Reproductive physiology of ribbon fish (Trichiurus lepturus)

The ribbon fishes ‘of the family Trichiuridac are represented as one of the most important food resources in Indian ocean. High density of the dominant species of ribbon fish (Trichiurus lepturus) in Oman sea and the 'Tillable catch in last yeas (more than 7000 tones per year) makes a trust area for studing their population biolog and stock assessment. As our knowledge on reproductive biology of this species has an important role on their fisheries management, as well as conservation of this stock from decline or over fishing, this research was held to determine some aspects of reproductive physiology of ribbon fish and the effects of environmental factors in gonadal cycle. The goals of the present thesis is to determine some aspects of reproductive physiology such as gonadosomatic index (GSI) , hepatosomatic index (HSI), condition factor (Ko, fecundity, sex ratio, size at first maturity, size at maturity (LM5O) and their relative hormonal & biochemical fluctuations. In this regards annual variation of sex hormones ic. estradiol 17-B, progestron, cortisol, testostrone and gonadotropins FSH (GTH-I) , LH (GTH-ll)I were measured ; gonadal histological studies were done by light & electron micrography. The research was carried out from April 1995 to January 19% in Ras Nleidani in the north part of Oman sea, and the environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, oxygen, rainfall and pH were measured. The effects of these parameters on reproductive cycle and hormonal fluctuationswere discussed by using correlation and principle component analysis (PCA). Female Ribbon fish reproductive strategy shows the same paterns of nonguarder marine teleosts. T. lepturus has more than one spawning season (existance of egges in different size in each month) and therfore it must have asynchronous ovaries and belong to continious spawners. GSI and HSI are good evidences for this type of reproductive patern. The testis of the lobular type , which is typical of most teleosts , is composed of numerous lobules which are separated from each other by a thin layer of fibrous connective tissue. GSI fluctuations revealed prolong- spawning time in males. There is significant increase in 17-13 estradiol. progestrone , cortisol and gonadotropins with maturity and prespawning period of female T lepturus. Plasma concentration of E2 and GTH II incresaed along with water temperature increasing (3300).. Spawning was observed from Nov. 1995 to Apr. 1996 in this species. Progestrone increased significantly with increasing rainfall in this season (P<0.01). Plasma cortisol levels increased with maturation and vitelpgenesis and also with the peak of spawning. From lenght-weight frequency and size distribution in each age groups and also minimum size at first maturity (52a cm) it would he concluded that T. lepturus must be matured at 2 years of age. Serum cholestrol and triglicerides significantly increased when maturation occured in this species. The relationship between alkaline phosphatase activity and hormonal fluctuations with maturity and vitelogenesis were discussed. Proximate compostion (muscle) shows significant variation with spawning period and maturity. Absolute individual fecundity (17420-159150) increased with body length and weight. Ultrastructural observations show dramatic variation in cell membrane (0ocyte membrane), yolk vesicles and, nucleolus dispersal in relation to maturity stages. fluctuations of gonadal hormones were discused in relation with vitelogenesis. Testosterone increased in males from Nov: to Mar. due to environmental impacts and spawning time. Sex ratio in different depth (10-40 m ,80-110 m) shows significnt differences in this ratio for two depths. In 10-40 m depth female shows dominant abundance to male in each months that may be due to their reproductive migration behaviour. The effects of temperature photoperiod and rainfall to maturity and spawning were discussed. According to -pawning period of T. leptunts in our sampling area it could be suggested that ribbon fish fi,theries must be restricted in the peak of spawning seasons (Feb. to Mar.) and in the spawning grounds (under 40 m depths). Other suggestions for population conservation have been mentioned

Mercury bioacumulation in muscle tissue of Carcarhinus dussumieri

The Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman boast a great diversity of cartilaginous fishes of which sharks with nearly 150 different species constitute a major part. Contamination of the fishes with various chemicals necessitates the meats produced being controlled from health and quality Points of view. In this study, mercury bioaccumulation in 29 specimens of Caracarhinus dussumieri caught in the coastal waters of Bandar-e- Lengeh was tested using flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results of the analyses on muscle tissue of the cited fish revealed the mercury level being lower than the standards (0.5 ppm) of the WHO at p‹.01 significant level. The length range was determined to be 68-90 cm in males and 67.5-88 cm in females. Mercury level in males (n=21) was assessed to be 0.21 ppm while in females (n=18) it was 0.19 ppm. Average mercury level was estimated as 0.19±0.023 ppm

