All Data are Wrong, but Some are Useful? Advocating the Need for Data Auditing

<p>In a recent article from the <i>Annals of Applied Statistics</i>, Cox discussed the main phases of applied statistical research ranging from clarifying study objectives to final data analysis and interpreting results. As an incidental remark to these main phases, we advocate that beyond <i>cleaning</i> and <i>preprocessing</i> the data, it is a good practice to <i>audit</i> the data to determine if they can be trusted at all. A case study based on Ghanaian Official Fishery Statistics is used to illustrate this need, with Benford's law being the tool used to carrying out the data audit. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.</p

Capture, transport, prophylaxis, acclimation, and continuous spawning of Mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) in captivity

Successful culture of marine fish relies upon availability of high quality fertilized eggs obtained from broodstock. However, some of the most critical aspects of obtaining such eggs are often overlooked. These aspects include the capture, transport, acclimation, and spawning of sexually mature wild-caught fish. Mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus), also known as dolphinfish, have been identified as one of the most promising candidate species for development of warm-water marine finfish aquaculture due to their high growth rate, market presence, and global distribution. In addition, mahi-mahi have proven to be a useful model species for physiology and environmental toxicology research, specifically in studies examining tropical and subtropical pelagic teleosts. One of the keys to aquaculture development of this species is the ability to obtain year-round production of fertilized embryos. This study documents the technical methods utilized to reach a point of consistent mahi-mahi egg production year-round, while also detailing the live transport tank and land-based spawning tank design, implementation, and operation. Following three different groups of wild-caught mahi-mahi broodstock from the point of capture throughout their lifespan, this study provides novel information on growth, survival, and spawning of this species in captivity. Results from this research have allowed for significant new insights into the effects of a variety of environmental stressors on the early life stages of this species. Furthermore, the ability to maintain consistent spawning populations of mahi-mahi in captivity has allowed for reliable and consistent production of fully-weaned fingerlings of this species, thereby resolving one of the key industry bottlenecks that has been limiting expansion of mahi-mahi commercial-scale aquaculture. •Technical methods are reported for developing a mahi-mahi broodstock population.•Results of environmental and nutritional conditioning allow for year-round spawning.•Design of mahi-mahi live transport and recirculating maturation systems are reported.•Growth and food conversion of broodstock reveal novel information on mahi-mahi.•Unique methods presented in this study allow for high survival and reliable spawning of broodstock mahi-mahi

Nutritional mitigation of winter thermal stress in gilthead seabream: associated metabolic pathways and potential indicators of nutritional state

A trial was carried out with gilthead seabream juveniles, aiming to investigate the ability of an enhanced dietary formulation (diet Winter Feed, WF, containing a higher proportion of marine-derived protein sources and supplemented in phospholipids, vitamin C, vitamin E and taurine) to assist fish in coping with winter thermal stress, compared to a low-cost commercial diet (diet CTRL). In order to identify the metabolic pathways affected by WF diet, a comparative two dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) analysis of fish liver proteome (pH 4-7) was undertaken at the end of winter. A total of 404 protein spots, out of 1637 detected, were differentially expressed between the two groups of fish. Mass spectrometry analysis of selected spots suggested that WF diet improved oxidative stress defense, reduced endoplasmic reticulum stress, enhanced metabolic flux through methionine cycle and phenylalanine/tyrosine catabolism, and induced higher aerobic metabolism and gluconeogenesis. Results support the notion that WF diet had a positive effect on fish nutritional state by partially counteracting the effect of thermal stress and underlined the sensitivity of proteome data for nutritional and metabolic profiling purposes. Intragroup variability and co-measured information were also used to pinpoint which proteins displayed a stronger relation with fish nutritional state.Significance: Winter low water temperature is a critical factor for gilthead seabream farming in the Mediterranean region, leading to a reduction of feed intake, which often results in metabolic and immunological disorders and stagnation of growth performances. In a recent trial, we investigated the ability of an enhanced dietary formulation (diet WF) to assist gilthead seabream in coping with winter thermal stress, compared to a standard commercial diet (diet CTRL). Within this context, in the present work, we identified metabolic processes that are involved in the stress-mitigating effect observed with diet WF, by undertaking a comparative analysis of fish liver proteome at the end of winter. This study brings information relative to biological processes that are involved in gilthead seabream winter thermal stress and shows that these can be mitigated through a nutritional strategy, assisting gilthead seabream to deal better with winter thermal conditions. Furthermore, the results show that proteomic information not only clearly distinguishes the two dietary groups from each other, but also captures heterogeneities that reflect intra-group differences in nutritional state. This was exploited in this work to refine the variable selection strategy so that protein spots displaying a stronger correlation with "nutritional state" could be identified as possible indicators of gilthead seabream metabolic and nutritional state. Finally, this study shows that gel-based proteomics seems to provide more reliable information than transmissive FT-IR spectroscopy, for the purposes of nutritional and metabolic profiling. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved