Salmon

Abstract:  Although there are many indicators of endangerment (i.e., whether populations or species meet criteria that justify conservation action), their reliability has rarely been tested. Such indicators may fail to identify that a population or species meets criteria for conservation action (false negative) or may incorrectly show that such criteria have been met (false positive). To quantify the rate of both types of error for 20 commonly used indicators of declining abundance (threat indicators), we used receiver operating characteristic curves derived from historical (1938–2007) data for 18 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) populations in the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. We retrospectively determined each population's yearly status (reflected by change in abundance over time) on the basis of each indicator. We then compared that population's status in a given year with the status in subsequent years (determined by the magnitude of decline in abundance across those years). For each sockeye population, we calculated how often each indicator of past status matched subsequent status. No single threat indicator provided error-free estimates of status, but indicators that reflected the extent (i.e., magnitude) of past decline in abundance (through comparison of current abundance with some historical baseline abundance) tended to better reflect status in subsequent years than the rate of decline over the previous 3 generations (a widely used indicator). We recommend that when possible, the reliability of various threat indicators be evaluated with empirical analyses before such indicators are used to determine the need for conservation action. These indicators should include estimates from the entire data set to take into account a historical baseline.Resumen:  Aunque existen muchos indicadores de riesgo (i.e., sí las poblaciones o especies cumplen con criterios para justificar acciones de conservación), su confiabilidad ha sido probada pocas veces. Dichos indicadores pueden fallar al identificar que una población o especie cumple con criterios para acciones de conservación (negativo falso) o pueden mostrar incorrectamente que tales criterios se han cumplido (positivo falso). Para cuantificar la tasa de ambos tipos de error para 20 indicadores de declinación de abundancia (indicadores de amenaza) utilizados comúnmente, utilizamos curvas de características de operación de receptores derivadas de datos históricos (1937–2008) de 18 poblaciones de salmón (Oncorhynchus nerka) en el Río Fraser, Columbia Británica, Canadá. Retrospectivamente determinamos el estatus anual de cada población (reflejado en cambios en la abundancia en el tiempo) con base en cada indicador. Posteriormente comparamos el estatus de la población en un año determinado con el estatus de años subsecuentes (determinado por la magnitud de la declinación en abundancia en esos años). Para cada población de salmón, calculamos la frecuencia en que cada indicador de estatus pasado era igual al estatus subsecuente. Ningún indicador de amenaza proporcionó estimaciones de estatus libres de error, pero los indicadores que reflejaron la extensión (i.e., magnitud) de la declinación en abundancia pasada (mediante comparación de la abundancia actual con la abundancia histórica de referencia) tendieron a reflejar de mejor manera el estatus en años anteriores que la tasa de declinación en las 3 generaciones previas (un indicador ampliamente utilizado). Recomendamos que, cuando sea posible, se evalúe la confiabilidad de varios indicadores de amenaza con análisis empíricos antes de que esos indicadores sean utilizados para determinar la necesidad de acciones de conservación. Estos indicadores deben incluir estimaciones a partir del total de datos para considerar una referencia histórica.Resumen:  Aunque existen muchos indicadores de riesgo (i.e., sí las poblaciones o especies cumplen con criterios para justificar acciones de conservación), su confiabilidad ha sido probada pocas veces. Dichos indicadores pueden fallar al identificar que una población o especie cumple con criterios para acciones de conservación (negativo falso) o pueden mostrar incorrectamente que tales criterios se han cumplido (positivo falso). Para cuantificar la tasa de ambos tipos de error para 20 indicadores de declinación de abundancia (indicadores de amenaza) utilizados comúnmente, utilizamos curvas de características de operación de receptores derivadas de datos históricos (1937–2008) de 18 poblaciones de salmón (Oncorhynchus nerka) en el Río Fraser, Columbia Británica, Canadá. Retrospectivamente determinamos el estatus anual de cada población (reflejado en cambios en la abundancia en el tiempo) con base en cada indicador. Posteriormente comparamos el estatus de la población en un año determinado con el estatus de años subsecuentes (determinado por la magnitud de la declinación en abundancia en esos años). Para cada población de salmón, calculamos la frecuencia en que cada indicador de estatus pasado era igual al estatus subsecuente. Ningún indicador de amenaza proporcionó estimaciones de estatus libres de error, pero los indicadores que reflejaron la extensión (i.e., magnitud) de la declinación en abundancia pasada (mediante comparación de la abundancia actual con la abundancia histórica de referencia) tendieron a reflejar de mejor manera el estatus en años anteriores que la tasa de declinación en las 3 generaciones previas (un indicador ampliamente utilizado). Recomendamos que, cuando sea posible, se evalúe la confiabilidad de varios indicadores de amenaza con análisis empíricos antes de que esos indicadores sean utilizados para determinar la necesidad de acciones de conservación. Estos indicadores deben incluir estimaciones a partir del total de datos para considerar una referencia histórica.