Comparison of muscular tissue composition of rainbow trout in brackish and different salinity waters

In this research, controlled changes of rainbow trout muscular composition cultured in brackish water (14.1ppt) and freshwater (4.3ppt) was compared. Some 180 juvenile rainbow trout with a weight of 47.2±0.1g each were released in 6 polyethylene tanks with a capacity of 1.5m³. During the experiment, water temperature was kept constant. Feeding fish was conducted using common Faradaneh food and considering water temperature and fish biomass. After 126 days, fishes attained around 320±20g of weight, were sampled and taken to laboratory and the amount of protein, fat, ash, minerals and moisture in their muscle tissue were measured. Results showed amount of fat and dry matter in brackish water cultured fishes is less than those cultured in freshwater. The average percentage of protein and minerals in brackish freshwater cultured fishes were significantly different and the average percentage of moisture in brackish water cultured fish was higher than those of the freshwater fish

Growth performance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with respect to nutritional factors in north Iran (Haraz River)

Monthly samples of six fish farms from January 2010 to December 2010 in the northern Iran, Haraz River, were used to determine relationship between chemical parameters of main water, inlet and outlet and their effects on fish growth and production. Results revealed that concentration of nutrients in outlet was more than that of inlet of farms, and statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences between stations (p0.05) in different months. Correlation between daily growth, SGR, FCR, production and chemical parameters of water were analyzed by Pearson correlation. The results revealed negative correlation (α= 0.01) between nitrite and daily growth (P=0.004, Pearson correlation=-0.24), ammonium and SGR (P=0.0001, Pearson correlation=-0.272), although there were no correlation for FCR, and nutritional parameters (p>0.05)

Histological study on ovary of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the Gulf of Oman

In the present research which was done during the period of July 1997 to June 1998, histological studies on maturation stages of 40 yellowfin tuna specimen (Thunnus albacares) were conducted. It was concluded that the ovaries of this fish had the following characteristics; Germination disk were not present. There were no difference among anterior, posterior and middle parts of maturity stage of ovaries. All observed ovaries were asynchronous. The ovaries had five maturity stages which were as follow: a) Immature b) maturing c) Ripening d) Ripe e) Spent Average dimension of oocyte in different stage are as follow: Immature (40µ); Ripening (<60µ) and Ripe (<120µ)

Numerical solution of fractional Fredholm integro-differential equations by spectral method with fractional basis functions

This paper presents an efficient spectral method for solving the fractional Fredholm integro-differential equations. The non-smoothness of the solutions to such problems leads to the performance of spectral methods based on the classical polynomials such as Chebyshev, Legendre, Laguerre, etc, with a low order of convergence. For this reason, the development of classic numerical methods to solve such problems becomes a challenging issue. Since the non-smooth solutions have the same asymptotic behavior with polynomials of fractional powers, therefore, fractional basis functions are the best candidate to overcome the drawbacks of the accuracy of the spectral methods. On the other hand, the fractional integration of the fractional polynomials functions is in the class of fractional polynomials and this is one of the main advantages of using the fractional basis functions. In this paper, an implicit spectral collocation method based on the fractional Chelyshkov basis functions is introduced. The framework of the method is to reduce the problem into a nonlinear system of equations utilizing the spectral collocation method along with the fractional operational integration matrix. The obtained algebraic system is solved using Newton's iterative method. Convergence analysis of the method is studied. The numerical examples show the efficiency of the method on the problems with smooth and non-smooth solutions in comparison with other existing methods

The reproduction biology of Abudefduf sexfasciatus in the Persian Gulf (Larak Island)

The reproduction biology of A. sexfasciatus, one of the main and important ornamental fishes in the Persian Gulf were studied during 1997-98. For sampling, Larak island sited on south-eastern of Bandar-Abbas was chosen. The main fishing gear was hook for collecting samples. During this investigation, weight, length (FL & T.L), GSI, HSI, Kf, sex ratio, LM50 and sexual overlap zone were measured or calculated. Also, the histological studies were done on gonads. The results showed that this species is a protogenous hermaphrodite. A. sexfasciatus has an allometric growth and the results of GSI, HSI and Kf indicated that the spawning season occured in spring as a total spawner species. The sex ratio was found M:F=1.00:1.24 without any significant difference. The overlap zone was recongnized 30mm (with a range of 125-155mm). The LM50 was calculated 130-140mm for females and 160-170mm for males. The size at first maturity for females and males were determined 105 and 120mm, respectively

