative abundance and that the relationship with the CV of the sample reported herein can be used to determine the sampling effort for a desired level of precision.

Length-weight relationship of eleven species of marine catfishes from the northern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farooq, Noureen; Qamar, Nazia; Rashid, Shahnaz; Panhwar, Sher Khan

2017-09-01

This study records length-weight relationships (LWRs) for eleven commercially important marine catfish species of the family Ariidae (sea catfishes) and Plotosidae (eel catfishes) from the northern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan. The specimens were sampled from December 2014 to November 2015, using bottom trawls with various mesh sizes by commercial vessels. The species were Nemapteryx caelatus, Sciades sona, Arius gagora, Batrachocephalus mino, Netuma thalassina, N. bilineata, Osteogeneiosus militaris, Plicofollis dussumieri, P. tenuispinis, Plotosus limbatus, and P. lineatus. Of the eleven species, two species A. gagora and N. bilineata were recorded for the first time and LWRs for four species A. gagora, N. bilineata, S. sona, and B. mino still have no data in the FishBase database. In addition, new maximum length for each of the three species N. bilineata, O. militaris and B. mino was also found.

Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus size and feed conversion ratio

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, of five size-classes were stocked into 20, 0.04-ha earthen ponds at a rate of 14,826 fish/ha. Mean initial weights for each size-class were 0.232, 0.458, 0.678, 0.911, and 1.10 kg/fish. Four ponds were randomly allotted to each treatment. A commercial 28% protei...

Miocene denudation history of Himalaya deduced from IODP Exp. 354 Bengal Fan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohki, Y.; Cruz, J. W.; Osaki, A.; Manoj, M. C.; Hatano, N.; France-Lanord, C.; Spiess, V.; Klaus, A.

2017-12-01

The submarine Bengal Fan is the largest submarine fan on Earth and covers the whole Bay of Bengal. The sediments are fed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers reflecting India-Asia plate collision. The sediments recovered from IODP Expedition 354 Bengal Fan record the uplift history of the Himalayan orogenic system. We examined the chemical composition of detrital garnets in the Miocene deposits from Site U1451, where drilling reached to basal horizon of the fan deposits, in order to reveal the detailed denudation history of Himalayan metamorphic rocks. For this purpose, the comparison of chemical composition between detrital garnet in the Bengal Fan deposits and metamorphic garnet in Himalayan metamorphic rocks was carried out. The chemical composition of the metamorphic garnet from Higher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) in Karnali and Kaligandaki areas, western Nepal, was examined for chemical reference to detrital garnets in Bengal Fan. The metamorphic garnets in "Formation I (Le Fort, 1975)" in HHC are characterized by almandine-rich garnet with high pyrope content. Also, the garnets in "Formation II" are remarked by two types of garnets, i.e., almandine-rich and grandite-rich garnets. Meanwhile, the composition of garnets in "Formation III" is almandine-rich garnet with low pyrope content. In the Bengal Fan deposits, the characteristic garnets, which show the similarity to the metamorphic garnet in HHC, is not found from the Lower Miocene (Burdigalian) deposits. In the Middle and Upper Miocene deposits, the almandine-rich garnets characteristic in Formation I, are normally included. At the basal part of the Middle Miocene (Langhian), almandine-rich garnets with low pyrope content, suggesting the derivation from Formation III, are remarkable. The grandite-rich garnets from Formation II are sporadically found In the Upper Miocene deposits (Tortonian-Messinian). Above chemical comparison between the detrital garnets in Bengal Fan and metamorphic garnets from HHC

Determination of niclosamide residues in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fillet tissue by high-performance liquid chromatography

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schreier, Theresa M.; Dawson, V.K.; Cho, Yirang; Spanjers, N.J.; Boogaard, M.A.

2000-01-01

Bayluscide [the ethanolamine salt of niclosamide (NIC)] is a registered piscicide used in combination with 3-(trifluoromethyl)-4-nitrophenol (TFM) to control sea lamprey populations in streams tributary to the Great Lakes. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of NIC residues in muscle fillet tissues of fish exposed to NIC and TFM during sea lamprey control treatments. NIC was extracted from fortified channel catfish and rainbow trout fillet tissue with a series of acetone extractions and cleaned up on C-18 solid-phase extraction cartridges. NIC concentrations were determined by HPLC with detection at 360 and 335 nm for rainbow trout and catfish, respectively. Recovery of NIC from rainbow trout (n = 7) fortified at 0.04 mu g/g was 77 +/- 6.5% and from channel catfish (n = 7) fortified at 0.02 mu g/g was 113 +/- 11%. NIC detection limit was 0.0107 mu g/g for rainbow trout and 0.0063 mu g/g for catfish. Percent recovery of incurred radioactive residues by this method from catfish exposed to [C-14]NIC was 89.3 +/- 4.1%. Percent recoveries of NIC from fortified storage stability tissue samples for rainbow trout (n = 3) analyzed at 5 and 7.5 month periods were 78 +/- 5.1 and 68 +/- 2.4%, respectively. Percent recoveries of NIC from fortified storage stability tissue samples for channel catfish (n = 3) analyzed at 5 and 7.5 month periods were 88 +/- 13 and 76 +/- 21%, respectively.

Impact of Copper Sulfate on Plankton in Channel Catfish Nursery Ponds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Many fish culturists are interested in applying copper sulfate pentahydrate (CSP) to channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, nursery ponds as a prophylactic treatment for trematode infection and proliferative gill disease by killing snails and Dero sp., respectively, before stocking fry. However, copp...

Missing the target: DNAk is a dominant epitope in the humoral immune response of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) to Flavobacterium columnare

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Vaccination remains a viable alternative for bacterial disease protection in fish; however additional work is required to understand the mechanisms of adaptive immunity in the channel catfish. To assess the humoral immune response to Flavobacterium columnare; a group of channel catfish were first im...

Toxicity of Selected Mosquito Sprays to Channel Catfish Sac Fry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the spring when channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, hatcheries are in full operation, the associated moisture and warm temperatures provide a haven for mosquitoes. Large swarms of biting mosquitoes in a hatchery can make the tedious work of egg-picking (i.e., removing dead and fungus-infested e...

A model to environmental monitoring based on glutathione-S-transferase activity and branchial lesions in catfish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neta, Raimunda Nonata Fortes Carvalho; Torres, Audalio Rebelo

2017-11-01

In this work, we validate the glutathione-S-transferase and branchial lesions as biomarkers in catfish Sciades herzbergii to obtain a predictive model of the environmental impact effects in a harbor of Brazil. The catfish were sampled from a port known to be contaminated with heavy metals and organic compounds and from a natural reserve in São Marcos Bay, Maranhão. Two biomarkers, hepatic glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity and branchial lesions were analyzed. The values for GST activity were modeled with the occurrence of branchial lesions by fitting a third order polynomial. Results from the mathematical model indicate that GST activity has a strong polynomial relationship with the occurrence of branchial lesions in both the wet and the dry seasons, but only at the polluted port site. Our mathematic model indicates that when the GST ceases to act, serious branchial lesions are observed in the catfish of the contaminated port area.

Isolation and Identification of Aeromonas hydrophila and Saprolegnia sp. on Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in Floating cages in Bozem Moro Krembangan Surabaya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusdarwati, Rahayu; Kismiyati; Sudarno; Kurniawan, Hendi; Teguh Prayogi, Yudha

2017-02-01

Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is one of the familiar freshwater fish cultured in Indonesia farmer. One of the reason is the high mortality of the catfish infected by Aeromonas hydrophila and Saprolegnia sp. Motile Aeromonas septicemia (MAS) is a common bacterial disease, caused by Aeromonas hydrophila, which affects freshwater fish. In Southeast Asia, the outbreak of this disease was firstly reported from West Java in 1980, when a total of 82.5 tons a month of catfish were lost, while in Central Java in 1984, the total loss was 1.6 tons. Saprolegniosis can cause economic loss due to high mortality from its case reaching 10% to 50%. This research aimed to identify and determine the percentage of A. hydrophila and Saprolegnia sp. the catfish farmed in bozem Moro Krembangan, Surabaya, East Java. Meanwhile, a supporting parameter in this research is the value of water quality parameter including pH, temperature, ammonia and dissolved oxygen that were measured during sampling. The results showed that of the 20 samples taken from the two cages, 19 fish were positively infected by A. drophila. percentage of infections of A. hydrophila that infect umbo catfish in Moro Krembangan, was 95%, while the percentage Saprolegnia sp. was 90%.

Biostratigraphic sequence analysis of two Lower Miocene to Pliocene sections, Eastern Falcon, Northwestern Venezuela

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Diaz De Gamero, M.L.; Giffuni, G.; Castro Mora, M.

1993-02-01

The eastern region of the Falcon Basin in northwestern Venezuela comprises a thick sedimentary sequence deposited from a deep marine bathyal to neritic environment, ranging in age from the Middle Eocene to the Pliocene. A detailed biostratigraphic study (foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton) was carried out in two sedimentary sequences outcropping in Cumarebo and Piritu, adjacent areas of eastern Falcon, representing: platform, slope and basinal settings. The Cumarebo section is continuous in the studied interval, from the Middle Miocene to the Pliocene. The Piritu section is continuous from the Lower to the lower Upper Miocene, terminating unconformably beneath a thin intervalmore » of middle Pliocene platform sediments, indicating tectonism during the latest Miocene. The sequence stratigraphical interpretation was based on the biostratigraphic analysis of the benthic and planktonic fossils, facies distribution and sedimentological data. Systems tracts, sequence boundaries and maximum flooding surfaces from cycles TB2.4 to TB3.5 of the cycle chart were identified. In the Cumarebo section, the upper Middle and Upper Miocene is mostly composed of shales, with some turbiditic sands belonging to a LSW system tract. The upper most Miocene contains a thick carbonate buildup (HST), and it is overlain by a Pliocene section that shallows upward from upper slope to outer shelf depositional environments. In the basinal (Piritu) section, most of the sediments are deep-water shales belonging to a LSW system tract, with some turbiditic sands in the upper Lower Miocene. TST and HST sediments, with scattered carbonate buildups in the upper Middle Miocene were also identified.« less

Influence of fertilizing water pH on the hatching success of stripped channel catfish eggs on channel x blue hybrid catfish embryo production in hatcheries

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Variable egg quality is one of the most important constrains to the development of aquaculture. The quality of eggs that are manually stripped from channel catfish are affected by variation in parental genetics, maturity, type and dose of hormone, age and pre-spawning stress of female fish. Furthe...

Early Miocene reef- and mudflat-associated gastropods from Makran (SE-Iran).

PubMed

Harzhauser, Mathias; Reuter, Markus; Mohtat, Tayebeh; Piller, Werner E

2017-01-01

A new gastropod fauna of Burdigalian (early Miocene) age is described from the Iranian part of Makran. The fauna comprises 19 species and represents three distinct assemblages from turbid water coral reef, shallow subtidal soft-bottom and mangrove-fringed mudflat environments in the northern Indian Ocean. Especially the reef-associated assemblage comprises largely new species. This is explained by the rare occurrence of reefs along the northern margin of the Miocene Indian Ocean and the low number of scientific studies dealing with the region. In terms of paleobiogeography, the fauna corresponds well to coeval faunas from the Pakistani Balochistan and Sindh provinces and the Indian Kathiawar, Kutch and Kerala provinces. During the early Miocene, these constituted a discrete biogeographic unit, the Western Indian Province, which documents the near complete biogeographic isolation from the Proto-Mediterranean Sea. Some mudflat taxa might represent examples of vicariance following the Tethys closure. The fauna also displays little connection with coeval faunas from Indonesia, documenting a strong provincialism within the Indo-West Pacific Region during early Miocene times. Neritopsis gedrosiana sp. nov., Calliostoma irerense sp. nov., Calliostoma mohtatae sp. nov. and Trivellona makranica sp. nov. are described as new species.

Shared environment overcomes host genetic differences in shaping the gut microbiota of distinct fish strains within two species of ictalurid catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) represent the greatest market share in U.S. aquaculture production, both in terms of total economic value and numbers produced. The blue catfish (I. furcatus) is also of great interest to U.S. aquaculture, because interspecific crosses (I. punctatus x I. furcatu...

The complete mitochondrial genome of the armored catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae).

PubMed

Liu, Shikai; Zhang, Jiaren; Yao, Jun; Liu, Zhanjiang

2016-05-01

The complete mitochondrial genome of the armored catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus, was determined by next generation sequencing of genomic DNA without prior sample processing or primer design. Bioinformatics analysis resulted in the entire mitochondrial genome sequence with length of 16,523 bp. The H. plecostomus mitochondrial genome is consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 1 control region, showing typical circular molecule structure of mitochondrial genome as in other vertebrates. The whole genome base composition was estimated to be 31.8% A, 27.0% T, 14.6% G, and 26.6% C, with A/T bias of 58.8%. This work provided the H. plecostomus mitochondrial genome sequence which should be valuable for species identification, phylogenetic analysis and conservation genetics studies in catfishes.

Controls on the quality of Miocene reservoirs, southern Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutiérrez Paredes, Hilda Clarisa; Catuneanu, Octavian; Hernández Romano, Ulises

2018-01-01

An investigation was conducted to determine the main controls on the reservoir quality of the middle and upper Miocene sandstones in the southern Gulf of Mexico based on core descriptions, thin section petrography and petrophysical data; as well as to explore the possible link between the sequence stratigraphic framework, depositional facies and diagenetic alterations. The Miocene deep marine sandstones are attributed to the falling-stage, lowstand, and transgressive systems tracts. The middle Miocene falling-stage systems tract includes medium-to very fine-grained, and structureless sandstones deposited in channels and frontal splays, and muddy sandstones, deposited in lobes of debrites. The lowstand and transgressive systems tracts consist of medium-to very fine-grained massive and normally graded sandstones deposited in channel systems within frontal splay complexes. The upper Miocene falling-stage systems tract includes medium-to coarse-grained, structureless sandstones deposited in channel systems and frontal splay, as well as lobes of debrites formed by grain flows and hybrid-flow deposits. The lowstand and transgressive systems tracts include fine-grained sandstones deposited in overbank deposits. The results reveal that the depositional elements with the best reservoir quality are the frontal splays deposited during the falling-stage system tracts. The reservoir quality of the Miocene sandstones was controlled by a combination of depositional facies, sand composition and diagenetic factors (mainly compaction and calcite cementation). Sandstone texture, controlled primarily by depositional facies appears more important than sandstone composition in determining reservoir quality; and compaction was more important than cementation in porosity destruction. Compaction was stopped, when complete calcite cementation occurred.

Developing a low cortisol responsive line of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nagaraj G. Chatakondi and Brian C. Peterson USDA ARS Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit, 141 Experiment Station Road, Stoneville, MS 38776. nagaraj.chatakondi@ars.usda.gov Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus is the most important farm-raised aquacultured species in the USA. Stressors in aquacultu...

Developmental variation in sound production in water and air in the blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus.

PubMed

Ghahramani, Zachary N; Mohajer, Yasha; Fine, Michael L

2014-12-01

Blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, the largest catfish in North America, produce pectoral stridulation sounds (distress calls) when attacked and held. They have both fish and bird predators, and the frequency spectrum of their sounds is better matched to the hearing of birds than to that of unspecialized fish predators with low frequency hearing. It is unclear whether their sounds evolved to function in air or water. We categorized the calls and how they change with fish size in air and water and compared developmental changes in call parameters with stridulation motions captured with a high-speed camera. Stridulation sounds consist of a variable series of pulses produced during abduction of the pectoral spine. Pulses are caused by quick rapid spine rotations (jerks) of the pectoral spine that do not change with fish size although larger individuals generate longer, higher amplitude pulses with lower peak frequencies. There are longer pauses between jerks, and therefore fewer jerks and fewer pulses, in larger fish, which take longer to abduct their spines and therefore produce a longer series of pulses per abduction sweep. Sounds couple more effectively to water (1400 times greater pressure in Pascals at 1 m), are more sharply tuned and have lower peak frequencies than in air. Blue catfish stridulation sounds appear to be specialized to produce underwater signals although most of the sound spectrum includes frequencies matched to catfish hearing but largely above the hearing range of unspecialized fishes. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Identification of multiple dmrt1s in catfish: localization, dimorphic expression pattern, changes during testicular cycle and after methyltestosterone treatment.

PubMed

Raghuveer, K; Senthilkumaran, B

2009-05-01

The double sex and mab-3 related (DM) transcription factor 1 (dmrt1) plays an important role in testicular differentiation. Here, we report cloning of multiple dmrt1s, a full-length and two alternative spliced forms from adult catfish (Clarias gariepinus) testis, which encode predicted proteins of 287 (dmrt1a), 253 (dmrt1b) and 233 (dmrt1c) amino acid residues respectively. Interestingly, dmrt1c lacks the majority of the DM domain. Multiple dmrt1s (dmrt1a and dmrt1c) were obtained from Clarias batrachus as well. Tissue distribution (transcript and protein) of catfish dmrt1 revealed exclusive expression in testis. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed the presence of multiple dmrt1s with high levels of dmrt1a in adult testis but not in ovary. Real-time RT-PCR analysis during testicular cycle showed higher levels of dmrt1 transcripts in preparatory and pre-spawning when compared with spawning and post-spawning phases. Immunocytochemical and immunofluorescence localization revealed the presence of catfish Dmrt1 protein in spermatogonia and spermatocytes, which indicates plausible role in spermatogenesis. Histological analysis indicated initiation of gonadal sex differentiation in catfish around 40-50 days after hatching. The potential role for dmrt1 in testicular differentiation is evident from its stage-dependent elevated expression in developing testis. Furthermore, dimorphic expressions of dmrt1s were evident at different stages of gonadal development or recrudescence in catfish. Treatment of methyl testosterone (MT) during early stages of gonadal sex differentiation resulted in adult males. Interestingly, we also obtained MT-treated fishes having ova-testis gonads. Analysis of dmrt1, sox9a, foxl2 and cyp19a1 expression patterns in MT-treated gonads revealed tissue-specific pattern. These results together suggest that multiple dmrt1s are testis-specific markers in catfish.

Multilocus molecular phylogeny of the suckermouth armored catfishes (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) with a focus on subfamily Hypostominae.

PubMed

Lujan, Nathan K; Armbruster, Jonathan W; Lovejoy, Nathan R; López-Fernández, Hernán

2015-01-01

The Neotropical catfish family Loricariidae is the fifth most species-rich vertebrate family on Earth, with over 800 valid species. The Hypostominae is its most species-rich, geographically widespread, and ecomorphologically diverse subfamily. Here, we provide a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic reappraisal of genus-level relationships in the Hypostominae based on our sequencing and analysis of two mitochondrial and three nuclear loci (4293bp total). Our most striking large-scale systematic discovery was that the tribe Hypostomini, which has traditionally been recognized as sister to tribe Ancistrini based on morphological data, was nested within Ancistrini. This required recognition of seven additional tribe-level clades: the Chaetostoma Clade, the Pseudancistrus Clade, the Lithoxus Clade, the 'Pseudancistrus' Clade, the Acanthicus Clade, the Hemiancistrus Clade, and the Peckoltia Clade. Results of our analysis, which included type- and non-type species for every valid genus in Hypostominae, support the reevaluation and restriction of several historically problematic genera, including Baryancistrus, Cordylancistrus, Hemiancistrus, and Peckoltia. Much of the deep lineage diversity in Hypostominae is restricted to Guiana Shield and northern Andean drainages, with three tribe-level clades still largely restricted to the Guiana Shield. Of the six geographically widespread clades, a paraphyletic assemblage of three contain lineages restricted to drainages west of the Andes Mountains, suggesting that early diversification of the Hypostominae predated the late Miocene surge in Andean uplift. Our results also highlight examples of trophic ecological diversification and convergence in the Loricariidae, including support for three independent origins of highly similar and globally unique morphological specializations for eating wood. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evidence for ice-free summers in the late Miocene central Arctic Ocean

PubMed Central

Stein, Ruediger; Fahl, Kirsten; Schreck, Michael; Knorr, Gregor; Niessen, Frank; Forwick, Matthias; Gebhardt, Catalina; Jensen, Laura; Kaminski, Michael; Kopf, Achim; Matthiessen, Jens; Jokat, Wilfried; Lohmann, Gerrit

2016-01-01

Although the permanently to seasonally ice-covered Arctic Ocean is a unique and sensitive component in the Earth's climate system, the knowledge of its long-term climate history remains very limited due to the restricted number of pre-Quaternary sedimentary records. During Polarstern Expedition PS87/2014, we discovered multiple submarine landslides along Lomonosov Ridge. Removal of younger sediments from steep headwalls has led to exhumation of Miocene sediments close to the seafloor. Here we document the presence of IP25 as a proxy for spring sea-ice cover and alkenone-based summer sea-surface temperatures >4 °C that support a seasonal sea-ice cover with an ice-free summer season being predominant during the late Miocene in the central Arctic Ocean. A comparison of our proxy data with Miocene climate simulations seems to favour either relatively high late Miocene atmospheric CO2 concentrations and/or a weak sensitivity of the model to simulate the magnitude of high-latitude warming in a warmer than modern climate. PMID:27041737

Prevalence of veterinary drug residues and heavy metals in catfish nuggets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Seafood, including catfish, can sometimes become contaminated with chemicals and heavy metals at levels which would harm human health. Seafood safety has been increasing concerns to the consumers in the United States and limited availability of domestic fresh products in retail stores have been rais...

PCDD/Fs, PCBs, and PBDEs in catfish from U.S. Commerce

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for the safety of meat, poultry, egg products, and farm-raised catfish marketed in the United States. As such the USDA conducts statistical surveys to determine chemical residue concentrations in these domestic products. Little background data...

The interaction of sodium dodecyl sulfate and urea with cat-fish collagen solutions in acetate buffer: hydrodynamic and thermodynamic studies.

PubMed

Rose, C; Mandal, A B

1996-02-01

Cat-fish collagen was extracted and characterized. Shrinkage temperature of cat-fish collagen is 54.5 degrees C. SDS-PAGE pattern indicated that the cat-fish collagen is Type I in nature. The ratio of proline and hydroxyproline is 1:2 and it suggests cat-fish collagen is vertebrate. The molecular weight of cat-fish collagen was determined by using molecular sieve chromatography and it was found to be 3 20,000 Da. The mutual interaction of cat-fish collagen with SDS and urea was studied at various temperatures. The results suggest that the aggregation of collagen is facilitated by the presence of SDS, whereas hindered by urea. The various thermodynamic parameters were estimated from viscosity measurements and the transfer of collagen into SDS micelles, urea and the reverse phenomenon was analysed. These transfer properties are temperature-dependent. Our thermodynamic results are also able to predict the exact denaturation temperature as well as the structural order of water in the collagen in various environments. The hydrated volumes, Vh of collagen in buffer, SDS, and urea environments using Simha-Einstein equation and intrinsic viscosity were also calculated. The low intrinsic viscosity [eta] and high Vh value of collagen in an SDS environment compared to buffer and other environments suggested a more workable system in cosmetic and dermatological preparations. The one and two-hydrogen-bonded models of this collagen in various environments have been analysed. The calculated thermodynamic parameters varied with the concentration of collagen as well as concentration of additives. The change of thermodyanamic parameters from coiled-coil to random-coil conformation upon denaturation of collagen were calculated from the amount of proline and hydroxyproline residues and compared with viscometric results. Denaturation enthalpy of the catfish collagen in buffer, SDS and urea environments has also been determined by differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) measurements

Influence of strain of sire on channel x blue F1 hybrid catfish embryo production and fingerling performance under commercial farm conditions.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel x blue hybrid catfish is presently the desired aquaculture species in US farm-raised catfish industry. Even though production and performance has improved over the last two decades, several production and performance parameters needs to be improved to maximize the genetic potential of this ...

Widespread Miocene deep-sea hiatuses: coincidence with periods of global cooling.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barron, J.A.; Keller, G.

1982-01-01

High-resolution biostratigraphic analyses of Miocene deep-sea cores reveal eight intervals of widespread hiatuses in the world ocean. In complete sections these hiatuses correspond to intervals of cool faunal and floral assemblages, rapid enrichment of delta 18O, and sea-level regressions. These factors suggest that Miocene deep-sea hiatuses result from an increased intensity of circulation and corrosiveness of bottom currents during periods of increased polar refrigeration.-Authors

Chronic pathology and longevity of Drepanocephalus spathans infections in juvenile channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Drepanocephalus spathans (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) is a common parasite of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus). The cercariae of D. spathans have been shown infective to juvenile channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). The developing metacercariae concentrate in the cranial regio...

Correlation and zonation of miocene strata along the atlantic margin of North America using diatoms and silicoflagellates

USGS Publications Warehouse

Abbott, W.H.

1978-01-01

Six Atlantic Miocene siliceous microfossil zones are proposed based on onshore and offshore samples from the United States Atlantic Margin. Diatoms and silicoflagellates are used to establish the zones. These zones are from oldest to youngest: 1. Zone I Actinoptychus heliopelta Concurrent Range Zone - Early Miocene 2. Zone II Delphineis ovata Partial Range Zone - late Early to early Middle Miocene 3. Zone III Delphineis ovata/Delphineis penelliptica Concurrent Range Zone - early Middle Miocene 4. Zone IV Delphineis penelliptica Partial Range Zone - Middle Miocene 5. Zone V Delphineis penelliptica/Coscinodiscus plicatus Concurrent Range Zone - Middle Miocene 6. Zone VI Coscinodiscus plicatus Partial Range Zone - Middle Miocene. The six zones are easily traced along the Southern and Middle Atlantic Seaboard, but the older three are found for the most part between Cape Hatteras and New Jersey. There is some suggestion of sea-level change during Zone IV. Using rare planktonic diatoms that are index species from other regions and the zonal markers established in this study, correlation can be made with the Standard Foraminiferal Zones, the North Pacific Diatom Zones and with DSDP core 391A in the Blake-Bahama Basin. ?? 1978.

Interactions between non-native armored suckermouth catfish (Loricariidae: Pterygoplichthys) and native Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in artesian springs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nico, Leo G.; Loftus, William F.; Reid, James P.

2009-01-01

Non-native suckermouth armored catfishes (Loricariidae) of the genus Pterygoplichthys are now common throughout much of peninsular Florida. In this paper, we present preliminary observations on interactions between a Pterygoplichthys species, tentatively identified as P. disjunctivus (Weber, 1991), and endangered native Florida manatees, Trichechus manatus latirostris (Harlan, 1824), in artesian spring systems in Florida's St. Johns River drainage. The introduced catfish have become abundant in spring habitats, sites used by manatees as winter thermal refuges. In the spring runs, Pterygoplichthys regularly attaches to manatees and grazes the epibiota on their skin. On occasion, dozens of Pterygoplichthys congregate on individual manatees. Manatee responses varied widely; some did not react visibly to attached catfish whereas others appeared agitated and attempted to dislodge the fish. The costs and/or benefits of this interaction to manatees remain unclear.

Dioxins and other environmental contaminants in catfish from U.S. commerce

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill), amended the Federal Meat Inspection Act to provide that "catfish, as defined by the Secretary," is an amenable species and therefore subject to continuous inspection by the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service. Since few background data are ...

Stress Effects in Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Fry on Pond Survival

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Results from previous studies suggested that channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fry that were housed in very high traffic areas from hatch until reaching 9 g in size were able to survive experimental challenge with Edwardsiella ictaluri better than siblings who were hatched and raised in very low...

Miocene marine incursions and marine/freshwater transitions: Evidence from Neotropical fishes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovejoy, Nathan R.; Albert, James S.; Crampton, William G. R.

2006-03-01

Amazonian rivers contain a remarkable fauna of endemic species derived from taxa that generally occur in oceans and seas. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin of marine-derived lineages, including opportunistic invasions via estuaries, vicariance related to uplift of the Andes, and vicariance related to Miocene marine incursions and connections. Here, we examine available data for marine-derived lineages of four groups: stingrays (Myliobatiformes), drums (Sciaenidae), anchovies (Engraulididae), and needlefish (Belonidae). Geographic distributions, age estimates (determined using fossils, biogeography, and molecular data sets), and phylogenies for these taxa are most compatible with origination during the Miocene from marine sister groups distributed along the northern coast of South America. We speculate that unique ecological and biogeographic aspects of the Miocene upper Amazonian wetland system, most notably long-term connections with marine systems, facilitated the evolutionary transition from marine to freshwater habitats.

Fish Productivity in Open-Ocean Gyre Systems in the Late Oligocene and Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuevas, J. M.; Sibert, E. C.; Norris, R. D.

2015-12-01

Understanding how marine ecosystems respond to climate change is very important as we continue to warm the climate. Fish represent a critical protein source for a significant portion of the global population, and as such, an understanding of fish production and its interactions with climate change may help better prepare for the future. Ichthyoliths, fossil fish teeth and shark scales, are a novel fossil group which can be used as an indicator for fish productivity. Several important climate events occurred during the Miocene (7 to 23 Ma), including the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. Here we reconstruct fish production from across the Miocene from Pacific and Atlantic Ocean gyres. South Atlantic samples, from Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP) Site 522 spanning from 30 to 20 Ma, show fairly variable numbers in the Oligocene (ranging from 100 to 800 ich/cm2/yr), but stabilization in the Early Miocene (around 400 ich/cm2/yr), suggesting that the beginning of the Miocene brought consistent conditions for fish production. In the North Pacific, our record from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 886 shows a distinct crash in fish productivity at 11 Ma, from 3500 ich/cm2/yr to a steady decline around 100 ich/cm2/yr for the next million years. This crash is followed by a marked increase in the presence of diatoms and biogenous opal. This is somewhat surprising, since in modern oceanic systems, an increase in diatoms and other large-celled phytoplankton is associated with shorter, more efficient food chains and higher levels of fish. It is also interesting to note that denticles remain consistently low at both sites, indicating consistently low shark populations through this time period. Together, these results suggest that the Late Oligocene and Miocene was a time of variable fish production and provide a window into understanding of dynamic ecosystem changes through the Miocene in open-ocean gyre ecosystems.

The significance of marine microfossils for paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Solimões Formation (Miocene), western Amazonia, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linhares, Ana Paula; Gaia, Valber do Carmo de Souza; Ramos, Maria Inês Feijó

2017-11-01

Micropalaeontological studies of borehole cores 1AS-7D-AM and 1AS-8-AM, from Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state, Brazil, support previous evidence for Miocene marine ingressions in Western Amazonia. Three marine incursion events are recorded: the first in the Early/early Middle Miocene (in both cores), the second in the late Middle/early Late Miocene (1AS-8-AM), and the third in the Late Miocene (1AS-7D-AM). The first event is characterized by exclusively mangrove taxa, and the last two present a mixture of marine, fresh, and brackish water taxa. However, at the end of the third event an increase of fluvial influence is demonstrated by the predominance of freshwater taxa. These marine incursions reached the study area through narrow and geographically limited connections, controlled by the tectonic setting, at a time between the Early/early Middle Miocene and late Middle/Late Miocene. Thereafter, fluvial conditions were reestablished before Pliocene times.

A Miocene wave-dominated estuarine system in the Paraíba Basin, northeastern Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gandini, Rosana; Rossetti, Dilce de Fátima; Netto, Renata Guimarães; Góes, Ana Maria

2017-11-01

A number of publications have documented the effect of the Miocene transgression on several coasts of the world. However, this event is incompletely documented along the Brazilian margin, despite the existence of an impressive record of Miocene deposits exposed mostly as several coastal cliffs along more than 5000 km of distance. The transgressive nature of Miocene deposits, so far recognized only in a few localities of northeastern Brazil, needs to be amplified in order to better characterize the impact of the Miocene transgression in eastern South America. In this work, we provide facies analysis of early/middle Miocene strata exposed in the Paraíba Basin, northeastern Brazil, aiming reconstruct the depositional paleoenvironments and analyze their evolution within the context of relative sea-level fluctuations data. The results revealed deposits characterized by several features that were related to the action of tidal currents, such as alternating thicker/thinner forest packages, abundant reactivation surfaces, mud drapes and oppositely-dipping (herringbone) cross sets. These sedimentary structures were associated with an ichnological assemblage indicative of marine-influenced and brackish water, best represented by Ophiomorpha, Planolites-Palaeophycus-Thalassinoides and Thallassinoides-Planolites-Palaeophycus ichnofabrics. Sedimentation occurred in environments consisting of estuarine channel, estuarine central basin, tidal inlet/tidal channel, tidal delta/washover, tidal flat/shoal and foreshore, which were related to an estuarine setting, at least in part of a wave-dominated type. Analysis of facies stratal patterns led to suggest that the estuarine deposits of the Paraíba Basin reflect a rise in relative sea level probably during the transgressive and/or highstand stage of a depositional sequence formed directly overlying Cretaceous rocks. This rise can be correlated with the worldwide early/mid Miocene marine transgression. However, while the eustatic sea

A Time-Calibrated Mitogenome Phylogeny of Catfish (Teleostei: Siluriformes)

PubMed Central

Kappas, Ilias; Vittas, Spiros; Pantzartzi, Chrysoula N.; Drosopoulou, Elena; Scouras, Zacharias G.

2016-01-01

A very significant part of the world’s freshwater ichthyofauna is represented by ancient, exceptionally diverse and cosmopolitan ray-finned teleosts of the order Siluriformes. Over the years, catfish have been established as an exemplary model for probing historical biogeography at various scales. Yet, several tantalizing gaps still exist in their phylogenetic history, timeline and mode of diversification. Here, we re-examine the phylogeny of catfish by assembling and analyzing almost all publicly available mitogenome data. We constructed an ingroup matrix of 62 full-length mitogenome sequences from 20 catfish families together with four cypriniform outgroups, spanning 15,557 positions in total. Partitioned maximum likelihood analyses and Bayesian relaxed clock dating using fossil age constraints provide some useful and novel insights into the evolutionary history of this group. Loricarioidei are recovered as the first siluriform group to diversify, rendering Neotropics the cradle of the order. The next deepest clade is the South American Diplomystoidei placed as a sister group to all the remaining Siluroidei. The two multifamilial clades of “Big Asia” and “Big Africa” are also recovered, albeit nodal support for the latter is poor. Within “Big Asia”, Bagridae are clearly polyphyletic. Other interfamilial relationships, including Clariidae + Heteropneustidae, Doradidae + Auchenipteridae and Ictaluridae + Cranoglanididae are robustly resolved. Our chronogram shows that siluriforms have a Pangaean origin, at least as far back as the Early Cretaceous. The inferred timeline of the basal splits corroborates the “Out-of-South America” hypothesis and accords well with the fossil record. The divergence of Siluroidei most likely postdated the final separation of Africa and South America. An appealing case of phylogenetic affinity elaborated by biogeographic dispersal is exemplified by the Early Paleogene split between the Southeast Asian Cranoglanididae

Hematologic and plasma chemistry RIs for cultured Striped catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) in recirculating aquaculture systems.

PubMed

Galagarza, Oscar A; Kuhn, David D; Smith, Stephen A; Hrubec, Terry C

2017-09-01

Striped catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) is a valuable aquaculture fish species produced primarily in Southeast Asia. In the United States, it is bred as an ornamental species. Striped catfish has high productivity and great demand in numerous countries around the world, yet little is known about its normal physiology. The objective of this study was to establish hematologic and blood chemistry RIs for healthy juvenile Striped catfish. Blood samples were collected from 70 Striped catfish raised in recirculating aquaculture systems. Whole blood and plasma samples were analyzed for multiple hematologic and chemistry variables using standard techniques. The RIs for hematology were as follows: PCV 23.5-35.9%, MCV 106.3-156.6 fL, RBC count 1.79-2.75 × 10 6 cells/μL, thrombocytes 26,318-73,333 cells/μL, total WBC count 36,294-94,286 cells/μL, total lymphocytes 18,997-59,998 cells/μL, small lymphocytes 13,763-51,490 cells/μL, large lymphocytes 715-21,200 cells/μL, granulocytes 4504-18,291 cells/μL, and monocytes 0-7549 cells/μL. Plasma chemistry RIs were the following: ALP 32.7-74.6 U/L, AST 20.3-1235.8 U/L, sodium 135.2-147.7 mmol/L, potassium 3.3-5.0 mmol/L, chloride 120.1-133.6 mmol/L, calcium 2.7-3.6 mmol/L, magnesium 0.9-1.3 mmol/L, phosphorous 1.4-2.7 mmol/L, glucose 4.6-7.6 mmol/L, cholesterol 2.8-5.3 mmol/L, total protein 30-42 g/L, albumin 7-11 g/L, globulin 22-32 g/L, albumin:globulin ratio 0.27-0.37, creatinine 0-8 μmol/L, and osmolality 251.8-327.9 mOsm/kg. Reference intervals reported here can help veterinarians and fish health specialists monitor the health status of Striped catfish under recirculating aquaculture conditions for research, exhibition, and production purposes. © 2017 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

Phylogeny of Immune Recognition: Processing and Presentation of Structurally Defined Proteins in Channel Catfish Immune Responses

PubMed Central

Vallejo, Abbe N.; Miller, Norman W.

1991-01-01

This work was undertaken to investigate whether or not antigen processing and presentation are important in channel catfish in vitro secondary immune responses elicited with structurally defined proteins, namely, pigeon heart cytochrome C (pCytC), hen egg lysozyme, and horse myoglobin. The use of in vitro antigen-pulsed and fixed B cells or monocytes as antigen presenting cells (APC) resulted in autologous peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) responding with vigorous proliferation and antibody production in vitro. In addition, several long-term catfish monocyte lines have been found to function as efficient APC with autologous but not allogeneic responders. Subsequent separation of the responding PBL into sIg- (T-cell-enriched) and B (sIg+) cell subsets showed that both underwent proliferative responses to antigen-pulsed and fixed APC. Moreover, allogeneic cells used as APC were found to induce only strong mixed leukocyte reactions without specific in vitro antibody production. Initial attempts at identifying the immunogenic region(s) of the protein antigens for catfish indicated there are two such regions for pCytC, namely, peptides 66-80 and 81-104. PMID:1668258

The effect of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog regime and stage of oocyte maturity for induced ovulation of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The effective LHRHa (luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog) dose based on the gonadal maturity of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus to optimize channel x blue hybrid catfish production was evaluated in 4 trials (twice in early part of the season and twice in the peak spawning season) in a ...

