Culture Potential of Selected Crayfishes in the North Central Region

The first topic that must be considered is the name. Crayfish is the term most often used in technical literature and the name used in this document. However, these same animals are also known as crawfish, crawdads, and mudbugs. Rest assured, regardless of the name, they all refer to the same broad category of animals. Specifically, they are freshwater decapod crustaceans, the freshwater equivalent of shrimp and lobsters. In most years, production of crayfish in the United States is the second largest aquacultural industry. This fact surprises most people in the North Central Region (NCR) because the availability of crayfish outside the traditional production area is minimal. Most of the crayfish are produced in the southern United States (Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi) and most of that production is consumed in the same area. Two species comprise the majority of production—the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and the white river crayfish (P. zonangulus). Crayfish culture in those areas is seasonal, available as a fresh product from November through June. Thus, the crayfish aquaculture industry is interesting because of it’s size and the fact that it violates conventional wisdom in several ways

Aquaculture Potential for Hornyhead Chubs

The hornyhead chub (Nocomis biguttatus) is one of the most valuable baitfish species in Minnesota. Culturing hornyhead chub supplies valuable baitfish to anglers and generates income for fish farmers and baitshop owners in Minnesota and other northern states. Hornyhead chubs can be reared in aquaculture facilities and sold through baitshops to anglers, who are often willing to pay $5 to$6 per dozen. Because it is illegal to import baitfish into Minnesota, such prices put harvesting pressure on wild populations. Culturing hornyhead chubs relieves pressure on wild populations while keeping the market adequately supplied with this desirable bait. This technical bulletin describes how to spawn and grow hornyhead chubs produced in an outdoor spawning system and an indoor over-winter growout facility

Some Performance Characteristics of Subsurface Gravel Wetlands for Stormwater Management

Subsurface gravel wetlands were originally purposed for wastewater treatment and more recently have been used for stormwater treatment as a green infrastructure technology. Systems are sized to hold the water quality volume above, and drain within 24–48 hours. Design guidance follows static sizing principles with very little hydraulic calculations, which has left a gap in hydraulic performance data. Data from 12 years of field monitoring of various systems constructed in the northeast United States is presented. These systems include fully-sized as well as undersized (hold less that the water quality volume). Hydraulics are controlled by a restrictive outlet. At the same time, this outlet also creates the wetland characteristics of the system. Pollutant removal efficiencies for common stormwater pollutants are some of the highest for green infrastructure systems, with a significant component being microbially-mediated in the low dissolved oxygen gravel layers. This is a book chapter published by the American Society of Civil Engineers in World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2020: Emerging and Innovative Technologies and International Perspectives in 2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1061/978078448294

High-Resolution Genotyping via Whole Genome Hybridizations to Microarrays Containing Long Oligonucleotide Probes

To date, microarray-based genotyping of large, complex plant genomes has been complicated by the need to perform genome complexity reduction to obtain sufficiently strong hybridization signals. Genome complexity reduction techniques are, however, tedious and can introduce unwanted variables into genotyping assays. Here, we report a microarray-based genotyping technology for complex genomes (such as the 2.3 GB maize genome) that does not require genome complexity reduction prior to hybridization. Approximately 200,000 long oligonucleotide probes were identified as being polymorphic between the inbred parents of a mapping population and used to genotype two recombinant inbred lines. While multiple hybridization replicates provided ∼97% accuracy, even a single replicate provided ∼95% accuracy. Genotyping accuracy was further increased to >99% by utilizing information from adjacent probes. This microarray-based method provides a simple, high-density genotyping approach for large, complex genomes

Willow short-rotation production systems in Canada and Northern United States: A review

Willow short rotation coppice (SRC) systems are becoming an attractive practice because they are a sustainable system fulfilling multiple ecological objectives with significant environmental benefits. A sustainable supply of bioenergy feedstock can be produced by willow on marginal land using well-adapted or tolerant cultivars. Across Canada and northern U.S.A., there are millions of hectares of available degraded land that have the potential for willow SRC biomass production, with a C sequestration potential capable of offsetting appreciable amount of anthropogenic green-house gas emissions. A fundamental question concerning 1 sustainable SRC willow yields was whether long-term soil productivity is maintained within a multi-rotation SRC system, given the rapid growth rate and associated nutrient exports offsite when harvesting the willow biomass after repeated short rotations. Based on early results from the first willow SRC rotation, it was found willow systems are relatively low nutrient-demanding, with minimal nutrient output other than in harvested biomass. The overall aim of this manuscript is to summarize the literature and present findings and data from ongoing research trials across Canada and northern U.S.A. examining willow SRC system establishment and viability. The research areas of interest presented here are the crop production of willow SRC systems, above- and below-ground biomass dynamics and the C budget, comprehensive soil-willow system nutrient budget, and soil nutrient amendments (via fertilization) in willow SRC systems. Areas of existing research gaps were also identified for the Canadian context

American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research

McDonald D, Hyde E, Debelius JW, et al. American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research. mSystems. 2018;3(3):e00031-18

Culture Potential of Selected Crayfishes in the North Central Region

The first topic that must be considered is the name. Crayfish is the term most often used in technical literature and the name used in this document. However, these same animals are also known as crawfish, crawdads, and mudbugs. Rest assured, regardless of the name, they all refer to the same broad category of animals. Specifically, they are freshwater decapod crustaceans, the freshwater equivalent of shrimp and lobsters. In most years, production of crayfish in the United States is the second largest aquacultural industry. This fact surprises most people in the North Central Region (NCR) because the availability of crayfish outside the traditional production area is minimal. Most of the crayfish are produced in the southern United States (Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi) and most of that production is consumed in the same area. Two species comprise the majority of production—the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and the white river crayfish (P. zonangulus). Crayfish culture in those areas is seasonal, available as a fresh product from November through June. Thus, the crayfish aquaculture industry is interesting because of it’s size and the fact that it violates conventional wisdom in several ways.This is a manuscript of an article from NCRAC Technical Bulletin Series #112, 1997. Used with permission.</p

Aquaculture Potential for Hornyhead Chubs

The hornyhead chub (Nocomis biguttatus) is one of the most valuable baitfish species in Minnesota. Culturing hornyhead chub supplies valuable baitfish to anglers and generates income for fish farmers and baitshop owners in Minnesota and other northern states. Hornyhead chubs can be reared in aquaculture facilities and sold through baitshops to anglers, who are often willing to pay $5 to$6 per dozen. Because it is illegal to import baitfish into Minnesota, such prices put harvesting pressure on wild populations. Culturing hornyhead chubs relieves pressure on wild populations while keeping the market adequately supplied with this desirable bait. This technical bulletin describes how to spawn and grow hornyhead chubs produced in an outdoor spawning system and an indoor over-winter growout facility.This article is from the NCRAC Technical Bulletin Series #116. Used with permission.</p