Feeding behaviour of blue swimmer crab (Potunus pelagicus) in Hormuzgan province waters

This research was carried out to study the feeding behaviour of blue swimmer crab (Portunus pelagicus) in Hormuzgan province waters from October 2001 to December 2002. Samplings were done in different methods by presence on research vessels, fishing vessels and dhows in addition to collect the samples from stake-nets. 490 stomach contents were observed under stereomicroscope in which among them the numbers of full, semi-full and empty stomachs were 136,197 and 157, respectively. The food contents were classified into 4 main groups namely; fish, mollusc, crustacean and plankton. The Index of C.V. was estimated 32.04. This figure shows that blue swimmer crab can be assumed as a gluttonous species

Evaluation of prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis G virus infection among hemodialysis patients referred to Iranian Army Hospitals in Tehran during 2012-2013

Background: GB virus C (GBV-C) or hepatitis G virus (HGV) is a newly discovered and enveloped RNA positive-stranded flavivirus-like particle, which has not yet been proven to have major negative effects on liver. Objectives: Increasing the risk of blood-borne infections in hemodialysis patients is a main health care concern in different countries. Therefore, it is important to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis G virus infection in Iranian hemodialysis patients to design standard prevention and treatment plans. Patients and Methods: In this multicenter observational or epidemiologic study, 138 patients who underwent hemodialysis in Iranian Army hospitals in Tehran were included. Serum HIV antibody (Ab), HCV antibody and HBS antigen (Ag) were assessed. Demographic data such as gender, age, blood group, cause of renal failure, dialysis onset and duration were collected from medical files. GBV-C/HGV was evaluated by nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Then, all data were analyzed by SPSS ver. 13. Results: In total, 81 males and 57 females were included. The mean age of patients was 62.16 ± 14.86 years. Six (4.3) had positive results for GBV-C/HGV by RT-PCR. Except gender (P = 0.045) and duration of dialysis in a week (P 0.05). All patients had negative results for HIV Ab, HCV Ab and HBS Ag. Conclusions: Overall, 4.3 of patients had positive results for GBV-C/HGV and all negative for HIV, HCV and HBV. Further studies are needed to elucidate real prevalence, risk factors and characteristics of HGV infection in Iranian hemodialysis patients. © 2015, Kowsar Corp

Effect of different light regimes on the maturational progress of the whitespotted rabbitfish (Siganus sutor)

In this study, the effects of different light regimes on the reproductive activity of a typical Indo-Pacific coral reef rabbitfish, Siganus sutor, were evaluated. Forty-five adult fish were exposed to nine different photoperiod (8L: 16D, 12L: 12D, 16L: 8D) and light intensity (1000, 2000, 3000 lux) combinations with three replicates and five other fishes reared under indoor light condition (Control). Gonadosomatic Index (GSI) and Hepatosomatic Index (HSI) were calculated after 60 days and compared among different experimental regimes in males and females. In the control group, GSI and HSI mean values were 4.67 and 3.24%, respectively, for females and 10.05 and 2.10%, respectively, for males, and these fish showed differences in comparison with the exposed fish. Females kept under 1000 and 2000 lux light intensities had a higher GSI mean value (9.26 and 10.39%, respectively) and also lower average HSI (2.10 and 2.31%, respectively) in 16L: 8D treatment. A similar result was also obtained for males, whereas the 3000 lux light intensity, 8L: 16D day length combination led to more gonadal development (GSIs of 16.41% in females and 12.03% in males). A comparison of results among different photoperiods also confirmed that maturation was induced better in fish maintained under 16L: 8D in both sexes. This investigation revealed the visible role of both photoperiod and light intensity on inducing maturity in the whitespotted rabbitfish, S. sutor. Thus, rearing of adults exposed to an artificial light regime, including 16L: 8D and 2000 lux light intensity, promotes more gonadal development than that occurring in the wild