Miocene non-marine diatoms from the western Cordillera basins of northern Peru

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fourtanier, E.; Gasse, F.; Bellier, O.; Bonhomme, M.G.; Robles, I.

1993-01-01

Diatom assemblages are documented from diatomite layers of two Miocene fluvio-lacustrine units from the basins of the western Cordillera of northern Peru: the Namora Formation and the Cajabamba Formation. Emphasis is given to taxa of particular stratigraphic interest. The diatom assemblages indicate for the Namora Formation the occurrence of swampy conditions with very dilute, low alkalinity water. The diatom assemblages of the Cajabamba Formation reflect the occurrence of fresh, slightly alkaline, eutrophic lakes with deep water in some samples, and swampy conditions with relatively high salt content in other samples. The Namora formation is late Miocene in age based on the diatom assemblages and radiometric analyses. The diatom layers of the Cajabamba Formation are dated as late middle to early late Miocene. -from Authors

Antibiotic Resistance in Listeria Species Isolated from Catfish Fillets and Processing Environment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The susceptibility of 221 Listeria spp. (86 Listeria monocytogenes, 41 Listeria innocua and 94 Listeria seeligeri-Listeria welshimeri-Listeria ivanovii) isolated from catfish fillets and processing environment to 15 antibiotics was determined. Listeria isolates were analysed by disc-diffusion assay...

Apparent phosphorus availabilities of selected traditional and alternative feedstuffs for channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A digestibility trial with channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus was conducted to determine apparent availability coefficients (AACs) of phosphorus for selected common feedstuffs: soybean meal, cottonseed meal, wheat middlings, corn gluten feed (CGF), and corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DD...

S-(+)-Linalool from Lippia alba: sedative and anesthetic for silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen).

PubMed

Heldwein, Clarissa G; Silva, Lenise de L; Gai, Eduarda Z; Roman, Cassiela; Parodi, Thaylise V; Bürger, Marilise E; Baldisserotto, Bernardo; Flores, Érico M de M; Heinzmann, Berta M

2014-11-01

The present study describes the isolation of linalool from the essential oil of Lippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Brown, and its anesthetic effect in silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) in comparison with essential oil. The potentiation of depressant effects of linalool with a benzodiazepine (BDZ) and the involvement of GABAergic system in its antagonism by flumazenil were also evaluated. Prospective experimental study. Juvenile silver catfish unknown sex weighing mean 9.24 ± 2.83 g (n = 6 for each experimental group per experiment). Column chromatography was used for the isolation of S-(+)-linalool. Fish (n = 6 for each concentration) were transferred to aquaria with linalool (30, 60, and 180 μL L(-1)) or EO of L. alba (50, 100, and 300 μL L(-1)) to determine the induction time for anesthesia. After induction, the animals were transferred to anesthetic-free aquaria to assess their recovery time. To observe the potentiation, fish were exposed to linalool (30, 60, and 180 μL L(-1)) in the presence or absence of BDZ (diazepam 150 μm). In another experiment, fish exposed to linalool (30 and 180 μL L(-1) or BDZ were transferred to an anesthetic-free aquaria containing flumazenil (5 μm) or water to assess recovery time. Linalool had a similar sedation profile to the essential oil at a proportional concentration in silver catfish. However, the anesthesia profile was different. Potentiation of linalool effect occurred only when tested at low concentration. Fish exposed to BDZ showed faster anesthesia recovery in water with flumazenil, but the same did not occur with linalool. The use of linalool as a sedative and anesthetic for silver catfish was effective at 30 and 180 μL L(-1), respectively. The mechanism of action seems not to involve the benzodiazepine site of the GABAergic system. © 2014 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia.

Dietary copper effects survival of channel catfish challenged with Flavobacterium columnare

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Columnaris disease is one of the most important bacterial diseases of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, commercially grown in the US. Copper sulfate (CuSO4) has also been shown to be both therapeutic and prophylactic as a water treatment for columnaris disease. As copper is an essential dietar...

Slowing extrusion tectonics: Lowered estimate of post-Early Miocene slip rate for the Altyn Tagh fault

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yue, Y.; Ritts, B.D.; Graham, S.A.; Wooden, J.L.; Gehrels, G.E.; Zhang, Z.

2004-01-01

Determination of long-term slip rate for the Altyn Tagh fault is essential for testing whether Asian tectonics is dominated by lateral extrusion or distributed crustal shortening. Previous slip-history studies focused on either Quaternary slip-rate measurements or pre-Early Miocene total-offset estimates and do not allow a clear distinction between rates based on the two. The magmatic and metamorphic history revealed by SHRIMP zircon dating of clasts from Miocene conglomerate in the Xorkol basin north of the Altyn Tagh fault strikingly matches that of basement in the southern Qilian Shan and northern Qaidam regions south of the fault. This match requires that the post-Early Miocene long-term slip rate along the Altyn Tagh fault cannot exceed 10 mm/year, supporting the hypothesis of distributed crustal thickening for post-Early Miocene times. This low long-term slip rate and recently documented large pre-Early Miocene cumulative offset across the fault support a two-stage evolution, wherein Asian tectonics was dominated by lateral extrusion before the end of Early Miocene, and since then has been dominated by distributed crustal thickening and rapid plateau uplift. ?? 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

JAK and STAT members in channel catfish: Identification, phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling after Edwardsiella ictaluri infection.

PubMed

Jin, Yulin; Zhou, Tao; Li, Ning; Liu, Shikai; Xu, Xiaoyan; Pan, Ying; Tan, Suxu; Shi, Huitong; Yang, Yujia; Yuan, Zihao; Wang, Wenwen; Luo, Jian; Gao, Dongya; Dunham, Rex; Liu, Zhanjiang

2018-04-01

The Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway is one of the main pleiotropic cascades used to transmit information from extracellular receptors to the nucleus, which results in DNA transcription and expression of genes involved in immunity, proliferation, differentiation, migration, apoptosis, and cell survival. Members of JAK family and STAT family have been extensively studied in different mammalian species because of their important roles in innate and adaptive immune responses. However, they have not been systematically studied among teleost fish species. In this study, five JAK family members and eight STAT family members were identified and characterized from channel catfish. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted to properly annotate these genes. Syntenic analysis was also conducted to establish orthology, and confirm the results from phylogenetic analysis. Compared to mammals, more members of the JAK and STAT family were identified in channel catfish genome. Expression of JAK and STAT family members was detected in healthy catfish tissues, but was induced in gill, liver, and intestine after bacterial challenge. Notably, the significant upregulation of STAT1b gene in catfish liver, gill and intestine after Edwardsiella ictaluri infection supported the notion that high STAT1 expression are involved in defense against pathogens. Collectively, the increased expression of JAK and STAT members in tested tissues suggested their crucial function in defending the host against pathogen invasion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

JAK and STAT members of yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco and their roles in leptin affecting lipid metabolism.

PubMed

Wu, Kun; Tan, Xiao-Ying; Xu, Yi-Huan; Chen, Qi-Liang; Pan, Ya-Xiong

2016-01-15

The present study clones and characterizes the full-length cDNA sequences of members in JAK-STAT pathway, explores their mRNA tissue expression and the biological role in leptin influencing lipid metabolism in yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. Full-length cDNA sequences of five JAKs and seven STAT members, including some splicing variants, were obtained from yellow catfish. Compared to mammals, more members of the JAKs and STATs family were found in yellow catfish, which provided evidence that the JAK and STAT family members had arisen by the whole genome duplications during vertebrate evolution. All of these members were widely expressed across the eleven tissues (liver, white muscle, spleen, brain, gill, mesenteric fat, anterior intestine, heart, mid-kidney, testis and ovary) but at the variable levels. Intraperitoneal injection in vivo and incubation in vitro of recombinant human leptin changed triglyceride content and mRNA expression of several JAKs and STATs members, and genes involved in lipid metabolism. AG490, a specific inhibitor of JAK2-STAT pathway, partially reversed leptin-induced effects, indicating that the JAK2a/b-STAT3 pathway exerts main regulating actions of leptin on lipid metabolism at transcriptional level. Meanwhile, the different splicing variants were differentially regulated by leptin incubation. Thus, our data suggest that leptin activated the JAK/STAT pathway and increases the expression of target genes, which partially accounts for the leptin-induced changes in lipid metabolism in yellow catfish. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of preservatives on microbial safety and quality of smoked blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) steaks during room-temperature storage.

PubMed

da Silva, Ligia V Antonia; Prinyawiwatkul, Witoon; King, Joan M; No, Hong Kyoon; Bankston, Joseph D; Ge, Beilei

2008-12-01

The microbial safety and quality of smoked blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) steaks treated with antimicrobials and antioxidants were examined during 6-week ambient storage. Five pre-smoking soaking treatments were applied: 25% NaCl and 1% ascorbic acid for 30 min or 1h, 3% sodium lactate with or without 5% rosemary extract for 30 min, and 5% sorbic acid alone for 30 min. After smoking, cooled catfish steaks were packed and analyzed at 0, 2, 4, and 6 weeks of ambient storage. Neither Listeria nor Salmonella was recovered from the smoked catfish steaks. Significant reductions (P<0.05) in total plate counts were observed in all treated samples, with those treated with 3% sodium lactate carrying the lowest microbial load. The rosemary extract-treated samples were the most stable against oxidation. All treated smoked catfish steaks had water activities less than 0.85; however, neither pH nor water activity changed significantly within each treatment group during storage (P> or 0.05). In conclusion, smoking/cooking effectively reduced microbial populations, and the use of antimicrobial agents and antioxidants, particularly 3% sodium lactate, could aid the control of microbial safety during storage, resulting in safe products for up to 6 weeks without refrigeration.

Reduction of the pectoral spine and girdle in domesticated Channel catfish is likely caused by changes in selection pressure.

PubMed

Fine, Michael L; Lahiri, Shweta; Sullivan, Amanda D H; Mayo, Mark; Newton, Scott H; Sismour, Edward N

2014-07-01

Locked pectoral spines of the Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus more than double the fish's width and complicate ingestion by gape-limited predators. The spine mates with the pectoral girdle, a robust structure that anchors the spine. This study demonstrates that both spine and girdle exhibit negative allometric growth and that pectoral spines and girdles are lighter in domesticated than in wild Channel Catfish. This finding could be explained by changes in selection pressure for spine growth during domestication or by an epigenetic effect in which exposure to predators in wild fish stimulates pectoral growth. We tested the epigenetic hypothesis by exposing domesticated Channel Catfish fingerlings to Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides predators for 13 weeks. Spines and girdles grow isometrically in the fingerlings, and regression analysis indicates no difference in proportional pectoral growth between control and predator-exposed fish. Therefore a change in selection pressure likely accounts for smaller pectoral growth in domesticated Channel Catfish. Decreasing spine growth in older fish suggests anti-predator functions are most important in smaller fish. Additionally, growth of the appendicular and axial skeleton is controlled differentially, and mechanical properties of the spine and not just its length are an important component of this defensive adaptation. © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Miocene Antarctic Terrestrial Realm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashworth, A. C.; Lewis, A.; Marchant, D. R.

2009-12-01

The discovery of several locations in the Transantarctic Mountains that contain macrofossils and pollen is transforming our understanding of late Cenozoic Antarctica. The most southerly location is on the Beardmore Glacier (85.1°S) about 500 km from the South Pole. The environment was an active glacial margin in which plants, insects and freshwater mollusks inhabited the sand and gravel bars and small lakes on an outwash plain. In addition to leaves and wood of dwarf Nothofagus (Southern Beech) shrubs, achenes of Ranunculus (Buttercup), in situ cushion growth forms of mosses and a vascular plant, the assemblages contains various exoskeletal parts of carabid and curculionid beetles and a cyclorrhaphan fly, the shells of freshwater bivalve and gastropod species and a fish tooth. Initially the deposits were assigned a Pliocene age (3.5 Ma) but a mid- to early Miocene age is more probable (c. 14 - 25 Ma) based on correlation of fossil pollen from the deposits with 39Ar/40Ar dated pollen assemblages from the McMurdo Dry Valleys locations. The oldest location within the Dry Valleys also involved an active ice margin but was part of a valley system that was completely deglaciated for intervals long enough for thick paleosols to develop. The Friis Hills fossil deposits of the Taylor Valley region (77.8°S) are at least 19.76 Ma based on the 39Ar/40Ar age of a volcanic ash bed. The valley floor during the non-glacial phases had poorly-drained soils and the extensive development of mossy mires. Wood and leaves of Nothofagus are abundant in lacustrine deposits. The silts of shallow fluvial channels contain abundant megaspores and spiky leaves of the aquatic lycopod Isoetes (Quillwort). Fossils of beetles are also present in these deposits. During the glacial phases, proglacial lakes were surrounded by dwarfed, deciduous Nothofagus shrubs. The youngest fossils recovered from the Dry Valleys are from the Olympus Range (77.5°S) with an age of 14.07 Ma. The environment was an

Influence of native catfish mucus on Flavobacterium columnare growth and proteolytic activity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Flavobacterium columnare causes columnaris disease of farmed and wild freshwater fish. Skin mucus is an important factor in early stages of columnaris pathogenesis, albeit little studied. Our objectives were to 1) characterize the terminal glycosylation pattern (TGP) of catfish mucus, 2) determine t...

Spleen size and plasma levels of mannose binding lectin in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus families exhibiting different susceptibilities to Flavobacterium columnare and Edwardsiella ictaluri

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Two major problems in the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) aquaculture industry have been high disease losses to enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), caused by the bacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri and columnaris disease, caused by the bacterium Flavobacterium columnare. Methods to control these...

Multidose pharmacokineetecs of orally administered florfenicol in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plasma disposition of florfenicol in channel catfish was investigated after an oral dose (10mg/kg for 10 days) administered in freshwater at water temperatures ranging from 24.7 to 25.9°C. Florfenicol concentrations in plasma were analyzed by means of liquid chromatography with MS/MS detection. Af...

Comparing the efficacy of four immersion flush and static hydorgen peroxide and copper sulfate treatments on channel catfish eggs infected with water molds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Water mold infestations on channel catfish eggs lower the hatch rate (egg survival) and ultimately the number of catfish fry available for stocking in production ponds. This study compared the potential of two hydrogen peroxide (HP) and two copper sulfate pentahydrate (CSP) treatments to increase c...

Woods from the Miocene Bakate Formation, Ethiopia : anatomical characteristics, estimates of original specific gravity and ecological inferences

Treesearch

E.A. Wheeler; M.C. Wiemann; J.G. Fleagle

2007-01-01

An assemblage of permineralized woods from the Miocene Bakate Formation, Fejej Plain, Ethiopia, is described. This assemblage of twelve wood types differs from other Miocene wood assemblages known from Ethiopia. Cell wall percentages of the woods were determined to estimate the original specific gravities of the woods in order to better understand the Miocene...

First diatomyid rodent from the Early Miocene of Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López-Antoñanzas, Raquel

2011-02-01

The Asian family Diatomyidae is known from the Early Oligocene to the present. Among living rodents, this group comprises only the recently discovered Laonastes aenigmamus from Laos. Fossil diatomyids are known from only a few sites, in which they are often rare. The discovery of Pierremus explorator gen. nov. sp. nov. in the Lower Miocene of As-Sarrar (Saudi Arabia) raises to ten the number of extinct diatomyid species recognized. Pierremus explorator is the first record of a diatomyid from the Afro-Arabian plate. This discovery provides evidence that, together with other rodents (ctenodactylids, zapodids…), the diatomyids took advantage of the corridor that was established between Afro-Arabia and Eurasia in Early Miocene times.

Effect of Par Frying on Composition and Texture of Breaded and Battered Catfish

PubMed Central

Woods, Kristin; Lea, Jeanne M.; Brashear, Suzanne S.; Boue, Stephen M.; Daigle, Kim W.; Bett-Garber, Karen L.

2018-01-01

Catfish is often consumed as a breaded and battered fried product; however, there is increasing interest in breaded and battered baked products as a healthier alternative. Par frying can improve the texture properties of breaded and battered baked products, but there are concerns about the increase in lipid uptake from par frying. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of different batters (rice, corn, and wheat) and the effect of par frying on the composition and texture properties of baked catfish. Catfish fillets were cut strips and then coated with batters, which had similar viscosities. Half of the strips were par fried in 177 °C vegetable oil for 1 min and the other half were not par fried. Samples were baked at 177 °C for 25 min. Analysis included % batter adhesion, cooking loss, protein, lipid, ash, and moisture, plus hardness and fracture quality measured using a texture analyzer. A trained sensory panel evaluated both breading and flesh texture attributes. Results found the lipid content of par fried treatments were significantly higher for both corn and wheat batters than for non-par fried treatments. Sensory analysis indicated that the texture of the coatings in the par fried treatments were significantly greater for hardness attributes. Fillet flakiness was significantly greater in the par fried treatments and corn-based batters had moister fillet strips compared to the wheat flour batters. Texture analyzer hardness values were higher for the par fried treatments. PMID:29570660

Substrate specificity of xenobiotic metabolizing esterases in the liver of two catfish species

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jaiswal, R.G.; Huang, T.L.; Obih, P.O.

1994-12-31

The preliminary studies were conducted on the characterization of substrate specificity in the liver microsomes and cytosol of two catfish species, Ictalurus punctatus and Ictalurus natalie. A series of five esters of p-nitrophenol were used as calorimetric substrates to assay the carboxylesterases. The substrate specificity of liver microsomal and cytosolic carboxylesterases were remarkably different from each other. The valerate ester of p-nitrophenol was most rapidly hydrolyzed by the microsomal carboxylesterases, whereas the prioponate ester was the best substrate for cytosolic carboxylesterases. The Ictalurus natalie catfish species were obtained from the Devil Swamp site of the Mississippi River Basin which ismore » known to be heavily contaminated with toxic and hazardous industrial wastes. These results will be discussed in relation to the responses of xenobiotic metabolizing esterases to environmental pollutants and their possible use as biomarkers.« less

Relationship between expression of muscle-specific uncoupling protein 2 messenger RNA and genetic selection toward growth in channel catfish.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Y; Peterson, B C; Waldbieser, G C

2015-04-01

This study tested the hypothesis that increased growth in channel catfish is associated with expression of the genes that code for uncoupling proteins (UCP) 2 and 3, members of the mitochondrial channel proteins involved in nutrient sensing and metabolism. The specific objective was to contrast the levels of UCP2 messenger RNA (mRNA) in fast vs slow growing catfish as well as in fed vs fasted catfish. Two distinct UCP2 transcripts were identified and named UCP2a and UCP2b, respectively. Nucleotide and amino acid sequence of catfish UCP2s were highly similar to UCP2 and other UCPs from other fish and mammals (>75%). Expression of UCP2a mRNA was detectable at very low levels in various metabolically active tissues, whereas the expression of UCP2b mRNA was readily detectable in the muscle and heart. In a 21-wk feeding study, fish that grew faster had a greater percent body fat at the end of the study (P < 0.01). Expression of UCP2b mRNA tended to be lower (P < 0.10) in fast growing fish in the middle of the study although levels were similar at the beginning and the end of the study. In the fed vs fasted study, expression of UCP2b mRNA in muscle was increased (P < 0.05) in fish assigned to 30 d of fasting. Our results suggest that, based on the nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarities and tissue mRNA distribution, catfish UCP2b may be the analog to UCP3. Moreover, our results suggest selection toward growth and associated fat accumulation appears to be independent of muscle UCP2b mRNA expression and UCP2b-mediated mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Repressible Transgenic Sterilization in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, by Knockdown of Primordial Germ Cell Genes with Copper-Sensitive Constructs.

PubMed

Li, Hanbo; Su, Baofeng; Qin, Guyu; Ye, Zhi; Elaswad, Ahmed; Alsaqufi, Ahmed; Perera, Dayan A; Qin, Zhenkui; Odin, Ramji; Vo, Khoi; Drescher, David; Robinson, Dalton; Dong, Sheng; Zhang, Dan; Shang, Mei; Abass, Nermeen; Das, Sanjay K; Bangs, Max; Dunham, Rex A

2018-06-01

Repressible knockdown approaches were investigated to manipulate for transgenic sterilization in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Two primordial germ cell (PGC) marker genes, nanos and dead end, were targeted for knockdown and an off-target gene, vasa, was monitored. Two potentially copper-sensitive repressible promoters, yeast ctr3 (M) and ctr3-reduced (Mctr), were coupled with four knockdown strategies separately including: ds-sh RNA targeting the 5' end (N1) or 3' end (N2) of channel catfish nanos, full-length cDNA sequence of channel catfish nanos for overexpression (cDNA), and ds-sh RNA-targeting channel catfish dead end (DND). Each construct had an untreated group and treated group with copper sulfate as the repressor compound. Spawning rates of full-sibling P 1 fish exposed or not exposed to the constructs as treated and untreated embryos were 85 and 54%, respectively, indicating potential sterilization of fish and repression of the constructs. In F 1 fish, mRNA expressions of PGC marker genes for most constructs were downregulated in the untreated group and the knockdown was repressed in the treated group. Gonad development in transgenic, untreated F 1 channel catfish was reduced compared to non-transgenic fish for MctrN2, MN1, MN2, and MDND. For 3-year-old adults, gonad size in the transgenic untreated group was 93.4% smaller than the non-transgenic group for females and 92.3% for males. However, mean body weight of transgenic females (781.8 g) and males (883.8 g) was smaller than of non-transgenic counterparts (984.2 and 1254.3 g) at 3 years of age, a 25.8 and 41.9% difference for females and males, respectively. The results indicate that repressible transgenic sterilization is feasible for reproductive control of fish, but negative pleiotropic effects can result.

Effect of bait and gear type on channel catfish catch and turtle bycatch in a reservoir

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cartabiano, Evan C.; Stewart, David R.; Long, James M.

2014-01-01

Hoop nets have become the preferred gear choice to sample channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus but the degree of bycatch can be high, especially due to the incidental capture of aquatic turtles. While exclusion and escapement devices have been developed and evaluated, few have examined bait choice as a method to reduce turtle bycatch. The use of Zote™ soap has shown considerable promise to reduce bycatch of aquatic turtles when used with trotlines but its effectiveness in hoop nets has not been evaluated. We sought to determine the effectiveness of hoop nets baited with cheese bait or Zote™ soap and trotlines baited with shad or Zote™ soap as a way to sample channel catfish and prevent capture of aquatic turtles. We used a repeated-measures experimental design and treatment combinations were randomly assigned using a Latin-square arrangement. Eight sampling locations were systematically selected and then sampled with either hoop nets or trotlines using Zote™ soap (both gears), waste cheese (hoop nets), or cut shad (trotlines). Catch rates did not statistically differ among the gear–bait-type combinations. Size bias was evident with trotlines consistently capturing larger sized channel catfish compared to hoop nets. Results from a Monte Carlo bootstrapping procedure estimated the number of samples needed to reach predetermined levels of sampling precision to be lowest for trotlines baited with soap. Moreover, trotlines baited with soap caught no aquatic turtles, while hoop nets captured many turtles and had high mortality rates. We suggest that Zote™ soap used in combination with multiple hook sizes on trotlines may be a viable alternative to sample channel catfish and reduce bycatch of aquatic turtles.

Plate tectonic model for the oligo-miocene evolution of the western Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Curtis R.

1980-10-01

This paper outlines a plate tectonic model for the Oligo-Miocene evolution of the western Mediterranean which incorporates recent data from several tectonic domains (Corsica, Sardinia, the Kabylies, Balearic promontory, Iberia, Algero-Provençal Basin and Tunisian Atlas). Following late Mesozoic anticlockwise rotation of the Iberian peninsula (including the Balearic promontory and Sardinia), late Eocene collision occurred between the Kabylies and Balearic promontory forming a NE-trending suture with NW-tectonic polarity. As a result of continued convergence between the African and European plates, a polarity flip occurred and a southward-facing trench formed south of the Kabylie—Balearic promontory suture. During late Oligocene time an E-W-trending arc and marginal basin developed behind the southward-facing trench in the area of the present-day Gulf of Lion. Opening of this basin moved the Corsica—Sardinia—Calabria—Petit Kabylie—Menorca plate southward, relative to the African plate. Early Miocene back-arc spreading in the area between the Balearic promontory and Grand Kabylie emplaced the latter in northern Algeria and formed the South Balearic Basin. Coeval with early Miocene back-arc basin development, the N-S-extension in the Gulf of Lion marginal basin changed to a more NW-SE direction causing short-lived extension in the area of the present-day Valencia trough and a 30° anticlockwise rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia-Calabria—Petit Kabylie plate away from the European plate. Early—middle Miocene deformation along the western Italian and northeastern African continental margins resulted from this rotation. During the early late Miocene (Tortonian), spreading within a sphenochasm to the southwest of Sardinia resulted in the emplacement of Petit Kabylie in northeastern Algeria.

Simulating a Dynamic Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Early to Middle Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasson, E.; DeConto, R.; Pollard, D.; Levy, R. H.

2015-12-01

There are a variety of sources of geological data that suggest major variations in the volume and extent of the Antarctic ice sheet during the early to middle Miocene. Simulating such variability using coupled climate-ice sheet models is problematic due to a strong hysteresis effect caused by height-mass balance feedback and albedo feedback. This results in limited retreat of the ice sheet once it has reached the continental size, as likely occurred prior to the Miocene. Proxy records suggest a relatively narrow range of atmospheric CO2 during the early to middle Miocene, which exacerbates this problem. We use a new climate forcing which accounts for ice sheet-climate feedbacks through an asynchronous GCM-RCM coupling, which is able to better resolve the narrow Antarctic ablation zone in warm climate simulations. When combined with recently suggested mechanisms for retreat into subglacial basins due to ice shelf hydrofracture and ice cliff failure, we are able to simulate large-scale variability of the Antarctic ice sheet in the Miocene. This variability is equivalent to a seawater oxygen isotope signal of ~0.5 ‰, or a sea level equivalent change of ~35 m, for a range of atmospheric CO2 between 280 - 500 ppm.

Critical thermal maxima of two geographic strains of channel and hybrid catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Critical thermal maxima have been used extensively to provide physiologically and ecologically valuable reference points that identify early signs of thermal stress. In catfish pond culture, daily temperature maxima up to 36'C and daily fluctuations of as much as 6'Care observed. These extreme condi...

Cloning, localization and differential expression of Neuropeptide-Y during early brain development and gonadal recrudescence in the catfish, Clarias gariepinus.

PubMed

Sudhakumari, Cheni-Chery; Anitha, Arumugam; Murugananthkumar, Raju; Tiwari, Dinesh Kumar; Bhasker, Dharavath; Senthilkumaran, Balasubramanian; Dutta-Gupta, Aparna

2017-09-15

Neuropeptide-Y (NPY) has diverse physiological functions which are extensively studied in vertebrates. However, regulatory role of NPY in relation to brain ontogeny and recrudescence with reference to reproduction is less understood in fish. Present report for the first time evaluated the significance of NPY by transient esiRNA silencing and also analyzed its expression during brain development and gonadal recrudescence in the catfish, Clarias gariepinus. As a first step, full-length cDNA of NPY was cloned from adult catfish brain, which shared high homology with its counterparts from other teleosts upon phylogenetic analysis. Tissue distribution revealed dominant expression of NPY in brain and testis. NPY expression increased during brain development wherein the levels were higher in 100 and 150days post hatch females than the respective age-matched males. Seasonal cycle analysis showed high expression of NPY in brain during pre-spawning phase in comparison with other reproductive phases. Localization studies exhibited the presence of NPY, abundantly, in the regions of preoptic area, hypothalamus and pituitary. Transient silencing of NPY-esiRNA directly into the brain significantly decreased NPY expression in both the male and female brain of catfish which further resulted in significant decrease of transcripts of tryptophan hydroxylase 2, catfish gonadotropin-releasing hormone (cfGnRH), tyrosine hydroxylase and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in brain and luteinizing hormone-β/gonadotropin-II (lh-β/GTH-II) in pituitary exhibiting its influence on gonadal axis. In addition, significant decrease of several ovary-related transcripts was observed in NPY-esiRNA silenced female catfish, indicating the plausible role of NPY in ovary through cfGnRH-GTH axis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The thumb of Miocene apes: new insights from Castell de Barberà (Catalonia, Spain).

PubMed

Almécija, Sergio; Alba, David M; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2012-07-01

Primate hands display a major selective compromise between locomotion and manipulation. The thumb may or may not participate in locomotion, but it plays a central role in most manipulative activities. Understanding whether or not the last common ancestor of humans and Pan displayed extant-ape-like hand proportions (i.e., relatively long fingers and a short thumb) can be clarified by the analysis of Miocene ape hand remains. Here we describe new pollical remains-a complete proximal phalanx and a partial distal phalanx-from the middle/late Miocene site of Castell de Barberà (ca., 11.2-10.5 Ma, Vallès-Penedès Basin), and provide morphometric and qualitative comparisons with other available Miocene specimens as well as extant catarrhines (including humans). Our results show that all available Miocene taxa (Proconsul, Nacholapithecus, Afropithecus, Sivapithecus, Hispanopithecus, Oreopithecus, and the hominoid from Castell de Barberà) share a similar phalangeal thumb morphology: the phalanges are relatively long, and the proximal phalanges have a high degree of curvature, marked insertions for the flexor muscles, a palmarly bent trochlea and a low basal height. All these features suggest that these Miocene apes used their thumb with an emphasis on flexion, most of them to powerfully assist the fingers during above-branch, grasping arboreal locomotion. Moreover, in terms of relative proximal phalangeal length, the thumb of Miocene taxa is intermediate between the long-thumbed humans and the short-thumbed extant apes. Together with previous evidence, this suggests that a moderate-length hand with relatively long thumb-involved in locomotion-is the original hand morphotype for the Hominidae. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In vitro evaluation of the antimicrobial agent AquaFrin(TM) as a bactericide and selective algicide for use in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) aquaculture

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Producers of pond-raised channel catfish in the southeastern United States can experience huge economic losses due to the bacterial diseases enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) and columnaris and to the presence of the certain odor-producing cyanobacteria in production ponds that result in “off-flav...

The origin of a new fin skeleton through tinkering

PubMed Central

Stewart, Thomas A.

2015-01-01

Adipose fins are positioned between the dorsal and caudal fins of many teleost fishes and primitively lack skeleton. In at least four lineages, adipose fins have evolved lepidotrichia (bony fin rays), co-opting the developmental programme for the dermal skeleton of other fins into this new territory. Here I provide, to my knowledge, the first description of lepidotrichia development in an adipose fin, characterizing the ontogeny of the redtail catfish, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus. Development of these fin rays differs from canonical lepidotrich development in the following four ways: skeleton begins developing in adults, not in larvae; rays begin developing at the fin's distal tip, not proximally; the order in which rays ossify is variable, not fixed; and lepidotrichia appear to grow both proximally and distally, not exclusively proximodistally. Lepidotrichia are often wavy, of irregular thickness and exhibit no regular pattern of segmentation or branching. This skeleton is among the most variable observed in a vertebrate appendage, offering a unique opportunity to explore the basis of hypervariation, which is generally assumed to reflect an absence of function. I argue that this variation reflects a lack of canalization as compared with other, more ancient lepidotrichs and suggest developmental context can affect the morphology of serial homologues. PMID:26179803

Sequence genomic organization and expression of two channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus Ghrelin receptors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Two ghrelin receptor (GHS-R) genes were isolated from channel catfish tissue and a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library. The two receptors were characterized by determining tissue distribution, ontogeny of receptor mRNA expression, and effects of exogenous homologous ghrelin administration ...

Streptococcal Arthritis, Osteolysis, Myositis, and Spinal Meningitis in Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus Broodstock

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This report details findings of an investigation into complaints by commercial fingerling producers of low-grade mortalities, poor reproductive success, emaciation, skin lesions, and severely arched backs among broodstock of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Gross lesions involved the jaw, fin ba...

Petrologic evolution of Miocene-Pliocene mafic volcanism in the Kangal and Gürün basins (Sivas-Malatya), central east Anatolia: Evidence for Miocene anorogenic magmas contaminated by continental crust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kocaarslan, Ayça; Ersoy, E. Yalçın

2018-06-01

This study discusses the geochemical features of the Early-Middle Miocene and Pliocene basaltic (SiO2 = 46-52; MgO = 6-10 wt%) to andesitic (SiO2 = 59; MgO = 4 wt%) rocks exposed in the Gürün and Kangal basins (Sivas, eastern part of central Anatolia), respectively. The basaltic rocks are characterized by alkaline to tholeiitic affinities, while the more evolved andesitic samples show calc-alkaline affinity. Trace element variations reveal that they can be evaluated in three sub-groups, each represented by different contents of trace elements for given Nb contents. Primary magmas of each groups were likely produced by different degrees of partial melting ( 1-2, 2-3, 7-10% respectively) from a common mantle source, subsequently underwent different degrees of fractionation and crustal contamination. Derivation from a common mantle source of the primitive magmas of each group is supported by similar Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic ratios. Increasing degrees of partial melting seem to be responsible for the alkaline to tholeiitic variation among the basaltic samples, while higher degrees of crustal contamination (AFC) resulted in calc-alkaline affinity of the more evolved samples. Most primitive Pliocene samples show intra-plate (anorogenic) geochemical features, while the more evolved Miocene calc-alkaline samples resemble geochemically subduction-related (orogenic) magmatic rocks. However, on the basis of detailed geochemical models, we propose that the calc-alkaline affinity among the Miocene samples can also be gained by crustal contamination of their primary magmas which were also anorogenic in character. If this is true, overall, the Miocene and Pliocene basaltic to andesitic rocks in the Gürün and Kangal basins appear to may have formed by variable degrees of partial melting of a common anorogenic mantle that had not been subject to subduction-related metasomatism. This is an alternative approach to the general view assuming the Early-Middle Miocene magmatic activity

POTENTIAL FOR GREAT EGRETS (ARDEA ALBA) TO TRANSMIT A VIRULENT STRAIN OF AEROMONAS HYDROPHILA AMONG CHANNEL CATFISH (ICTALURUS PUNCTATUS) CULTURE PONDS.

PubMed

Jubirt, Madison M; Hanson, Larry A; Hanson-Dorr, Katie C; Ford, Lorelei; Lemmons, Scott; Fioranelli, Paul; Cunningham, Fred L

2015-07-01

Aeromonas hydrophila is a gram-negative, rod-shaped, facultative, anaerobic bacterium that is ubiquitous in freshwater and slightly brackish aquatic environments and infects fish, humans, reptiles, and birds. Recent severe outbreaks of disease in commercial channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) aquaculture ponds have been associated with a highly virulent A. hydrophila strain (VAH), which is genetically distinct from less-virulent strains. The epidemiology of this disease has not been determined. Given that A. hydrophila infects birds, we hypothesized that fish-eating birds may serve as a reservoir for VAH and spread the pathogen by flying to uninfected ponds. Great Egrets (Ardea alba) were used in this transmission model because these wading birds frequently prey on farmed catfish. Great Egrets that were fed VAH-infected catfish shed VAH in feces demonstrating their potential to spread VAH.

Earthy and musty off-flavor episodes in catfish split-pond aquaculture systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The interest and use of variations of partitioned aquaculture systems (PAS) by the southeastern U.S. catfish farming industry continues to grow. Split-pond systems, one type of PAS, are designed to improve management of dissolved oxygen levels and fish waste products (e.g., ammonia) compared to conv...

Influences of cyclic, high temperatures on juvenile channel catfish growth and feeding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Effects of high summer temperatures on channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) are poorly understood, particularly for thermal regimes that mimic pond aquaculture conditions. Therefore, this study examined the effects of three cycling upper-range temperature regimes (23-27ºC, 27-31ºC, and 31-35ºC) cha...

Middle Miocene vertebrates from the Amazonian Madre de Dios Subandean Zone, Perú

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Roddaz, Martin; Brichau, Stéphanie; Tejada-Lara, Julia; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo; Altamirano, Ali; Louterbach, Mélanie; Lambs, Luc; Otto, Thierry; Brusset, Stéphane

2013-03-01

A new middle Miocene vertebrate fauna from Peruvian Amazonia is described. It yields the marsupials Sipalocyon sp. (Hathliacynidae) and Marmosa (Micoureus) cf. laventica (Didelphidae), as well as an unidentified glyptodontine xenarthran and the rodents Guiomys sp. (Caviidae), “Scleromys” sp., cf. quadrangulatus-schurmanni-colombianus (Dinomyidae), an unidentified acaremyid, and cf. Microsteiromys sp. (Erethizontidae). Apatite Fission Track provides a detrital age (17.1 ± 2.4 Ma) for the locality, slightly older than its inferred biochronological age (Colloncuran-early Laventan South American Land Mammal Ages: ˜15.6-13.0 Ma). Put together, both the mammalian assemblage and lithology of the fossil-bearing level point to a mixture of tropical rainforest environment and more open habitats under a monsoonal-like tropical climate. The fully fluvial origin of the concerned sedimentary sequence suggests that the Amazonian Madre de Dios Subandean Zone was not part of the Pebas mega-wetland System by middle Miocene times. This new assemblage seems to reveal a previously undocumented “spatiotemporal transition” between the late early Miocene assemblages from high latitudes (Patagonia and Southern Chile) and the late middle Miocene faunas of low latitudes (Colombia, Perú, Venezuela, and ?Brazil).

Eocene to post-Miocene kinematic evolution of the central Cyclades (Greece)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Draganits, E.; Huet, B.; Grasemann, B.; Schneider, D.; Ertl, A.

2012-04-01

Due to the extraordinary geotectonic location of the Aegean above an active subduction zone and an exceptional high seismicity, this area and especially the Cyclades have been in the focus of structural investigations for several decades. The present deformation is the result of ongoing plate tectonic movements in this area since at least the Miocene. The ductile structures of the Miocene extension and related metamorphic core type deformation are quite well studied and understood. Equally well investigated are the active tectonic deformation and associated brittle structures through several decades of seismic records. However, due to the difficulties of dating brittle faults, the kinematic evolution from the early to middle Miocene ductile structures, to later Miocene brittle-ductile and brittle faults is much less understood. For these reasons detailed structural fieldwork, combined with Ar-Ar geochronology and P-T studies, have been carried out on the uninhabited island of Despotiko, SW of Antiparos, which is situated virtually in the center of the Cycladic islands. This island has been selected because the existence of metamorphic rocks penetrated by Messinian rhyolite pipes and Pleistocene eolianites provide exceptional age constraints for Eocene to post-Miocene deformation structures. Despotiko is part of lower structural levels of the polymetamorphic Blueschist Unit of the Attic-Cycladic Metamorphic Belt and correlated lithologically with the Parikia gneisses and Marathi unit of Paros. Foliation is shallowly dipping towards the SSW. The main lithologies of the island, from the footwall to the hanging wall, consist of dark to pale grey, strongly foliated, mylonitic granite gneiss with abundant pegmatite dikes. The gneiss is overlain by prominent white, strongly foliated, mylonitic gneiss. Above are medium-grained, white calcite marble followed by greenish-white, mylonitic gneiss and an alternation of mica schist, greenschist, thin marble layers and some small

Low temperature exposure to post-vitellogenic channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus extend reporductive readiness

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.spawn annually during the spring and early summer (24 -30 °C). Environmental temperature is the main factor that controls the seasonal maturation of gonads and the timing of spawning. Temperature fluctuations can adversely affect spawning and broodfish conditio...

