4 research outputs found
Pinger affects fish catch efficiency and damage to bottom gill nets related to bottlenose dolphins
There is some evidence that the presence of
Tursiops truncatus in fishing areas represents a real economic
threat to fishermen due the dolphin feeding on the
entangled fish, damaging the nets and reducing the fish
catch. We have carried out experiments to assess the efficiency
of a pinger in decreasing the interaction between the
dolphins and fishing nets, in a fishing area off the coast of
southern Italy, where Tursiops truncatus is frequently
observed to interact with bottom gill nets. Two identical
monofilament bottom gill nets (900 m long), one equipped
with pingers and the other without, were used to measure
the effect of these pingers on the abundance of the catch
and net damage. For each haul (58 in total), data on dolphin
sightings near the nets, damage judged to have been doneby dolphins, weight and species composition of the catch
were collected. All damage to the nets were recorded at the
end of each haul. Dolphins in the fishing area were sighted
11 times out of 29 fishing activities (38%). The net
equipped with pingers contained 28% more fish (biomass)
than the net without pingers (t test, P\0.04) and was less
damaged (-31%, t test, P\0.01). To assess whether the
efficacy of these pingers remain constant over long period,
long-term experiments should be carried out
Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog.
Here we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), together with a dense map of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across breeds. The dog is of particular interest because it provides important evolutionary information and because existing breeds show great phenotypic diversity for morphological, physiological and behavioural traits. We use sequence comparison with the primate and rodent lineages to shed light on the structure and evolution of genomes and genes. Notably, the majority of the most highly conserved non-coding sequences in mammalian genomes are clustered near a small subset of genes with important roles in development. Analysis of SNPs reveals long-range haplotypes across the entire dog genome, and defines the nature of genetic diversity within and across breeds. The current SNP map now makes it possible for genome-wide association studies to identify genes responsible for diseases and traits, with important consequences for human and companion animal health