Lack of genetic structure in euryhaline Chelon labrosus from the estuaries under anthropic pressure in the Southern Bay of Biscay to the coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea

Over the last decade, xenoestrogenic effects have been reported in populations of thicklip grey mullet Chelon labrosus from contaminated estuaries in the Bay of Biscay, resulting in intersex condition. To understand the level of gene flow in individuals of different Basque estuaries microsatellite markers were used to evaluate the population structure and connectivity of C. labrosus from estuaries of the Basque coast. 46 microsatellites were tested and 10 validated for the analysis of 204 individuals collected from 5 selected Basque estuaries and 2 outgroups in the Bay of Cadiz and Thermaic Gulf. The polymorphic microsatellites revealed 74 total alleles, 2–19 alleles per locus. The mean observed heterozygosity (0.49 ± 0.02) was lower than the expected one (0.53 ± 0.01). There was no evidence of genetic differentiation (FST = 0.0098, P = 0.0000) among individuals or sites. Bayesian clustering analysis revealed a single population in all sampled locations. The results of this study indicate widespread genetic homogeneity and panmixia of C. labrosus across the current sampling areas spanning the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. The hypothesis of panmixia could therefore be well supported so individuals inhabiting estuaries with high prevalence of intersex condition should be considered as members of the same single genetic group as those inhabiting adjacent estuaries without incidence of xenoestrogenicity.This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science. Innovation and Universities and EU-FEDER/ERDF (BORN2bEGG PGC2018-101442-B-I00) and the Basque Government (Grants to consolidated research groups IT1302-19 and IT1743-22). A.N. is a recipient of a pre-doctoral grant PIF17/172 from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Authors wish to thank the help of two anonymous reviewers for significantly helping in better focusing the aim of the present work

Morphometric identification of Tylosurus acus imperialis in the North Aegean Sea

Increasing numbers of Tylosurus needlefishes together with common Belone needlefishes appeared in Thermaikos Gulf (North Aegean Sea, Greece) from 2012 to 2014, especially from May to August. The Tylosurus individuals were identified because of the absence of gill rakers and the presence of black thin lateral keel on caudal peduncle. From June 2013 to July 2014, 112 specimens of Tylosurus needlefishes were collected from commercial fisheries and a detailed morphometric and meristic analysis was applied for species identification. Measurements were recorded on each specimen, for six distance characters (TL, SL, FL, BL, HL, MBH). The length of fins (pectoral, ventral, dorsal, anal) was measured, various proportions between body and fin length were estimated and the number of fin rays was counted. Total length (TL) ranged from 59.3 to 111.6 cm. The soft rays in ventral fins were 6, in dorsal fin were 23-26 (mainly 24 with 53%) and in anal fin were 21-23 (mainly 22 with 51%). Body length to head length (BL/HL) ranged from 2 to 2.82, BL to pectoral fins length (BL/P) ranged from 8.3 to 10.8, BL to ventral fins length (BL/V) ranged from 10.9 to 17.7, BL to anterior dorsal fin lobe height (BL/D) ranged from 10.5 to 15.3 and BL to anterior anal fin lobe height (BL/A) ranged from 9.3 to 14.3. The anal fin lobe ranged from 4.9 to 7.4% of standard length. Moreover, the specimens had greater size in length, greater values in morphometrics (i.e. BL/P etc) and higher values in meristics than those reported for the congeneric species Tylosurus choram (Rüppell, 1837) and Tylosurus crocοdilus (Péron & Lesueur, 1821). The resulted diagnostic features are in accordance to the literature for the systematics of Tylosurus acus imperialis (Rafinesque, 1810). Thus, specimens were identified as T. acus imperialis confirming its occurrence in Thermaikos Gulf waters appearing the northern geographic expansion in the Aegean Sea

Prevalence, Determinants, and Consumer Stance towards Dietary Supplements According to Sex in a Large Greek Sample: A Cross-Sectional Study

A stratified random sampling technique was used in order to explore the prevalence of and the factors influencing dietary supplement (DS) use and the consumer stance towards DS by Greeks (n = 28,491, ≥15 years) according to sex. Additionally, we performed a Pearson’s chi-square to test within DS users for the dependence between sex and the examined factors, and binary logistic regression to create predictive DS user profiles. A history of DS use accounted for 55.5% and was more prevalent in women (58.4% vs. 52.3%, p < 0.001); multivitamins were the most popular DS used. The significant predictors for DS use for both sexes were age, education, employment status, exercise, and following a special diet, while BMI and monthly income were significant for women and men, respectively. The women and men DS users had mostly illness-health and fitness-related goals, respectively. Substantial proportions of the respondents had false beliefs about DS. A noticeable percentage of DS users displayed imprudent behavior regarding DS use, e.g., one out of five did not know the definition or did not take into consideration the recommended daily allowance. While several factors seemed to impact DS use, with certain differences between the sexes, the considerable lack of knowledgeable and responsible use of DS, with few differences between the sexes, observed can point state authorities and health professionals towards appropriate countermeasures

Investigating the Tocopherol Contents of Walnut Seed Oils Produced in Different European Countries Analyzed by HPLC-UV: A Comparative Study on the Basis of Geographical Origin

A rapid HPLC-UV method was developed for the determination of tocopherols in walnut seed oils. The method was validated and the LODs ranged between 0.15 and 0.30 mg/kg, while the LOQs were calculated over the range of 0.50 to 1.00 mg/kg. The accuracy values ranged between 90.8 and 97.1% for the within-day assay (n = 6) and between 90.4 and 95.8% for the between-day assay (n = 3 &times; 3), respectively. The precision of the method was evaluated and the RSD% values were lower than 6.1 and 8.2, respectively. Overall, 40 samples of walnuts available on the Greek market, originating from four different European countries (Greece, Ukraine, France, and Bulgaria), were processed into oils and analyzed. One-way ANOVA was implemented in order to investigate potential statistically significant disparities between the concentrations of tocopherols in the walnut oils on the basis of the geographical origin, and Tukey&rsquo;s post hoc test was also performed to examine exactly which varieties differed. The statistical analysis of the results demonstrated that the Ukrainian walnut seed oils exhibited significantly higher total concentrations compared to the rest of the samples

Corrigendum to “Thicklip (Chelon labrosus) and flathead (Mugil cephalus) grey mullets fry production in Tunisian aquaculture” [Aquacult. Rep. 17 (2020) 100380]

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