The Case Against Using Organic Fertilizers in Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus Nursery Ponds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper reviews the assumed advantages and disadvantages of organic fertilizers and presents the case that the risks outweigh the benefits for channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, nursery pond fertilization. Under certain conditions, organic fertilizers may be beneficial to provide forage for z...

Genetic sequence data identifies the cercaria of Drepanocephalus spathans (Digenea: Echinostomatidae), a parasite of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), with notes on its pathology in juvenile channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus).

PubMed

Griffin, Matt J; Khoo, Lester H; Quiniou, Sylvie M; O'Hear, Mary M; Pote, Linda M; Greenway, Terrence E; Wise, David J

2012-10-01

An unidentified xiphidio-type cercaria, previously thought inconsequential to catfish health, was found to be released from marsh rams-horn snails (Planorbella trivolvis) inhabiting ponds on a commercial catfish operation in the Mississippi Delta. A preliminary challenge of cohabiting channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) with snails actively shedding the unidentified cercariae resulted in death of some fish. A second cohabitation trial yielded similar results, as did a third challenge of 250 cercariae/fish. Histopathology revealed developing metacercariae concentrated in the cranial region, especially within the branchial chamber, with several metacercariae at the base of the branchial arches within, or adjacent to, blood vessels, possibly the proximate cause of death. Genetic sequence analysis of the 18S small subunit ribosomal DNA (ssDNA), 28S large subunit rDNA (lsDNA), and cytochrome oxidase (Cox1) genes all matched the cercariae to Drepanocephalus spathans (Digenea: Echinostomatidae), a parasite of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), a piscivorous bird endemic on most catfish farms. This is the first commentary regarding pathology of D. spathans in juvenile channel catfish as well as the first report of the marsh rams-horn snail as an intermediate host in the D. spathans life cycle. The data presented here suggest this parasite could have limiting effects on catfish production, further supporting the need for adequate snail control programs to reduce trematode prevalence on commercial catfish operations.

Discovery of South American suckermouth armored catfishes (Loricariidae, Pterygoplichthys spp.) in the Santa Fe River drainage, Suwannee River basin, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nico, Leo G.; Butt, Peter L.; Johnston, Gerald R.; Jelks, Howard L.; Kail, Matthew; Walsh, Stephen J.

2012-01-01

We report on the occurrence of South American suckermouth armored catfishes (Loricariidae) in the Suwannee River basin, southeastern USA. Over the past few years (2009-2012), loricariid catfishes have been observed at various sites in the Santa Fe River drainage, a major tributary of the Suwannee in the state of Florida. Similar to other introduced populations of Pterygoplichthys, there is high likelihood of hybridization. To date, we have captured nine specimens (270-585 mm, standard length) in the Santa Fe River drainage. One specimen taken from Poe Spring best agrees with Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps (Kner, 1854) or may be a hybrid with either P. pardalis or P. disjunctivus. The other specimens were taken from several sites in the drainage and include seven that best agree with Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991); and one a possible P. disjunctivus x P. pardalis hybrid. We observed additional individuals, either these or similar appearing loricariids, in Hornsby and Poe springs and at various sites upstream and downstream of the long (> 4 km) subterranean portion of the Santa Fe River. These specimens represent the first confirmed records of Pterygoplichthys in the Suwannee River basin. The P. gibbiceps specimen represents the first documented record of an adult or near adult of this species in open waters of North America. Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus or its hybrids (perhaps hybrid swarms) are already abundant and widespread in other parts of peninsular Florida, but the Santa Fe River represents a northern extension of the catfish in the state. Pterygoplichthys are still relatively uncommon in the Santa Fe drainage and successful reproduction not yet documented. However, in May 2012 we captured five adult catfish (two mature or maturing males and three gravid females) from a single riverine swallet pool. One male was stationed at a nest burrow (no eggs present). To survive the occasional harsh Florida winters, these South American catfish apparently use

The evolution of pCO2, ice volume and climate during the middle Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, Gavin L.; Lear, Caroline H.; Rae, James W. B.

2012-08-01

The middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (17-15 Ma; MCO) is a period of global warmth and relatively high CO2 and is thought to be associated with a significant retreat of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS). We present here a new planktic foraminiferal δ11B record from 16.6 to 11.8 Ma from two deep ocean sites currently in equilibrium with the atmosphere with respect to CO2. These new data demonstrate that the evolution of global climate during the middle Miocene (as reflected by changes in the cyrosphere) was well correlated to variations in the concentration of atmospheric CO2. What is more, within our sampling resolution (∼1 sample per 300 kyr) there is no evidence of hysteresis in the response of ice volume to CO2 forcing during the middle Miocene, contrary to what is understood about the Antarctic Ice Sheet from ice sheet modelling studies. In agreement with previous data, we show that absolute levels of CO2 during the MCO were relatively modest (350-400 ppm) and levels either side of the MCO are similar or lower than the pre-industrial (200-260 ppm). These new data imply the presence of either a very dynamic AIS at relatively low CO2 during the middle Miocene or the advance and retreat of significant northern hemisphere ice. Recent drilling on the Antarctic margin and shore based studies indicate significant retreat and advance beyond the modern limits of the AIS did occur during the middle Miocene, but the complete loss of the AIS was unlikely. Consequently, it seems that ice volume and climate variations during the middle Miocene probably involved a more dynamic AIS than the modern but also some component of land-based ice in the northern hemisphere.

Late Miocene Coral faunas of Iran (Zagros, Aghar, Firuz abad, Fars) palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehbozorgi, M.; Yazdi, M.; Torabi, H.

2009-04-01

Late Miocene Corals assemblage from Zagros Iran are investigated with respect to their palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography implications. This Corals are compared with fauna from Mediterranean Tethys and the Indopacific. Small foraminifers are used for biogeography and to support paleoecology interpretation. The studied section situated in the Zagros Mishan F.m is last depositions sea. A distinct horizon characterized by Porites- Antiguastrea assemblage associated Milliolid and Rotalia is interpreted a shallow bioclastic shoal. Patch reef with a porites and faviidae assemblage are a common feature of Oligocene and Miocene coral occurrence and indicate water depth of less than 20m. The diversity of corals in this area are low and all corals are hematypic. Miocene Corals from Mishan F.m Comprise 7 genera and occur in the single horizon or patch reef. This Corals and patch reefs are compared with corals and patch reefs in Qom F.m Central Iran. This corals report from this section: Antiguastrea sp., Monastrea sp., Favites sp., Porites sp., Dichocoenia sp., Asterohelia sp., Leptoria sp. Keywords: Miocene- Iran- Mishan-Zagros- Formation- Tethys seaway- Corals- Palaeoecology- palaeobiogeography.

Sex-biased miRNAs in gonad and their potential roles for testis development in yellow catfish.

PubMed

Jing, Jing; Wu, Junjie; Liu, Wei; Xiong, Shuting; Ma, Wenge; Zhang, Jin; Wang, Weimin; Gui, Jian-Fang; Mei, Jie

2014-01-01

Recently, YY super-male yellow catfish had been created by hormonal-induced sex reversal and sex-linked markers, which provides a promising research model for fish sex differentiation and gonad development, especially for testis development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been revealed to play crucial roles in the gene regulation and gonad development in vertebrates. In this study, three small RNA libraries constructed from gonad tissues of XX female, XY male and YY super-male yellow catfish were sequenced. The sequencing data generated a total of 384 conserved miRNAs and 113 potential novel miRNAs, among which 23, 30 and 14 miRNAs were specifically detected in XX ovary, XY testis, and YY testis, respectively. We observed relative lower expression of several miR-200 family members, including miR-141 and miR-429 in YY testis compared with XY testis. Histological analysis indicated a higher degree of testis maturity in YY super-males compared with XY males, as shown by larger spermatogenic cyst, more spermatids and fewer spermatocytes in the spermatogenic cyst. Moreover, five miR-200 family members were significantly up-regulated in testis when treated by 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), high dose of which will impair testis development and cell proliferation. The down-regulation of miR-141 and 429 coincides with the progression of testis development in both yellow catfish and human. At last, the expression pattern of nine arbitrarily selected miRNAs detected by quantitative RT-PCR was consistent with the Solexa sequencing results. Our study provides a comprehensive miRNA transcriptome analysis for gonad of yellow catfish with different sex genotypes, and identifies a number of sex-biased miRNAs, some of that are potentially involved in testis development and spermatogenesis.

Chemotactic Activity of Cyclophilin A in the Skin Mucus of Yellow Catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) and Its Active Site for Chemotaxis

PubMed Central

Dawar, Farman Ullah; Tu, Jiagang; Xiong, Yang; Lan, Jiangfeng; Dong, Xing Xing; Liu, Xiaoling; Khattak, Muhammad Nasir Khan; Mei, Jie; Lin, Li

2016-01-01

Fish skin mucus is a dynamic barrier for invading pathogens with a variety of anti-microbial enzymes, including cyclophilin A (CypA), a multi-functional protein with peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) activity. Beside various other immunological functions, CypA induces leucocytes migration in vitro in teleost. In the current study, we have discovered several novel immune-relevant proteins in yellow catfish skin mucus by mass spectrometry (MS). The CypA present among them was further detected by Western blot. Moreover, the CypA present in the skin mucus displayed strong chemotactic activity for yellow catfish leucocytes. Interestingly, asparagine (like arginine in mammals) at position 69 was the critical site in yellow catfish CypA involved in leucocyte attraction. These novel efforts do not only highlight the enzymatic texture of skin mucus, but signify CypA to be targeted for anti-inflammatory therapeutics. PMID:27589721

Provenance of the lower Miocene of the Gulf of Mexico from detrital zircon double dating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

xu, J.

2013-12-01

The lower Miocene interval of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has recently gained increasing attention from oil and gas industry due to its hydrocarbon potential below the salt canopy. However, it has been less well studied than both the underlying Oligocene and overlying middle Miocene strata. The lower Miocene worldwide is a transitional period of tectonic, climatic, and oceanographic change. In particular, it is a period of major tectonic reorganization in the western interior of North America (Rocky Mountains), involving a shift from the Oligocene thermal phase, with abundant volcanic activity recorded in the thick Frio/Vicksburg succession of the GOM, to the Miocene Basin-Range extensional phase. Climatic conditions also changed from a relatively arid Oligocene to wetter Miocene, resulting in increased sediment yields from exhumed tectonic structures. Previous provenance studies used proportions of quartz, feldspar and lithic fragments and consideration of likely river courses through known paleogeomorphological elements. Only limited detrital zircon (DZ) U-Pb studies on Paleocene strata have been undertaken and there has been no previous U-Pb and (U-Th)/He double dating in the GOM. In this study we apply the latest analytical approaches, such as DZ U-Pb dating to gain robust source terranes ages and more fully elucidate the complex sediment provenance and dispersal history of GOM. We also employ DZ (U-Th)/He (ZHe) dating, combined with DZ U-Pb, to not only define sedimentary provenance but also the exhumation histories of detrital source regions. Samples of lower Miocene outcrop exposures in Texas and Louisiana have been collected to discriminate the varied tectonic and drainage system changes across the basin in lateral. In addition, samples from the Eocene, Oligocene and middle Miocene have been obtained to reveal vertical shift of source terranes contributions. Our initial age data show detrital zircons of lower Miocene sediments come from a wide range of source

A Miocene termite nest from southern Argentina and its paleoclimatological implications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bown, Thomas M.; Laza, José H.

1990-01-01

A Miocene termitarium attributable to the extant termite Syntermes (Isoptera: Termitidae, Nasutitermitinae) is the first fossil termite nest reported from South America and possibly the oldest record of the Isoptera from that continent. The fossil remains consist of most of the periphery of the subterranean portion of a single Syntermes nest, including chambers and both major and minor systems of anastomosed galleries. The nest occurs in the upper part of a mature paleosol near the base of the pyroclastic and eolian Miocene Pinturas Formation.A new ichnogenus and ichnospecies, Syntermesichnus fon‐tanae, is proposed for this distinctive trace fossil. It differs from nests constructed by other members of the Nasutitermitinae in its architectural organization and its large size. The type locality is situated 20° south of the southernmost dispersion of extant Syntermes.The modern distribution of this termite is wholly neotropical, suggesting that at least part of southern Patagonia experienced a tropical to subtropical climate as late as the late‐early Miocene.

Salt Sensitive Tet-Off-Like Systems to Knockdown Primordial Germ Cell Genes for Repressible Transgenic Sterilization in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.

PubMed

Li, Hanbo; Su, Baofeng; Qin, Guyu; Ye, Zhi; Alsaqufi, Ahmed; Perera, Dayan A; Shang, Mei; Odin, Ramjie; Vo, Khoi; Drescher, David; Robinson, Dalton; Zhang, Dan; Abass, Nermeen; Dunham, Rex A

2017-05-31

Repressible knockdown approaches were investigated for transgenic sterilization in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus . Two primordial germ cell (PGC) marker genes, nanos and dead end , were targeted for knockdown, and an off-target gene, vasa , was monitored. Two potentially salt sensitive repressible promoters, zebrafish adenylosuccinate synthase 2 (ADSS) and zebrafish racemase (Rm), were each coupled with four knockdown strategies: ds-sh RNA targeting the 5' end (N1) or 3' end (N2) of channel catfish nanos , full-length cDNA sequence of channel catfish nanos for overexpression (cDNA) and ds-sh RNA targeting channel catfish dead end (DND). Each construct had an untreated group and treated group with sodium chloride as the repressor compound. Spawning rates of full-sibling P₁ fish exposed or not exposed to the constructs as treated and untreated embryos were 93% and 59%, respectively, indicating potential sterilization of fish and repression of the constructs. Although the mRNA expression data of PGC marker genes were inconsistent in P₁ fish, most F₁ individuals were able to downregulate the target genes in untreated groups and repress the knockdown process in treated groups. The results indicate that repressible transgenic sterilization is feasible for reproductive control of fish, but more data from F₂ or F₃ are needed for evaluation.

Global Cooling Drive Tectonic Scale Aridification of Asian Interior since Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, F.; Zhu, X.

2017-12-01

Global cooling and the uplift of Tibetan Plateau are two potential mechanisms for tectonic scale aridification of Asian interior since Miocene. However, their relative importance is still controversial due to lack of continuous paleoclimate record. Here, using a 164 m long sediment core from Site U1438 in the Amami Sankaku Basin (ASB) in the NW Pacific, we show that the tectonic scale aridification of Asian interior is linked to global cooling rather than the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. We analyzed the characteristics and variations of clastic mineral (e.g. quartz), clay minerals, radiogenic strontium (Sr) and neodymium (Nd) isotopes of the fine pelagic mud intervals from the sediment core. These new evidences indicate a continuous input of Asian dust from Asian interior to ASB since Miocene. We found that Asian dust in the ASB overall increased starting from ca.15.0 Myr (mid-Miocene), and ca. 3.5 Myr (Late Pliocene). The variations of Asian dust transport and accumulation closely responds to known times of enhanced Asian aridification and prevailing westerlies. The overall and gradual increase of Asian dust since mid-Miocene and Late Pliocene are in agreement with the formation and development of the polar ice caps, and are coupled with the gradual decrease of the global temperature recorded by the δ18O ratio of forams, but lag behind the tectonic uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. We argue that global cooling drove the aridification of the Asian interior and resulted in the increase of Asian dust deposition in the ASB.

Construction of a high-density, high-resolution genetic map and its integration with BAC-based physical map in channel catfish

PubMed Central

Li, Yun; Liu, Shikai; Qin, Zhenkui; Waldbieser, Geoff; Wang, Ruijia; Sun, Luyang; Bao, Lisui; Danzmann, Roy G.; Dunham, Rex; Liu, Zhanjiang

2015-01-01

Construction of genetic linkage map is essential for genetic and genomic studies. Recent advances in sequencing and genotyping technologies made it possible to generate high-density and high-resolution genetic linkage maps, especially for the organisms lacking extensive genomic resources. In the present work, we constructed a high-density and high-resolution genetic map for channel catfish with three large resource families genotyped using the catfish 250K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. A total of 54,342 SNPs were placed on the linkage map, which to our knowledge had the highest marker density among aquaculture species. The estimated genetic size was 3,505.4 cM with a resolution of 0.22 cM for sex-averaged genetic map. The sex-specific linkage maps spanned a total of 4,495.1 cM in females and 2,593.7 cM in males, presenting a ratio of 1.7 : 1 between female and male in recombination fraction. After integration with the previously established physical map, over 87% of physical map contigs were anchored to the linkage groups that covered a physical length of 867 Mb, accounting for ∼90% of the catfish genome. The integrated map provides a valuable tool for validating and improving the catfish whole-genome assembly and facilitates fine-scale QTL mapping and positional cloning of genes responsible for economically important traits. PMID:25428894

Upper Miocene reef complex of Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pomar, L.

1988-02-01

The late Tortonian-Messinian coral reef platform of south Mallorca onlaps a folded middle late Miocene carbonate platform on which progradation of up to 20 km occurs. Vertical sea cliffs (up to 100 m high) superbly show the last 5 km of this progradation and complement the numerous water-well cores from the island interior. The Mallorca reef presents the most complete facies zonation of the Miocene reefs of the western Mediterranean. The reef wall framework is up to 20 m thick and shows (1) erosional reef flat with reef breccia and small corals; (2) spur-and-grove zone with large, massive corals; (3)more » deep buttresses and pinnacles with terraces of branching corals; and (4) deep reef wall with flat, laminar coral colonies, branching red algae, and Halimeda sands.« less

Sex biased expression of ghrelin and GHSR associated with sexual size dimorphism in yellow catfish.

PubMed

Zhang, Jin; Ma, Wenge; He, Yan; Wu, Junjie; Dawar, Farman Ullah; Ren, Fan; Zhao, Xiaohan; Mei, Jie

2016-03-10

Sexual size dimorphism has been observed in many cultivable fish species including yellow catfish, in which male fish grow much faster than female fish. Ghrelin is a potent stimulator of pituitary growth hormone (GH) release and known to potentially promote food intake and body weight gain. In order to investigate the molecular mechanism of sexual size dimorphism in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco), ghrelin and its functional receptor, growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) cDNAs were cloned. Real-time PCR indicated that both ghrelin and GHSR were more highly expressed in hypothalamus and gut of male fish than female. During normal larval development, expression of ghrelin and GHSR genes was significantly higher in males than in females. 17a-Methyltestosterone (MT) treatment enhanced the expression of ghrelin in female larval fish and GHSR in both sexes, whereas the expression of ghrelin in male larval fish increased in the beginning, then decreased as the treatment time prolonged. Furthermore, the expression of ghrelin and GHSR in male juvenile was significantly increased compared with female juvenile, in short and long term fasting periods, suggesting that male fish may have a better appetite than female during fasting. Our results demonstrate that sex difference in the expression of ghrelin and GHSR may be involved in sexual size dimorphism by regulating feeding and GH/IGF signaling in yellow catfish. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphologic, Pathologic, and Genetic Investigations of Bolbophorus Species Affecting Cultured Channel Catfish in the Mississippi Delta.

PubMed

Levy, M G; Flowers, J R; Poore, M F; Mullen, J E; Khoo, L H; Pote, L M; Paperna, I; Dzikowski, R; Litaker, R W

2006-12-01

Trematodes belonging to the genus Bolbophorus have recently been reported as the cause of substantial morbidity and mortality in cultured channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus in Mississippi and Louisiana. Previous investigators identified only a single species, B. confusus. In this investigation, genetic techniques were used to identify all stages of the parasite in all of its hosts. The 18s rRNA genes from specimens collected in Mississippi were sequenced and compared; this analysis revealed that there are two distinct species, B. damnificus (previously identified as B. confusus) and another, undescribed species. (Phylogenetic analysis indicated that a third species, B. levantinus, is also closely related to the Mississippi species.) Species-specific polymerase chain reaction assays capable of identifying and differentiating between these two parasites were developed. Both species were found to infect the first intermediate host (the ram's horn snail Planorbella trivolvis) in commercial channel catfish ponds, but only B. damnificus was recovered from the fish themselves. The new, unidentified Bolbophorus species was determined to be highly pathogenic to a number of fish species. The contribution of B. damnificus to disease in cultured channel catfish remains undetermined. Future investigations of these parasites must now take into account the presence of two distinct species.

Morphologic, Pathologic, and Genetic Investigations of Bolbophorus Species Affecting Cultured Channel Catfish in the Mississippi Delta.

PubMed

Levy, M G; Flowers, J R; Poore, M F; Mullen, J E; Khoo, L H; Pote, L M; Paperna, I; Dzikowski, R; Litaker, R W

2002-12-01

Trematodes belonging to the genus Bolbophorus have recently been reported as the cause of substantial morbidity and mortality in cultured channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus in Mississippi and Louisiana. Previous investigators identified only a single species, B. confusus. In this investigation, genetic techniques were used to identify all stages of the parasite in all of its hosts. The 18s rRNA genes from specimens collected in Mississippi were sequenced and compared; this analysis revealed that there are two distinct species, B. damnificus (previously identified as B. confusus) and another, undescribed species. (Phylogenetic analysis indicated that a third species, B. levantinus, is also closely related to the Mississippi species.) Species-specific polymerase chain reaction assays capable of identifying and differentiating between these two parasites were developed. Both species were found to infect the first intermediate host (the ram's horn snail Planorbella trivolvis) in commercial channel catfish ponds, but only B. damnificus was recovered from the fish themselves. The new, unidentified Bolbophorus species was determined to be highly pathogenic to a number of fish species. The contribution of B. damnificus to disease in cultured channel catfish remains undetermined. Future investigations of these parasites must now take into account the presence of two distinct species.

Antibody response in silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) immunized with a model antigen associated with different adjuvants

PubMed Central

Pavan, T.R.; Di Domenico, J.; Kirsten, K.S.; Nied, C.O.; Frandoloso, R.; Kreutz, L.C.

2016-01-01

Adjuvants are essential to boost the immune response to inoculated antigen and play a central role in vaccine development. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of several adjuvants in the production of anti-bovine serum albumin (BSA) antibodies in silver catfish. Two hundred and seventy juvenile silver catfish (60–80 g) of both sexes were intraperitoneally vaccinated with BSA (200 µg/fish) alone or mixed to the following adjuvants: Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA), Freund’s incomplete adjuvant (FIA), aluminum hydroxide (AlOH), Montanide, four types of cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) and three concentrations of β-glucan, and the immune enhancing property was evaluated by measuring anti-BSA antibodies in blood samples at biweekly intervals. Our results demonstrated that CpGs ODNs and β-glucan were as effective as classical adjuvants (FCA, FIA, AlOH and Montanide) in promoting anti-BSA antibodies and that the kinetics of antibody production induced by all adjuvants used in our study had a similar trend to that observed in other fish species, with a peak at 28 days post-vaccination. These results may be useful for the selection of adjuvants for vaccine formulation intended for silver catfish and for the development of vaccine and vaccination strategies to other fish species. PMID:27464022

A giant termite from the Late Miocene of Styria, Austria (Isoptera)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engel, Michael S.; Gross, Martin

2009-02-01

A giant termite is described and figured from the Late Miocene of the Styrian Basin in southeastern Austria. Gyatermes styriensis gen. n. et sp. n. is represented by a relatively complete forewing, with basal scale. The fossil approximates in size the largest of all termites today and is the largest fossil termite on record. The presence of this species in the Late Miocene fauna of Europe indicates that climatic conditions were appropriate for the persistence of species and colonies requiring relatively stable, warm conditions. The genus is primitive in overall features but shares some similarity with the dampwood termites.

Plastic debris ingestion by marine catfish: an unexpected fisheries impact.

PubMed

Possatto, Fernanda E; Barletta, Mário; Costa, Monica F; do Sul, Juliana A Ivar; Dantas, David V

2011-05-01

Plastic marine debris is a pervasive type of pollution. River basins and estuaries are a source of plastics pollution for coastal waters and oceans. Estuarine fauna is therefore exposed to chronic plastic pollution. Three important catfish species [Cathorops spixii (N=60), Cathorops agassizii (N=60) and Sciades herzbergii (N=62)] from South Western Atlantic estuaries were investigated in a tropical estuary of the Brazilian Northeast in relation to their accidental ingestion of plastic marine debris. Individuals from all three species had ingested plastics. In C. spixii and C. agassizii, 18% and 33% of individuals had plastic debris in their stomachs, respectively. S. herzbergii showed 18% of individuals were contaminated. All ontogenetic phases (juveniles, sub-adults and adults) were contaminated. Nylon fragments from cables used in fishery activities (subsistence, artisanal and commercial) played a major role in this contamination. These catfish spend their entire life cycles within the estuary and are an important feeding resource for larger, economically important, species. It is not yet possible to quantify the scale and depth of the consequences of this type of pollution. However, plastics are well known threat to living resources in this and other estuaries. Conservation actions will need to from now onto take plastics pollution into consideration. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Immunization with recombinant aerolysin and hemolysin protected channel catfish against virulent Aeromonas hydrophila

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aeromonas hydrophila is emerging as one of the major concerns in catfish aquaculture in the Southeastern United States due to recent outbreaks of motile aeromonad septicemia (MAS) caused by virulent clonal isolates. There is no effective vaccine currently available for the prevention of MAS. In this...

Influence of throat configuration and fish density on escapement of channel catfish from hoop nets

USGS Publications Warehouse

Porath, Mark T.; Pape, Larry D.; Richters, Lindsey K.

2011-01-01

In recent years, several state agencies have adopted the use of baited, tandemset hoop nets to assess lentic channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus populations. Some level of escapement from the net is expected because an opening exists in each throat of the net, although factors influencing rates of escapement from hoop nets have not been quantified. We conducted experiments to quantify rates of escapement and to determine the influence of throat configuration and fish density within the net on escapement rates. An initial experiment to determine the rate of escapement from each net compartment utilized individually tagged channel catfish placed within the entrance (between the two throats) and cod (within the second throat) compartments of a single hoop net for overnight sets. From this experiment, the mean rate (±SE) of channel catfish escaping was 4.2% (±1.5) from the cod (cod throat was additionally restricted from the traditionally manufactured product), and 74% (±4.2) from the entrance compartments. In a subsequent experiment, channel catfish were placed only in the cod compartment with different throat configurations (restricted or unrestricted) and at two densities (low [6 fish per net] and high [60 fish per net]) for overnight sets to determine the influence of fish density and throat configuration on escapement rates. Escapement rates between throat configurations were doubled at low fish density (13.3 ± 5.4% restricted versus 26.7 ± 5.6% unrestricted) and tripled at high fish density (14.3 ± 4.9% restricted versus 51.9 ± 5.0% unrestricted). These results suggest that retention efficiency is high from cod compartments with restricted throat entrances. However, managers and researchers need to be aware that modification to the cod throats (restrictions) is needed for hoop nets ordered from manufacturers. Managers need to be consistent in their use and reporting of cod end throat configurations when using this gear.

New Miocene Fossils and the History of Penguins in Australia.

PubMed

Park, Travis; Fitzgerald, Erich M G; Gallagher, Stephen J; Tomkins, Ellyn; Allan, Tony

2016-01-01

Australia has a fossil record of penguins reaching back to the Eocene, yet today is inhabited by just one breeding species, the little penguin Eudyptula minor. The description of recently collected penguin fossils from the re-dated upper Miocene Port Campbell Limestone of Portland (Victoria), in addition to reanalysis of previously described material, has allowed the Cenozoic history of penguins in Australia to be placed into a global context for the first time. Australian pre-Quaternary fossil penguins represent stem taxa phylogenetically disparate from each other and E. minor, implying multiple dispersals and extinctions. Late Eocene penguins from Australia are closest to contemporaneous taxa in Antarctica, New Zealand and South America. Given current material, the Miocene Australian fossil penguin fauna is apparently unique in harbouring 'giant penguins' after they went extinct elsewhere; and including stem taxa until at least 6 Ma, by which time crown penguins dominated elsewhere in the southern hemisphere. Separation of Australia from Antarctica during the Palaeogene, and its subsequent drift north, appears to have been a major event in Australian penguin biogeography. Increasing isolation through the Cenozoic may have limited penguin dispersal to Australia from outside the Australasian region, until intensification of the eastwards-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the mid-Miocene established a potential new dispersal vector to Australia.

Convergence among cave catfishes: long-branch attraction and a Bayesian relative rates test.

PubMed

Wilcox, T P; García de León, F J; Hendrickson, D A; Hillis, D M

2004-06-01

Convergence has long been of interest to evolutionary biologists. Cave organisms appear to be ideal candidates for studying convergence in morphological, physiological, and developmental traits. Here we report apparent convergence in two cave-catfishes that were described on morphological grounds as congeners: Prietella phreatophila and Prietella lundbergi. We collected mitochondrial DNA sequence data from 10 species of catfishes, representing five of the seven genera in Ictaluridae, as well as seven species from a broad range of siluriform outgroups. Analysis of the sequence data under parsimony supports a monophyletic Prietella. However, both maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analyses support polyphyly of the genus, with P. lundbergi sister to Ictalurus and P. phreatophila sister to Ameiurus. The topological difference between parsimony and the other methods appears to result from long-branch attraction between the Prietella species. Similarly, the sequence data do not support several other relationships within Ictaluridae supported by morphology. We develop a new Bayesian method for examining variation in molecular rates of evolution across a phylogeny.

SEASONAL FORAGING BY CHANNEL CATFISH ON TERRESTRIALLY BURROWING CRAYFISH IN A FLOODPLAIN-RIVER ECOSYSTEM

EPA Science Inventory

The seasonal use of terrestrially burrowing crayfish as a food item by channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus was studied in channelized and non-channelized sections of the Yockanookany River (Mississippi, USA). During seasonal inundation of the floodplains, the crayfish occupied o...

Complete genome sequence of Edwardsiella tarda (isolate FL95-01)recovered from channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Edwardsiella tarda is a Gram-negative facultative anaerobe isolated from fish, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, including humans. This is a report of the complete and annotated genome of E. tarda isolate FL95-01, recovered from channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)....

Biofilm formation by Salmonella spp. in catfish mucus extract under industrial conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of strain and temperature on the growth and biofilm formation of Salmonella spp. in high and low concentrations of catfish mucus extract on different food-contact surfaces at 22°C and 10°C. The second objective of this study was to evaluate the...

Structure of the Helminth Assemblage of and Endemic Madtom Catfish (Noturus Lachneri)

Treesearch

Riccardo A. Fiorillo; R. Brent Thomas; Melvin L. Warren; Christopher M. Taylor

1999-01-01

The Ouachita madtom, Noturus lachneri, is a small, uniformly-colored catfish endemic to the upper Saline and Ouachita river drainages in central Arkansas (Robison and Buchanan, 1988), where it is often found in shallow pools associated with clear, high gradient, rock-bottomed streams (Robison and Harp, 1985). Distribution, habitat, diet, and conservation status of...

Occurrence of Vibrio vulnificus and toxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus on sea catfishes from Galveston Bay, Texas.

PubMed

Baumeister, Leslie; Hochman, Mona E; Schwarz, John R; Brinkmeyer, Robin

2014-10-01

Dorsal and pectoral fin spines from two species of sea catfishes (Bagre marinus and Ariopsis felis) landed at 54 sites in Galveston Bay, Texas, and its sub-bays from June to October 2005 were screened with traditional cultivation-based assays and quantitative PCR assays for Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. V. vulnificus was present on 51.2% of fish (n = 247), with an average of 403 ± 337 SD cells g(-1). V. parahaemolyticus was present on 94.2% (n = 247); 12.8% tested positive for the virulence-conferring tdh gene, having an average 2,039 ± 2,171 SD cells g(-1). The increasing trend in seafood consumption of "trash fishes" from lower trophic levels, such as sea catfishes, warrants evaluation of their life histories for association with pathogens of concern for human consumption.

The identification of Oligo-Miocene mammalian palaeocommunities from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Australia and an appraisal of palaeoecological techniques

PubMed Central

Black, Karen H.; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J.

2017-01-01

Fourteen of the best sampled Oligo-Miocene local faunas from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, north-western Queensland, Australia are analysed using classification and ordination techniques to identify potential mammalian palaeocommunities and palaeocommunity types. Abundance data for these faunas are used, for the first time, in conjunction with presence/absence data. An early Miocene Faunal Zone B and two middle Miocene Faunal Zone C palaeocommunities are recognised, as well as one palaeocommunity type. Change in palaeocommunity structure, between the early Miocene and middle Miocene, may be the result of significant climate change during the Miocene Carbon Isotope Excursion. The complexes of local faunas identified will allow researchers to use novel palaeocommunities in future analyses of Riversleigh’s fossil faunas. The utility of some palaeoecological multivariate indices and techniques is examined. The Dice index is found to outperform other binary similarity/distance coefficients, while the UPGMA algorithm is more useful than neighbour joining. Evidence is equivocal for the usefulness of presence/absence data compared to abundance. PMID:28674663

Miocene and Pliocene lacustrine and fluvial sequences, Upper Ramparts and Canyon village, Porcupine river, east-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fouch, T.D.; Carter, L.D.; Kunk, Michael J.; Smith, C.A.S.; White, J.M.

1994-01-01

Cenozoic strata exposed along the Porcupine River between the Upper Ramparts and Canyon Village, Alaska, can be divided into five unconformity-bounded units (sequences) which are: lower and middle Miocene unit A, the white sandy fluvial sequence with peat beds; middle Miocene unit B, the basalt sequence-part B1 is basalt, and part B2 is organic-rich sedimentary beds; upper Miocene unit C, mudrock-dominated lake sequence; late Miocene or Pliocene to Pleistocene unit D, terrace gravels, detrital organic matter and associated sediments, and Holocene unit E, mixed sand and gravel-rich sediment and other sedimentary material including peat and eolian silt. The sequence (unit A) of lower and middle Miocene fluvial deposits formed in streams and on flood plains, just before the inception of local volanism. Fossil pollen from unit A suggests conifer-dominated regional forests and cool temperate climates. Peat beds and lake deposits from unit B contain pollen that indicates a warmer temperate climate coinciding with the middle Miocene thermal maximum. The lake deposits (unit C) downstream from the basalts accumulated in a small basin which resulted from a hydrologic system that was dammed in the late Miocene but breached soon thereafter. The lower part of the terrace gravels (unit D) expresses breaching of the dammed hydrologic system (of unit C). The Porcupine River became a major tributary of the Yukon River in late Pleistocene time when Laurentide ice blocked drainage from the Yukon interior basins causing meltwater to spill over the low divide separating it from the Porcupine River drainage initiating erosion and capture of the Yukon interior basins. ?? 1994.

Pharmacological profiles of the subtypes of muscarinic cholinoceptors that mediate aggregation of pigment in the melanophores of two species of catfish.

PubMed

Hayashi, H; Fujii, R

1994-06-01

Using selective antagonists, including pirenzepine, adiphenine, AF-DX 116, gallamine, and 4-DAMP, we attempted to characterize the muscarinic cholinoceptors on the melanophores of the translucent glass catfish Kryptopterus bicirrhis and the mailed catfish Corydoras paleatus. The M3 receptor-selective antagonist, 4-DAMP, potently inhibited the acetylcholine-induced aggregation of pigment in both species. It appeared, therefore, that the receptors that mediated the cholinergically evoked aggregation of melanosomes in these species were of the M3 muscarinic subtype.

The phylogenetic relationships among non-diplomystid catfishes as inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences; the search for the ictalurid sister taxon (Otophysi: Siluriformes).

PubMed

Hardman, Michael

2005-12-01

The relationships among families of catfishes are poorly understood and have yet to be the subject of a comprehensive investigation with molecular data. Existing phylogenetic hypotheses are based on morphological data and incompletely resolved. This study analyzed complete sequences of mitochondrial gene cytochrome b for 170 species from 29 of 33 extant families, and focused on the relationships of Ictaluridae to other catfishes. In addition to previous phylogenetic studies, the fossil record, paleogeography, biogeography, and distribution of extant catfish families collectively suggest the location (if extant) of the ictalurid sister taxon to be Northern or Eastern Asia. Of the extant catfishes currently native to this area and included in this analysis, parsimony and Bayesian likelihood analyses recovered Cranoglanis bouderius as the most proximal sister taxon of Ictaluridae. Seemingly, ictalurids and cranoglanidids represent another biogeographic component linking freshwater fishes of North America and eastern Asia, e.g., catostomids and paddlefishes. The results coupled with present-day catfish distributions and inferences from the fossil record collectively suggest the ancestor of Ictaluridae to have invaded freshwaters of North America at the close of the Cretaceous through northeastern Asia and northwestern North America. Other superfamilial nodes supported the results of previous phylogenetic studies of narrower taxonomic scope. Several novel relationships were recovered (including a clade composed of Pimelodidae, Pseudopimelodidae, and Heptapteridae) and these along with sources of systematic error are discussed. A broad sampling of Bagridae permitted an examination of intergeneric relationships within this family and in light of recent morphological and molecular studies.

Improving water-use efficiency for ictalurid catfish pond aquaculture in Northwest Mississippi, USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We used a 50-year (1961-2010) daily record of precipitation and evaporation in a hydrological model to simulate ground water withdrawal for the foodfish grow-out phase of ictalurid catfish culture in northwest Mississippi, USA. The model examined the effects of seepage, reusing water for multiple y...

Identification and characterization of TCRgamma and TCRdelta chains in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, T cell receptors (TCR) gamma and delta were identified by mining of expressed sequence tag databases and full length sequences were obtained by 5'-RACE and RT-PCR protocols. cDNAs for each of these TCR chains encode typical variable (V), (diversity; D), joining ...

