First Data On Aquaculture of the Tripletail, \u3ci\u3eLobotes surinamensis\u3c/i\u3e, a Promising Candidate Species For U.S. Marine Aquaculture

The Tripletail, Lobotes surinamensis, is a warm-water pelagic fish that is increasingly targeted by U.S. anglers. The superior quality of Tripletail flesh coupled with the lack of domestic commercial fisheries stimulated interests to develop aquaculture of this species. In this work, photo-thermal conditioning of captive-held broodstocks promoted maturation in females, but spontaneous spawning was not observed. GnRHa slow-release implants induced ovulation in late vitellogenic females but fertility remained below 10% when GnRHa was administered alone. However, spawns with high fertility (up to 85%) were obtained when a dopamine antagonist was administered in conjunction with GnRHa implants indicating dopamine inhibition impaired final gamete maturation, in particular sperm production in males, in aquaculture conditions. Tripletail larvae successfully initiated exogenous feeding on enriched rotifers followed by Artemia nauplii and were weaned to prepared feeds at 25 days post hatch, yet with low survival through the late phases of larval culture. Pilot grow-out trials at low density in recirculating systems revealed impressive growth rates averaging over 170 g/month through a market size above 1 kg. While protocols for hatchery culture and grow-out still need to be optimized, current data suggest that Tripletail could become a successful species for U.S. marine aquaculture

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe

Increasing Production of \u3ci\u3eCopepod nauplii\u3c/i\u3e in a Brown-Water Zooplankton Culture With Supplemental Feeding and Increased Harvest Levels

Two experiments were performed to investigate increasing the number of copepod nauplii obtained from a brown-water zooplankton culture for feeding to larval red snapper Lutjanus campechanus. Brown-water zooplankton cultures rely on the regular exchange of (brown) estuarine water to nourish and harvest the copepods. The majority of copepods in both experiments were Acartia tonsa. The goal of the first experiment was to determine whether adding rice bran to a brown-water zooplankton culture would increase copepod density. Brown-water zooplankton cultures supplemented with rice bran had significantly higher naupliar densities than either brown-water zooplankton cultures without rice bran or zooplankton cultures supplemented with rice bran but without brown-water exchanges. Both the rice-bran-supplemented brown-water zooplankton culture and the rice bran zooplankton culture had higher copepodid densities than the brown-water zooplankton culture, but they were not different from each other. The goal of the second experiment was to determine the harvest rate (25, 50, and 75% of the water volume every other day) that would produce the most copepods. Copepod densities increased with a decrease in harvest rate; however, naupliar yields increased with increasing harvest rate. Copepod populations subjected to the various harvest rates appeared to undergo similar dynamics and were thus equally sustainable. There were significantly more nauphi harvested with the 75% harvest rate than with the other rates, but there was no difference in the number of harvested copepodids resulting from the different harvest rates. Naupliar yields of brown-water zooplankton cultures may be increased by rice bran supplementation and harvesting 75% of the culture volume every other day

Short-term Effects of First-prey Type and Number on Survival and Growth of Intensively Cultured Spotted Seatrout, \u3ci\u3eCynoscion nebulosus\u3c/i\u3e (Sciaenidae), Larvae

Five test diets - 20, 10 rotifers/mL/d, 5 rotifers/mL/d + 3 nauplii/mL/d, 5 and 8 nauplii/mL/d - were used to examine the effect of Acartia tonsa nauplii and a small strain of rotifers on survival, myotome height, notochord length, and condition (myotome height/notochord length) of spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, larvae through 6-d posthatch (PH). Diet did not affect survival. Larvae fed 5 and 8 nauplii/mL or 5 rotifers + 3 nauplii were longer, taller, and in better condition than larvae fed either 10 or 20 rotifers/mL. The condition of larvae fed diets with nauplii declined after Day 5 which suggests a shortage of prey in those diets after Day 4 or 5. Although copepod nauplii offer substantial short-term benefits in the culture of spotted seatrout, further study is required to determine the number of nauplii and/or rotifers necessary in the diet beyond Day 4 and to assess the long-term impact of the different diets

An Intensive, Large-Scale Batch Culture System to Produce the Calanoid Copepod, \u3ci\u3eAcartia tonsa\u3c/i\u3e

A major obstacle to the development of hatchery production for juveniles of many marine species is the difficulty in successfully feeding early larvae. Copepods contribute to the natural diet of most marine fish larvae and feature characteristics ideal for early larval feeds including small size and suitable nutrient content. However, the use of copepods as larval feeds is limited by the inability to consistently produce them in sufficient quantities to support large-scale fish culture. Here, an innovative design for an intensive, indoor batch culture system to produce the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa (Dana 1849), a prime candidate for use as a live food item, is described. The system features integrated grow-out and egg-production units that can be operated sequentially by 2.5 full-time employees to produce a predictable daily output of nauplii for use as live feed. The system output was on average 22 million eggs d−1 (21,955,420 ± 8,709,668) with an average hatch rate of 49% (49.1 ± 14.8) over three seasons

A Histological Study of Gametogenesis In Captive Red Snapper \u3ci\u3eLutjanus campechanus\u3c/i\u3e

Gametogenesis was monitored histologically in wild-caught red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus, Poey) maintained in captivity under simulated natural photothermal conditions. Gonads were collected every 2–3 weeks (average n = 14) for histology during the pre-spawning season (February to May, temperature increasing from 16°C to 24°C). Primary vitellogenic oocytes were first observed in one female when temperature reached 20°C. Subsequent samples revealed females in pre-vitellogenesis or at early stages of vitellogenesis, although one female had tertiary vitellogenic (Vtg3) oocytes. The first histological signs of spermatogenesis were observed when temperature reached 17°C. Spermatozoa were observed in testicular lobules of all males sampled on 14 May (24°C) but little or no sperm was released during manual stripping. Ten males and 10 females were left in tanks and monitored for spawning. No egg release was observed during the monitoring period that encompassed the natural spawning season of wild red snapper. Ovarian biopsies taken during the late spawning season (16 July) revealed that four of eight sampled females had Vtg3 oocytes. Males were manually stripped but released no sperm. These results indicate that captive red snapper can complete gametogenesis in photothermal controlled systems. Additional research is needed to develop procedures that will achieve reliable maturation and spawning

Development of a Methodology for Intensive Larviculture of Atlantic Croakers

The Atlantic Croaker Micropogonias undulatus (Sciaenidae) is a candidate species for marine baitfish aquaculture in the southeastern United States because of its high value and common use as live bait by recreational fishers. However, an efficient larviculture procedure has not been reported to date; development of such a procedure was the impetus for this study. Embryos were obtained from captive broodstock that were induced to spawn volitionally by using a single injection of a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist. Larvae were cultured at low density (initial density = 6.4 larvae/L) via intensive culture methods, including the use of recirculating filtration systems and of rotifers, brine shrimp Artemia spp., and micropellets as larval foods. The trial was performed in six 1,100-L tanks at a salinity of 14-29, with average rearing temperatures of 23.6 degrees C and 24.6 degrees C. At the completion of the study (39 d posthatch), mean SLs were 24.7mm (SE = 0.738) for larvae cultured at 24.6 degrees C and 23.0mm (SE = 0.624) for larvae cultured at 23.6 degrees C. Mean survival at 39 d posthatch was 25.9% and did not differ significantly between temperature groups. This work demonstrated a successful methodology for intensive larviculture of Atlantic Croakers and can serve as a platform for the experimentation that will be necessary to develop economically viable procedures for intensive production of this species. Received May 10, 2013; accepted August 24, 201