Synergistic use of facebook, online questionnaires and local ecological knowledge to detect and reconstruct the bioinvasion of the Iberian Peninsula by Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896

The widespread use of social network sites and smart phones has enhanced the potential of Citizen Science (CS), i.e. to enlist the general public in gathering scientific information across large spatial–temporal scales. This research describes a CS application to reconstruct the bioinvasion of the Iberian Peninsula by the Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896) and obtain reliable information about the potential socio-ecological and economic implications. C. sapidus is one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the Mediterranean Sea. It was first reported in Venice in 1949 and then colonized the Northern Levantine basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Over half a century later, the species is spreading rapidly in the Western basin. Overall, this research detected C. sapidus in more than 300 locations, including several Natura2000 areas and 18 rivers. The blue crab in the Mediterranean Andalusia was not registered most likely due to the lack of freshwater and sedimentary habitats together with the biogeographic border of the Almerian front. Thus, the blue crab in the Balearic Sea and the Gulf of Cadiz might respond to different colonization events and should be managed independently. From a socio-ecological perspective, professional fisheries seem to benefit from the exploitation of C. sapidus, while recreational fishers perceive the presence of the crab as detrimental for the ecosystem. Managers, decision makers and scientists might use this research i) to better understand the implications of C. sapidus in non-native areas, ii) to early detect, mitigate and optimize management resources in future bioinvasions events of alien species.publishedVersio

An Ecosystem Approach to the Role of Fish Farming in Coastal Areas

Coastal ecosystems put up most of the impacts from human activities in the sea. Generally, assessment based on a unispecific ecological group and/or habitat reflects only a fraction of what is happening in the ecosystem, and usually it is biased by the spatial and temporal variability at small scales. This is more evident when several human activities co-exist in the same area and interact synergically among them and with the natural structure and dynamics of the ecosystem. An ecosystemic assessment can combine several ecological groups, habitats, processes and/or activities, and offer a more holistic picture about the structure and dynamics of the considered coastal area.This study was partially funded by Spanish Ministry of Science Grant (Project FATFISH CTM2009-14362-C02-01). JTBS thanks to Conselleria d'Educació, Generalitat Valenciana, for financing the visit to La Paz during 2012. FAS thanks support to visit the University of Alicante during 2013

Culture of Seriola dumerili in a marine ecosystem: Insights from genetic and morphometric fish traits and implications of escape events

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¿Son el bajo nivel de condición física y la obesidad dos características del adolescente con síndrome de Down?

Introduction: “Obesity” is considered a feature of youth with DS but whether “low physical fitness” is also a feature is unknown. Objective: The aim of this case-control study was to compare the levels of fatness and fitness in adolescents with and without DS. Methods: Participants included 17 (5 girls) adolescents with DS aged 12-18 years and a control group of 94 (45 girls) adolescents without DS aged 12-16 years. The ALPHA health-related fitness test battery for children and adolescents was selected to assess fatness and fitness in both groups. Results: There were no differences in levels of fatness between groups (all P > 0.27). Adolescents with DS had lower levels of fitness in all the tests than adolescents without DS (all P < 0.001). Conclusion: Adolescents with DS have similar levels of fatness and lower levels of fitness than their peers without DSIntroducción: La obesidad es considerada una característica de los jóvenes con SD, sin embargo se desconoce si la “baja condición física” también lo es. Objetivo: Comparar los niveles de obesidad y condición física en adolescentes con y sin SD. Métodos: Participaron 17 adolescentes (5 niñas) con SD de 12 a 18 años y un grupo control de 94 (45 niñas) adolescentes sin SD de 12-16 años de edad. La batería de condición física ALPHA relacionada con la salud para niños y adolescentes fue seleccionada para evaluar la obesidad y la condición física en ambos grupos. Resultados: No se encontraron diferencias en los niveles de obesidad entre grupos (P > 0,27). Los adolescentes con SD tuvieron niveles más bajos de condición física en todos los test en comparación con los adolescentes sin SD (P < 0,001). Conclusión: Los adolescentes con SD tienen niveles similares de obesidad y menores de condición física que sus compañeros sin SD.The UP&DOWN study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP 2010-21662-C04). JRR was supported by a contract from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC-2010-05957