Identification of SHIP-1 and SHIP-2 homologs in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Src homology domain 2 (SH2) domain-containing inositol 5’-phosphatases (SHIP) proteins have diverse roles in signal transduction. SHIP-1 and SHIP-2 homologs were identified in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, based on sequence homology to murine and human SHIP sequences. Full-length cDNAs for ...

Global gene expression in channel catfish after vaccination with an attenuated Edwardsiella ictaluri

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

To understand the global gene expression in channel catfish after immersion vaccination with an attenuated Edwardsiella ictaluri (AquaVac ESCTM), microarray analysis of 65,182 UniGene transcripts were performed. With a filter of false-discovery rate less than 0.05 and fold change greater than 2, a t...

Comparison of phytoplankton communities in catfish split-pond aquaculture systems with conventional ponds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There has been a growing interest and use of variations of partitioned aquaculture systems (PAS) in recent years by the southeastern United States of America farmed catfish industry. Split-pond systems, one type of PAS, are designed to better manage fish waste byproducts (e.g., ammonia) and dissolv...

Constraining the Late Miocene paleo-CO2 estimates through GCM model-data comparisons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradshaw, Catherine; Pound, Matthew; Lunt, Daniel; Flecker, Rachel; Salzmann, Ulrich; Haywood, Alan; Riding, James; Francis, Jane

2010-05-01

The period following the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum experienced a continued downward trend in the δ18O record - a record acknowledged as a proxy indicator of both ice volume and temperature (Zachos et al., 2001). Given the link between atmospheric CO2 and temperature (IPCC, 2007), it could be thought that the timeline throughout the Late Miocene would show a general decline in CO2 in accordance with the δ18O record. However, examination of the palaeo-CO2 record shows a relatively flat profile across this time, or perhaps even a slight increase, but there is a wide variation in the palaeo-CO2 estimate for the differing approximation methods. We use the fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-vegetation model of the Hadley Centre, HadCM3L, which has a low resolution ocean (Hadley Centre Coupled Model, Version 3 - low resolution ocean) with TRIFFID (Top-down Representation of Interactive Foliage and Flora Including Dynamics: Cox, 2001) to generate CO2 sensitivity scenarios for the Late Miocene: 180ppmv, 280ppmv and 400ppmv, as well as a preindustrial control simulation: 280 ppmv. We also run the BIOME4 model offline to produce predicted biome distributions for each of our scenarios. We compare both marine and terrestrial modelled temperatures, and the predicted vegetation distributions for these scenarios against available palaeodata As we simulate with a coupled dynamic ocean model, we use planktonic and benthic foraminiferal-based proxy palaeotemperature estimates to compare to the modelled marine temperatures at the depths consistent with the reconstructed palaeoecology of the foraminifera. We compare our modelled terrestrial temperatures to vegetation-based proxy palaeotemperatures, and we use a newly compiled vegetation reconstruction for the Late Miocene to compare to our modelled vegetation distributions. The new Late Miocene vegetation reconstruction is based on a 200+ point database of palaeobotanical sites. Each location is classified into a biome consistent with

Effects of dietary fucoidan on the blood constituents, anti-oxidation and innate immunity of juvenile yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco).

PubMed

Yang, Qing; Yang, Rui; Li, Ming; Zhou, Qicun; Liang, Xiongpei; Elmada, Zacharia Cassian

2014-12-01

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of fucoidan on the blood constituents, anti-oxidation and innate immunity of juvenile yellow catfish, Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. Totally 420 individuals of juvenile yellow catfish were randomly allocated to 7 groups with 3 replicates per group and 20 fishes per replicate. The same experimental fish were randomly subjected to one of the following 7 treatments for 12 weeks: The basal diet was applied as control group, the experimental groups were fed on fucoidan extracted from Sargassum horneri (SF) and commodity fucoidan purchased from the market (MF), and the effective dosages were 0.05%, 0.1% and 0.2% per kilogram feed (the groups were respectively marked as SF1, SF2, SF3, MF1, MF2 and MF3). The capabilities of anti-oxidation and innate immunity were detected by the blood characters, serum enzyme activities, serum MDA content, respiratory burst activity and phagocytic index of head-kidney macrophages. Challenge test was conducted also. The results indicated that the triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) values of the yellow catfish were significantly decreased when dietary with SF and MF, while there was no significant difference between the MF1 and the control group. Fish fed on SF and MF diets had a lower high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) level than those fed on basal diet except SF2 group. The low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and glucose (GUL) levels of the fish were significantly decreased at the 0.2% dietary fucoidan level, and there were no significant differences between the other groups. The activities of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly increased and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) significantly decreased when the fish fed dietary SF and MF. The CAT activities of SF groups were higher than that of control groups, while these values were not significantly changed in MF1 and MF3 groups. The maximum of catalase (CAT) activities of the fish fed on two kind

DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) toxicity to channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus sac fry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The combination of open facilities, moisture, and warm weather during channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus spawning season causes mosquito-infestation problems. A common solution to mosquito problems in hatcheries is to use mosquito repellents applied to exposed skin and clothing. DEET (N,N-diethyl-...

Expression profiles of seven channel catfish antimicrobial peptides in response to Edwardsiella ictaluri infection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Using quantitative PCR technique, the relative transcriptional levels of seven channel catfish antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes [NK-lysin type 1, NK-lysin type 2, NK-lysin type 3, bactericidal permeability-increasing protein (BPI), cathepsin D, hepcidin, and liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 ...

Ameliorating the effects of the digenetic trematode, Bolbophorus damnificus on the channel catfish industry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the middle to late 1990s, an emerging digenetic trematode problem was recognized in the channel catfish industry. Morphologic and molecular analysis identified the culprit as Bolbophorus damnificus. The American Ehite Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos serves as the definitive host, while the ma...

Expression profiling of c-kit and its impact after esiRNA silencing during gonadal development in catfish.

PubMed

Laldinsangi, C; Senthilkumaran, B

2018-04-03

C-kit receptor is a member of a family of growth factor receptors that have tyrosine kinase activity, and are involved in the transduction of growth regulatory signals across plasma membrane by activation of its ligand, kitl/scf. The present study analysed mRNA and protein expression profiles of c-kit in the gonads of catfish, Clarias gariepinus, using real time PCR, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Tissue distribution analysis revealed higher expression mainly in the catfish gonads. Ontogeny studies showed minimal expression during early developmental stages and highest during 50-75 days post hatch, and the dimorphic expression in gonads decreased gradually till adulthood, which might suggest an important role for this gene around later stages of sex differentiation and gonadal development. Expression of C-kit was analysed at various phases of gonadal cycle in both male and female, which showed minimal expression during the resting phase, and higher expression in male compared to females during the pre-spawning phase. In vitro and in vivo induction using human chorionic gonadotropin elevated the expression of c-kit indicating the regulatory influence of hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis. In vivo transient gene silencing using c-kit-esiRNA in adult catfish during gonadal recrudescence showed a decrease in c-kit expression, which affected the expression level of germ cell meiotic marker sycp3, as well as several factors and steroidogenic enzyme genes involved in germ cell development. Decrease in the levels of serum 11-KT and T were also observed after esiRNA silencing. The findings of this study suggest that c-kit has an important role in the process of germ cell proliferation, development and maturation during gonadal development and recrudescence in catfish. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

BIRC7 gene in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus): identification and expression analysis in response to Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae and Channel catfish Hemorrhage Reovirus.

PubMed

Li, Min; Liu, Yang; Wang, Qi-Long; Chen, Song-Lin; Sha, Zhen-Xia

2012-07-01

A family member of inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) termed baculoviral IAP repeat-containing 7 (BIRC7) from channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) was identified, the full length cDNA sequence of channel catfish BIRC7 (CcBIRC7) was 1686 bp, containing a 5'UTR of 93 bp, a 3'UTR of 399 bp with a poly (A) tail and an ORF of 1194 bp encoding a putative protein of 398 amino acids. The putative CcBIRC7 protein contains two BIR super-family conservative domains and a C-terminal RING finger motif. Phylogenetic analysis showed that catfish CcBIRC7 was moderately conserved with other BIRC7. Quantitative real-time PCR was conducted to examine the expression profiles of CcBIRC7 in healthy tissues and responding to different pathogens (Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae and Channel catfish Hemorrhage Reovirus (CCRV)). CcBIRC7 was widely expressed in healthy tissues of channel catfish and with the highest 37.28-fold expression in blood. E. tarda and S. iniae could induce CcBIRC7 gene expression drastically in head kidney, liver and spleen, which the peak value reached 31.6-fold, 613.9-fold and 34.4-fold increase by E. tarda infection, and 248.3-fold, 1540.3-fold and 120.4-fold increase post S. iniae challenge, respectively. While, CCRV virus could slightly induce CcBIRC7 expression in head kidney and liver but reduce it in spleen. The result suggested BIRC7 may play a potential role in channel catfish innate immune system against bacterial and virus infections, especially as the anti-bacteria immune gene. This is the first report of BIRC7 gene identification and its expression in fish. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Salt Sensitive Tet-Off-Like Systems to Knockdown Primordial Germ Cell Genes for Repressible Transgenic Sterilization in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

PubMed Central

Li, Hanbo; Su, Baofeng; Qin, Guyu; Ye, Zhi; Alsaqufi, Ahmed; Perera, Dayan A.; Shang, Mei; Odin, Ramjie; Vo, Khoi; Drescher, David; Robinson, Dalton; Zhang, Dan; Abass, Nermeen; Dunham, Rex A.

2017-01-01

Repressible knockdown approaches were investigated for transgenic sterilization in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Two primordial germ cell (PGC) marker genes, nanos and dead end, were targeted for knockdown, and an off-target gene, vasa, was monitored. Two potentially salt sensitive repressible promoters, zebrafish adenylosuccinate synthase 2 (ADSS) and zebrafish racemase (Rm), were each coupled with four knockdown strategies: ds-sh RNA targeting the 5′ end (N1) or 3′ end (N2) of channel catfish nanos, full-length cDNA sequence of channel catfish nanos for overexpression (cDNA) and ds-sh RNA targeting channel catfish dead end (DND). Each construct had an untreated group and treated group with sodium chloride as the repressor compound. Spawning rates of full-sibling P1 fish exposed or not exposed to the constructs as treated and untreated embryos were 93% and 59%, respectively, indicating potential sterilization of fish and repression of the constructs. Although the mRNA expression data of PGC marker genes were inconsistent in P1 fish, most F1 individuals were able to downregulate the target genes in untreated groups and repress the knockdown process in treated groups. The results indicate that repressible transgenic sterilization is feasible for reproductive control of fish, but more data from F2 or F3 are needed for evaluation. PMID:28561774

Miocene squat lobsters (Decapoda, Anomura, Galatheoidea) of the Central Paratethys - a review, with description of a new species of Munidopsis.

PubMed

Hyžný, M; Gašparič, R; Robins, C M; Schlögl, J

2014-10-01

All squat lobsters of the families Galatheidae, Munididae and Munidopsidae from the Miocene of the Central Paratethys are reviewed taxonomically. Based on additional observations emended diagnoses are provided for Agononida cerovensis and Galathea weinfurteri , from the Lower and Middle Miocene, respectively. Munidopsis is represented by two species in the study area; additional data for M. lieskovensis from the Lower Miocene of Slovakia are presented and a new species, M. palmuelleri , from the Middle Miocene of Slovenia is erected. Implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are briefly discussed for each taxon.

Amber from western Amazonia reveals Neotropical diversity during the middle Miocene

PubMed Central

Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; De Franceschi, Dario; Flynn, John J.; Nel, André; Baby, Patrice; Benammi, Mouloud; Calderón, Ysabel; Espurt, Nicolas; Goswami, Anjali; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo

2006-01-01

Tertiary insects and arachnids have been virtually unknown from the vast western Amazonian basin. We report here the discovery of amber from this region containing a diverse fossil arthropod fauna (13 hexapod families and 3 arachnid species) and abundant microfossil inclusions (pollen, spores, algae, and cyanophyceae). This unique fossil assemblage, recovered from middle Miocene deposits of northeastern Peru, greatly increases the known diversity of Cenozoic tropical–equatorial arthropods and microorganisms and provides insights into the biogeography and evolutionary history of modern Neotropical biota. It also strengthens evidence for the presence of more modern, high-diversity tropical rainforest ecosystems during the middle Miocene in western Amazonia. PMID:16950875

Persistent organic pollutants and histological lesions in Mayan catfish Ariopsis assimilis from the Bay of Chetumal, Mexico.

PubMed

Noreña-Barroso, E; Simá-Alvarez, R; Gold-Bouchot, G; Zapata-Pérez, O

2004-02-01

Livers of catfish (Ariopsis assimilis) from the Bay of Chetumal were analyzed for organochlorine compounds and hydrocarbons as part of a study to diagnose the environmental health of the Bay after a catfish mass mortality that occurred in 1996. The presence of histological lesions in several organs of the fish as result of chemical exposure was also evaluated. The concentrations of organic pollutants found in the Bay may be considered high if compared to the levels reported for sites affected by chemical pollution. High prevalences of cellular alteration histopathologies were found in liver, including hepatic tumors. The presence of some lesions may be related statistically to environmental pollution in the Bay, specially with chlorinated compounds.

Effects of 17alpha-methyltestosterone on seminal vesicle development and semen release response in the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus.

PubMed

Viveiros, A T; Eding, E H; Komen, J

2001-11-01

The effects of 17alpha-methyltestosterone on seminal vesicle development in the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, were investigated in an attempt to improve semen collection from this species. Treatment of larvae with dietary 17alpha-methyltestosterone at 50 mg kg(-1) for days 12-33 or days 12-40 after hatching, or at 20 mg kg(-1) for days 12-26, 12-33, 12-40 or 12-47 after hatching inhibited the development of the seminal vesicle finger-like extensions in male catfish, but did not affect the sex ratio. The minimum effective dose and period of treatment to inhibit seminal vesicle development in all male catfish treated with 17alpha-methyltestosterone was 20 mg kg(-1) for days 12-40 after hatching. Male catfish from this treatment group developed normal testes that, in some cases, contained a few oocytes, which tended to disappear before sexual maturation. After sexual maturation, the semen release response was evaluated in males with incomplete seminal vesicles. Fluid with viable spermatozoa was obtained after two consecutive injections of carp pituitary suspension, from 10 of 19 males that had been fed 20 mg 17alpha-methyltestosterone kg(-1) for days 12-40 or days 12-47 after hatching, but from only 4 of 15 males that did not receive any dietary steroid. Intratesticular semen quality was not affected by 17alpha-methyltestosterone treatment. The results of this study demonstrate that the absence of seminal vesicle extensions induced by treatment with 17alpha-methyltestosterone facilitated the collection of semen by stripping from this species of fish.

Evaluation of Peanut Meal as an Alternative Dietary Protein Source for Channel Catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Use of peanut meal as an alternative protein source in diets for channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus was evaluated in a 9-week study under controlled laboratory conditions. Five practical diets (28% crude protein and 6% crude lipid) were formulated to contain 0, 10, 15, 20, and 25% peanut meal as a ...

Effect of Par Frying on Composition and Texture of Breaded and Battered Catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Catfish is often consumed as a breaded and battered fried product; however, baking is considered a healthier alternative to frying. One method of improving the texture properties of baked products is to par fried prior to baking. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of par frying ...

Simulation modeling of high-throughput cryopreservation of aquatic germplasm: a case study of blue catfish sperm processing

PubMed Central

Hu, E; Liao, T. W.; Tiersch, T. R.

2013-01-01

Emerging commercial-level technology for aquatic sperm cryopreservation has not been modeled by computer simulation. Commercially available software (ARENA, Rockwell Automation, Inc. Milwaukee, WI) was applied to simulate high-throughput sperm cryopreservation of blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) based on existing processing capabilities. The goal was to develop a simulation model suitable for production planning and decision making. The objectives were to: 1) predict the maximum output for 8-hr workday; 2) analyze the bottlenecks within the process, and 3) estimate operational costs when run for daily maximum output. High-throughput cryopreservation was divided into six major steps modeled with time, resources and logic structures. The modeled production processed 18 fish and produced 1164 ± 33 (mean ± SD) 0.5-ml straws containing one billion cryopreserved sperm. Two such production lines could support all hybrid catfish production in the US and 15 such lines could support the entire channel catfish industry if it were to adopt artificial spawning techniques. Evaluations were made to improve efficiency, such as increasing scale, optimizing resources, and eliminating underutilized equipment. This model can serve as a template for other aquatic species and assist decision making in industrial application of aquatic germplasm in aquaculture, stock enhancement, conservation, and biomedical model fishes. PMID:25580079

Growth of inoculated psychrotrophic pathogens on refrigerated fillets of aquacultured rainbow trout and channel catfish.

PubMed

Fernandes, C F; Flick, G J; Thomas, T B

1998-03-01

Aquacultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fillets were inoculated with the psychrotrophic pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Aeromonas hydrophila: cell populations were monitored during refrigerated storage at 2 to 4 degrees C. Fillets of both species were placed individually in sterile plastic bags and inoculated with cell suspensions (10(4.7) CFU/100 g of fish) of either A. hydrophila or L monocytogenes or of both A. hydrophila and L. monocytogenes, for a total of three treatments for each species of fish. Each inoculum and fillet were mixed to ensure uniform distribution and then stored at 2 to 4 degrees C. A. hydrophila, L. monocytogenes, and aerobic cell populations were determined on days 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, and 15. Individually inoculated A. hydrophila and L. monocytogenes grew on catfish and trout fillets during the 15-day study. There was no inhibition of either pathogen by the natural flora on the fillets. Both psychrotrophic pathogens grew equally well in catfish and trout fillets inoculated with a combination of A. hydrophila and L. monocytogenes. In all three treatments, the counts of the psychrotrophic pathogens were lower than the aerobic plate counts. The growth of the psychrotrophic pathogens L. monocytogenes and/or A. hydrophila during refrigerated storage on aquacultured fish fillets could increase the food hazard risk, particularly where there is a possibility of cross-contamination with ready-to-eat food products.

Pre and postprandial changes in orexigenic and anorexigenic factors in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We examined pre- and postprandial changes in the expression of plasma ghrelin (GHRL) and mRNAs encoding GRLN, cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART), neuropeptide Y (NPY), and cholecystokinin (CCK) in channel catfish. Fish were either offered feed (Fed) or fasted (Unfed). Feeding incr...

Effectiveness of copper sulfate and potassium permanganate on channel catfish infected with Flavobacterium columnare

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Copper sulfate (CuSO4) and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) were evaluated for their effectiveness to curtail mortality and decrease bacterial load in fish tissues and water in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus naturally infected with Flavobacterium columnare, the causative agent of columnaris. Fis...

Plasma cortisol stress response in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus influences susceptibility to Edwardeseilla ictaluri

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cortisol is a primary stress hormone in fish as its plasma variations correlate with the occurrence of various stressful situations. Past studies have demonstrated that fish subjected to handling stress or poor water quality had a reduced ability to resist pathogens. Channel catfish fingerlings th...

Miocene shale tectonics in the Moroccan margin (Alboran Sea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Do Couto, D.; El Abbassi, M.; Ammar, A.; Gorini, C.; Estrada, F.; Letouzey, J.; Smit, J.; Jolivet, L.; Jabour, H.

2011-12-01

The Betic (Southern Spain) and Rif (Morocco) mountains form an arcuate belt that represents the westernmost termination of the peri-mediterranean Alpine mountain chain. The Miocene Alboran Basin and its subbasins is located in the hinterland of the Betic-Rif belt. It is considered to be a back-arc basin that developed during the coeval westward motion of the Alboran domain and the extensional collapse of previously thickened crust of the Betic-Rif belt. The Western Alboran Basin (WAB) is the major sedimentary depocenter with a sediment thickness in excess of 10 km, it is bordered by the Gibraltar arc, the volcanic Djibouti mounts and the Alboran ridge. Part of the WAB is affected by shale tectonics and associated mud volcanism. High-quality 2D seismic profiles acquired on the Moroccan margin of the Alboran Basin during the last decade reveal the multiple history of the basin. This study deals with the analysis of a number of these seismic profiles that are located along and orthogonal to the Moroccan margin. Seismic stratigraphy is calibrated from industrial wells. We focus on the interactions between the gravity-driven tectonic processes and the sedimentation in the basin. Our seismic interpretation confirms that the formation of the WAB began in the Early Miocene (Aquitanian - Burdigalian). The fast subsidence of the basin floor coeval to massive sedimentation induced the undercompaction of early miocene shales during their deposition. Downslope migration of these fine-grained sediments initiated during the deposition of the Langhian siliciclastics. This gravity-driven system was accompanied by continuous basement subsidence and induced disharmonic deformation in Mid Miocene units (i.e. not related to basement deformation). The development of shale-cored anticlines and thrusts in the deep basin is the result of compressive deformation at the front of the gravity-driven system and lasted for ca. 15 Ma. The compressive front has been re-activated by strong

New Miocene Fossils and the History of Penguins in Australia

PubMed Central

Park, Travis; Fitzgerald, Erich M. G.; Gallagher, Stephen J.; Tomkins, Ellyn; Allan, Tony

2016-01-01

Australia has a fossil record of penguins reaching back to the Eocene, yet today is inhabited by just one breeding species, the little penguin Eudyptula minor. The description of recently collected penguin fossils from the re-dated upper Miocene Port Campbell Limestone of Portland (Victoria), in addition to reanalysis of previously described material, has allowed the Cenozoic history of penguins in Australia to be placed into a global context for the first time. Australian pre-Quaternary fossil penguins represent stem taxa phylogenetically disparate from each other and E. minor, implying multiple dispersals and extinctions. Late Eocene penguins from Australia are closest to contemporaneous taxa in Antarctica, New Zealand and South America. Given current material, the Miocene Australian fossil penguin fauna is apparently unique in harbouring ‘giant penguins’ after they went extinct elsewhere; and including stem taxa until at least 6 Ma, by which time crown penguins dominated elsewhere in the southern hemisphere. Separation of Australia from Antarctica during the Palaeogene, and its subsequent drift north, appears to have been a major event in Australian penguin biogeography. Increasing isolation through the Cenozoic may have limited penguin dispersal to Australia from outside the Australasian region, until intensification of the eastwards-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the mid-Miocene established a potential new dispersal vector to Australia. PMID:27115739

Australian shelf sediments reveal shifts in Miocene Southern Hemisphere westerlies

PubMed Central

Groeneveld, Jeroen; Henderiks, Jorijntje; Renema, Willem; McHugh, Cecilia M.; De Vleeschouwer, David; Christensen, Beth A.; Fulthorpe, Craig S.; Reuning, Lars; Gallagher, Stephen J.; Bogus, Kara; Auer, Gerald; Ishiwa, Takeshige

2017-01-01

Global climate underwent a major reorganization when the Antarctic ice sheet expanded ~14 million years ago (Ma) (1). This event affected global atmospheric circulation, including the strength and position of the westerlies and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), and, therefore, precipitation patterns (2–5). We present new shallow-marine sediment records from the continental shelf of Australia (International Ocean Discovery Program Sites U1459 and U1464) providing the first empirical evidence linking high-latitude cooling around Antarctica to climate change in the (sub)tropics during the Miocene. We show that Western Australia was arid during most of the Middle Miocene. Southwest Australia became wetter during the Late Miocene, creating a climate gradient with the arid interior, whereas northwest Australia remained arid throughout. Precipitation and river runoff in southwest Australia gradually increased from 12 to 8 Ma, which we relate to a northward migration or intensification of the westerlies possibly due to increased sea ice in the Southern Ocean (5). Abrupt aridification indicates that the westerlies shifted back to a position south of Australia after 8 Ma. Our midlatitude Southern Hemisphere data are consistent with the inference that expansion of sea ice around Antarctica resulted in a northward movement of the westerlies. In turn, this may have pushed tropical atmospheric circulation and the ITCZ northward, shifting the main precipitation belt over large parts of Southeast Asia (4). PMID:28508066

Short-term feed deprivation alters immune status of surface mucosa in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Short-term feed deprivation (or fasting) is a common occurrence in aquacultured fish species whether due to season, production strategies, or disease. In channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fasting impacts susceptibility to several bacterial pathogens including Flavobacterium columnare, the causat...

Smilax (Smilacaceae) from the Miocene of western Eurasia with Caribbean biogeographic affinities.

PubMed

Denk, Thomas; Velitzelos, Dimitrios; Güner, H Tuncay; Ferrufino-Acosta, Lilian

2015-03-01

• Recent molecular studies provide a phylogenetic framework and some dated nodes for the monocot genus Smilax. The Caribbean Havanensis group of Smilax is part of a well-supported "New World clade" with a few disjunct taxa in the Old World. Although the fossil record of the genus is rich, it has been difficult to assign fossil taxa to extant groups based on their preserved morphological characters.• Leaf fossils from Europe and Asia Minor were studied comparatively and put into a phylogenetic and biogeographic context using a molecular phylogeny of the genus.• Fossils from the early Miocene of Anatolia represent a new species of Smilax with systematic affinities with the Havanensis group. The leaf type encountered in the fossil species is exclusively found in species of the Havanensis group among all modern Smilax. Scattered fossils of this type from the Miocene of Greece and Austria, previously referred to Quercus (Fagaceae), Ilex (Aquifoliaceae), and Mahonia (Berberidaceae) also belong to the new species.• The new Smilax provides first fossil evidence of the Havanensis group and proves that this group had a western Eurasian distribution during the Miocene. The age of the fossils is in good agreement with the (molecular-based) purported split between the Havanensis and Hispida groups within Smilax. The Miocene Smilax provides evidence that all four subclades within the "New World clade" had a disjunct intercontinental distribution during parts of the Neogene involving trans-Atlantic crossings (via floating islands or the North Atlantic land bridge) and the Beringia land bridge. © 2015 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Bioaccumulation of Stentorin, the Probable Causative Agent for Discolored ("Purple") Eggs and Ovaries in Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from Eufaula Lake, Oklahoma, USA.

PubMed

Gale, Robert W; Papoulias, Diana M; Schmitt, Christopher J

2015-08-18

Observations of reddish to "purple" discolored eggs in the ovaries of adult female blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from the northern arm of Eufaula Lake, a eutrophic multiuse impoundment in east-central Oklahoma, were first reported in 2006. Blue catfish eggs are normally cream to light yellow. Reports peaked in 2007-2008 and declined through 2009-2010; purple eggs have not been reported between 2010 and 2014. In the laboratory, all tissues and fluids of affected fish were strongly orange-red fluorescent under UV illumination, with the fluorescence most apparent in the lipid-rich ovaries and eggs. The causative agent was isolated chromatographically and confirmed by mass spectrometry as stentorin (1,3,4,6,8,10,11,13-octahydroxy-2,5-diisopropyl-phenanthro[1,10,9,8,o,p,q,r,a]perylene-7,14-dione), the fluorescent, lipophilic pigment associated with the photoreceptor protein of the ciliated protozoan Stentor coeruleus (Heterotrichea; Stentoridae). Larval medaka (Orizias latipes) readily consumed S. coeruleus in the laboratory and were observed to fluoresce in the same manner as the affected blue catfish. Potential deleterious effects of stentorin bioaccumulation remain to be determined, as do the geographic extent and the identities of other fluorescent compounds isolated from catfish eggs and ovaries.

Gender nor sex hormones alter the disease susceptibility of channel catfish to Edwardsiella ictaluri

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The use of monosex populations for aquaculture is becoming widely used for several species. Monosex populations are not in wide use in the catfish industry but techniques to develop all male populations have been developed. These studies were conducted to determine if there were any differences be...

Evaluation of porcine meat and bone meal in diets for pond-raised hybrid catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The present study aims to investigate effects of various levels (0, 10, 15, 20, and 25%) of porcine meat and bone meal (PMBM) in diets on production and processing characteristics and body composition of pond-raised hybrid catfish (female Ictalurus punctatus × male Ictalurus furcatus). Fingerlings w...

Provenance of Miocene Hinterland Basins in Ecuador: Implications for the Growth of Topographic Barriers in the Northern Andes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, S. W. M.; Horton, B. K.; Vallejo, C.; Nogales, V.

2017-12-01

Establishment of the Eastern Cordillera of Ecuador as an Andean topographic barrier caused significant drainage reorganization, perhaps even as dramatic as the reversal of the Amazon River. Cenozoic growth of this barrier coincided with substantial increases in speciation rates in Andean and Amazonian environments. Situated in the Interandean Depression between the Eastern Cordillera and Western Cordillera of Ecuador, a series of well-preserved Miocene intermontane basins offer a unique opportunity to constrain the along-strike development of the flanking north-trending cordilleras as drainage divides in the Northern Andes. Here were provide detrital zircon U-Pb geochronological results for 17 samples from Ecuadorian hinterland basins (Cuenca, Giron-Santa Isabel, Nabón, Loja, and Vilcabamba), supplemented with measured sections in the Cuenca Basin, to provide insights on orogenic development of the cordilleras of Ecuador during the Miocene. In addition, we characterize the age distributions of basement units to more precisely determine sediment routing patterns through time. Detrital zircon geochronological data yields regional upsection trends throughout Miocene stratigraphic sections marked by: (1) middle Miocene deposits containing a strong syndepositional age peak, with a complementary Eocene-Oligocene peak in varying abundances, and subsidiary low-intensity Paleozoic-Proterozoic age peaks; and (2a) upper Miocene deposits maintaining similar trends to that of the middle Miocene, or (2b) upper Miocene deposits showing a dramatic shutoff of most Cenozoic populations and a switch to Paleozoic-Proterozoic sources, as seen in the Nabón and Loja basins. Syndepositional signatures reflect derivation from the magmatic arc, while varying inputs of Eocene-Oligocene zircons were derived from the Eocene-Oligocene volcanic rocks that comprise the effective basement of much of the Interandean Depression. The late Miocene shift to Paleozoic-Proterozoic sources observed in

Age and stratigraphic context of Pliopithecus and associated fauna from Miocene sedimentary strata at Damiao, Inner Mongolia, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaakinen, Anu; Abdul Aziz, Hayfaa; Passey, Benjamin H.; Zhang, Zhaoqun; Liu, Liping; Salminen, Johanna; Wang, Lihua; Krijgsman, Wout; Fortelius, Mikael

2015-03-01

Since the discovery of mammalian fossils in Central Inner Mongolia in the beginning of the 20th century, this area has produced a rich and diverse record of Miocene faunas. Nevertheless, the stratigraphy has remained poorly constrained owing to scattered faunal horizons and lack of continuous vertical exposures. Consequently, most age estimates of these Miocene sites are based on paleontological evidence alone, with very few sites having been dated independently. Our field investigations in Damiao, in Siziwang Qi, Inner Mongolia have yielded more than 30 new fossiliferous localities from three horizons, including a pliopithecid fauna. This study presents the litho-, bio- and magnetostratigraphy of the Damiao area and provides age estimates for the three fossil-bearing horizons. The sedimentary sequence is interpreted as the remains of a fluvial system comprising channels, subaerially exposed floodplains and floodbasin environments. The two local stratigraphic sections measured and sampled for paleomagnetic analysis coincide with species-rich vertebrate fossil localities. The paleomagnetic results and faunal evidence suggest a correlation of lowermost fossil horizon (DM16) producing relatively rich small mammal assemblage to the early Miocene chron C6Ar or C6An.1r, roughly in 20-21 Ma age range. The pliopithecid locality level (DM01) represents latest middle Miocene and has an age estimate of about 12.1 Ma while the youngest localities (DM02) with cervoids and abundant and diverse small mammal fauna represents the earliest late Miocene with an age estimate of about 11.6 Ma. Our magnetostratigraphic results confirm that the Damiao strata constitute one of the best sequences in Inner Mongolia with early, middle and late Miocene mammalian faunas in stratigraphic superposition. The results also provide constraints on the paleoenvironmental evolution and bioevents of the area. The occurrence of pliopithecid primates in the middle Miocene of Inner Mongolia suggests humid

Eocene and miocene rocks off the northeastern coast of the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gibson, T.G.

1965-01-01

A grab sample from a depth of 1675 m at a point south of Cape Cod contains early Eocene planktonic Foraminifera and is correlated with the Globorotalia rex zone of Trinidad. The assemblage indicates a depth comparable to that existing today. Regional relations suggest that the Cretaceous and Eocene deposits deepen to the west toward New Jersey. Two mollusk-bearing blocks dredged from the northern side of Georges Bank are correlative with the Miocene Yorktown Formation. Rocks from two other stations are probably Miocene. Benthonic Foraminifera in one sample indicate deposition in cool temperate waters of less than 60 m depth. ?? 1965.

The channel catfish genome sequence provides insights into the evolution of scale formation in teleosts

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), characteristic of its scaleless skin and prominent barbels, is an ideal species to study osteogenesis, development of appendages, olfactory sensing, and immunological adaptation. It is the leading aquaculture species in the United States. A high quality refere...

Goliath catfish spawning in the far western Amazon confirmed by the distribution of mature adults, drifting larvae and migrating juveniles.

PubMed

Barthem, Ronaldo B; Goulding, Michael; Leite, Rosseval G; Cañas, Carlos; Forsberg, Bruce; Venticinque, Eduardo; Petry, Paulo; Ribeiro, Mauro L de B; Chuctaya, Junior; Mercado, Armando

2017-02-06

We mapped the inferred long-distance migrations of four species of Amazonian goliath catfishes (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii, B. platynemum, B. juruense and B. vaillantii) based on the presence of individuals with mature gonads and conducted statistical analysis of the expected long-distance downstream migrations of their larvae and juveniles. By linking the distribution of larval, juvenile and mature adult size classes across the Amazon, the results showed: (i) that the main spawning regions of these goliath catfish species are in the western Amazon; (ii) at least three species-B. rousseauxii, B. platynemum, and B. juruense-spawn partially or mainly as far upstream as the Andes; (iii) the main spawning area of B. rousseauxii is in or near the Andes; and (iv) the life history migration distances of B. rousseauxii are the longest strictly freshwater fish migrations in the world. These results provide an empirical baseline for tagging experiments, life histories extrapolated from otolith microchemistry interpretations and other methods to establish goliath catfish migratory routes, their seasonal timing and possible return (homing) to western headwater tributaries where they were born.

Goliath catfish spawning in the far western Amazon confirmed by the distribution of mature adults, drifting larvae and migrating juveniles

PubMed Central

Barthem, Ronaldo B.; Goulding, Michael; Leite, Rosseval G.; Cañas, Carlos; Forsberg, Bruce; Venticinque, Eduardo; Petry, Paulo; Ribeiro, Mauro L. de B.; Chuctaya, Junior; Mercado, Armando

2017-01-01

We mapped the inferred long-distance migrations of four species of Amazonian goliath catfishes (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii, B. platynemum, B. juruense and B. vaillantii) based on the presence of individuals with mature gonads and conducted statistical analysis of the expected long-distance downstream migrations of their larvae and juveniles. By linking the distribution of larval, juvenile and mature adult size classes across the Amazon, the results showed: (i) that the main spawning regions of these goliath catfish species are in the western Amazon; (ii) at least three species—B. rousseauxii, B. platynemum, and B. juruense—spawn partially or mainly as far upstream as the Andes; (iii) the main spawning area of B. rousseauxii is in or near the Andes; and (iv) the life history migration distances of B. rousseauxii are the longest strictly freshwater fish migrations in the world. These results provide an empirical baseline for tagging experiments, life histories extrapolated from otolith microchemistry interpretations and other methods to establish goliath catfish migratory routes, their seasonal timing and possible return (homing) to western headwater tributaries where they were born. PMID:28165499

Miocene squat lobsters (Decapoda, Anomura, Galatheoidea) of the Central Paratethys – a review, with description of a new species of Munidopsis

PubMed Central

Hyžný, M.; Gašparič, R.; Robins, C.M.; Schlögl, J.

2015-01-01

All squat lobsters of the families Galatheidae, Munididae and Munidopsidae from the Miocene of the Central Paratethys are reviewed taxonomically. Based on additional observations emended diagnoses are provided for Agononida cerovensis and Galathea weinfurteri, from the Lower and Middle Miocene, respectively. Munidopsis is represented by two species in the study area; additional data for M. lieskovensis from the Lower Miocene of Slovakia are presented and a new species, M. palmuelleri, from the Middle Miocene of Slovenia is erected. Implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are briefly discussed for each taxon. PMID:26005283

Integrated Chronology, Flora and Faunas, and Paleoecology of the Alajuela Formation, Late Miocene of Panama

PubMed Central

MacFadden, Bruce J.; Jones, Douglas S.; Jud, Nathan A.; Moreno-Bernal, Jorge W.; Morgan, Gary S.; Portell, Roger W.; Perez, Victor J.; Moran, Sean M.; Wood, Aaron R.

2017-01-01

The late Miocene was an important time to understand the geological, climatic, and biotic evolution of the ancient New World tropics and the context for the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI). Despite this importance, upper Miocene deposits containing diverse faunas and floras and their associated geological context are rare in Central America. We present an integrated study of the geological and paleontological context and age of a new locality from Lago Alajuela in northern Panama (Caribbean side) containing late Miocene marine and terrestrial fossils (plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates) from the Alajuela Formation. These taxa indicate predominantly estuarine and shallow marine paleoenvironments, along with terrestrial influences based on the occurrence of land mammals. Sr-isotope ratio analyses of in situ scallop shells indicate an age for the Alajuela Formation of 9.77 ± 0.22 Ma, which also equates to a latest Clarendonian (Cl3) North American Land Mammal Age. Along with the roughly contemporaneous late Miocene Gatun and Lago Bayano faunas in Panama, we now have the opportunity to reconstruct the dynamics of the Central America seaway that existed before final closure coincident with formation of the Isthmus of Panama. PMID:28107398

Uptake, elimination, and relative distribution of perchlorate in various tissues of channel catfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Park, J.-W.; Bradford, C.M.; Rinchard, J.; Liu, F.; Wages, M.; Waters, A.; Kendall, R.J.; Anderson, T.A.; Theodorakis, C.W.

