Methodology for assessing the individual role of fish, oyster, phytoplankton and macroalgae in the ecology of integrated production in earthen ponds

Production costs in extensive and semi-intensive fish culture in earthen ponds are often too high to offer sustainable economic activity due to the low productivity of these systems. The right combination of commercial finfish species with inorganic (primary producers) and organic extractive (bivalves) species in Integrated MultiTrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) create a balanced system with higher profitability and risk reduction. To achieve this, it is crucial to understand the role of each functional groups within the system what we did by comparing three different IMTA production three different IMTA production treatments with distinct combinations of trophic levels: •fish, filter feeders, phytoplankton and macroalgae,•fish, filter feeders and phytoplankton•fish, phytoplankton and macroalgae Each treatment was carried out in two similar ponds under semi-intensive conditions and flow through system, in a total of 6 earthen ponds of 500 m2 surface and depth of 1.5 m. Results showed that the presence of oysters in the ponds enhanced water quality by decreasing turbidity and by controlling phytoplankton which led to regulation of dissolved oxygen levels. The enhanced water quality in these systems lead to improved fish performance and higher biomass production contributing to greater profitability. The combination of fish, oyster, phytoplankton and macroalgae was particularly good providing much more fish supply compared with the other two treatments. •Oysters enhanced water quality in the ponds by decreasing turbidity and controlling phytoplankton which regulated the dissolved oxygen levels.•The enhanced water quality in systems with oysters improve fish performance resulting in higher biomass production and greater profitability.•The combination of fish, oyster, phytoplankton and macroalgae was particularly good providing much more fish supply compared with the other two treatments.Funding Agency Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) COFASP/0003/2015 SFRH/BD/118601/2016 Project DIVERSIAQUA Mar2020 16-02-01-FMP-0066 project Algared+ Poctep 0055_ALGARED_PLUS_5_E UID/Multi/04326/2019info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biochemical parameters of silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) after transport with eugenol or essential oil of Lippia alba added to the water

The transport of live fish is a routine practice in aquaculture and constitutes a considerable source of stress to the animals. The addition of anesthetic to the water used for fish transport can prevent or mitigate the deleterious effects of transport stress. This study investigated the effects of the addition of eugenol (EUG) (1.5 or 3.0 mu L L-1) and essential oil of Lippia alba (EOL) (10 or 20 mu L L-1) on metabolic parameters (glycogen, lactate and total protein levels) in liver and muscle, acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) in muscle and brain, and the levels of protein carbonyl (PC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and nonprotein thiol groups (NPSH) and activity of glutathione-S-transferase in the liver of silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen; Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) transported for four hours in plastic bags (loading density of 169.2 g L-1). The addition of various concentrations of EUG (1.5 or 3.0 mu L L-1) and EOL (10 or 20 mu L L-1) to the transport water is advisable for the transportation of silver catfish, since both concentrations of these substances increased the levels of NPSH antioxidant and decreased the TBARS levels in the liver. In addition, the lower liver levels of glycogen and lactate in these groups and lower AChE activity in the brain (EOL 10 or 20 mu L L-1) compared to the control group indicate that the energetic metabolism and neurotransmission were lower after administration of anesthetics, contributing to the maintenance of homeostasis and sedation status.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS/PRONEX) [10/0016-8]; Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cientifico (CNPq) [470964/2009-0]; Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES); CNPqinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stable nitrogen isotope studies of the pelagic food web on the Atlantic shelf of the Iberian Peninsula

Publicado

New constraints on H_0 and Omega_M from SZE/X-RAY data and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations

The Hubble constant, $H_0$, sets the scale of the size and age of the Universe and its determination from independent methods is still worthwhile to be investigated. In this article, by using the Sunyaev-Zel`dovich effect and X-ray surface brightness data from 38 galaxy clusters observed by Bonamente {\it{et al.}} (2006), we obtain a new estimate of $H_0$ in the context of a flat $\Lambda$CDM model. There is a degeneracy on the mass density parameter ($\Omega_{m}$) which is broken by applying a joint analysis involving the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) as given by Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This happens because the BAO signature does not depend on $H_0$. Our basic finding is that a joint analysis involving these tests yield $H_0= 0.765^{+0.035}_{-0.033}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ and $\Omega_{m}=0.27^{+0.03}_{-0.02}$. Since the hypothesis of spherical geometry assumed by Bonamente {\it {et al.}} is questionable, we have also compared the above results to a recent work where a sample of triaxial galaxy clusters has been considered.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted version in the general relativity and gravitatio

Abundances of the elements in the solar system

A review of the abundances and condensation temperatures of the elements and their nuclides in the solar nebula and in chondritic meteorites. Abundances of the elements in some neighboring stars are also discussed.Comment: 42 pages, 11 tables, 8 figures, chapter, In Landolt- B\"ornstein, New Series, Vol. VI/4B, Chap. 4.4, J.E. Tr\"umper (ed.), Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer-Verlag, p. 560-63

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio

Observation of a new chi_b state in radiative transitions to Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) at ATLAS

The chi_b(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb^-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Upsilon(1S,2S) with Upsilon->mu+mu-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi_b(1P,2P)->Upsilon(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530+/-0.005 (stat.)+/-0.009 (syst.) GeV is also observed, in both the Upsilon(1S)gamma and Upsilon(2S)gamma decay modes. This is interpreted as the chi_b(3P) system.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 1 table, corrected author list, matches final version in Physical Review Letter