Guía de buenas prácticas para la gestión de escapes en acuicultura marina. Vol. I. Prevención

Los escapes en acuicultura son un problema que pueden evitarse con la formación del personal que trabaja en las instalaciones en mar abierto. Este libro proporciona los puntos más importantes que tener en cuenta para prevenir los escapes en acuicultura.Cofinanciado por el Fondo Europeo de Pesca y la Fundación Biodiversidad, del Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente

Influence of aquaculture waste on fatty acid profiles and gonad maturation of wild fish aggregations at fish farms

Wild fish belonging to four species belonging to different trophic groups were captured at three distances from fish farm facilities: long distance (>5 Km), medium distance (1.5 Km) and close to sea-cages. Flesh, brain, liver and gonads were sampled for fatty acid analysis. Fish aggregated near sea-cages showed accumulation of fatty acids of vegetable origin in the studied tissues, due to surplus feed consumption or via predation of fish that consumed the feed. Gonads accumulated vegetable fatty acids in different manner in the different species, and the species least and most influenced by fish-feeds were selected for gonad histological examination. Results showed an acceleration of the final stages of the oocyte development in fish aggregated near fish farms compared to fish captured at long distance. Differences in oocyte development were more acute in the species which incorporated higher quantities of vegetable fatty acids.This work was funded by the project FATFISH (ref: CTM 2009-14362-C02-02) and FPI predoctoral grant (ref: BES-2010-033391) from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Government of Spain)

The improvement of size selection in red king crab traps

I dag brukes det utelukkende sammenleggbare en-kammerteiner for fangst av kongekrabbe på Finnmarkskysten. Det er ingen krav om å bruke rømningsveier i teinene, men fiskerne bruker likevel rømningsveier for å prøve å selektere ut undermålskrabbe. Målet i dette prosjektet var å dokumentere effektiviteten av et ekstra seleksjonskammer sydd inn i tradisjonelle krabbeteiner, som kun undermålskrabbe hadde tilgang til. Forsøkene viste at det er mulig å forbedre seleksjon i dagens teiner. Ca. 50 % av undermålskrabbene ble «fanget» i seleksjonskammeret på det beste. I tillegg til å jobbe med to-kammerløsning, bør man også jobbe videre med alternative fluktåpninger og utforming av fluktåpning som tillater undermåls krabber å rømme ut av teinen uten å komme seg inn igjen fra dagens en-kammerteine. Det bør også jobbes med å gjøre inngangspartiet på dagens krabbeteiner mer rømningssikker, da krabber av kommersiell størrelse i dag lett kommer seg ut av inngangspartiet.The improvement of size selection in red king crab trapspublishedVersio

Von Hippel-Lindau protein is required for optimal alveolar macrophage terminal differentiation, self-renewal, and function

The rapid transit from hypoxia to normoxia in the lung that follows the first breath in newborn mice coincides with alveolar macrophage (AM) differentiation. However, whether sensing of oxygen affects AM maturation and function has not been previously explored. We have generated mice whose AMs show a deficient ability to sense oxygen after birth by deleting Vhl, a negative regulator of HIF transcription factors, in the CD11c compartment (CD11c Delta Vhl mice). VHL-deficient AMs show an immature-like phenotype and an impaired self-renewal capacity in vivo that persists upon culture ex vivo. VHL-deficient phenotype is intrinsic in AMs derived from monocyte precursors in mixed bone marrow chimeras. Moreover, unlike control Vhl(fl/fl), AMs from CD11c Delta Vhl mice do not reverse pulmonary alveolar proteinosis when transplanted into Csf2rb(-/)(-) mice, demonstrating that VHL contributes to AM-mediated surfactant clearance. Thus, our results suggest that optimal AM terminal differentiation, self-renewal, and homeostatic function requires their intact oxygen-sensing capacity

Environmental impacts of aquaculture and coexcisting industries

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