2007-01-01

This study was undertaken to determine the kinetics of uptake and elimination of perchlorate in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Perchlorate - an oxidizer used in solid fuel rockets, fireworks, and illuminating munitions - has been shown to effect thyroid function, causing hormone disruption and potential perturbations of metabolic activities. For the uptake study, catfish were exposed to 100 mg/L sodium perchlorate for 12 h to 5 d in the laboratory. Perchlorate in tissues was analyzed using ion chromatography. The highest perchlorate concentrations were found in the head and fillet, indicating that these tissues are the most important tissues to analyze when determining perchlorate uptake into large fish. To calculate uptake and elimination rate constants for fillet, gills, G-I tract, liver, and head, fish were exposed to 100 ppm sodium perchlorate for 5 days, and allowed to depurate in clean water for up to 20 days. The animals rapidly eliminated the perchlorate accumulated showing the highest elimination in fillet (Ke = 1.67 day -1) and lowest elimination in liver (Ke = 0.79 day -1). ?? 2007 American Chemical Society.

Single intravenous and oral dose pharmacokinetics of florfenicol in the channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plasma distribution and elimination of florfenicol in channel catfish were investigated after a single dose (10mg/kg) of intravenous i.v.) or oral administration in freshwater at a mean water temperature of 25.4°C. Florfenicol concentrations in plasma were analyzed by means of liquid chromatography...

Determination of the median lethal dose of botulinum serotype E in channel catfish fingerlings

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The median lethal dose of botulinum serotype E in 5.3-g channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus fingerlings was determined. Five tanks (five fish/tank) were assigned to each of the following treatment groups: 70, 50, 35, 25, or 15 pg of purified botulinum serotype E. Fish were injected intracoelomically...

Prevalence and Contamination Patterns of Listeria monocytogenes in Fresh Catfish Fillets and their Processing Plants

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Catfish skins, intestines, fresh fillets, processing surfaces at different production stages, chiller water and non-food contact surfaces were sampled for Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria species. Among 315 samples, prevalence of L. monocytogenes, Listeria innocua and a group of Listeria se...

Miocene to Recent geological evolution of the Lazufre segment in the Andean volcanic arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naranjo, J. A.; Villa, V.; Ramírez, C.; Pérez de Arce, C.

2014-12-01

The volcano-tectonic setting in which the InSAR-detected Lazufre deformation is developing is particularly relevant in the evolution of this Andean volcanic arc segment (25-26°S). Through regional mapping techniques, a comprehensive field control in addition to geochronological sampling, various volcanic units comprising stratovolcanoes, volcanic complexes, ignimbrites and caldera structures are distinguished. The Lazufre intumescence is located above the overlying block of the NE trending Middle Miocene, Pedernales-Arizaro overthrust. This area comprises an Upper Miocene (8-4 Ma) basal unit of andesitic-dacitic volcanoes and lava fields, upon which nine volcanic complexes of similar composition, including Caletones de Cori Ignimbrite and Escorial Volcano, Lastarria, Cordón del Azufre and Bayo volcanic complexes, were emplaced in several pulses between 3.5 Ma and Holocene times. Coalescing Lazufre structure, immediately to the SE, we have discovered the Miocene (9.8 Ma) Los Colorados caldera. This caldera is 30 km in diameter and sourced the homonymous dacitic ignimbrite of about 500 km3. The caldera scarp was formed in Paleozoic rocks, Miocene dacitic-rhyolitic ignimbrites and ~16 and 10 Ma volcanoes. A 6.9-6.8 Ma andesitic-dacitic volcano ridge formed by Abra Grande, Río Grande and Aguas Calientes stratovolcanoes, from NE to SW, is nested on the caldera floor. Lavas of early stages of Cordón del Azufre and Bayo complexes were shed into the NW part of the caldera. The coalescing structure formed by the Lazufre intumescence and Los Colorados caldera is conjugate at about 30° to the Pedernales-Arizaro overthrust, and has a NW-SE orientation, parallel to the Archibarca lineament. A SE to NW migration of volcanism is observed along this structure at least since the Middle Miocene. We proposed that, since Miocene, tectonic spaces with no surficial fault displacements and conjugated to the main compressive structures within the upper crust, have been created as a

A new Miocene baleen whale from the Peruvian desert

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marx, Felix G.; Kohno, Naoki

2016-10-01

The Pisco-Ica and Sacaco basins of southern Peru are renowned for their abundance of exceptionally preserved fossil cetaceans, several of which retain traces of soft tissue and occasionally even stomach contents. Previous work has mostly focused on odontocetes, with baleen whales currently being restricted to just three described taxa. Here, we report a new Late Miocene rorqual (family Balaenopteridae), Incakujira anillodefuego gen. et sp. nov., based on two exceptionally preserved specimens from the Pisco Formation exposed at Aguada de Lomas, Sacaco Basin, southern Peru. Incakujira overall closely resembles modern balaenopterids, but stands out for its unusually gracile ascending process of the maxilla, as well as a markedly twisted postglenoid process of the squamosal. The latter likely impeded lateral (omega) rotation of the mandible, in stark contrast with the highly flexible craniomandibular joint of extant lunge-feeding rorquals. Overall, Incakujira expands the still meagre Miocene record of balaenopterids and reveals a previously underappreciated degree of complexity in the evolution of their iconic lunge-feeding strategy.

Mammal extinctions in the Vallesian (Upper Miocene)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agusti, J.; Moya-Sola, S.

The term Vallesian was created by Crusafont (1950) to designate the first European Mammalian palaeofaunas containing the equid Hipparion, the remainder of the faunas being composed of typical elements coming from the Middle Miocene such as Micromeryx, Euprox, Sansanosmilus, Pseudaelurus, and Listriodon. Thus, the Aragonian-Vallesian boundary does not show a strong change among European Miocene mammalian faunas (Agusti et al., 1984). On the other hand, the Lower Vallesian/Upper Vallesian transition corresponds to a major biotic crisis. This boudnary is characterized by the disappearence of most of the Aragonian artiodactyl forms such as Protragocerus, Miotragocerus, Listriodon, Hyotherium, Parachleusastochoerus, etc. Among the rodents, this crisis affects the family Eomyidae and most of the cricetid and glirid species. On the other hand, a number of eastern elements appear in the area at the same time. This is the case of the suid Schizochoerus and the murid Progonomys. Other eastern forms are Tragoportax, Graecoryx, Adcrocuta, Paramachairodus, Microstonyx, etc. Most of these are typical elements of the next Mammal stage, the Turolian. Thus, whereas the Lower Vallesian fauna has a typical Aragonian composition except for Hipparion. After the Middle Vallesian event, the Upper Vallesian faunas are already largely Turolian in character. The possible factors involved in this extinction event are discussed.

Detection of off-flavor in catfish using a conducting polymer electronic-nose technology

Treesearch

Alphus D Wilson; Charisse Oberle; Daniel F. Oberle

2013-01-01

The Aromascan A32S conducting polymer electronic nose was evaluated for the capability of detecting the presence of off-flavor malodorous compounds in catfish meat fillets to assess meat quality for potential merchantability. Sensor array outputs indicated that the aroma profiles of good-flavor (on-flavor) and off-flavor fillets were strongly different as confirmed by...

Rapid middle Miocene extension and unroofing of the southern Ruby Mountains, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colgan, Joseph P.; Howard, Keith A.; Fleck, Robert J.; Wooden, Joseph L.

2010-01-01

Paleozoic rocks in the northern Ruby Mountains were metamorphosed during Mesozoic crustal shortening and Cenozoic magmatism, but equivalent strata in the southern Ruby Mountains were never buried deeper than stratigraphic depths prior to exhumation in the footwall of a west dipping brittle normal fault. In the southern Ruby Mountains, Miocene sedimentary rocks in the hanging wall of this fault date from 15.2 to 11.6 Ma and contain abundant detritus from the Paleozoic section. Apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He samples of the Eocene Harrison Pass pluton record rapid cooling that peaked ca. 17–15 Ma, while apatite fission track data from Jurassic plutons east and west of the southern Ruby Mountains indicate near-surface temperatures (<60°C) since the Cretaceous. We interpret these data to record rapid unroofing of the southern Ruby Mountains during slip on the west dipping brittle detachment between 17–16 and 10–12 Ma, followed by minor high-angle faulting. We interpret published Oligocene to early Miocene K-Ar biotite and zircon fission track dates from the Harrison Pass pluton to be partially reset rather than to directly record fault slip. Our new data, together with published data on the distribution and composition of Miocene basin fill, suggest that rapid middle Miocene slip took place on the west dipping brittle detachment that bounds the Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range for 150 km along strike. This fault was thus active during a period of rapid extension (ca. 17–15 to 12–10 Ma) documented widely across the northern Basin and Range Province.

Palaeoecological construction from the Oligo-Miocene coal deposits of Gelibolu Peninsula, NW Turkey.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demirtaş, Ferdi; Koşun, Erdal; Serkan Akkiraz, Mehmet; Bozcu, Mustafa; Koç, Koray

2015-04-01

The palynomorph composition of the Upper Oligocene and Miocene coal deposits from Gelibolu peninsula, NW Turkey, was analyzed to determine the palaeoclimate conditions. The samples were collected from two different abandoned coal mines. Also two different palynological assemblages were reported. The first one belongs to the Late Oligocene (Osmancik Formation). The other one is the Miocene (Gazhanedere Formation). The Late Oligocene palynological assemblage consist mainly of Alnus, Myricaceae, Cyrillaceae-Clethraceae, Calamus and Castanea. Riparian vegetation or wetland forest community incorporate high amounts of Alnus, and low percentages of deciduous Salix, Pterocarya and Carya. Calamus, which is a stratigraphical marker for the Late Oligocene of the Thrace Basin, was also recorded in high quantities. The content of the Miocene palynological assemblage is different from the Late Oligocene assemblage, and is mainly made up of Polypodiaceae, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Myricaceae, Oleaceae, Cyrillaceae-Clethraceae and Sapotaceae. Calamus and Alnus totally disappear here. In contrast, open vegetation elements such Poaceae and Chenopodiaceae occur frequently. The palaeoclimate calculations were made by the help of coexistence approach method. The late Oligocene association contains a total of 18 taxa, 11 of which were used for calculating the coexistence intervals. The values obtained 15.6 to 21.1 ° C for annual temperature, 5.0 to 13.3 ° C for winter temperature, 24.7 to 28.1 ° C for summer temperature and, 1096 to 1355 mm annual rainfall. In the Miocene palynological assemblage 23 taxa were identified. The palaeoclimate calculation is based on the 21 taxa. Quantitative data indicate the values for the mean annual temperature 15.6-21.3 ° C, for the winter temperature 5.0 to 13.3 ° C, 24.7- 27.9 ° C for summer temperature and 823-1520 mm for the annual rainfall. The palaeoclimate was warm and contained dry seasons due to lower boundary of annual precipitation

Bioaccumulation of stentorin, the probable causative agent for discolored (“purple”) eggs and ovaries in blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from Eufaula Lake, Oklahoma, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gale, Robert W.; Papoulias, Diana M.; Schmitt, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

Observations of reddish to “purple” discolored eggs in the ovaries of adult female blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from the northern arm of Eufaula Lake, a eutrophic multiuse impoundment in east-central Oklahoma, were first reported in 2006. Blue catfish eggs are normally cream to light yellow. Reports peaked in 2007–2008 and declined through 2009–2010; purple eggs have not been reported between 2010 and 2014. In the laboratory, all tissues and fluids of affected fish were strongly orange-red fluorescent under UV illumination, with the fluorescence most apparent in the lipid-rich ovaries and eggs. The causative agent was isolated chromatographically and confirmed by mass spectrometry as stentorin (1,3,4,6,8,10,11,13-octahydroxy-2,5-diisopropyl-phenanthro[1,10,9,8,o,p,q,r,a]perylene-7,14-dione), the fluorescent, lipophilic pigment associated with the photoreceptor protein of the ciliated protozoan Stentor coeruleus (Heterotrichea; Stentoridae). Larval medaka (Orizias latipes) readily consumed S. coeruleus in the laboratory and were observed to fluoresce in the same manner as the affected blue catfish. Potential deleterious effects of stentorin bioaccumulation remain to be determined, as do the geographic extent and the identities of other fluorescent compounds isolated from catfish eggs and ovaries.

Updated chronology for the Miocene hominoid radiation in Western Eurasia

PubMed Central

Casanovas-Vilar, Isaac; Alba, David M.; Garcés, Miguel; Robles, Josep M.; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2011-01-01

Extant apes (Primates: Hominoidea) are the relics of a group that was much more diverse in the past. They originated in Africa around the Oligocene/Miocene boundary, but by the beginning of the Middle Miocene they expanded their range into Eurasia, where they experienced a far-reaching evolutionary radiation. A Eurasian origin of the great ape and human clade (Hominidae) has been favored by several authors, but the assessment of this hypothesis has been hampered by the lack of accurate datings for many Western Eurasian hominoids. Here we provide an updated chronology that incorporates recently discovered Iberian taxa and further reevaluates the age of many previously known sites on the basis of local biostratigraphic scales and magnetostratigraphic data. Our results show that identifiable Eurasian kenyapithecins (Griphopithecus and Kenyapithecus) are much younger than previously thought (ca. 14 Ma instead of 16 Ma), which casts serious doubts on the attribution of the hominoid tooth from Engelswies (16.3–16.5 Ma) to cf. Griphopithecus. This evidence is further consistent with an alternative scenario, according to which the Eurasian pongines and African hominines might have independently evolved in their respective continents from similar kenyapithecin ancestors, resulting from an early Middle Miocene intercontinental range extension followed by vicariance. This hypothesis, which would imply an independent origin of orthogrady in pongines and hominines, deserves further testing by accurately inferring the phylogenetic position of European dryopithecins, which might be stem pongines rather than stem hominines. PMID:21436034

Connectivity controls on the late Miocene eastern Mediterranean fish fauna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agiadi, Konstantina; Antonarakou, Assimina; Kontakiotis, George; Kafousia, Nefeli; Moissette, Pierre; Cornée, Jean-Jacques; Manoutsoglou, Emmanouil; Karakitsios, Vasileios

2017-04-01

Environmental change significantly affects the production of fish resources and their dependent societies. The paleontological record offers unique insight into the effects of long-term paleoenvironmental variability on the fish species' distributions and abundances. In the present study, we investigate the late Miocene (7.5-6.5 Ma) fish assemblages of the Potamida section in western Crete (eastern Mediterranean). The determined fish taxa are examined in a paleobiogeographic context, with regard to their geographic and stratigraphic distribution from the early Miocene ( 13 Ma) through today. In addition, present-day ecological data are used to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions in the study area. Planktonic foraminifer biostratigraphy significantly improves the earlier dating of the studied sequence. The late Miocene fish fauna of Potamida includes 35 taxa (seven in open nomenclature) from 13 teleost families. The eastern Mediterranean biostratigraphic and geographic distribution of 32 taxa is significantly expanded into the Tortonian, whereas 13 species are recorded for the first time from the Messinian. Four stages are distinguished in the area's paleoenvironmental evolution. (1) The Potamida area was an open marine environment with depths exceeding 150 m between 7.5-7.45 Ma. (2) Between 7.45-7.36 Ma, the results suggest depths between 300-400 m. (3) The depositional depth increases between 7.36-7.28 Ma to 400-550 m. (4) Later on, approximately between 6.8-6.6 Ma, the depth is again estimated around 100-150 m.

Late Miocene sedimentary environments in south-western Amazonia (Solimões Formation; Brazil).

PubMed

Gross, Martin; Piller, Werner E; Ramos, Maria Ines; Douglas da Silva Paz, Jackson

2011-08-01

In Miocene times a vast wetland existed in Western Amazonia. Whereas the general development of this amazing ecosystem is well established, many questions remain open on sedimentary environments, stratigraphical correlations as well as its palaeogeographical configuration. Several outcrops located in a barely studied region around Eirunepé (SW Amazonas state, Brazil) were investigated to obtain basic sedimentological data. The observed deposits belong to the upper part of the Solimões Formation and are biostratigraphically dated to the Late Miocene. Vertically as well as laterally highly variable fine-grained clastic successions were recorded. Based on the lithofacies assemblages, these sediments represent fluvial deposits, possibly of an anastomosing river system. Sand bodies formed within active channels and dominant overbank fines are described (levees, crevasse splays/channels/deltas, abandoned channels, backswamps, floodplain paleosols). Lacustrine environments are restricted to local floodplain ponds/lakes. The mollusc and ostracod content as well as very light δ 18 O and δ 13 C values, measured on ostracod valves, refer to exclusively freshwater conditions. Based on palaeontological and geological results the existence of a long-lived lake ("Lake Pebas") or any influx of marine waters can be excluded for that region during the Late Miocene.

Geochronologic evidence for Late Cretaceous and Miocene tectonism in northern New England

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amidon, W. H.; Barr, M.; Walcott, C.; Kylander-Clark, A. R.

2017-12-01

The persistence of mountainous relief in the northeastern U.S. suggests post-rift tectonic rejuvenation has occurred, although specific mechanisms and timing have been difficult to identify. Here we present direct evidence for significant tectonism in New Hampshire and Vermont during the Late-Cretaceous ( 85-65 Ma) and Miocene periods ( 20-5 Ma). Low temperature thermochronology from a drill core in the White Mountains of New Hampshire suggests 2-3 km of accelerated exhumation during the Late Cretaceous. This exhumation is synchronous with compressional thrusting and rapid exhumation on many other Atlantic margins and also with a change in spreading direction in the Atlantic from 85-65 Ma. Recently obtained U-Pb ages of vein calcite from faults and fractures in the Champlain Valley of New York and Vermont suggest significant brittle fracturing occurred during the Late Cretaceous and also during the Miocene. Although many questions remain, this evidence points to tectonic rejuvenation by lateral tectonic stresses in the latest Cretaceous and possibly in the Miocene. The Late Cretaceous seems to have been a particularly significant tectonic episode in northern New England and elsewhere in the circum-Atlantic region.

Safety of aquaflor (florfenicol, 50% type a medicated article), administered in feed to channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gaikowski, Mark P.; Wolf, Jeffery C.; Endris, Richard G.; Gingerich, William H.

2003-01-01

Aquaflor, a feed premix containing the broad spectrum antibacterial agent florfenicol (50% w/w), is being developed for use to control enteric septicemia (ESC) in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus caused by the gram-negative enterobacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri. The recommended dose of Aquaflor to control ESC is 10 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day for 10 days. The study objective was to determine the safety of Aquaflor administered in feed to channel catfish at doses of 0 (control), 10, 30, and 50 mg/kg BW/day for 20 consecutive days. Parameters evaluated included daily mortality, behavioral (appetite, distribution, flight/fright response), and water chemistry observations, initial and terminal weight measurements, and gross and microscopic pathology. Medicated feed consumption was 67-86% of target with group mean doses of 8.5 mg/kg BW/day, 24.6 mg/kg BW/day, and 34.9 mg/kg BW/day. There were no mortalities or clinically observable changes noted at any of the dose levels tested. Aquaflor-related changes were limited to the food consumption and histopathology data. Although Aquaflor-related decreased feed consumption was noted in the 30 and 50 mg/kg BW/day groups, there were no differences in fish growth among the treatment groups. Aquaflor-related histopathology findings were limited to a histomorphologically evident dose-dependent decrease in hematopoietic/lymphopoietic tissue in the anterior kidneys, posterior kidneys, and spleens of channel catfish.

Safety of Aquaflor (Florfenicol, 50% Type A Medicated Article), Administered in Feed to Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gaikowski, M.P.; Wolf, J.C.; Endris, R.G.; Gingerich, W.H.

2003-01-01

Aquaflor, a feed premix containing the broad spectrum antibacterial agent florfenicol (50% w/w), is being developed for use to control enteric septicemia (ESC) in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus caused by the gram-negative enterobacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri. The recommended dose of Aquaflor to control ESC is 10 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day for 10 days. The study objective was to determine the safety of Aquaflor administered in feed to channel catfish at doses of 0 (control), 10, 30, and 50 mg/kg BW/day for 20 consecutive days. Parameters evaluated included daily mortality, behavioral (appetite, distribution, flight/fright response), and water chemistry observations, initial and terminal weight measurements, and gross and microscopic pathology. Medicated feed consumption was 67-86% of target with group mean doses of 8.5 mg/kg BW/day, 24.6 mg/kg BW/day, and 34.9 mg/kg BW/day. There were no mortalities or clinically observable changes noted at any of the dose levels tested. Aquaflor-related changes were limited to the food consumption and histopathology data. Although Aquaflor-related decreased feed consumption was noted in the 30 and 50 mg/kg BW/day groups, there were no differences in fish growth among the treatment groups. Aquaflor-related histopathology findings were limited to a histomorphologically evident dose-dependent decrease in hematopoietic/lymphopoietic tissue in the anterior kidneys, posterior kidneys, and spleens of channel catfish.

Effects of astaxanthin and emodin on the growth, stress resistance and disease resistance of yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco).

PubMed

Liu, Fei; Shi, Hong-Zhuan; Guo, Qiao-Sheng; Yu, Ye-Bing; Wang, Ai-Ming; Lv, Fu; Shen, Wen-Biao

2016-04-01

Yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) has become a commercially important fish species in China and eastern Asia. High-density aquaculture has led to congestion and excessive stress and contributed to bacterial infection outbreaks that have caused high mortality. We investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with astaxanthin and emodin alone and in combination on the growth and stress resistance of yellow catfish. After 60 days of feeding, each group of fish (control, astaxanthin, emodin, and astaxanthin plus emodin (combination) groups) was exposed to acute crowding stress for 24 h, and a subsample of fish from the four groups was challenged with the bacterial septicemia pathogen Proteus mirabilis after the end of the crowding stress experiment. Compared with the control, the astaxanthin and emodin groups showed increases in serum total protein (TP), hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and hepatic heat shock proteins 70 (HSP70) mRNA levels at 12 and 24 h after the initiation of crowding stress. The combination group exhibited increases in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, serum TP, hepatic SOD activity and hepatic HSP70 mRNA levels within 24 h after the initiation of crowding stress. However, decreases relative to the control were observed in the serum cortisol and glucose contents in the three treatment groups at 12 and 24 h after the initiation of crowding stress, in ALT and AST activity in the astaxanthin and emodin group at 24 h after the initiation of crowding stress, and in the serum lysozyme activity, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and hepatic catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) activity in the combination group at 24 h after the initiation of crowding stress. Additionally, the cumulative mortality after P. mirabilis infection was lower in all three treatment groups (57.00%-70.33%) than in the control (77.67%). Dietary supplementation with astaxanthin and emodin decreased

Experimental evaluation of the effect of winter feeding on channel catfish growout pond plankton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ten, 0.25 acre ponds at the UAPB Aquaculture Station were sampled weekly from Dec. 7-Feb. 22 (n=90) for phytoplankton and zooplankton. Five of the ponds were randomly assigned to each of two treatments: no feeding and feeding based on recommended rates. Channel catfish sizes and numbers approximated...

Plant Natural Compounds with Antibacterial Activity Towards Common Pathogens of Pond-Cultured Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The bacteria Edwardsiella ictaluri and Flavobacterium columnare cause enteric septicemia and columnaris disease, respectively, in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Natural therapeutants may provide an alternative to current management approaches used by producers. In this study, a rapid bioas...

Pathogenicity of Aeromonas hydrophila and pathogenesis of motile Aeromonas septicemia in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Outbreaks of motile Aeromonas septicemia (MAS) disease in warm-water fishes have caused significant economic losses in aquaculture industries worldwide. Severe outbreaks of the disease have been reported since 2009 on catfish farms of the Southeastern United States with approximate 2,000 tons of dea...

Clay mineralogy indicates a mildly warm and humid living environment for the Miocene hominoid from the Zhaotong Basin, Yunnan, China

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chunxia; Guo, Zhengtang; Deng, Chenglong; Ji, Xueping; Wu, Haibin; Paterson, Greig A.; Chang, Lin; Li, Qin; Wu, Bailing; Zhu, Rixiang

2016-01-01

Global and regional environmental changes have influenced the evolutionary processes of hominoid primates, particularly during the Miocene. Recently, a new Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis hominoid fossil with a late Miocene age of ~6.2 Ma was discovered in the Shuitangba (STB) section of the Zhaotong Basin in Yunnan on the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau. To understand the relationship between paleoclimate and hominoid evolution, we have studied sedimentary, clay mineralogy and geochemical proxies for the late Miocene STB section (~16 m thick; ca. 6.7–6.0 Ma). Our results show that Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis lived in a mildly warm and humid climate in a lacustrine or swamp environment. Comparing mid to late Miocene records from hominoid sites in Yunnan, Siwalik in Pakistan, and tropical Africa we find that ecological shifts from forest to grassland in Siwalik are much later than in tropical Africa, consistent with the disappearance of hominoid fossils. However, no significant vegetation changes are found in Yunnan during the late Miocene, which we suggest is the result of uplift of the Tibetan plateau combined with the Asian monsoon geographically and climatically isolating these regions. The resultant warm and humid conditions in southeastern China offered an important refuge for Miocene hominoids. PMID:26829756

Clay mineralogy indicates a mildly warm and humid living environment for the Miocene hominoid from the Zhaotong Basin, Yunnan, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chunxia; Guo, Zhengtang; Deng, Chenglong; Ji, Xueping; Wu, Haibin; Paterson, Greig A.; Chang, Lin; Li, Qin; Wu, Bailing; Zhu, Rixiang

2016-02-01

Global and regional environmental changes have influenced the evolutionary processes of hominoid primates, particularly during the Miocene. Recently, a new Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis hominoid fossil with a late Miocene age of ~6.2 Ma was discovered in the Shuitangba (STB) section of the Zhaotong Basin in Yunnan on the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau. To understand the relationship between paleoclimate and hominoid evolution, we have studied sedimentary, clay mineralogy and geochemical proxies for the late Miocene STB section (~16 m thick; ca. 6.7-6.0 Ma). Our results show that Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis lived in a mildly warm and humid climate in a lacustrine or swamp environment. Comparing mid to late Miocene records from hominoid sites in Yunnan, Siwalik in Pakistan, and tropical Africa we find that ecological shifts from forest to grassland in Siwalik are much later than in tropical Africa, consistent with the disappearance of hominoid fossils. However, no significant vegetation changes are found in Yunnan during the late Miocene, which we suggest is the result of uplift of the Tibetan plateau combined with the Asian monsoon geographically and climatically isolating these regions. The resultant warm and humid conditions in southeastern China offered an important refuge for Miocene hominoids.

Effect of precooking and polyphosphate treatment on the quality of microwave cooked catfish fillets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the US market place there are many examples of precooked poultry products designed to be reheated in a microwave oven and, to a lesser extent, fish products such as tilapia. However, few US catfish products are designed to be microwave cooked or reheated. The first objective of this study was t...

The giant bite of a new raptorial sperm whale from the Miocene epoch of Peru.

PubMed

Lambert, Olivier; Bianucci, Giovanni; Post, Klaas; de Muizon, Christian; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo; Urbina, Mario; Reumer, Jelle

2010-07-01

The modern giant sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus, one of the largest known predators, preys upon cephalopods at great depths. Lacking a functional upper dentition, it relies on suction for catching its prey; in contrast, several smaller Miocene sperm whales (Physeteroidea) have been interpreted as raptorial (versus suction) feeders, analogous to the modern killer whale Orcinus orca. Whereas very large physeteroid teeth have been discovered in various Miocene localities, associated diagnostic cranial remains have not been found so far. Here we report the discovery of a new giant sperm whale from the Middle Miocene of Peru (approximately 12-13 million years ago), Leviathan melvillei, described on the basis of a skull with teeth and mandible. With a 3-m-long head, very large upper and lower teeth (maximum diameter and length of 12 cm and greater than 36 cm, respectively), robust jaws and a temporal fossa considerably larger than in Physeter, this stem physeteroid represents one of the largest raptorial predators and, to our knowledge, the biggest tetrapod bite ever found. The appearance of gigantic raptorial sperm whales in the fossil record coincides with a phase of diversification and size-range increase of the baleen-bearing mysticetes in the Miocene. We propose that Leviathan fed mostly on high-energy content medium-size baleen whales. As a top predator, together with the contemporaneous giant shark Carcharocles megalodon, it probably had a profound impact on the structuring of Miocene marine communities. The development of a vast supracranial basin in Leviathan, extending on the rostrum as in Physeter, might indicate the presence of an enlarged spermaceti organ in the former that is not associated with deep diving or obligatory suction feeding.

Risk analysis of tractor overturns on catfish farms.

PubMed

Stephens, Walter B; Ibendahl, Gregory A; Myers, Melvin L; Cole, Henry P

2010-10-01

Fatal and nonfatal injuries occur on catfish farms as a result of tractor overturns, but these injuries can be greatly mitigated when a tractor is equipped with a rollover protective structure (ROPS) and seatbelt. This study analyzed the proportion of tractors on catfish farms in Mississippi not equipped with ROPS and the cost of retrofitting those tractors with a ROPS and seatbelt as compared to the expected benefits gained from adding the protection. To determine if farmers have the financial incentive to retrofit older tractors, a net present value framework was used because the expected benefits occur over a number of years. The ROPS retrofit is a one-time cost that occurs immediately, and thus the present value does not need to be calculated, i.e., time period 0. According to this study adding ROPS will provide a net benefit of $22,877 in the event of an overturn. When dealing with small farms (<125 acres) where an average tractor is used for approximately twice as many hours compared to an average tractor on large farms, the extra hours worked by a single tractor resulted in total benefits of retrofitting ROPS of $9.45 per year, whereas for large farms the net benefit is $4.70 (=125 acres). Given that the least expensive retrofit is $147, it would take 15.5 years of tractor use on the small farms for the expected benefits to outweigh the cost. Given the large range of costs that could occur due to an overturn, there could be a significant premium for not having ROPS protection. In other words, there likely is a smaller range of costs from an overturn with ROPS than without ROPS because ROPS reduces the more serious incidents.

Proterotheriidae (Mammalia, Litopterna) from the Cerro Azul Formation (late Miocene), La Pampa Province, Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, G. I.; Montalvo, C. I.; Sostillo, R.; Cerdeño, E.

2018-04-01

Remains of Proterotheriidae (Litopterna) recovered from different localities in La Pampa Province, Argentina, are described. The fossiliferous levels in these localities correspond to the Cerro Azul Formation (late Miocene), where Chasicoan and Huayquerian faunal associations are known. The specimens of Proterotheriidae herein studied are assigned to Diplasiotherium pampa, Eoauchenia primitiva, cf. Brachytherium cuspidatum, Neobrachytherium sp. and Proterotheriidae indet. Although the holotype of D. pampa (left mandibular fragment with p3-m2) was defined in a previous paper, it is figured and fully described here, and its m3 is now known among the new collected specimens. Eoauchenia, Brachytherium and Neobrachytherium are registered in La Pampa Province for the first time, and the record of E. primitiva extends back to late Miocene its temporal distribution. Proterotheriids from the Cerro Azul Formation gather exclusive elements and others related to taxa represented in different Argentinean geological units corresponding to late Miocene-early Pliocene period.

Molecular Cloning and Sequencing of Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Cathepsin H and L cDNA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cathepsin H and L, a lysosomal cysteine endopeptidase of the papain family, are ubiquitously expressed and involve in antigen processing. In this communication, the channel catfish cathepsin H and L transcripts were sequenced and analyzed. Total RNA from tissues was extracted and cDNA libraries we...

Treating a natural outbreak of columnaris in channel catfish with copper sulfate and potassium permanganate

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An F. Columnare-exclusive epizootic occurred in fingerling channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) during normal tank culture practices at SNARC. Fish were transferred to the ultra low-flow system and 2.1 mg/L copper sulfate or 3 mg/L potassium permanganate was administered; an untreated control was ...

Seasonal ocean upwelling recorded by the late Miocene Pisco Formation diatomites of Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gariboldi, Karen; Pike, Jennifer; Di Celma, Claudio; Malinverno, Elisa; Gioncada, Anna; Bianucci, Giovanni

2017-04-01

A 25-cm-thick sample of diatomaceous mudstone was collected in the whale fossil-bearing late Miocene Pisco Formation at Cerro Los Quesos in Peru. This macroscopically-laminated sample was divided into blocks and embedded in epoxy resin for light and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. In only a few cases are laminae well preserved and, hence, useful for paleoenvironmental studies. In these few cases, a terrigenous lamina - Coscinodiscus ooze lamina - mixed lamina (Chaetoceros resting spores, Thalassionema, terrigenous material) sequence is observed. By comparison with Holocene sediment laminations from the Gulf of California, the late Miocene Peruvian triplet laminations are interpreted as an annual depositional cycle. The terrigenous lamina was deposited in the wet season (summer). Coscinodiscus ooze was the product of: (1) initial high summer primary production which took place at the thermocline during water column stratification; and (2) a subsequent 'Fall dump', or sedimentation, of the diatoms due to autumn storm-related mixing of the water column. Finally, the mixed lamina was deposited during/following the spring bloom. The frequent disruption or homogenisation of laminae observed in the slides was attributed to bioturbation by microbenthic organisms. This bioturbation was accompanied by a general absence of macrobenthos in the late Miocene diatomites of the Pisco Formation; such conditions are commonly interpreted as the consequence of a suboxic sea floor environment. In this presentation we will demonstrate the seasonal nature of the Late Miocene Pisco Formation diatomites and show novel SEM microelemental maps that help interpreting the paleonvironmental conditions at the sea floor at the time of diatomites deposition.

The Miocene Nullarbor Limestone, southern Australia; deposition on a vast subtropical epeiric platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Connell, Laura G.; James, Noel P.; Bone, Yvonne

2012-05-01

The early to middle Miocene Nullarbor Limestone forms the vast, karsted Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia, and may be the most extensive Miocene carbonate deposit described to date. These carbonates were deposited at southern paleolatitudes of ~ 40°S and are interpreted to be subtropical to warm-temperate in character because of the presence of certain genera of tropical coralline algae (rhodoliths and articulated types), large benthic foraminifera, tropical molluscs, zooxanthellate corals, and micrite envelopes. Facies are dominated by skeletal grainstones and floatstones that accumulated in three interpreted paleoenvironments: (1) seagrass banks (upper photic zone), (2) rhodolith pavements (lower photic zone), and (3) open seafloors (lower photic to subphotic zone). A decrease of tropical components from west to east across the platform implies that warm oceanic currents (possibly related to a proto-Leeuwin Current), as well as a period of warm climate (Miocene Climatic Optimum), resulted in subtropical deposition at southern latitudes. The Southern Ocean extended inboard ~ 450 km from the shelf edge during Nullarbor Limestone deposition, but interpreted paleodepths did not extend much below the base of the photic zone. A small slope angle (~ 0.02°) over a wide shelf (~ 300,000 km2) implies deposition on an epeiric platform or epeiric ramp. A Miocene barrier reef was likely coeval with Nullarbor Limestone deposition. Therefore, the inboard portion of the Nullarbor Limestone can be considered part of an extensive back-reef lagoon system on a rimmed epeiric platform, perhaps attaining a size similar to the modern Great Barrier Reef system.

Oligocene and Early Miocene coral faunas from Iran: palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuster, F.; Wielandt, U.

Oligocene and Early Miocene coral assemblages from three sections of central Iran are investigated with respect to their palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographic implications. These corals are compared with faunas from the Mediterranean Tethys and the Indopacific. Associated larger foraminifers are used for biostratigraphy and to support the palaeoecological interpretation. The studied sections are situated in the foreland basins of the Iranian Plate which is structured into a fore-arc and a back-arc basin separated by a volcanic arc. The coral assemblages from Abadeh indicate a shallowing-upward trend. Infrequently distributed solitary corals at the base of the section indicate a turbid environment. Above, a distinct horizon characterised by a Leptoseris-Stylophora assemblage associated with lepidocyclinids and planktonic foraminifers is interpreted as maximum flooding surface. Small patch reefs with a Porites-Faviidae assemblage are a common feature of Late Oligocene to Early Miocene coral occurrences and indicate water depths of less than 20m. The diversity of the coral faunas shows marked differences. Oligocene corals from the Esfahan-Sirjan fore-arc basin comprise more than 45 species of 32 genera and occur in a wide range of environments. Early Miocene corals from the Qom back-arc basin are less frequent, show a lower diversity (13 genera with 15 species) and occur in single horizons or small patch reefs.

Mid-Miocene C4 expansion on the Chinese Loess Plateau under an enhanced Asian summer monsoon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Jibao; Liu, Zhonghui; An, Zhisheng; Liu, Weiguo; Zhou, Weijian; Qiang, Xiaoke; Lu, Fengyan

2018-06-01

Atmospheric CO2 starvation, aridity, fire and warm season precipitation have all been proposed as major contributors to C4 plant expansion during the Late Miocene. However, the driving factors responsible for the distribution of C4 plants in the early and mid-Miocene still remain enigmatic. Here we report pedogenic carbon and oxygen isotope data (δ13Cpedo, δ18Opedo), along with magnetic susceptibility (MS) results, from the Zhuang Lang drilling core on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). Elevated δ13Cpedo values (>-5‰) signal a prominent C4 expansion and substantially increased δ18Opedo and MS values indicate enhanced Asian summer monsoon (ASM) precipitation. Both of these conditions are observed during the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO), 14.5-17 million years ago. The marked increase in C4 plants, associated with warm temperatures and increased precipitation, strongly suggests the control of an enhanced ASM on C4 expansion on the CLP during the MMCO. This finding contrasts with the late-Miocene C4 expansion associated with cooling and drying conditions observed in low latitudes and argues for regionally specific control of C4 plant distribution/expansion.

Organochlorine compounds in European catfish (Silurus glanis) living in river areas under the influence of a chlor-alkali plant (Ebro River basin).

PubMed

Huertas, David; Grimalt, Joan O; Benito, Josep; Benejam, Lluís; García-Berthou, Emili

2016-01-01

European catfish, Silurus glanis, were used as sentinel organisms of the influence of recent and past discharges of organochlorine compounds (OCs) from a chlor-alkali plant located in the Ebro River. The fish concentrations of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and DDTs were very high along the last 100 km of the river, including the irrigation channels, e.g. 1.2-27 ng/g wet weight of HCB, 6.3-100 ng/g ww of PCBs and 1-270 ng/g ww of total DDT compounds. These concentrations were much higher than those found upstream from the chlor-alkali discharge site, 0.2 ng/g ww for HCB, 5.6 ng/g ww for PCBs and 7.5 ng/g for DDT compounds. These concentrations were also standing out among those previously described in this fish species. The European catfish collected in sites under lower water flows, Ribarroja reservoir and irrigation channels, showed higher muscle lipid content, 1.09-7.2%, than those from sites of higher current intensities, river bed, 0.27%-0.67%. In these lower water current areas catfish exhibited OC ww concentrations that were correlated to % lipids. These differences suggest that normalization to lipid content is necessary for comparison of the OC accumulation in specimens from riverine systems living under different flow intensities. Accordingly, OC concentrations referred to lipid content showed more uniform downriver distribution which was consistent with a single focal point as main source of these compounds for the European catfish collected in the last 100 km of river stretch. This geographic distribution was also consistent with the uniform composition of PCB congeners in the studied European catfish. The distribution of DDT compounds was predominated by 4,4'-DDE which is common in most currently examined fish from aquatic environments. However, it included a high proportion of 4,4'-DDD and 2,4'-DDD which was consistent with the high contribution of benthic organisms from anoxic environments in the diet of these fish. Copyright �

Optimizing de novo transcriptome assembly and extending genomic resources for striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus).

PubMed

Thanh, Nguyen Minh; Jung, Hyungtaek; Lyons, Russell E; Njaci, Isaac; Yoon, Byoung-Ha; Chand, Vincent; Tuan, Nguyen Viet; Thu, Vo Thi Minh; Mather, Peter

2015-10-01

Striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) is a commercially important freshwater fish used in inland aquaculture in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The culture industry is facing a significant challenge however from saltwater intrusion into many low topographical coastal provinces across the Mekong Delta as a result of predicted climate change impacts. Developing genomic resources for this species can facilitate the production of improved culture lines that can withstand raised salinity conditions, and so we have applied high-throughput Ion Torrent sequencing of transcriptome libraries from six target osmoregulatory organs from striped catfish as a genomic resource for use in future selection strategies. We obtained 12,177,770 reads after trimming and processing with an average length of 97bp. De novo assemblies were generated using CLC Genomic Workbench, Trinity and Velvet/Oases with the best overall contig performance resulting from the CLC assembly. De novo assembly using CLC yielded 66,451 contigs with an average length of 478bp and N50 length of 506bp. A total of 37,969 contigs (57%) possessed significant similarity with proteins in the non-redundant database. Comparative analyses revealed that a significant number of contigs matched sequences reported in other teleost fishes, ranging in similarity from 45.2% with Atlantic cod to 52% with zebrafish. In addition, 28,879 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 55,721 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the striped catfish transcriptome. The sequence collection generated in the current study represents the most comprehensive genomic resource for P. hypophthalmus available to date. Our results illustrate the utility of next-generation sequencing as an efficient tool for constructing a large genomic database for marker development in non-model species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Maternal Transfer of Vitamin C in Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) Effects Reproduction and Progeny Performance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Two routes of maternal transfer of vitamin C in channel catfish female broodfish prior to spawning were explored as a strategy to incorporate the vitamin to determine its effect on reproduction and subsequent performance of the progeny. Accumulation of vitamin C was higher (p<0.05) in ovarian tissu...

Dynamic Antarctic ice sheet during the early to mid-Miocene

PubMed Central

DeConto, Robert M.; Pollard, David; Levy, Richard H.

2016-01-01

Geological data indicate that there were major variations in Antarctic ice sheet volume and extent during the early to mid-Miocene. Simulating such large-scale changes is problematic because of a strong hysteresis effect, which results in stability once the ice sheets have reached continental size. A relatively narrow range of atmospheric CO2 concentrations indicated by proxy records exacerbates this problem. Here, we are able to simulate large-scale variability of the early to mid-Miocene Antarctic ice sheet because of three developments in our modeling approach. (i) We use a climate–ice sheet coupling method utilizing a high-resolution atmospheric component to account for ice sheet–climate feedbacks. (ii) The ice sheet model includes recently proposed mechanisms for retreat into deep subglacial basins caused by ice-cliff failure and ice-shelf hydrofracture. (iii) We account for changes in the oxygen isotopic composition of the ice sheet by using isotope-enabled climate and ice sheet models. We compare our modeling results with ice-proximal records emerging from a sedimentological drill core from the Ross Sea (Andrill-2A) that is presented in a companion article. The variability in Antarctic ice volume that we simulate is equivalent to a seawater oxygen isotope signal of 0.52–0.66‰, or a sea level equivalent change of 30–36 m, for a range of atmospheric CO2 between 280 and 500 ppm and a changing astronomical configuration. This result represents a substantial advance in resolving the long-standing model data conflict of Miocene Antarctic ice sheet and sea level variability. PMID:26903645

The effects of diets containing standard soybean oil, soybean oil enhanced with conjugated linoleic acids, menhaden fish oil, or an algal docosahexaenoic acid supplement on juvenile channel catfish performance, hematology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Current commercial diets for Channel Catfish contain little or no marine fish oil to reduce diet cost and address environmental concerns. However, there is conflicting data on the effects of fish oil and other lipid sources in juvenile Channel Catfish, and some novel lipids have not been tested agai...

Estimates of population genetic diversity in brown bullhead catfish by DNA fingerprinting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roth, A.C.; Wessendarp, T.K.; Gordon, D.A.

Estimates of population genetic diversity may be a sensitive indicator of environmental impact, since limiting the effective breeding population by any means will result in loss of some variant genotypes, as has been demonstrated by allozyme analysis. DNA fingerprinting techniques are also coming into use for population analyses, and the authors chose to apply fingerprinting analysis three populations of brown bullhead catfish collected in Northern Ohio. DNA was isolated from the red blood cells of individual fish. Purified DNAs were digested with EcoR1 restriction enzyme; the digests were then sized on a 1% agarose gel, transferred to nylon membranes andmore » probed with a radiolabeled M13 probe using the Westneat hybridization protocol (Southern blotting). This method effects fragments containing VNTR (variable number of tandem repeat) sequences complementary to the M13, which are highly variable among individual catfish. Hybridized bands were visualized by a Molecular Dynamics phosphorimager and recorded and analyzed with its proprietary Imagequant image analysis program, Excel and SAS. A total of 10 variable bands were identified and their presence or absence scored in each individual. These data were analyzed to determine between and within-population similarity indices as well as population heterozygosity and genetic diversity measures.« less

Global warming and South Indian monsoon rainfall-lessons from the Mid-Miocene.

PubMed

Reuter, Markus; Kern, Andrea K; Harzhauser, Mathias; Kroh, Andreas; Piller, Werner E

2013-04-01

Precipitation over India is driven by the Indian monsoon. Although changes in this atmospheric circulation are caused by the differential seasonal diabatic heating of Asia and the Indo-Pacific Ocean, it is so far unknown how global warming influences the monsoon rainfalls regionally. Herein, we present a Miocene pollen flora as the first direct proxy for monsoon over southern India during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum. To identify climatic key parameters, such as mean annual temperature, warmest month temperature, coldest month temperature, mean annual precipitation, mean precipitation during the driest month, mean precipitation during the wettest month and mean precipitation during the warmest month the Coexistence Approach is applied. Irrespective of a ~ 3-4 °C higher global temperature during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum, the results indicate a modern-like monsoonal precipitation pattern contrasting marine proxies which point to a strong decline of Indian monsoon in the Himalaya at this time. Therefore, the strength of monsoon rainfall in tropical India appears neither to be related to global warming nor to be linked with the atmospheric conditions over the Tibetan Plateau. For the future it implies that increased global warming does not necessarily entail changes in the South Indian monsoon rainfall.

Late Miocene sedimentary environments in south-western Amazonia (Solimões Formation; Brazil)

PubMed Central

Gross, Martin; Piller, Werner E.; Ramos, Maria Ines; Douglas da Silva Paz, Jackson

2011-01-01

In Miocene times a vast wetland existed in Western Amazonia. Whereas the general development of this amazing ecosystem is well established, many questions remain open on sedimentary environments, stratigraphical correlations as well as its palaeogeographical configuration. Several outcrops located in a barely studied region around Eirunepé (SW Amazonas state, Brazil) were investigated to obtain basic sedimentological data. The observed deposits belong to the upper part of the Solimões Formation and are biostratigraphically dated to the Late Miocene. Vertically as well as laterally highly variable fine-grained clastic successions were recorded. Based on the lithofacies assemblages, these sediments represent fluvial deposits, possibly of an anastomosing river system. Sand bodies formed within active channels and dominant overbank fines are described (levees, crevasse splays/channels/deltas, abandoned channels, backswamps, floodplain paleosols). Lacustrine environments are restricted to local floodplain ponds/lakes. The mollusc and ostracod content as well as very light δ18O and δ13C values, measured on ostracod valves, refer to exclusively freshwater conditions. Based on palaeontological and geological results the existence of a long-lived lake (“Lake Pebas”) or any influx of marine waters can be excluded for that region during the Late Miocene. PMID:26523089

Miocene honey bees from the Randeck Maar of southwestern Germany (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

PubMed Central

Kotthoff, Ulrich; Wappler, Torsten; Engel, Michael S.

2011-01-01

Abstract The Miocene Randeck Maar (southwestern Germany) is one of the only sites with abundant material of fossil honey bees. The fauna has been the focus of much scrutiny by early authors who recognized multiple species or subspecies within the fauna. The history of work on the Randeck Maar is briefly reviewed and these fossils placed into context with other Tertiary and living species of the genus Apis Linnaeus (Apinae: Apini). Previously unrecorded specimens from Randeck Maar were compared with earlier series in an attempt to evaluate the observed variation. A morphometric analysis of forewing venation angles across representative Recent and Tertiary species of Apis as well as various non-Apini controls was undertaken to evaluate the distribution of variation in fossil honey bees. The resulting dendrogram shows considerable variation concerning the wing venation of Miocene Apini, but intergradation of other morphological characters reveals no clear pattern of separate species. This suggests that a single, highly variable species was present in Europe during the Miocene. The pattern also supports the notion that the multiple species and subspecies proposed by earlier authors for the Randeck Maar honey bee fauna are not valid, and all are accordingly recognized as Apis armbrusteri Zeuner. PMID:21594072

Reconciliation of Antarctic marine and terrestrial geologic records: climate and ice-sheet variability in the mid-Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halberstadt, A. R. W.; DeConto, R.; Gasson, E.; Kowalewski, D. E.; Levy, R. H.; Naish, T.; Chorley, H.

2017-12-01

The mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum ( 17-15 Ma) serves as a possible analog for future Antarctic conditions, as atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for the next few decades. During the subsequent mid-Miocene Climatic Transition, the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) developed from a more variable ice sheet to a continental, marine-terminating ice sheet resembling the modern configuration. Near-shore marine records from the Ross Sea (ANDRILL-2A; Levy et al., 2016) imply highly dynamic AIS behavior in the mid-Miocene. Reconstructed environmental conditions during this time period range from full glaciation of the area to a warm interglacial environment. Multiple AIS expansions during the mid-Miocene are interpreted from geophysical evidence including seismic surveys correlated to drill core data (Chow & Bart, 2003). These marine records are seemingly at odds with sedimentary and geomorphic studies in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) that suggest the East Antarctic Ice Sheet was mostly invariable since the mid-Miocene (Sugden & Denton, 2004). Well-preserved landforms, observed by Marchant et al. (2013) and others, lack any indication of surface modification from glacial advance or wet cryoturbation, suggesting that hyper-arid cold-desert conditions have persisted in the MDVs since the mid-Miocene. This long-term landform stability in the MDVs implying a stable ice sheet is seemingly inconsistent with the highly dynamic AIS behavior reconstructed by Levy et al. (2016). Here, we use a Regional Climate Model (cf. Gasson et al., 2016) with a range of greenhouse gas concentrations, orbital configurations, ice sheet and shelf geometries, and sea surface conditions to reconcile the apparent dichotomy between marine and terrestrial records. Preliminary results reveal lapse-rate-corrected temperatures in the MDVs that generally remained below freezing in the austral summer, even under the warmest Miocene simulations (840 ppmv atmospheric CO2, `warm' austral

Winter kill in intensively stocked channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus): Coinfection with Aeromonas veronii, Streptococcus parauberis and Shewanella putrefaciens.

PubMed

Mohammed, Haitham H; Peatman, Eric

2018-06-07

Unusual persistent natural mortality occurred in a floating in-pond raceway system intensively stocked with channel and hybrid catfish beginning in early November 2016 up until March 2017. The temperature during the period of outbreak ranged from 7.2 to 23.7°C. Gross examination of freshly dead and moribund fish revealed pale gills, slight abdominal distension and swollen inflamed vents. Comprehensive necropsy of 20 fish demonstrated vast amounts of bloody ascitic fluid in the coelomic cavity, visceral congestion, splenomegaly and pale friable livers but macroscopically normal kidneys, suggesting systemic bacterial infection. Bacterial cultures were initiated from skin, gills and major internal organs. Following incubation, a mixture of three bacterial colony phenotypes was observed on agar plates. Presumptive biochemical characterization of the isolates followed by 16S-rRNA sequence analysis resulted in the identification of Aeromonas veronii, Streptococcus parauberis and Shewanella putrefaciens. Channel catfish juveniles were experimentally infected with the recovered isolates to fulfil Koch's postulates. Moreover, an antibiogram was used to evaluate the susceptibility of the isolates to antimicrobial drugs approved for use in aquaculture. Aquaflor was used successfully for treatment. Here, we report bacterial coinfection lead by A. veronii and the first identification of S. parauberis and S. putrefaciens from cultured catfish in North America. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Seawater osmium isotope evidence for a middle Miocene flood basalt event in ferromanganese crust records

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klemm, V.; Frank, M.; Levasseur, S.; Halliday, A.N.; Hein, J.R.

2008-01-01

Three ferromanganese crusts from the northeast, northwest and central Atlantic were re-dated using osmium (Os) isotope stratigraphy and yield ages from middle Miocene to the present. The three Os isotope records do not show evidence for growth hiatuses. The reconstructed Os isotope-based growth rates for the sections older than 10??Ma are higher than those determined previously by the combined beryllium isotope (10Be/9Be) and cobalt (Co) constant-flux methods, which results in a decrease in the maximum age of each crust. This re-dating does not lead to significant changes to the interpretation of previously determined radiogenic isotope neodymium, lead (Nd, Pb) time series because the variability of these isotopes was very small in the records of the three crusts prior to 10??Ma. The Os isotope record of the central Atlantic crust shows a pronounced minimum during the middle Miocene between 15 and 12??Ma, similar to a minimum previously observed in two ferromanganese crusts from the central Pacific. For the other two Atlantic crusts, the Os isotope records and their calibration to the global seawater curve for the middle Miocene are either more uncertain or too short and thus do not allow for a reliable identification of an isotopic minimum. Similar to pronounced minima reported previously for the Cretaceous/Tertiary and Eocene/Oligocene boundaries, possible interpretations for the newly identified middle Miocene Os isotope minimum include changes in weathering intensity and/or a meteorite impact coinciding with the formation of the No??rdlinger Ries Crater. It is suggested that the eruption and weathering of the Columbia River flood basalts provided a significant amount of the unradiogenic Os required to produce the middle Miocene minimum. ?? 2008 Elsevier B.V.

A new age model for the early-middle Miocene in the North Alpine Foreland Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichenbacher, Bettina; Krijgsman, Wout; Pippèrr, Martina; Sant, Karin; Kirscher, Uwe

2016-04-01

The establishment of high-resolution age models for sedimentary successions is crucial for numerous research questions in the geosciences and related disciplines. Such models provide an absolute chronology that permits precise dating of depositional episodes and related processes such as mountain uplift or climate change. Recently, our work in the Miocene sediments of the North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) has revealed a significantly younger age (16.6 Myr) for sediments that were thought to have been deposited 18 Myr ago. This implies that a fundamentally revised new age model is needed for the entire suite of lower-middle Miocene sedimentary rocks in the NAFB (20 to 15-Myr). Our new data also indicate that previously published reconstructions of early-middle Miocene palaeogeography, sedimentation dynamics, mountain uplift and climate change in the NAFB all require a critical review and revision. Further, the time-span addressed is of special interest, since it encompasses the onset of a global warming phase. However, it appears that a fundamentally revised new age model for the entire suite of lower-middle Miocene sedimentary rocks in the NAFB can only be achieved based on a 500 m deep drilling in the NAFB for which we currently seek collaboration partners to develop a grant application to the International Continental Deep Drilling Program (ICDP). Reference: Reichenbacher, B., W. Krijgsman, Y. Lataster, M. Pippèrr, C. G. C. Van Baak, L. Chang, D. Kälin, J. Jost, G. Doppler, D. Jung, J. Prieto, H. Abdul Aziz, M. Böhme, J. Garnish, U. Kirscher, and V. Bachtadse. 2013. A new magnetostratigraphic framework for the Lower Miocene (Burdigalian/Ottnangian, Karpatian) in the North Alpine Foreland Basin. Swiss Journal of Geosciences 106:309-334.

The early Miocene balaenid Morenocetus parvus from Patagonia (Argentina) and the evolution of right whales

PubMed Central

Cozzuol, Mario A.; Fitzgerald, Erich M.G.

2017-01-01

Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales) are a key group in understanding baleen whale evolution, because they are the oldest surviving lineage of crown Mysticeti, with a fossil record that dates back ∼20 million years. However, this record is mostly Pliocene and younger, with most of the Miocene history of the clade remaining practically unknown. The earliest recognized balaenid is the early Miocene Morenocetus parvus Cabrera, 1926 from Argentina. M. parvus was originally briefly described from two incomplete crania, a mandible and some cervical vertebrae collected from the lower Miocene Gaiman Formation of Patagonia. Since then it has not been revised, thus remaining a frequently cited yet enigmatic fossil cetacean with great potential for shedding light on the early history of crown Mysticeti. Here we provide a detailed morphological description of this taxon and revisit its phylogenetic position. The phylogenetic analysis recovered the middle Miocene Peripolocetus as the earliest diverging balaenid, and Morenocetus as the sister taxon of all other balaenids. The analysis of cranial and periotic morphology of Morenocetus suggest that some of the specialized morphological traits of modern balaenids were acquired by the early Miocene and have remained essentially unchanged up to the present. Throughout balaenid evolution, morphological changes in skull arching and ventral displacement of the orbits appear to be coupled and functionally linked to mitigating a reduction of the field of vision. The body length of Morenocetus and other extinct balaenids was estimated and the evolution of body size in Balaenidae was reconstructed. Optimization of body length on our phylogeny of Balaenidae suggests that the primitive condition was a relatively small body length represented by Morenocetus, and that gigantism has been acquired independently at least twice (in Balaena mysticetus and Eubalaena spp.), with the earliest occurrence of this trait in the late Miocene�

Scanning electron microscopy of Salmonella biofilms on various food-contact surfaces in catfish mucus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this study was to determine the growth and survival of Salmonella enterica in the presence of high and low concentrations (375 µg/ml and 15 µg/ml) of catfish mucus extract at 10 °C and 22 °C for 63 days. The second objective of this study was to investigate the biofilm formation of ...

Palinspastic reconstruction of southeastern California and southwestern Arizona for the middle Miocene

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richard, Stephen M.

1992-01-01

A paleogeographic reconstruction of southeastern California and southwestern Arizona at 10 Ma was made based on available geologic and geophysical data. Clockwise rotation of 39 deg was reconstructed in the eastern Transverse Ranges, consistent with paleomagnetic data from late Miocene volcanic rocks, and with slip estimates for left-lateral faults within the eastern Transverse Ranges and NW-trending right lateral faults in the Mojave Desert. This domain of rotated rocks is bounded by the Pinto Mountain fault on the north. In the absence of evidence for rotation of the San Bernardino Mountains or for significant right slip faults within the San Bernardino Mountains, the model requires that the late Miocene Pinto Mountain fault become a thrust fault gaining displacement to the west. The Squaw Peak thrust system of Meisling and Weldon may be a western continuation of this fault system. The Sheep Hole fault bounds the rotating domain on the east. East of this fault an array of NW-trending right slip faults and south-trending extensional transfer zones has produced a basin and range physiography while accumulating up to 14 km of right slip. This maximum is significantly less than the 37.5 km of right slip required in this region by a recent reconstruction of the central Mojave Desert. Geologic relations along the southern boundary of the rotating domain are poorly known, but this boundary is interpreted to involve a series of curved strike slip faults and non-coaxial extension, bounded on the southeast by the Mammoth Wash and related faults in the eastern Chocolate Mountains. Available constraints on timing suggest that Quaternary movement on the Pinto Mountain and nearby faults is unrelated to the rotation of the eastern Transverse Ranges, and was preceded by a hiatus during part of Pliocene time which followed the deformation producing the rotation. The reconstructed Clemens Well fault in the Orocopia Mountains, proposed as a major early Miocene strand of the San

Effective dose of salmon GnRha for induction of ovulation in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The present study was conducted to determine the minimum effective salmon Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone analog (sGnRHa) dose to stimulate ovulation in channel catfish. Four doses of sGnRHa (0, 5, 10 and 25 µg /Kg) were compared with commonly used 100 µg mammalian Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hor...

Ontogenetic Development of Weberian Ossicles and Hearing Abilities in the African Bullhead Catfish

PubMed Central

Lechner, Walter; Heiss, Egon; Schwaha, Thomas; Glösmann, Martin; Ladich, Friedrich

2011-01-01

Background The Weberian apparatus of otophysine fishes facilitates sound transmission from the swimbladder to the inner ear to increase hearing sensitivity. It has been of great interest to biologists since the 19th century. No studies, however, are available on the development of the Weberian ossicles and its effect on the development of hearing in catfishes. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the development of the Weberian apparatus and auditory sensitivity in the catfish Lophiobagrus cyclurus. Specimens from 11.3 mm to 85.5 mm in standard length were studied. Morphology was assessed using sectioning, histology, and X-ray computed tomography, along with 3D reconstruction. Hearing thresholds were measured utilizing the auditory evoked potentials recording technique. Weberian ossicles and interossicular ligaments were fully developed in all stages investigated except in the smallest size group. In the smallest catfish, the intercalarium and the interossicular ligaments were still missing and the tripus was not yet fully developed. Smallest juveniles revealed lowest auditory sensitivity and were unable to detect frequencies higher than 2 or 3 kHz; sensitivity increased in larger specimens by up to 40 dB, and frequency detection up to 6 kHz. In the size groups capable of perceiving frequencies up to 6 kHz, larger individuals had better hearing abilities at low frequencies (0.05–2 kHz), whereas smaller individuals showed better hearing at the highest frequencies (4–6 kHz). Conclusions/Significance Our data indicate that the ability of otophysine fish to detect sounds at low levels and high frequencies largely depends on the development of the Weberian apparatus. A significant increase in auditory sensitivity was observed as soon as all Weberian ossicles and interossicular ligaments are present and the chain for transmitting sounds from the swimbladder to the inner ear is complete. This contrasts with findings in another otophysine, the zebrafish

Seastacks buried beneath newly reported Lower Miocene sandstone, northern Santa Barbara County, California

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fritsche, A.E.; Hanna, F.M.

1985-04-01

Three large, isolated exposures of a light-gray, coarse-grained, thick-bedded sandstone unit occur in the northern San Rafael Mountains of Santa Barbara County, California. These rocks are moderately fossiliferous and contain Vertipecten bowersi, Amussiopecten vanvlecki, Aequipecten andersoni, Otrea howelli, shark teeth, whale bones, and regular echinoid spines. The fossils indicate that the sandstone unit, although previously reported as upper(.) Miocene, correlates best with the lower Miocene Vaqueros Formation. This unit was deposited in angular unconformity on a Cretaceous, greenish-gray turbidite sequence of interbedded sandstone and shale, and onlaps the unconformity erosion surface from west to east, the unit being thicker inmore » the west and older at its base. The underlying Cretaceous sandstone beds are well indurated, and during the eastward transgression of the early Miocene sea, they resisted wave erosion and stood as seastacks offshore of the advancing coastline, thus creating a very irregular topographic surface upon which the Vaqueros Formation was deposited. Some seastacks were as much as 4 m tall, as indicated by inliers of Cretaceous rock surrounded by 4-m thick sections of the Vaqueros Formation.« less

Middle Miocene environmental and climatic evolution at the Wilkes Land margin, East Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangiorgi, Francesca; Bijl, Peter; Passchier, Sandra; Salzmann, Ulrich; Schouten, Stefan; Pross, Jörg; Escutia, Carlota; Brinkhuis, Henk

2015-04-01

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 318 successfully drilled a Middle Miocene (~ 17 - 12.5 Ma) record from the Wilkes Land Margin at Site U1356A (63°18.6138'S, 135°59.9376'E), located at the transition between the continental rise and the abyssal plain at 4003 mbsl. We present a multiproxy palynological (dinoflagellate cyst, pollen and spores), sedimentological and organic geochemical (TEX86, MBT/CBT) study, which unravels the environmental and climate variability across the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO, ~17-15 Ma) and the Mid Miocene Climate Transition (MMCT). Several independent lines of evidence suggest a relatively warm climate during the MCO. Dinocyst and pollen assemblage diversity at the MCO is unprecedented for a Neogene Antarctic record and indicates a temperate, sea ice-free marine environment, with woody sub-antarctic vegetation with elements of forest/shrub tundra and peat lands along the coast. These results are further confirmed by relatively warm TEX86-derived Sea Surface Temperatures and mild MBT-derived continental temperatures, and by the absence of glacially derived deposits and very few ice-rafted clasts. A generally colder but highly dynamic environment is suggested for the interval 15-12.5 Ma.

A new Middle Miocene selachian assemblage (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the Central Paratethys (Nyirád, Hungary): implications for temporal turnover and biogeography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szabó, Márton; Kocsis, László

2016-12-01

A new Middle Miocene (Langhian - early Serravallian) assemblage with shark and ray teeth from Nyirád (Hungary, Transdanubia, Veszprém County) consists of nine families, with 15 different species. The assemblage shares many common genera with other Middle Miocene assemblages in the Paratethys (Notorynchus, Carcharias, Otodus, Cosmopolitodus, Hemipristis, Galeocerdo, Carcharhinus, and Aetobatus), and reflects a subtropical climate and a close connection with the Mediterranean Sea. However, a detailed faunal compilation of Miocene selachians reveals that several taxa that were still present in the Mediterranean or lived in the Paratethys during the Lower Miocene disappeared or became very rare by the Middle Miocene in the Central Paratethys (e.g., Isistius, Centrophorus, Mitsukurina, Carcharoides, Parotodus, Alopias). The taxa that went locally extinct in the Paratethys are mainly represented by deep-water or pelagic forms. Their disappearance is most probably related to the gradual separation of the Paratethys from the Mediterranean. The common presence of some large, rather pelagic sharks (e.g., Otodus, Cosmopolitodus) in the Central Paratethys during the Middle Miocene is explained here by the widespread occurrence of their potential prey represented by marine mammals (e.g., whales and dolphins).

Multilocus molecular phylogeny of the ornamental wood-eating catfishes (Siluriformes, Loricariidae, Panaqolus and Panaque) reveals undescribed diversity and parapatric clades.

PubMed

Lujan, Nathan K; Cramer, Christian A; Covain, Raphael; Fisch-Muller, Sonia; López-Fernández, Hernán

2017-04-01

Approximately two-dozen species in three genera of the Neotropical suckermouth armored catfish family Loricariidae are the only described fishes known to specialize on diets consisting largely of wood. We conducted a molecular phylogenetic analysis of 10 described species and 14 undescribed species or morphotypes assigned to the wood-eating catfish genus Panaqolus, and four described species and three undescribed species or morphotypes assigned to the distantly related wood-eating catfish genus Panaque. Our analyses included individuals and species from both genera that are broadly distributed throughout tropical South America east of the Andes Mountains and 13 additional genera hypothesized to have also descended from the most recent common ancestor of Panaqolus and Panaque. Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of two mitochondrial and three nuclear loci totaling 4293bp confirmed respective monophyly of Panaqolus, exclusive of the putative congener 'Panaqolus' koko, and Panaque. Members of Panaqolus sensu stricto were distributed across three strongly monophyletic clades: a clade of 10 generally darkly colored, lyretail species distributed across western headwaters of the Amazon Basin, a clade of three irregularly and narrowly banded species from the western Orinoco Basin, and a clade of 11 generally brown, broadly banded species that are widely distributed throughout the Amazon Basin. We erect new subgenera for each of these clades and a new genus for the morphologically, biogeographically and ecologically distinct species 'Panaqolus' koko. Our finding that perhaps half of the species-level diversity in the widespread genus Panaqolus remains undescribed illustrates the extent to which total taxonomic diversity of small and philopatric, yet apparently widely distributed, Amazonian fishes may remain underestimated. Ranges for two Panaqolus subgenera and the genus Panaque overlap with the wood-eating genus Cochliodon in central Andean tributaries of the upper

A unique Middle Miocene European hominoid and the origins of the great ape and human clade

PubMed Central

Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M.; Almécija, Sergio; Casanovas-Vilar, Isaac; Köhler, Meike; De Esteban-Trivigno, Soledad; Robles, Josep M.; Galindo, Jordi; Fortuny, Josep

2009-01-01

The great ape and human clade (Primates: Hominidae) currently includes orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. When, where, and from which taxon hominids evolved are among the most exciting questions yet to be resolved. Within the Afropithecidae, the Kenyapithecinae (Kenyapithecini + Equatorini) have been proposed as the sister taxon of hominids, but thus far the fragmentary and scarce Middle Miocene fossil record has hampered testing this hypothesis. Here we describe a male partial face with mandible of a previously undescribed fossil hominid, Anoiapithecus brevirostris gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Miocene (11.9 Ma) of Spain, which enables testing this hypothesis. Morphological and geometric morphometrics analyses of this material show a unique facial pattern for hominoids. This taxon combines autapomorphic features—such as a strongly reduced facial prognathism—with kenyapithecine (more specifically, kenyapithecin) and hominid synapomorphies. This combination supports a sister-group relationship between kenyapithecins (Griphopithecus + Kenyapithecus) and hominids. The presence of both groups in Eurasia during the Middle Miocene and the retention in kenyapithecins of a primitive hominoid postcranial body plan support a Eurasian origin of the Hominidae. Alternatively, the two extant hominid clades (Homininae and Ponginae) might have independently evolved in Africa and Eurasia from an ancestral, Middle Miocene stock, so that the supposed crown-hominid synapomorphies might be homoplastic. PMID:19487676

Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) chetumalensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Camallanidae) from the Mayan sea catfish, Ariopsis assimilis, off the Caribbean coast of México.

PubMed

González-Solís, David; Moravec, Frantisek; Vidal-Martínez, Victor M

2002-08-01

Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) chetumalensis n. sp. is described from the stomach and intestine of the Mayan sea catfish Ariopsis assimilis (Günther, 1864), from the Bay of Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México. It is characterized by bifurcate deirids; males have 3 pairs of preanal papillae, 6 pairs of postanal papillae, 2 pairs of transverse elongate adanal papillae surrounding the cloacal aperture, wide caudal alae, spicules of unequal length, and a gubernaculum, and females have a rounded tail bearing a digit-like process terminating in 2 spines. This is the seventh Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) species reported from fishes in Mexico and the first one recorded in sea catfishes of the Ariidae.

Clearance of yellow pigments lutein and zeathanxin in channel catfish reared at different water temperatures

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A study was conducted to determine clearance time of yellow pigments lutein and zeaxanthin in channel catfish at various temperatures. Fish of initial weight of 13.4 g were stocked into flow-through aquaria and fed once daily with a yellow pigment enhanced diet for 11 weeks when the yellow color be...

Dissolved Oxygen management in catfish ponds using electric paddlewheel aerators: new approaches with old technology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The electric paddlewheel aerator has been the main aerator used in the U.S. catfish industry for the post forty years. While it has its limitations, it is perhaps the most efficient shallow-water aerator yet to be developed. Its shortcomings result not so much from poor design, as from poor usage. U...

Evaluation of low-protein alternative diets for pond-raised hybrid catfish, Ictalurus puncatus X Ictalurus furcatus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A study was conducted to evaluate low-protein traditional or alternative diets for pond-raised hybrid catfish, Ictalurus punctatus × Ictalurus furcatus. Three 24% protein diets containing decreasing levels of soybean meal (30, 20, and 15%) and increasing levels of cottonseed meal and corn germ meal ...

Efficacy of hydrogen peroxide for treating saprolegniasis in channel catfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howe, G.E.; Gingerich, W.H.; Dawson, V.K.; Olson, J.J.

1999-01-01

Hatchery-reared fish and their eggs are commonly afflicted with saprolegniasis, a fungal disease that can cause significant losses in production. Fish culturists need safe and effective fungicides to minimize losses and meet production demands. The efficacy of hydrogen peroxide was evaluated for preventing or controlling mortality associated with saprolegniasis in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Saprolegniasis was systematically induced in channel catfish so various therapies could be evaluated in a controlled laboratory environment. Both prophylactic and therapeutic hydrogen peroxide bath treatments of 50, 100, and 150 ??L/L for 1 h were administered every other day for seven total treatments. All untreated positive control fish died of saprolegniasis during the prophylactic and therapeutic tests. Hydrogen peroxide treatments of 150 ??L/L were harmful (relative to lower concentrations) to test fish and resulted in 73-95% mortality. Mortality was attributed to a combination of abrasion, temperature, chemical treatment, and disease stressors. Treatments of 100 ??L/L were less harmful (relatively) but also appeared to contribute to mortality (60-79%). These treatments, however, significantly reduced the incidence of mortality and infection compared with those observed for fish of the positive control or 150-??L/L treatment groups. Overall, treatments of 50 ??L/L were found to be the most safe and effective of those tested. Mortality with this concentration ranged from 16% in therapeutic tests to 41% in prophylactic tests. The statistical model employed estimated that the optimum treatment concentration for preventing or controlling mortality, reducing the incidence of infections, and enhancing the recovery of infected fish was 75 ??L H2O2/L.

Spike-Interval Triggered Averaging Reveals a Quasi-Periodic Spiking Alternative for Stochastic Resonance in Catfish Electroreceptors

PubMed Central

Lankheet, Martin J. M.; Klink, P. Christiaan; Borghuis, Bart G.; Noest, André J.

2012-01-01

Catfish detect and identify invisible prey by sensing their ultra-weak electric fields with electroreceptors. Any neuron that deals with small-amplitude input has to overcome sensitivity limitations arising from inherent threshold non-linearities in spike-generation mechanisms. Many sensory cells solve this issue with stochastic resonance, in which a moderate amount of intrinsic noise causes irregular spontaneous spiking activity with a probability that is modulated by the input signal. Here we show that catfish electroreceptors have adopted a fundamentally different strategy. Using a reverse correlation technique in which we take spike interval durations into account, we show that the electroreceptors generate a supra-threshold bias current that results in quasi-periodically produced spikes. In this regime stimuli modulate the interval between successive spikes rather than the instantaneous probability for a spike. This alternative for stochastic resonance combines threshold-free sensitivity for weak stimuli with similar sensitivity for excitations and inhibitions based on single interspike intervals. PMID:22403709

Miocene extension in the East Range, Nevada: A two-stage history of normal faulting in the northern basin and range

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fosdick, J.C.; Colgan, J.P.

2008-01-01

The East Range in northwestern Nevada is a large, east-tilted crustal block bounded by west-dipping normal faults. Detailed mapping of Tertiary stratigraphic units demonstrates a two-phase history of faulting and extension. The oldest sedimentary and volcanic rocks in the area record cumulative tilting of -30??-45??E, whereas younger olivine basalt flows indicate only a 15??-20??E tilt since ca. 17-13 Ma. Cumulative fault slip during these two episodes caused a minimum of 40% extensional strain across the East Range, and Quaternary fault scarps and seismic activity indicate that fault motion has continued to the present day. Apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He data presented here show that faulting began in the East Range ca. 17-15 Ma, coeval with middle Miocene extension that occurred across much of the Basin and Range. This phase of extension occurred contemporaneously with middle Miocene volcanism related to the nearby northern Nevada rifts, suggesting a link between magmatism and extensional stresses in the crust that facilitated normal faulting in the East Range. Younger fault slip, although less well constrained, began after 10 Ma and is synchronous with the onset of low-magnitude extension in many parts of northwestern Nevada and eastern California. These findings imply that, rather than migrating west across a discrete boundary, late Miocene extension in western Nevada is a distinct, younger period of faulting that is superimposed on the older, middle Miocene distribution of extended and unextended domains. The partitioning of such middle Miocene deformation may reflect the influence of localized heterogeneities in crustal structure, whereas the more broadly distributed late Miocene extension may reflect a stronger influence from regional plate boundary processes that began in the late Miocene. ?? 2008 Geological Society of America.

Changing seasonality patterns in Central Europe from Miocene Climate Optimum to Miocene Climate Transition deduced from the Crassostrea isotope archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harzhauser, Mathias; Piller, Werner E.; Müllegger, Stefan; Grunert, Patrick; Micheels, Arne

2011-03-01

The Western Tethyan estuarine oyster Crassostrea gryphoides is an excellent climate archive due to its large size and rapid growth. It is geologically long lived and allows a stable isotope-based insight into climatic trends during the Miocene. Herein we utilised the climate archive of 5 oyster shells from the Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO) and the subsequent Miocene Climate Transition (MCT) to evaluate changes of seasonality patterns. MCO shells exhibit highly regular seasonal rhythms of warm-wet and dry-cool seasons. Optimal conditions resulted in extraordinary growth rates of the oysters. δ 13C profiles are in phase with δ 18O although phytoplankton blooms may cause a slight offset. Estuarine waters during the MCO in Central Europe display a seasonal temperature range of c. 9-10 °C. Absolute water temperatures have ranged from 17 to 19 °C during cool seasons and up to 28 °C in warm seasons. Already during the early phase of the MCO, the growth rates are distinctly declining, although gigantic and extremely old shells have been formed at that time. Still, a very regular and well expressed seasonality is dominating the isotope profiles, but episodically occurring extreme climate events influence the environments. The seasonal temperature range is still c. 9 °C but the cool season temperature seems to be slightly lower (16 °C) and the warm season water temperature does not exceed c. 25 °C. In the later MCT at c. 12.5-12.0 Ma the seasonality pattern is breaking down and is replaced by successions of dry years with irregular precipitation events. No correlation between δ 18O and δ 13C is documented maybe due to a suboptimal nutrition level which would explain the low growth rates and small sizes. The amplitude of seasonal temperature range is decreasing to 5-8 °C. No clear cooling trend can be postulated for that time as the winter season water temperatures range from 15 to 20 °C. This may point to unstable precipitation rhythms on a multi-annual to

Early Miocene Tectonic Activity in the western Ross Sea (Antarctica)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauli, C.; Sorlien, C. C.; Busetti, M.; Geletti, R.; De Santis, L.

2012-12-01

In the framework of the Rossmap Italian PNRA work objectives to compile extended and revised digital maps of the main unconformities in Ross Sea, Antarctica, much additional seismic reflection data, that were not available to previous ANTOSTRAT compilation, were incorporated into a new ROSSMAP interpretation. The correlation across almost all of Ross Sea, from DSDP Site 270 and Site 272 in Eastern Basin to northern Victoria Land Basin, of additional early Miocene and late Oligocene horizons that were not part of ANTOSTRAT allows interpretations to be made of fault activity and glacial erosion or deposition at a finer time resolution. New conclusions include that extensional or transtensional fault activity within the zone between Victoria Land Basin and Northern Basin, initiated by 23 Ma or earlier, and continued after 18 Ma. Steep parallel-striking faults in southern Victoria Land Basin display both reverse and normal separation of 17.5 Ma (from Cape Roberts Program-core 1) and post-16 Ma horizons, suggesting an important strike-slip component. This result may be compared with published papers that proposed post-17 Ma extension in southern Victoria Land Basin, 16-17 Ma extension in the AdareTrough, north of the Ross Sea continental shelf, but no Miocene extension affecting the Northern Basin (Granot et al., 2010). Thus, our evidence for extension through the early Miocene is significant to post-spreading tectonic models. Reference Granot R., Cande S. C., Stock J. M., Davey F. J. and Clayton R. W. (2010) Postspreading rifting in the Adare Basin, Antarctica: Regional tectonic consequences. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 8, Q08005, doi:10.1029/2010GC003105.

Growth of non-0157:H7 shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli on catfish fillets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STECs) are emerging pathogens which have been involved in numerous foodborne illness outbreaks. In this study the ability of a multi-isolate cocktail of STEC serovars O26:H11, O45:H2, O103:H2, O111:NM, O121:H19, and O145:RM to grow on catfish fillets at refri...

Rapid screening of oxytetracycline residue in catfish muscle by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and europium-sensitized luminescence

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Oxytetracycline (OTC) residue in catfish muscle was screened by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) and europium-sensitized luminescence (ESL). After extraction in EDTA, HCl, and acetonitrile, cleanup was carried out by DLLME, and ESL was measured at microgram = 385 nm and wavelength = ...

The relative importance of body size and paleoclimatic change as explanatory variables influencing lineage diversification rate: an evolutionary analysis of bullhead catfishes (Siluriformes: Ictaluridae).

PubMed

Hardman, Michael; Hardman, Lotta M

2008-02-01

We applied Bayesian phylogenetics, divergence time estimation, diversification pattern analysis, and parsimony-based methods of ancestral state reconstruction to a combination of nucleotide sequences, maximum body sizes, fossils, and paleoclimate data to explore the influence of an extrinsic (climate change) and an intrinsic (maximum body size) factor on diversification rates in a North American clade of catfishes (Ictaluridae). We found diversification rate to have been significantly variable over time, with significant (or nearly significant) rate increases in the early history of Noturus. Though the latter coincided closely with a period of dramatic climate change at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, we did not detect evidence for a general association between climate change and diversification rate during the entire history of Ictaluridae. Within Ictaluridae, small body size was found to be a near significant predictor of species richness. Morphological stasis of several species appears to be a consequence of a homoplastic increase in body size. We estimated the maximum standard length of the ictalurid ancestor to be approximately 50 cm, comparable to Eocene ictalurids (Astephus) and similar to modern sizes of Ameiurus and their Asian sister-taxon Cranoglanis. During the late Paleocene and early Eocene, the ictalurid ancestor diversified into the lineages represented by the modern epigean genera. The majority of modern species originated in the Oligocene and Miocene, most likely according to a peripheral isolates model of speciation. We discuss the difficulties of detecting macroevolutionary patterns within a lineage history and encourage the scrutiny of the terminal Eocene climatic event as a direct promoter of diversification.

Evolution of the Northern Nicaragua Rise during the Oligocene Miocene: Drowning by environmental factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutti, Maria; Droxler, André W.; Cunningham, Andrew D.

2005-04-01

Possible causes to explain platform drowning have been hotly debated by carbonate sedimentologists for more than a decade now. In this paper, we present multiple evidence to explain the drowning of a carbonate megabank that covered most of the modern Northern Nicaragua Rise (NNR) during an interval spanning from late Oligocene to early Miocene by the interaction of several environmental factors. The recovery during ODP Leg 165 of late Oligocene to middle Miocene sedimentary sequences in the sub-seafloor of the modern channels and basin, Pedro Channel and Walton Basin, respectively, that dissect the NNR (Site 1000) and south of the rise in the Colombian Basin (Site 999), combined with information from dredged rock samples, allows us to explore in more detail the timing and possible mechanisms responsible for the drowning of the megabank and its relationship to Miocene climate change. The modern system of isolated banks and shelves dissected by a series of intervening seaways and basins on the NNR has evolved from a continuous, shallow-water carbonate “megabank” that extended from the Honduras/Nicaraguan mainland to the modern island of Jamaica. Available information suggests that this megabank broke apart and partially drowned in the late part of the late Oligocene at around 27 Ma and finally foundered during the late early Miocene around 20 Ma, resulting in limited neritic coral growth in the areas where the modern isolated carbonate banks and shelves are occurring today. Available information also suggests that the southern and central parts of Pedro Channel were already a deep-water area before the major episode of platform drowning, and its formation predates the initiation of the Caribbean Current. However, after the partial drowning of the megabank, the channel has become a major pathway for the Caribbean Current. Stratigraphic units identified in deep-water carbonates sampled at ODP Sites 999 and 1000 help to constrain the environmental setting leading to

Thermal inactivation of non-0157:H7 shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in catfish fillets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Non-O157:H7 Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STECs) are emerging pathogens which have been involved in numerous foodborne illness outbreaks. It is not unusual for STEC associated foodborne illness outbreaks to be associated with consumption of fish in many countries. In this study catfish fi...

Function of a recombinant Chitinase derived from a virulent Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from diseased channel catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A chitinase was identified in extracellular products of a virulent Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from diseased channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Bioactive recombinant chitinase (rChi-Ah) was produced in Escherichia coli. Purified rChi-Ah had optimal activity at temperature of 42°C and pH 6.5. T...

Molecular responses of ceruloplasmin to Edwardsiella ictaluri infection and iron overload in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ceruloplasmin is a serum ferroxidase that carries more than 90% of the copper in plasma and has documented roles in iron homeostasis as well as antioxidative functions. In our previous studies, it has been shown that the ceruloplasmin gene is strongly up-regulated in catfish during challenge with Ed...

Discovering the African freshwater "torpedo": legendary Ethiopia, religious controversies, and a catfish capable of reanimating dead fish.

PubMed

Piccolino, Marco; Finger, Stanley; Barbara, Jean-Gaël

2011-07-01

The electric catfishes of African rivers and lakes, once depicted on Egyptian tomb art, have been largely overlooked in histories and reviews of electric fish biology and animal electricity. This article examines how Westerners, especially Dominican and Jesuit missionaries, discovered them in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa at the beginning of the seventeenth century. What transpired took place against the backdrop of tales involving the Bible, Prester John's mythical empire, and imaginary animals with fabulous powers. In effect, how they were found is related to attempts to convert Ethiopian Christians to true Catholicism, hopes of discovering great riches, and opportunities to trade, and not with the efforts of skilled natural philosophers to document and conduct experiments on the wildlife of this continent. Nevertheless, the early descriptions by Europeans circulated, and during the next century these catfishes began to be used in experiments that helped to make animal electricity a reality.

Henneguya laterocapsulata Landsberg, 1987 (Myxosporea, Myxozoa) in cultured hybrid African catfish: Ultrastructure of the parasite-host interface.

PubMed

Obiekezie, A; Schmahl, G

1993-02-19

The ultrastructure of the host-parasite interface was studied in Henneguya laterocapsulata, parasitizing the skin of hybrid catfishes (Clarias gariepinus × Heterobranchus bidorsalis) in Nigeria. The plasmodia were located between malpighian cells, which are the main elements of the multilayered fish epidermis, and were bordered by a single cell membrane. The desmosomal junctions between the malpighian cells were forced apart by finger-like protrusions of the Plasmodium. These plasmodial protrusions finally ran into the host cell without disrupting of the host cell membrane and formed network-like extensions. At the margin of the plasmodium an extensive vacuolization occurred, leading to a wavy surface. Infections with H. laterocapsulata may be an adverse factor in the large-scale production of hybrid catfish fingerlings used for aquaculture in Africa. Copyright © 1993 Gustav Fischer Verlag · Stuttgart · Jena · New York. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Late Miocene remagnetization within the internal sector of the Northern Apennines, Italy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Aiello, I.W.; Hagstrum, J.T.; Principi, G.

2004-01-01

Paleomagnetic and geologic evidence indicates that Upper Jurassic radiolarian cherts of both the Tuscan Cherts Formation (continental margin, Tuscan Units) and the Monte Alpe Cherts Formation (oceanic crust, Ligurian Units) were remagnetized during Miocene orogenesis of the Northern Apennines of Italy. Characteristic overprint magnetizations with reversed polarities have been found over a large area within the internal sector of the Northern Apennines, including eastern Liguria, Elba Island and the Thyrrenian margin, and west of the Middle Tuscan Ridge. The reversed-polarity overprint (average direction: D=177??, I=-52??, ??95=15??) was most likely acquired during Late Miocene uplift and denudation of the orogenic chain, and thermochemical remagnetization was a probable consequence of increased circulation of orogenic fluids. Similarly, mostly reversed-polarity directions of magnetization have been found by other workers in overlying post-orogenic Messinian sediments (D=177??, I=-57??, ??95=3??), which show little counterclockwise (CCW) vertical-axis rotation with respect to stable Europe (-8??5??). The Monte Alpe Cherts sampled at sites in the external sector of the Northern Apennines, close to major tectonic features, have normal- polarity overprint directions with in situ W-SW declinations. Since the overlying post-orogenic Messinian sediments have not been substantially rotated about vertical axes, the evidence points to an earlier,pre-Late Miocene remagnetization in the external parts of the orogenic chain. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Miocene climate variations in the Moesian Platform sediments based on sedimentology and biomarkers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butiseaca, Geanina; Vasiliev, Iuliana; Rabagia, Traian; Dinu, Corneliu; Mulch, Andreas

2017-04-01

During the Miocene the Moesian Platform (southern Romania and northern Bulgaria) had a complicated flexural behavior due to the mobility of the nearby orogens. The different behavior induced varying sediment charges, sediment distribution and sediment types. The northern part of the study area (on which the Dacian Basin is overlaid) is characterized by siliciclastic units with dominantly deep facieses, while the southern part is characterized by carbonate production in shallower basin waters. Since the Miocene, the Dacian and Black Sea basins have been highly sensitive to fluctuations in the hydrological cycle. To establish the dynamic evolution of the basin and the climate variations during the Miocene, we have sampled both northern and southern margins of the basin. To discriminate between the tectonic imprint and the eustatic influence over the sedimentation rate we have chosen a multidisciplinary approach including sedimentology, tectonics and organic geochemistry based reconstructions. The sedimentary succession is interrupted by few unconformities correspondent with the main phases of orogeny (in the Carpathian Foredeep) while the southern part seems to have been exposed more often expressed in the geological record by a higher number of unconformities and paleo-soils levels. The n-alkanes distribution recovered from the lipids extracted from the sedimentary rocks indicates a mixture of terrestrial and marine input in the northern, Romanian, closer to Carpathians, part of the Dacian Basin. Surprisingly, the southern, Bulgarian side, showed a more predominant terrestrial input (with higher contribution of the long chain n-alkanes) at least for the Sarmatian (arround 10 Ma). The estimated paleotemperatures based on branched GDGT's indicate much warmer conditions than present day, up to a value of 20 C mean annual temperatures. We will further investigate the paleoenvironmental changes during the latest Miocene of the Dacian basin, using the biomarker approach

Regional stratigraphy, sedimentology, and tectonic significance of Oligocene-Miocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks, northern Baja California, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorsey, Rebecca J.; Burns, Beverly

1994-01-01

Upper Oligocene (?) to middle Miocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks in northern Baja California were deposited along the western margin of North America during subduction of the Guadalupe plate and southward migration of the Rivera Triple Junction. Regional mapping and compilation of stratigraphic data reveal a sequence of three regionally traceable stratigraphic units. (1) Oligocene (?) to lower Miocene Mesa Formation: basal quartz-rich fluvial sandstone, grus, conglomerate, and accessory facies, whose detrital compositions reflect the composition of local pre-Tertiary basement rock. (2) Lower to middle Miocene Comondú Formation: laterally variable sequence of volcaniclastic conglomerate, breccia, sandstone, tuff and minor volcanic flow units. (3) Widespread mesa-capping rhyolite tuff, typically welded and crystal-rich, probably upper Miocene in age. The Mesa Formation overlies a highly irregular and deeply dissected erosional surface developed on pre-Tertiary basement rock. The shift from pre-Mesa erosion to widespread (though localized) deposition and valley-filling records the final phase of late Cretaceous to middle Tertiary regional subsidence and eastward transgression that resulted from slow cooling and thermal contraction of Cretaceous arc crust during a temporal gap in magmatic activity along the western Cordilleran margin. Nonmarine sediments of the Mesa Formation were deposited in small, steep-walled paleovalleys and basins that gradually filled and evolved to form through-going, low-energy ephemeral stream systems. The gradational upward transition from the Mesa to Comondú Formation records the early to middle Miocene onset of subduction-related arc magmatism in eastern Baja California and related westward progradation of alluvial volcaniclastic aprons shed from high-standing eruptive volcanic centers. Pre-existing streams were choked with the new influx of volcanic detritus, causing the onset of rapid sediment deposition by stream flows and dilute

Paleo-environment in the upper amazon basin during early to middle Miocene times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Soelen, Els; Hoorn, Carina; Santos, Roberto V.; Dantas, Elton L.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Kim, Jung-Hyun

2014-05-01

The Amazon River has the largest catchment in the world and is responsible for the largest water discharge from land to the ocean. The river system that flows from the Andes to the Atlantic Equatorial Margin exists since the late Miocene, and results from Andean uplift which strongly affected erosion/deposition and major flow patterns in northern South-America. Two outcrop sites from the Solimões basin, Mariñame (17.7-16.1 Ma) and Los Chorros (14.2-12.7 Ma), may shed light on the inland paleo-environmental conditions during a period of active Andean uplift in the early to middle Miocene. Earlier works revealed the Mariñame outcrops to represent a river born in Amazonia. Instead the Los Chorros outcrops are relics of the Amazon River system, characterized by extensive wetlands consisting of swamps, shallow lakes, crevasse splays channels and crevasse-delta lakes (e.g. Hoorn et al., 2010). The freshwater ecosystems alternate with some intervals that are rich in marine palynomorphs (such as dinocysts), mangrove pollen, brackish tolerant molluscs and ostracods, which indicate brackish conditions and a marine influence. It is thought that these marine incursion are related to phases of global sea-level rise and rapid subsidence in the Andean foreland (Marshall & Lundberg, 1996). Still, much remains unknown about the Miocene river systems, like the extent and diversity of the wetland system and the nature of the marine incursions. To get a better understanding of the sources of the (in)organic material, geochemical methods were used. Strontium (Sr) and Neodymium (Nd) isotopes were analyzed on bulk sediments, and used for a paleo-provenance study. The Sr and Nd isotopic signature in the older section (Mariñame) is in general more radiogenic compared to the Los Chorros section. The most radiogenic values are comparable to those found nowadays in the the Precambrian Guyana shield. A Guyana sediment source would suggest a distinctly different flow direction of the major

Successful xenogeneic germ cell transplantation from Jundia catfish (Rhamdia quelen) into adult Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) testes.

PubMed

Silva, M A; Costa, G M J; Lacerda, S M S N; Brandão-Dias, P F P; Kalapothakis, E; Silva Júnior, A F; Alvarenga, E R; França, L R

2016-05-01

Fish germ cell transplantation presents several important potential applications for aquaculture, including the preservation of germplasm from endangered fish species with high genetic and commercial values. Using this technique in studies developed in our laboratory with adult male Nile tilapias (Oreochromis niloticus), all the necessary procedures were successfully established, allowing the production of functional sperm and healthy progeny approximately 2months after allogeneic transplantation. In the present study, we evaluated the viability of the adult Nile tilapia testis to generate sperm after xenogeneic transplant of germ cells from sexually mature Jundia catfish (Rhamdia quelen) that belong to a different taxonomic order. Therefore, in order to investigate at different time-periods post-transplantation, the presence and development of donor PKH26 labeled catfish germ cells were followed in the tilapia seminiferous tubules. From 7 to 20days post-transplantation, only PKH26 labeled spermatogonia were observed, whereas spermatocytes at different stages of development were found at 70days. Germ cell transplantation success and progression of spermatogenesis were indicated by the presence of labeled PKH26 spermatids and sperm on days 90 and 120 post-transplantation, respectively. Confirming the presence of the catfish genetic material in the tilapia testis, all recipient tilapias evaluated (n=8) showed the genetic markers evaluated. Therefore, we demonstrated for the first time that the adult Nile tilapia testis offers the functional conditions for development of spermatogenesis with sperm production from a fish species belonging to a different order, which provides an important new venue for aquaculture advancement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Primitive helium isotopic compositions associated with Miocene lavas from Northwest Iceland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, M. G.; Reinhard, A.; Blichert-Toft, J.; Price, A. A.; Kurz, M. D.; Halldorsson, S. A.

2016-12-01

Elevated 3He/4He ratios identified in hotspots globally are associated with an early-formed, less degassed mantle reservoir that resides in the deep mantle, but the origin and mechanism for the long-term preservation of this mantle domain are not well understood. The highest known terrestrial mantle-derived 3He/4He ratios (49.5 Ra) have been measured in 62 million year old lavas from Baffin Island and West Greenland, associated with the proto-Iceland plume [1]. Mid-Miocene lavas from northwest Iceland have 3He/4He ratios of up to 37 Ra [2]. Thus, the Iceland plume has tapped a high-3He/4He mantle source over much of the Cenozoic. This is important, as 182W [3] and 129Xe [4] data indicate that the high 3He/4He domain sampled by the Iceland plume formed in the early Hadean. We report new 3He/4He measurements on magmatic olivine in mid-Miocene lavas from Northwest Iceland. Fusion experiments indicate that the new, high 3He/4He ratios do not have a cosmogenic 3He contribution. New Sr, Nd, Hf, and Pb isotopic data place important constraints on the isotopic composition of the highest 3He/4He mantle domain sampled by mid-Miocene Iceland lavas. An important question is whether the highest 3He/4He lavas from Iceland have Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopic compositions that overlap with those found in the high-3He/4He lavas from Baffin Island. If not, it will be important to understand the mechanism responsible for the offset in Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopic compositions, and whether this also explains the lower maximum 3He/4He in mid-Miocene Icelandic lavas relative to their counterparts in Baffin Island. The new data will have implications for the preservation of primitive reservoirs in the deep mantle. [1] Stuart et al., Nature, v. 424, 2003. [2] Hilton et al., Earth Planet Sci. Lett., v. 173, 1999. [3] Rizo et al., Science, v. 352, 2016. [4] Mukhopadhyay, Nature, v. 486, 2012.

Late Miocene (Proto-Gulf) Extension and Magmatism on the Sonoran Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gans, P.; MacMillan, I.; Roldan-Quintana, J.

2003-12-01

Constraints on the magnitude and character of late Miocene (Proto-Gulf) deformation on the Sonoran margin of the Gulf of California extensional province are key to understanding how and when Baja California was captured by the Pacific plate and how strain was partitioned during the early stages of this transtensional rift system. Our new geologic mapping in southwestern Sonora and 40Ar/39Ar dating of pre-, syn-, and post-tectonic volcanic units indicate that late Miocene deformation and volcanic activity were largely restricted to a NW-trending, 100-120 km wide belt adjacent to the coast. Inboard of this belt, NW-SE extension is mainly older (>15 Ma) and occurred in an intra-arc or back-arc setting. Proto-Gulf deformation within the coastal belt was profoundly transtensional, with NW-striking, dextral strike slip faults operating in concert with N-S and NNE-striking normal and oblique slip faults to produce an inferred NW or NNW tectonic transport direction. The total amount of late Miocene NW directed dextral shear within the coastal belt is still poorly constrained, but may exceed 100 km. The locus of deformation and volcanic activity migrated westward or northwestward within the Sonoran coastal belt. in the eastern portion (Sierra Libre and Sierra El Bacatete) major volcanic activity commenced at ˜13.0 Ma and peaked at 12.0 Ma, and major faulting and tilting is bracketed between 12.0 and 10.6 Ma. Further west in the Sierra El Aguaje/San Carlos region, major volcanic activity commenced at 11.5 Ma and peaked at 10.5 Ma, and most faulting and tilting is bracketed between 10.7 and 9.3 Ma. On the coastal mountains northwest of San Carlos, rift related faulting and tilting continued after 8.5 Ma. Voluminous late Miocene (13-8 Ma) volcanic rocks within the Sonoran coastal belt were erupted from numerous centers (e.g. Sierra Libre, Guaymas, Sierra El Aguaje). These thick volcanic sections are compositionally diverse (basalt to rhyolite, with abundant dacite and

Effects of inbreeding on economic traits of channel catfish.

PubMed

Bondari, K; Dunham, R A

1987-05-01

Inbred channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were produced from two generations of full-sib matings to study the effect of inbreeding on reproduction, growth and survival. A randomly mated control line was propagated from the same base population to be used for the evaluation of the inbred fish. First generation inbred (I1) and control (C1) lines comprised five full-sib families each. Second generation inbred (I2) and control (C2) lines were produced by mating each male catfish from the I1 or C1 line to two females in sequence, one from the I1 and one from the C1 line. The design also produced two reciprocal outcross lines to be compared to their contemporary inbred and control lines. The coefficient of inbreeding for the inbred line increased from 0.25 in generation 1 to 0.375 in generation 2. The inbreeding coefficient was zero for all other lines. The resulting fish were performance tested in two locations, Tifton, Georgia and Auburn, Alabama and no genotype-environment interactions occurred. Results indicated that one generation of inbreeding increased number of days required for eggs to hatch by 21%, but did not significantly influence spawn weight or hatchability score. However, inbred females produced more eggs/kg body weight than control females. Two generations of full-sib mating in Georgia did not depress weight when expressed as a deviation to random controls but was depressed 13-16% when expressed as a deviation to half-sib out-crosses. Second generation inbreds produced in Alabama exhibited a 19% depression for growth rate when compared to either random or half-sib outcross controls. Survival rates at various age intervals was not decreased by inbreeding. The amount of inbreeding depression varied among families and between sexes.

First Miocene rodent from Lebanon provides the 'missing link' between Asian and African gundis (Rodentia: Ctenodactylidae).

PubMed

López-Antoñanzas, Raquel; Knoll, Fabien; Maksoud, Sibelle; Azar, Dany

2015-08-07

Ctenodactylinae (gundis) is a clade of rodents that experienced, in Miocene time, their greatest diversification and widest distribution. They expanded from the Far East, their area of origin, to Africa, which they entered from what would become the Arabian Peninsula. Questions concerning the origin of African Ctenodactylinae persist essentially because of a poor fossil record from the Miocene of Afro-Arabia. However, recent excavations in the Late Miocene of Lebanon have yielded a key taxon for our understanding of these issues. Proafricanomys libanensis nov. gen. nov. sp. shares a variety of dental characters with both the most primitive and derived members of the subfamily. A cladistic analysis demonstrates that this species is the sister taxon to a clade encompassing all but one of the African ctenodactylines, plus a southern European species of obvious African extraction. As such, Proafricanomys provides the 'missing link' between the Asian and African gundis.

First Miocene rodent from Lebanon provides the 'missing link' between Asian and African gundis (Rodentia: Ctenodactylidae)

PubMed Central

López-Antoñanzas, Raquel; Knoll, Fabien; Maksoud, Sibelle; Azar, Dany

2015-01-01

Ctenodactylinae (gundis) is a clade of rodents that experienced, in Miocene time, their greatest diversification and widest distribution. They expanded from the Far East, their area of origin, to Africa, which they entered from what would become the Arabian Peninsula. Questions concerning the origin of African Ctenodactylinae persist essentially because of a poor fossil record from the Miocene of Afro-Arabia. However, recent excavations in the Late Miocene of Lebanon have yielded a key taxon for our understanding of these issues. Proafricanomys libanensis nov. gen. nov. sp. shares a variety of dental characters with both the most primitive and derived members of the subfamily. A cladistic analysis demonstrates that this species is the sister taxon to a clade encompassing all but one of the African ctenodactylines, plus a southern European species of obvious African extraction. As such, Proafricanomys provides the 'missing link' between the Asian and African gundis. PMID:26250050

Uptake, tissue distribution, and metabolism of malachite green in the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plakas, S.M.; El Said, K. R.; Stehly, G.R.; Gingerich, W.H.; Allen, J.L.

1996-01-01

The disposition of malachite green was determined in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) after intravascular dosing (0.8 mg . Kg-1) or waterborne exposure (0.8 mg . L-1 for 1 h). After intravascular dosing, mean plasma concentrations of the parent compound exhibited a triphasic decline with a terminal elimination half-life of 6.2 h. Malachite green was rapidly absorbed and concentrated in the tissues during waterborne exposure. The rate of accumulation was directly related to pH of the exposure water. After waterborne exposure, elimination of the parent compound from plasma also was triphasic with a terminal half-life of 4.7 h. In muscle, the half-life of the parent compound was approximately 67 h. Malachite green and its metabolites were widely distributed in all tissues. In fish exposed to C-14-labeled malachite green, total drug equivalent concentrations were highest in abdominal fat and lowest in plasma. Malachite green was rapidly and extensively metabolized to its reduced form, leucomalachite green, which was slowly eliminated from the tissues. Leucomalachite green is an appropriate target analyte for monitoring exposure of channel catfish to this drug.

Bioconcentration of ibuprofen in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus).

PubMed

Nallani, Gopinath C; Paulos, Peter M; Constantine, Lisa A; Venables, Barney J; Huggett, Duane B

2011-09-01

Pharmaceutical products and their metabolites are being widely detected in aquatic environments and there is a growing interest in assessing potential risks of these substances to fish and other non-target species. Ibuprofen is one of the most commonly used analgesic drugs and no peer-reviewed laboratory studies have evaluated the tissue specific bioconcentration of ibuprofen in fish. In the current study, fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to 250 μg L(-1) ibuprofen for 28 d followed by a 14 d depuration phase. In a minimized bioconcentration test design, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were exposed to 250 μg L(-1) for a week and allowed to depurate for 7 d. Tissues were collected during uptake and depuration phases of each test and the corresponding proportional and kinetic bioconcentration factors (BCFs) were estimated. The results indicated that the BCF levels were very low (0.08-1.4) implying the lack of bioconcentration potential for ibuprofen in the two species. The highest accumulation of ibuprofen was observed in the catfish plasma as opposed to individual tissues. The minimized test design yielded similar bioconcentration results as those of the standard test and has potential for its use in screening approaches for pharmaceuticals and other classes of chemicals. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New, Late Miocene mammalian assemblage from the Palo Pintado Formation (Northwestern Argentina)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimicz, Natalia; Payrola, Patricio; del Papa, Cecilia

2018-01-01

A new mammalian assemblage from the Late Miocene Palo Pintado Formation in Northwestern Argentina is described. Specimens were exhumed from the lower levels of the unit cropping out at Tonco Valley, Salta Province. The association includes representatives of seven families and three orders: Cingulata (Macrochorobates, Vetelia, Euphractini gen et sp. indet. a and b), Notoungulata (Paedotherium, Protypotherium, Typotheriopsis), and Rodentia (Caviidae gen et sp. indet. a and b, Procardiomys, Protabrocoma, Prolagostomus, Lagostomus). This assemblage, together with stratigraphical information, suggests a Late Miocene age, probably intermediate between Chasicoan and Huayquerian SALMAs for the fossiliferous levels of the Palo Pintado Formation in Tonco Valley. Paleoecological data discernible from the faunal association suggest grassland and marsh communities that developed in the flood-plain setting under a seasonal climate with a conspicuous dry season.

Direct and indirect effects of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) on native crayfishes (Cambaridae) in experimental tanks

Treesearch

Susan B. Adams

2006-01-01

For The incised, sand-bed streams of northcentral Mississippi, USA, fish predation is one plausible mechanism to explain both relatively low crayfish densities and differences in stream size occupied by various native crayfishes. I conducted two mesocosm experiments to test effects of a fish predator (channel catfish, Ictalurus punctahls) on the...

Late Miocene decoupling of oceanic warmth and atmospheric carbon dioxide forcing.

PubMed

LaRiviere, Jonathan P; Ravelo, A Christina; Crimmins, Allison; Dekens, Petra S; Ford, Heather L; Lyle, Mitch; Wara, Michael W

2012-06-06

Deep-time palaeoclimate studies are vitally important for developing a complete understanding of climate responses to changes in the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (that is, the atmospheric partial pressure of CO(2), p(co(2))). Although past studies have explored these responses during portions of the Cenozoic era (the most recent 65.5 million years (Myr) of Earth history), comparatively little is known about the climate of the late Miocene (∼12-5 Myr ago), an interval with p(co(2)) values of only 200-350 parts per million by volume but nearly ice-free conditions in the Northern Hemisphere and warmer-than-modern temperatures on the continents. Here we present quantitative geochemical sea surface temperature estimates from the Miocene mid-latitude North Pacific Ocean, and show that oceanic warmth persisted throughout the interval of low p(co(2)) ∼12-5 Myr ago. We also present new stable isotope measurements from the western equatorial Pacific that, in conjunction with previously published data, reveal a long-term trend of thermocline shoaling in the equatorial Pacific since ∼13 Myr ago. We propose that a relatively deep global thermocline, reductions in low-latitude gradients in sea surface temperature, and cloud and water vapour feedbacks may help to explain the warmth of the late Miocene. Additional shoaling of the thermocline after 5 Myr ago probably explains the stronger coupling between p(co(2)), sea surface temperatures and climate that is characteristic of the more recent Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs.

Foraminiferal biostratigraphy, paleoenvironmental history, and rates of sedimentation within subsurface Miocene of southern Alabama and adjoining state and Federal Waters Areas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, C.C.

1989-03-01

Miocene sedimentary rocks of the study area consist of a predominantly regressive sequence of clay and quartzose sand deposited on a carbonate platform which dips toward the southwest at 50-100 ft/mi. This clastic wedge ranges in thickness from 1000 ft in central Mobile and Baldwin Counties to a maximum of about 5800 ft in the northeastern portion of the Main Pass area. Analysis of planktonic and benthic foraminifera has resulted in a refined biostratigraphic zonation of these rocks, which indicates that basal Miocene transgressive shale assignable to the Amphistegina B interval zone immediately overlies the upper Oligocene regional carbonate platform.more » Thus, both lower and lower middle Miocene sedimentary rocks are absent throughout the area of investigation. Biostratigraphic analysis of the middle and upper Miocene rocks has resulted in a series of cross sections illustrating the dramatic thickening southwestward into the federal offshore continental shelf and showing the relationships of producing intervals in the Cibicides carstensi and Discorbis ''12'' interval zones. Paleoenvironmental interpretations are illustrated on a series of maps constructed for selected regional biostratigraphic zones. These maps have outlined previously unrecognized late middle and early late Miocene deltaic sedimentation in the southeastern Mobile County and Chandeleur-Viosca Knoll (north) areas. Study of sedimentation rates, which range from less than 25 up to 1370 ft/m.y., further aids in understanding the deltaic and coastal shelf sedimentation of the Miocene within Alabama and adjoining state and federal waters areas.« less

Genesis of Miocene litho-stratigraphic trap and hydrocarbon accumulation in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Caiwei; Jiang, Tao; Liu, Kun; Tan, Jiancai; Li, Hu; Li, Anqi

2018-12-01

In recent years, several large gas fields have been discovered in western Qiongdongnan Basin. It is important and necessary to illustrate their sedimentary characteristics and hydrocarbon migration so that more gas fields could be discovered in the future. Previous regional tectonic-sedimentary researchers show that large-scale source rock of the Yacheng Formation developed in the Ledong and Lingshui sags due to the Red River Fault pull-apart strike slip in early Oligocene. The main targets for hydrocarbon exploration in this area are the Miocene deep water reservoirs. In late Miocene, the Huangliu Formation reservoirs are composed of the early channels which were sourced by river systems in Hainan uplift and the consequent channels were sourced by Qiupen River in Kunsong uplift. Both axial channels exhibit unique spatial distribution patterns and geometries. The other kind of reservoir developed in the middle Miocene Meishan Formation, which compose of slope break-controlled submarine fan. They can be further classified into three types—slope channelized fan, basin floor fan, and bottom current reworked fan. The various fans have different reservoir quality. These two kinds of reservoirs contribute to four types of litho-stratigraphic traps under the actions of sedimentation and subsidence. The overpressure caused by hydrocarbon generation can fracture deeper strata and result in regional fractured network for hydrocarbon migration. Therefore, free gas driven by overpressure and buoyancy force can be migrated into Miocene litho-stratigraphic traps to accumulate. The revealed genesis of Miocene lithologic trap and hydrocarbon accumulation in the Qiongdongnan Basin would greatly contribute to the further hydrocarbon exploration in northern South China Sea and can be helpful for other deep water areas around the world.

Understanding the Miocene-Pliocene - The Mediterranean Point of View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, D.; Marzocchi, A.; Lunt, D. J.; Flecker, R.; Hilgen, F. J.; Meijer, P. T.

2015-12-01

During the Miocene-Pliocene the Mediterranean region experienced major changes in paleogeography. Today, its only connection to the global ocean is the Strait of Gibraltar. This restricted nature causes the Mediterranean basin to react more sensitive to climatic and tectonic related phenomena than the global ocean: Not just eustatic sea-level and regional river run-off, but also gateway tectonics and connectivity between sub-basins are leaving an enhanced fingerprint in its geological record. To understand its evolution, it is crucial to understand how these different effects are coupled. The Miocene-Pliocene sedimentary record of the Mediterranean alternates in composition and colour. Around the Miocene-Pliocene Boundary the most extreme changes occur in the Mediterranean Sea: About 6% of the salt in the global ocean got deposited in the Mediterranean Region, forming an approximately 2km thick salt layer, which is still present today. This extreme event is named the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC, 5.97-5.33Ma). Before (and also after) the MSC, the sedimentary record demonstrates "marl dominated" alternations with variations in organic content (e.g. higher organic content = sapropel). During the MSC these change to mainly "evaporite (e.g. gypsum or halite) dominated" alternations, but also to brackish Black Sea-type of deposits towards the end of the crisis. Due to its relative short geological time span, the period before, during and after the MSC is ideal to study these extreme changes in sedimentation. We are investigating these couplings and evolutions in a box/budget model. With such a model we can study the responses to basin water exchange dynamics under the effect of different regional and global climatic and tectonic forcings, to predict the evolution of basin properties (e.g. salinity). By doing so we can isolate certain climatic and tectonic effects, to better understand their individual contribution, their interaction, but also the consequences due to

Late Miocene to Pleistocene Mineralogy of ODP Site 1146

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, E. M.

2001-12-01

ODP Site 1146 (19° 27.40'N, 116° 16.37'E, 2092 m depth) was drilled on the continental slope of the South China Sea. A composite section, comprised of three stratigraphic units, extends down to 640 mcd. Unit 1 is late Pliocene to Pleistocene nannofossil clay (0 - 243 mcd); Unit 2, middle Miocene to Late Pliocene foraminifera - nannofossil - clay mixed sediment (243 - 553 mcd); Unit 3, early to middle Miocene nannofossil clay (553 - 642 mcd). This study reports the < 2 μ m mineralogy from the late Miocene through early Pleistocene. Samples were analyzed at approximately 1.5 m intervals from 150 to 225 mcd, and 1 m intervals from 225 to 440 mcd, with an age resolution of ~25 ka and ~35 ka, respectively. Illite, chlorite, quartz and plagioclase concentrations decrease with increasing depth through Unit 1. Kaolinite and calcite concentrations increase with depth, while smectite values are constant in this unit. Illite, quartz and plagioclase show high variability in Unit 1 compared with the underlying Unit 2. Unit 2 has more uniform sediment composition, with constant illite, chlorite, and quartz concentrations. Kaolinite concentration increases with depth, following a drop in concentration across the Unit 1/2 boundary. Plagioclase concentration shows a small, steady decrease throughout this unit. Smectite concentration does not change across the Unit 1/2 boundary, decreases to a steady low value from 310 - 400 mcd, and increases again towards the bottom. The mineralogy of sediments recovered at Site 1146 suggest a classic pattern of source region aridification from the middle Pliocene through the Pleistocene, indicated in Unit 1 mineralogy as a decrease in kaolinite with decreasing depth, concomitant with an increase in quartz, plagioclase, illite and chlorite. The mineral variability in this interval suggests glacial - interglacial control of the terrigenous sedimentation. The sediment sources and source area weathering regimes were relatively constant throughout

Middle Miocene Displacement Along the Rand Detachment Fault, Rand Mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shulaker, D. Z.; Grove, M. J.

2015-12-01

Laramide flat-slab subduction extinguished Sierra Nevada pluton emplacement in southern California by ca. 85 Ma as trench-derived sediments were underthrust and accreted beneath arc basement. These relationships are well illustrated in the Rand Mountains, situated just south of the Garlock fault in the northwestern Mojave Desert. Here, accreted rocks within the Rand Mountains are referred to as Rand Schist. The Rand Detachment fault juxtaposes Rand Schist beneath 87 Ma Sierran granitoids. New zircon (U-Th)/He age results from schist and basement juxtaposed across the Rand Detachment fault are 15 ± 3 Ma and 30 ± 5 Ma, respectively. When considered within the context of previously reported thermochronology from the Rand Mountains, our data shows that the Rand Detachment fault in the Rand Mountains is a middle Miocene fault that facilitated extension of the northwest Mojave Desert. This timing is in temporal and spatial agreement with regional extension throughout the Mojave triggered by northern migration of the slab window after collision of the Mendocino Triple Junction with the southern California margin. Further evidence of slab-window-related magmatism in the easternmost Rand Mountains is provided by the 19 Ma Yellow Aster pluton and 19 Ma rhyolite porphyry. It is possible that Miocene extension re-activated an older structure within the Rand Mountains. For example, a similar low-angle fault juxtaposing schist and basement present in the San Emigdio Mountains is believed to have accommodated large scale Late Cretaceous displacement, exhuming Rand Schist and overlying deepest Sierran basement to shallow crustal levels by 77 Ma [1]. However, 68-72 Ma phengite cooling ages and other thermochronology from the Rand Mountains indicates that any pre-Miocene extension in this area must postdate that in the San Emigdio Mountains. [1] Chapman et al., 2012. Geosphere, 8, 314-341.

Clay mineralogy indicates the living environment of the terminal Miocene hominoid of the Zhaotong Basin, Yunnan, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, C.; Guo, Z.; Deng, C.; Ji, X.; Wu, H.; Paterson, G. A.; Lin, C.; Li, Q.; Ling, B.; Zhu, R.

2015-12-01

Global and regional environmental changes have profoundly influenced the evolutionary processes of hominoid primates, particularly during the mid to late Miocene. Recently, a new fossil hominoid was discovered in the Shiutangba (STB) section of the Zhaotong Basin in Yunnan on the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau, and was assigned to the species of Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis with the age of ~6.2 Ma, the terminal Miocene. To understand the relationship between paleoclimate and hominoid evolution, here we present sedimentary, clay mineralogy and geochemical proxies for the 16 m thick late Miocene sedimentary sequence (ca. 6.7-6.0 Ma) from the STB section. Our results show that Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis lived in a mildly warm and humid climate in a lacustrine or swamp environment rather than hot and humid conditions. A comprehensive comparison among mid to late Miocene records from Yunnan hominoid sites, Siwalik and tropical Africa indicates that warm and humid ecological shifts in South and Southeast Asia are much later than tropical Africa. The presence of the Tibetan plateau may have influenced regional climatic conditions, and the warm and humid condition in the southern China (and perhaps Southeast Asia in general) offered an important refuge for hominoids.

HPLC Determination and MS Confirmation of Malachite Green, Gentian Violet, and Their Leuco Metabolites in Catfish Muscle

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Residues of malachite green (MG), gentian violet (GV), and their leuco metabolites in catfish muscle were individually determined by HPLC using visible and fluorescence detectors. This detection scheme obviated a PbO2 column that converts leuco forms to chromatic forms for visible detection, thus el...

Effect of Pre-cooking and Addition of Phosphate on the Quality of Microwave Cooked Catfish Fillets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the US market place there are many examples of precooked poultry products designed to be reheated in a microwave oven and to a lesser extent fish products such as tilapia. However, there are few US catfish products designed to be microwave cooked or reheated in the market place. The first objecti...

Badenian (Middle Miocene) echinoids and starfish from western Ukraine, and their biogeographic and stratigraphic significance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radwański, Andrzej; Górka, Marcin; Wysocka, Anna

2014-06-01

Echinoderms from the Badenian (Middle Miocene) of the Fore-Carpathian Basin of western Ukraine are facies restricted. The Mykolaiv Beds, stratigraphically older, yielded the starfish Astropecten forbesi (complete skeletons), two genera of sand dollars (Parascutella, Parmulechinus), and numerous other echinoids of the genera Psammechinus , Echinocyamus, Spatangus, Hemipatagus, Echinocardium, Clypeaster, Echinolampas, and Conolampas. The stratigraphically younger, calcareous Ternopil Beds yielded Eucidaris (complete coronae, isolated spines), Arbacina , Brissus, and Rhabdobrissus. Sixteen species of echinoids are distinguished and/or commented. A new brissid, Rhabdobrissus tarnopolensis sp. nov., is established. A mass occurrence of some species (Psammechinus dubius and Hemipatagus ocellatus) contrasts with that of mass aggregations (sand dollars and Echinocardium leopolitanum) by dynamic events in selected layers of proximal tempestites. Of special note is the occurrence of very small specimens, interpreted as juveniles (`babies') having been swept out of their restricted biotopes (`nurseries'). Some species hitherto regarded as of Early Miocene age, and the problem of their persistence beyond the Fore-Carpathian Basin and/or migration into that basin during the Middle Miocene transgression are discussed.

Miocene woods from the Qaidam Basin on northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with implications for paleoenvironmental change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Ye-Ming; Yang, Xiao-Nan

2016-02-01

The Qaidam Basin with the most complete Cenozoic sedimentary preservation in northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a key area for studying uplift and environmental change of the plateau. Three types of woods, Ulmus (Ulmaceae), Leguminosae (?) (angiosperm) and Cupressaceae (gymnosperm) were recognized from the large-scale preservation of fossil woods in late Miocene Shang Youshashan Formation in northern Qaidam Basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Both investigations of their Nearest Living Relatives (NLRs) and previous grassland mammal evidences suggest that there have been temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest and needle-leaved forest with grass in northern Qaidam Basin during the late Miocene in contrast to the desert vegetation found there nowadays. The presence of the ancient forest steppe further implies that the southern part of the plateau used to be adequately low, so that the Indian and East Asian monsoons could approach the northern area and to accommodate the vegetation in late Miocene.

Sensitivity of climate and Atlantic overturning circulation to uncertain ocean gateway configurations for the late Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradshaw, C.; Lunt, D. J.; Flecker, R.; Martinez-Mendez, G.

2013-12-01

The palaeorecord documents late Miocene (11.6-5.3 Ma) climate to be much warmer and wetter than today yet CO2 reconstructions are similar to modern levels. Given the apparent decoupling between CO2 and warmth for this period we investigate here the role of the oceans. The late Miocene experienced significant tectonic change including the restriction of some of the last ocean gateways to close (Panama Gateway and Indonesian Seaway) and open (Bering Strait and Barents/Kara Sea). However, the timing and configuration of these tectonic changes is uncertain. The final closure of the Panama Gateway is dated to the Pliocene, but continental mammal exchange suggests the existence of a Central American archipelago from the mid-late Miocene. The Bering Strait is typically assumed to have opened at the very end of the late Miocene/early Pliocene based on diatom exchange, but other marine and terrestrial evidence points to a much earlier, perhaps intermittent, opening. The timing of the restriction of the Indonesian Seaway is very poorly constrained at middle Miocene to Pliocene. The Barents Sea and Kara Sea shelves are documented as having being subject to extensive glacial erosion and post-glacial uplift since the Pliocene and throughout the Quaternary but records of uplift and erosion during the earlier Cenozoic are limited. However, the presence of significant preglacial sediments suggests that this region underwent tectonic uplift, volcanism and subsequent erosion during the Eocene-Miocene period although the age assignment of the data remains controversial. The Panama Gateway has been suggested to influence North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) production through numerous modelling studies, the Bering Strait has been suggested to greatly impact NADW during the Quaternary, and the strength of Indonesian Throughflow is hypothesised to influence Agulhas Leakage, which, in turn, has been speculated to influence Atlantic meridional overturning and thus NADW production. Here, we

Salt-dome-related diagenesis of Miocene sediment, Black Bayou field, Cameron Parish, Louisiana

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leger, W.R.

1988-09-01

The Black Bayou field is associated with a salt dome that pierces Miocene sediment and rises to within 900 ft (275 m) of the surface. The Louisiana Gulf Coast regional geothermal gradient is locally affected by the salt dome. The gradient increases to values greater than the regional gradient, 1.26/degrees/F/100 ft (23/degrees/C/km), near the dome. Local effects of the salt dome on clastic diagenesis have been determined by studying sandstone samples adjacent to and away from the salt dome within Miocene sediment. Sample depths range from 4155 to 6145 ft (1266 to 1873 m). Distances of samples from the edgemore » of the dome range from 82 to 820 ft (25 to 250 m).« less

Palynology of the Heath Formation (Miocene) from the Progreso Basin, Peru

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Engelhardt, D.W.; Wood, G.D.

1993-02-01

A diverse and well preserved assemblage of pollen, spores, dinoflagellates, and acritarchs were recovered from outcrop samples of the Heath Formation, exposed along Bocapan Creek near Tumbes, Peru. The pollen and spores include representatives of Arecipites, Bombacacidites, Caryapollenites, Cicatricosisporites, Couperipollis, Cyathidites, Diporisporites, Distaverrusporites, Dyadosporites, Echiperiporites, Faramea, Foveodiporites, Foveotriletes, Fusiformisporites, Gothanipollis, Granitricolpites, Hymenophyllum, Hexpollenties, Involutisporites, Laevigatosporites, Lygodiumsporites, Magniperiporites, Malvacearumpollis, Monocolpopollenites, Perissyncolporites, Peritheciumites, Phragmothyrites, Polyadadporites, Polypodiaceisporites, Polypodiisporites, Retibrevitricolpites, Striadisporites, Tetracolporites, Tricolporopollenties, and Verrucosisporites. Plankton are assignable to Lejeunecysta, Operculodinium, Pterospermella, Selenopemphix, Spiniferites, Sumatradinium, Tythodiscus, and Tuberculodinium. The palynomorph assemblage can be placed in the Early Miocene based on the co-occurrence of Cicatricosisporitesmore » dorogensis, Couperipollis rarispinosus, Echiperiporites estelae, Magniperiporites echinatus, Perisyncolporites porkornii, Polypodiaceoisporites minor, P. potoniei, Reticolporites guianesnsis, R. irregularis, Scabriporites asymetricus, Selenopemphix nephroides and Tuberculodinium vancampoae. This is an agreement with foraminiferal evidence which positions the Heath Formation in the Early Miocene Catapsydrax dissimilis, Catapsydrax stainforthi and oldest portion of the Globigerinatella insueta zones.« less

Miocene small-bodied ape from Eurasia sheds light on hominoid evolution.

PubMed

Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; DeMiguel, Daniel; Fortuny, Josep; Pérez de los Ríos, Miriam; Pina, Marta; Robles, Josep M; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2015-10-30

Miocene small-bodied anthropoid primates from Africa and Eurasia are generally considered to precede the divergence between the two groups of extant catarrhines—hominoids (apes and humans) and Old World monkeys—and are thus viewed as more primitive than the stem ape Proconsul. Here we describe Pliobates cataloniae gen. et sp. nov., a small-bodied (4 to 5 kilograms) primate from the Iberian Miocene (11.6 million years ago) that displays a mosaic of primitive characteristics coupled with multiple cranial and postcranial shared derived features of extant hominoids. Our cladistic analyses show that Pliobates is a stem hominoid that is more derived than previously described small catarrhines and Proconsul. This forces us to reevaluate the role played by small-bodied catarrhines in ape evolution and provides key insight into the last common ancestor of hylobatids (gibbons) and hominids (great apes and humans). Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, Richard; Harwood, David; Florindo, Fabio; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Tripati, Robert; von Eynatten, Hilmar; Gasson, Edward; Kuhn, Gerhard; Tripati, Aradhna; DeConto, Robert; Fielding, Christopher; Field, Brad; Golledge, Nicholas; McKay, Robert; Naish, Timothy; Olney, Matthew; Pollard, David; Schouten, Stefan; Talarico, Franco; Warny, Sophie; Willmott, Veronica; Acton, Gary; Panter, Kurt; Paulsen, Timothy; Taviani, Marco; SMS Science Team; Acton, Gary; Askin, Rosemary; Atkins, Clifford; Bassett, Kari; Beu, Alan; Blackstone, Brian; Browne, Gregory; Ceregato, Alessandro; Cody, Rosemary; Cornamusini, Gianluca; Corrado, Sveva; DeConto, Robert; Del Carlo, Paola; Di Vincenzo, Gianfranco; Dunbar, Gavin; Falk, Candice; Field, Brad; Fielding, Christopher; Florindo, Fabio; Frank, Tracy; Giorgetti, Giovanna; Grelle, Thomas; Gui, Zi; Handwerger, David; Hannah, Michael; Harwood, David M.; Hauptvogel, Dan; Hayden, Travis; Henrys, Stuart; Hoffmann, Stefan; Iacoviello, Francesco; Ishman, Scott; Jarrard, Richard; Johnson, Katherine; Jovane, Luigi; Judge, Shelley; Kominz, Michelle; Konfirst, Matthew; Krissek, Lawrence; Kuhn, Gerhard; Lacy, Laura; Levy, Richard; Maffioli, Paola; Magens, Diana; Marcano, Maria C.; Millan, Cristina; Mohr, Barbara; Montone, Paola; Mukasa, Samuel; Naish, Timothy; Niessen, Frank; Ohneiser, Christian; Olney, Mathew; Panter, Kurt; Passchier, Sandra; Patterson, Molly; Paulsen, Timothy; Pekar, Stephen; Pierdominici, Simona; Pollard, David; Raine, Ian; Reed, Joshua; Reichelt, Lucia; Riesselman, Christina; Rocchi, Sergio; Sagnotti, Leonardo; Sandroni, Sonia; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Schmitt, Douglas; Speece, Marvin; Storey, Bryan; Strada, Eleonora; Talarico, Franco; Taviani, Marco; Tuzzi, Eva; Verosub, Kenneth; von Eynatten, Hilmar; Warny, Sophie; Wilson, Gary; Wilson, Terry; Wonik, Thomas; Zattin, Massimiliano

2016-03-01

Geological records from the Antarctic margin offer direct evidence of environmental variability at high southern latitudes and provide insight regarding ice sheet sensitivity to past climate change. The early to mid-Miocene (23-14 Mya) is a compelling interval to study as global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for coming centuries. Importantly, this time interval includes the Miocene Climatic Optimum, a period of global warmth during which average surface temperatures were 3-4 °C higher than today. Miocene sediments in the ANDRILL-2A drill core from the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, indicate that the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) was highly variable through this key time interval. A multiproxy dataset derived from the core identifies four distinct environmental motifs based on changes in sedimentary facies, fossil assemblages, geochemistry, and paleotemperature. Four major disconformities in the drill core coincide with regional seismic discontinuities and reflect transient expansion of grounded ice across the Ross Sea. They correlate with major positive shifts in benthic oxygen isotope records and generally coincide with intervals when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at or below preindustrial levels (˜280 ppm). Five intervals reflect ice sheet minima and air temperatures warm enough for substantial ice mass loss during episodes of high (˜500 ppm) atmospheric CO2. These new drill core data and associated ice sheet modeling experiments indicate that polar climate and the AIS were highly sensitive to relatively small changes in atmospheric CO2 during the early to mid-Miocene.

Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene

PubMed Central

Levy, Richard; Harwood, David; Florindo, Fabio; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Tripati, Robert; von Eynatten, Hilmar; Tripati, Aradhna; DeConto, Robert; Fielding, Christopher; Field, Brad; Golledge, Nicholas; McKay, Robert; Naish, Timothy; Olney, Matthew; Pollard, David; Schouten, Stefan; Talarico, Franco; Warny, Sophie; Willmott, Veronica; Acton, Gary; Panter, Kurt; Paulsen, Timothy; Taviani, Marco

2016-01-01

Geological records from the Antarctic margin offer direct evidence of environmental variability at high southern latitudes and provide insight regarding ice sheet sensitivity to past climate change. The early to mid-Miocene (23–14 Mya) is a compelling interval to study as global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for coming centuries. Importantly, this time interval includes the Miocene Climatic Optimum, a period of global warmth during which average surface temperatures were 3–4 °C higher than today. Miocene sediments in the ANDRILL-2A drill core from the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, indicate that the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) was highly variable through this key time interval. A multiproxy dataset derived from the core identifies four distinct environmental motifs based on changes in sedimentary facies, fossil assemblages, geochemistry, and paleotemperature. Four major disconformities in the drill core coincide with regional seismic discontinuities and reflect transient expansion of grounded ice across the Ross Sea. They correlate with major positive shifts in benthic oxygen isotope records and generally coincide with intervals when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at or below preindustrial levels (∼280 ppm). Five intervals reflect ice sheet minima and air temperatures warm enough for substantial ice mass loss during episodes of high (∼500 ppm) atmospheric CO2. These new drill core data and associated ice sheet modeling experiments indicate that polar climate and the AIS were highly sensitive to relatively small changes in atmospheric CO2 during the early to mid-Miocene. PMID:26903644

Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene.

PubMed

Levy, Richard; Harwood, David; Florindo, Fabio; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Tripati, Robert; von Eynatten, Hilmar; Gasson, Edward; Kuhn, Gerhard; Tripati, Aradhna; DeConto, Robert; Fielding, Christopher; Field, Brad; Golledge, Nicholas; McKay, Robert; Naish, Timothy; Olney, Matthew; Pollard, David; Schouten, Stefan; Talarico, Franco; Warny, Sophie; Willmott, Veronica; Acton, Gary; Panter, Kurt; Paulsen, Timothy; Taviani, Marco

2016-03-29

Geological records from the Antarctic margin offer direct evidence of environmental variability at high southern latitudes and provide insight regarding ice sheet sensitivity to past climate change. The early to mid-Miocene (23-14 Mya) is a compelling interval to study as global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for coming centuries. Importantly, this time interval includes the Miocene Climatic Optimum, a period of global warmth during which average surface temperatures were 3-4 °C higher than today. Miocene sediments in the ANDRILL-2A drill core from the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, indicate that the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) was highly variable through this key time interval. A multiproxy dataset derived from the core identifies four distinct environmental motifs based on changes in sedimentary facies, fossil assemblages, geochemistry, and paleotemperature. Four major disconformities in the drill core coincide with regional seismic discontinuities and reflect transient expansion of grounded ice across the Ross Sea. They correlate with major positive shifts in benthic oxygen isotope records and generally coincide with intervals when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at or below preindustrial levels (∼280 ppm). Five intervals reflect ice sheet minima and air temperatures warm enough for substantial ice mass loss during episodes of high (∼500 ppm) atmospheric CO2 These new drill core data and associated ice sheet modeling experiments indicate that polar climate and the AIS were highly sensitive to relatively small changes in atmospheric CO2 during the early to mid-Miocene.

Late Miocene - Pliocene Evolution of the Pacific Warm Pool and Cold Tongue: Implications for El Niño

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Pagani, M.

2011-12-01

The Western Pacific Warm Pool of the tropical Pacific Ocean retains the largest and warmest sea surface water body on Earth, while the eastern equatorial Pacific is characterized by strong upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich deep waters, termed the Pacific cold tongue. Evolution of the Pacific warm pool and cold tongue are important because they control the circum-Pacific climate and impact the globe via El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) teleconnections. Sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions using a single site from the warm pool (ODP 806) and two sites from the cold tongue (ODP 846, 847) suggest that the temperature of the warm pool was "stable" throughout the Plio-Pleistocene, whereas the cold tongue was much warmer in the Pliocene and subsequently cooled. The absence of an east-west Pacific temperature gradient during the early Pliocene is the basis for the "permanent El Niño" hypothesis. However, annually-resolved fossil coral and evaporite records found 3-7 years climate variability during the Pliocene warm period and late Miocene, challenging a "permanent" or invariant climate state. Here we present a multi-proxy (TEX86, UK37, Mg/Ca), multi-site reconstruction of the late Miocene - Pliocene (ca. 12 Ma - 3 Ma) SST in the Pacific warm pool (ODP 806, ODP 769 in the Sulu Sea, ODP 1143 in the South China Sea) and the cold tongue (ODP 850, 849, 846). Our results show that the cold tongue was even warmer in the late Miocene than the Pliocene, and that the warm pool cooled 2-3°C from the late Miocene into the Pliocene - in contrast to the invariant character previously assumed. Temperature comparison between different sites suggests that the warm pool may have expanded in size in the late Miocene. Although eastern and western ends of the tropical Pacific were warmer, a persistent, but low east-west temperature gradient (~3°C) is apparent. This agrees with recent studies which have shown ENSO-related frequency of climate change in the late Miocene and

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) leukocytes express estrogen receptor isoforms ERα and ERβ2 and are functionally modulated by estrogens

USGS Publications Warehouse

Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Stafford, James L.; Patiño, Reynaldo; Bengten, Eva; Miller, Norman W.; Blazer, Vicki

2014-01-01

Estrogens are recognized as modulators of immune responses in mammals and teleosts. While it is known that the effects of estrogens are mediated via leukocyte-specific estrogen receptors (ERs) in humans and mice, leucocyte-specific estrogen receptor expression and the effects of estrogens on this cell population is less explored and poorly understood in teleosts. Here in, we verify that channel catfish (Ictalurus punctaus) leukocytes express ERα and ERβ2. Transcripts of these isoforms were detected in tissue-associated leukocyte populations by PCR, but ERβ2 was rarely detected in PBLs. Expression of these receptors was temporally regulated in PBLs following polyclonal activation by concanavalin A, lipopolysaccharide or alloantigen based on evaluation by quantitative and end-point PCR. Examination of long-term leukocyte cell lines demonstrated that these receptors are differentially expressed depending on leukocyte lineage and phenotype. Expression of ERs was also temporally dynamic in some leukocyte lineages and may reflect stage of cell maturity. Estrogens affect the responsiveness of channel catfish peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) to mitogens in vitro. Similarly, bactericidal activity and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate induced respiratory burst was modulated by 17β-estradiol. These actions were blocked by the pure ER antagonist ICI 182780 indicating that response is, in part, mediated via ERα. In summary, estrogen receptors are expressed in channel catfish leukocytes and participate in the regulation of the immune response. This is the first time leukocyte lineage expression has been reported in teleost cell lines.

Gratkorn - A new late Middle Miocene vertebrate fauna from Styria (Late Sarmatian, Austria)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, M.; Böhme, M.; Prieto, J.

2009-04-01

Integrated stratigraphic approaches provide precise correlations of global standard stages with regional Paratethys stages. Nevertheless, higher resolution stratigraphic matching of terrestrial deposits remains challenging due to the lack of a practical continental biostratigraphy. The mostly used tool for biostratigraphic correlation of non-marine deposits in the Old World is still the concept of Neogene Mammal-zones (MN-zones). However, at higher biostratigraphic resolution (<1 million years) this concept looses its practicability and has to be replaced by a taxon-range-zonation. To solve this problem a higher number of independently dated small-mammal localities are needed. This is especially crucial for the late Middle to earliest Late Miocene, for which vertebrate faunas in the (Central-)Paratethyan area rare. Recently, a new vertebrate fauna was discovered at the locality Gratkorn (clay pit St. Stefan) just beyond the northwestern margin of the Styrian Basin (Gratkorn Basin; 10 km NW Graz; 15°20'55"E/47°08'15"N). The fauna originates from a c. 0.5 m thick hydromorphic paleosol, underlain by fluvial sands and gravels and topped by c. 15 m thick limnic pelites (Gross, 2008). Sedimentological data as well as the gastropod (Harzhauser et al., 2008) and vertebrate faunas point to a highly structured, more or less vegetated alluvial fan/braided river landscape. Active and abandoned fluvial channels, moist floodplain-soils and ephemeral ponds but also nearby dryer open areas and limestone screes of the up-lifting Palaeozoic basement offered a wide range of habitats. The occurrence of xero- and thermophile terrestrial gastropods and ectothermic vertebrates correspond well with the late Middle/early Late Miocene dry-spell in Central Europe (Böhme et al., 2008). Furthermore, an overall semiarid climate is supported by the development of a calcrete horizon c. 0.6 m below the fossiliferous horizon. The vertebrate remains are irregularly distributed throughout the

Regulation and mechanism of leptin on lipid metabolism in ovarian follicle cells from yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco.

PubMed

Zhang, Li-Han; Tan, Xiao-Ying; Wu, Kun; Zhuo, Mei-Qin; Song, Yu-Feng; Chen, Qing-Ling

2015-10-01

The present study was conducted to determine the effect of leptin on lipid metabolism in ovarian follicle cells of yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. For that purpose, primary ovarian follicle cells were isolated from yellow catfish, cultured and subjected to different treatments (control, 0.1% DMSO, 500ng/ml leptin, 500ng/ml leptin plus 100μM wortmannin, 500ng/ml leptin plus 50nM AG490, respectively) for 48h. Intracellular triglyceride (TG) content, the activities (CPT I, FAS, G6PD, and 6PGD) and/or expression level of several enzymes (CPT I, FAS, G6PD, 6PGD, ACCa and ACCb), as well as the mRNA expression of transcription factors (PPARα, PPARγ and SREBP-1) involved in lipid metabolism were determined. Recombinant human leptin (rt-hLEP) incubation significantly reduced intracellular TG content, activities and mRNA levels of FAS, G6PD and 6PGD, SREBP-1 and PPARγ, but enhanced activity and mRNA level of CPT I, PPARα and ACCa. Specific inhibitors AG490 and wortmannin of JAK-STAT and IRS-PI3K signaling pathways prevented leptin-induced changes, indicating that JAK-STAT and IRS-PI3K signaling pathways were involved in the process of leptin-induced changes of lipid metabolism. Based on these observations above, for the first time, our study indicated that leptin reduced lipid deposition by activating lipolysis and suppressing lipogenesis in ovarian follicles of yellow catfish, and both JAK-STAT and IRS-PI3K signaling pathways were involved in the changes of leptin-induced lipid metabolism. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

δ18O and Marion Plateau backstripping: Combining two approaches to constrain late middle Miocene eustatic amplitude

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

John, Cédric M.; Karner, Garry D.; Mutti, Maria

2004-09-01

δ18Obenthic values from Leg 194 Ocean Drilling Program Sites 1192 and 1195 (drilled on the Marion Plateau) were combined with deep-sea values to reconstruct the magnitude range of the late middle Miocene sea-level fall (13.6 11.4 Ma). In parallel, an estimate for the late middle Miocene sea-level fall was calculated from the stratigraphic relationship identified during Leg 194 and the structural relief of carbonate platforms that form the Marion Plateau. Corrections for thermal subsidence induced by Late Cretaceous rifting, flexural sediment loading, and sediment compaction were taken into account. The response of the lithosphere to sediment loading was considered for a range of effective elastic thicknesses (10 < Te < 40 km). By overlapping the sea-level range of both the deep-sea isotopes and the results from the backstripping analysis, we demonstrate that the amplitude of the late middle Miocene sea-level fall was 45 68 m (56.5 ± 11.5 m). Including an estimate for sea-level variation using the δ18Obenthic results from the subtropical Marion Plateau, the range of sea-level fall is tightly constrained between 45 and 55 m (50.0 ± 5.0 m). This result is the first precise quantitative estimate for the amplitude of the late middle Miocene eustatic fall that sidesteps the errors inherent in using benthic foraminifera assemblages to predict paleo water depth. The estimate also includes an error analysis for the flexural response of the lithosphere to both water and sediment loads. Our result implies that the extent of ice buildup in the Miocene was larger than previously estimated, and conversely that the amount of cooling associated with this event was less important.

Oligo-Miocene reservoir sequence characterization and structuring in the Sisseb El Alem-Kalaa Kebira regions (Northeastern Tunisia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houatmia, Faten; Khomsi, Sami; Bédir, Mourad

2015-11-01

The Sisseb El Alem-Enfidha basin is located in the northeastern Tunisia, It is borded by Nadhour - Saouaf syncline to the north, Kairouan plain to the south, the Mediterranean Sea to the east and Tunisian Atlassic "dorsale" to the west. Oligocene and Miocene deltaic deposits present the main potential deep aquifers in this basin with high porosity (25%-30%). The interpretation of twenty seismic reflection profiles, calibrated by wire line logging data of twelve oil wells, hydraulic wells and geologic field sections highlighted the impact of tectonics on the structuring geometry of Oligo-Miocene sandstones reservoirs and their distribution in raised structures and subsurface depressions. Miocene seismostratigraphy analysis from Ain Ghrab Formation (Langhian) to the Segui Formation (Quaternary) showed five third-order seismic sequence deposits and nine extended lenticular sandy bodies reservoirs limited by toplap and downlap surfaces unconformities, Oligocene deposits presented also five third- order seismic sequences with five extended lenticular sandy bodies reservoirs. The Depth and the thickness maps of these sequence reservoir packages exhibited the structuring of this basin in sub-basins characterized by important lateral and vertical geometric and thichness variations. Petroleum wells wire line logging correlation with clay volume calculation showed an heterogeneous multilayer reservoirs of Oligocene and Miocene formed by the arrangement of fourteen sandstone bodies being able to be good reservoirs, separated by impermeable clay packages and affected by faults. Reservoirs levels correspond mainly to the lower system tract (LST) of sequences. Intensive fracturing by deep seated faults bounding the different sub-basins play a great role for water surface recharge and inter-layer circulations between affected reservoirs. The total pore volume of the Oligo-Miocene reservoir sandy bodies in the study area, is estimated to about 4 × 1012 m3 and equivalent to 4 �

A comparison of biomarker responses in juvenile diploid and triploid African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, exposed to the pesticide butachlor

EPA Science Inventory

Influence of waterborne butachlor (BUC), a commonly used pesticide, on morphometric, biochemical, and molecular biomarkers was evaluated in juvenile, full sibling, diploid and triploid African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Fish were exposed for 21 days to one of three concentrati...

Miocene tectonics of the Western Alboran domain: from mantle extensional exhumation to westward thrusting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gueydan, F.; Frasca, G.; Brun, J. P.

2015-12-01

In the frame of the Africa-Europe convergence, the Mediterranean tectonic system presents a complex interaction between subduction rollback and upper-plate deformation during the Tertiary. The western Mediterranean is characterized by the exhumation of the largest subcontinental mantle massif worldwide (the Ronda Peridotite) and a narrow arcuate geometryacross the Gibraltar arc within the Betic-Rif belt (the internal part being called the Alboran domain), where the relationship between slab dynamics and surface tectonics is not well understood. New structural and geochronological data are used to argue for 1/ hyperstrechting of the continental lithosphere allowing extensional mantle exhumation to shallow depths, followed by 2/ lower miocene thrusting. Two Lower Miocene E-W-trending strike-slip corridors played a major role in the deformation pattern of the Alboran Domain, in which E-W dextral strike-slip faults, N60°-trending thrusts and N140°-trending normal faults developed simultaneously during dextral strike-slip simple shear. The inferred continuous westward translation of the Alboran Domain is accommodated by a major E-W-trending lateral ramp (strike-slip) and a N60°-trending frontal thrust. At lithosphere-scale, we interpret the observed deformation pattern as the upper-plate expression of a lateral slab tear and of its westward propagation since Lower Miocene. The crustal emplacement of the Ronda Peridotites occurred at the onset of this westward motion.The Miocene tectonics of the western Alboran is therefore marked by the inversion of a continental rift, triggered by shortening of the upper continental plate and accommodated by E-W dextral strike-slip corridors. During thrusting and westward displacement of the Alboran domain with respect to Iberia, the hot upper plate, which involved the previously exhumed sub-continental mantle, underwent fast cooling.

Paleomagnetic evidence for Late Miocene counterclockwise rotation of north coast carbonate sequence, Puerto Rico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reid, J.A.; Plumley, P.W.; Schellekens, J.H.

1991-03-01

A paleomagnetic study of the essentially undeformed middle Tertiary carbonate sequence along the north coast of Puerto Rico reveals statistically significant pre-Pliocene discordance of characteristic component directions against those expected from cratonic North America for much of the section. Despite generally weak to moderately weak magnetic intensities, confirmation of the magnetization as primary in origin comes from the presence of two distinct components of magnetization, intrasite bipolarity, and/or the reproducibility of measurements. The mean geographic direction for the upper Oligocene to middle Miocene strata is 335.2{degree}/32.9{degree} and the corrected mean paleomagnetic pole is 207.6{degree}/66.5{degree}, (N = 3, {alpha}95 = 4.3{degree}).more » This suggests a counter-clockwise (CCW) block rotation of Puerto Rico and its microplate of 24.5{degrees} ({plus minus} 5.8{degrees}) during the late Miocene. Using a width of 250 km for the Northern Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone (NCPBZ) between the North American Plate and Caribbean Plate, the mean left lateral displacement implied is 1.8 to 2.4 cm/yr, which agrees fairly well with published relative motion rates for the two plates. Average rotation rate for 50 Ma to 20 Ma was 0.7{degree}/my but perhaps as great as 4{degree}/my in the Miocene. Resolution of mean paleolatitude indicates northward motion of a degree or less during the period of rotation. Causes of this short-lived rotation may include (1) tectonic escape from the inhibiting presence of the Bahama Banks and Beata Ridge during eastward motion of Puerto Rico along the sinistral transpressive Puerto Rico Trench and Muertos Trough fault systems or (2) changes in relative plate motions of the Caribbean and North American Plate during the late Miocene.« less

Miocene block uplift and basin formation in the Patagonian foreland: The Gastre Basin, Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilmes, A.; D'Elia, L.; Franzese, J. R.; Veiga, G. D.; Hernández, M.

2013-08-01

The intraplate fault-block mountains and intermontane deposits of the Gastre Basin, which are recorded more than 550 km east of the Andean trench in central Patagonia, Argentina, are analyzed. The Gastre Basin is one of the largest Patagonian intermontane basins, limited by uplifted blocks strongly oblique to the Andean chain. It was originated by reverse faulting and inversion of pre-existing normal faults associated with a Mesozoic rift basin and defined by older crustal heterogeneities. The deformational event occurred during the middle Miocene, related to a short contractional episode (16.1-14.86 Ma), probably in response to an eastward migration of the Andean fold and thrust belt. During Pliocene to Quaternary times, neither younger fault-block uplifts nor reconfigurations of the basin occurred. Similarities between the study area and other parts of the Patagonian foreland - such as the presence of Miocene reverse or inversion tectonics, as well as the accommodation of the Miocene sedimentary successions - suggest that the Gastre Basin is part of a major late early to middle Miocene broken foreland system (i.e. the Patagonian broken foreland) that exhumed discrete fault-block mountains and generated contemporary basins along more than 950 km parallel to the Andean trench (i.e. between 40°00' and 48°00' south latitude). Based on recent studies on the southern Andean Margin, this continental-scale contractional episode may be the result of a flat-slab subduction segment. Nevertheless, such a hypothesis is very difficult to support when analyzing such a large flat subduction segment along the entire Patagonian trench. This suggests the need to consider alternative flat-slab trigger mechanisms or other factors in the generation of broken foreland systems.

Ecological risk assessment of the antibiotic enrofloxacin applied to Pangasius catfish farms in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

PubMed

Andrieu, Margot; Rico, Andreu; Phu, Tran Minh; Huong, Do Thi Thanh; Phuong, Nguyen Thanh; Van den Brink, Paul J

2015-01-01

Antibiotics applied in aquaculture production may be released into the environment and contribute to the deterioration of surrounding aquatic ecosystems. In the present study, we assessed the ecological risks posed by the use of the antibiotic enrofloxacin (ENR), and its main metabolite ciprofloxacin (CIP), in a Pangasius catfish farm in the Mekong Delta region, Vietnam. Water and sediment samples were collected in a stream receiving effluents from a Pangasius catfish farm that had applied ENR. The toxicity of ENR and CIP was assessed on three tropical aquatic species: the green-algae Chlorella sp. (72 h - growth inhibition test), the micro-invertebrate Moina macrocopa (48 h - immobilization test), and the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). The toxic effects on O. niloticus were evaluated by measuring the cholinesterase (ChE) and catalase (CAT) activities in the fish brain and muscles, respectively, and by considering feed exposure and water exposure separately. Ecological risks were assessed by comparing maximum exposure concentrations with predicted no effect concentrations for cyanobacteria, green algae, invertebrates and fish derived with available toxicity data. The results of this study showed that maximum antibiotic concentrations in Pangasius catfish farm effluents were 0.68 μg L(-1) for ENR and 0.25 μg L(-1) for CIP (dissolved water concentrations). Antibiotics accumulated in sediments down-stream the effluent discharge point at concentrations up to 2590 μg kg(-1) d.w. and 592 μg kg(-1) d.w. for ENR and CIP, respectively. The calculated EC50 values for ENR and CIP were 111000 and 23000 μg L(-1) for Chlorella sp., and 69000 and 71000 μg L(-1) for M. macrocopa, respectively. Significant effects on the ChE and CAT enzymatic activities of O. niloticus were observed at 5 g kg(-1) feed and 400-50000 μg L(-1), for both antibiotics. The results of the ecological risk assessment performed in this study indicated only minor risks for cyanobacteria

Mechanisms of pathogen virulence and host susceptibility in virulent Aeromonas hydrophila infections of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An emerging pathotype of Aeromonas hydrophila (vAh) has been responsible for widespread farm losses in the US catfish industry over the last decade. While our genetic and biochemical understanding of vAh has been greatly enhanced in this time frame, our ability to reliably induce the disease in the...

Characterization and value-added utilization of proteins extracted from the by-products from catfish fillet processing plant

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Channel catfish farming is the most important warm water aquaculture in the Southeastern United States. The by-products, including heads, skin, bone frame and viscera, account for 55-65% of the whole fish mass after fillet processing. The by-products contain 35% of protein on a dry basis, and may be...

HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF REGENERATION FOLLOWING HEPATOTOXIC EFFECTS OF THE CYANOTOXIN MICROCYSTIN-LR IN THE HARDHEAD CATFISH AND GULF KILLIFISH.

EPA Science Inventory

The cyanobacterial toxin, microcystin-LR (MC-LR), causes liver damage in several freshwater fish species. The damage appears to be acute and irreversible. In the present study, two estuarine species, hardhead catfish, Arius felis, and gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis, were inject...

Miocene stratigraphy and structure of Sabine Pass, West Cameron, and East Cameron outer continental shelf areas, Louisiana

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, S.Y.; Watkins, J.S.

Mapping of Miocene stratigraphy and structure of the Sabine Pass, West Cameron, and East Cameron areas of the western Louisiana outer continental shelf - based on over 1300 mi of seismic data on a 4-mi grid, paleotops from 60 wells, and logs from 35 wells - resulted in time-structure and isochron maps at six intervals from the upper Pliocene to lower Miocene. The most pronounced structural features are the fault systems, which trend east-northeast to east along the Miocene stratigraphic trend. Isolated normal faults with small displacements characterize the inner inner shelf, whereas interconnected faults with greater displacements characterize themore » outer inner shelf. The inner inner shelf faults exhibit little growth, but expansion across the interconnected outer inner shelf fault ranges up to 1 sec two-way traveltime. The interconnected faults belong to two structurally independent fault families. The innermost shelf faults appear to root in the sediment column. A third set of faults located in the Sabine Pass area trends north-south. This fault set is thought to be related to basement movement and/or basement structure. Very little salt is evident in the area. A single diapir is located in West Cameron Block 110 and vicinity. There is little evidence of deep salt. Overall sediment thickness probably exceeds 20,000 ft, with the middle Miocene accounting for 8000 ft.« less