The concept of a holobiont, a host organism and its associated microbial communities, encapsulates the vital role the microbiome plays in the normal functioning of its host. Parasitic infections can disrupt this relationship, leading to dysbiosis. However, it is increasingly recognized that multicellular parasites are themselves holobionts. Intestinal parasites share space with the host gut microbiome, creating a system of nested microbiomes within the primary host. However, how the parasite, as a holobiont, interacts with the host holobiont remains unclear, as do the consequences of these interactions for host health. Here, we used 16S amplicon and shotgun metagenomics sequencing to characterize the microbiome of the intestinal cestode Eubothrium and its effect on the gut microbiome of its primary host, Atlantic salmon. Our results indicate that cestode infection is associated with salmon gut dysbiosis by acting as a selective force benefiting putative pathogens and potentially introducing novel bacterial species to the host. Our results suggest that parasitic cestodes may themselves be holobionts nested within the microbial community of their holobiont host, emphasizing the importance of also considering microbes associated with parasites when studying intestinal parasitic infections.

Ageing is widely believed to be a non-adaptive process that results from a decline in the force of natural selection. However, recent studies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are consistent with the existence of a programme of altruistic ageing and death. We suggest that the similarities between the molecular pathways that regulate ageing in yeast, worms, flies and mice, together with evidence that is consistent with programmed death in salmon and other organisms, raise the possibility that programmed ageing or death can also occur in higher eukaryotes.

We previously reported that fish proteins can alleviate metabolic syndrome (MetS) in obese animals and human subjects. We tested whether a salmon peptide fraction (SPF) could improve MetS in mice and explored potential mechanisms of action. ApoB(100) only, LDL receptor knockout male mice (LDLR(-/-)/ApoB(100/100)) were fed a high-fat and -sucrose (HFS) diet (25 g/kg sucrose). Two groups were fed 10 g/kg casein hydrolysate (HFS), and 1 group was additionally fed 4.35 g/kg fish oil (FO; HFS+FO). Two other groups were fed 10 g/kg SPF (HFS+SPF), and 1 group was additionally fed 4.35 g/kg FO (HFS+SPF+FO). A fifth (reference) group was fed a standard feed pellet diet. We assessed the impact of dietary treatments on glucose tolerance, adipose tissue inflammation, lipid homeostasis, and hepatic insulin signaling. The effects of SPF on glucose uptake, hepatic glucose production, and inducible nitric oxide synthase activity were further studied in vitro with the use of L6 myocytes, FAO hepatoc...

The ocean is a vast series of diverse yet interconnected ecosystems.  Ocean waters cover the majority of the planet and are home to countless varieties of life.  The volume of living space provided by the seas is 168 times greater than that of land-based habitats; 90 percent of earth’s living biomass is in the sea (Clark 2006). Despite this opulence, ocean life is in peril, but unlike other threatened ecosystems, the impending oceanic crisis is largely unseen and largely unmentioned even among environmentalists.  While animal advocates and environmentalists rally on behalf of dolphins, seals, and whales, neither group seems too worried about Chinook salmon or Atlantic halibut—but they ought to be.

Bacteria in the genus Flavobacterium are highly heterogeneous and are comprised of pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. They are found in a wide variety of environments that include fresh and marine water, soil, and ocean sediments. This unit focuses on laboratory maintenance of two important fish pathogens within this genus. Flavobacterium psychrophilum and F. columnare are fastidious, slow-growing organisms that require specialized medium for optimal growth in the laboratory. Methods are described for the preparation of media, broth and agar culture, cryopreservation, and enumeration of viable cells for these bacteria. In addition, the diseases caused by these pathogens are described along with methods of diagnosis and treatments. This unit serves as a general guide for the cultivation of F. psychrophilum and F. columnare and discusses some of the difficulties that have been encountered for each.

"The paper discusses the role of Cistercian economic activity in late 14th century and early 15th Century region of Nyland (Uusimaa) in Southern Finland. How did the Cistercian Abbey of Padise (Ger. Padis) in Estonia first come into possession of fishing rights for salmon in the River Vantaanjoki in Finland, and what was the significance of these rights for the economy and everyday life of the monastery during the period of the abbey's donation in 1351–1429? What impact did the monks and lay brethren have on the use of the river and the structure of settlement in its area, now in the dense suburban network of Vantaa and Helsinki?

The article and the publication are currently available in full form http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=earliest%20monasteries%20western%20finland&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CGIQFjAH&url=http://www.vantaa.fi/instancedata/prime_product_julkaisu/vantaa/embeds/vantaawwwstructure/83312_Colonists_on_the_Shores_of_the_Gulf_of_Finland.pdf&ei=chn5UOaXGu_04QTp8oGgBw&usg=AFQjCNHWQL3yX9aQxVyjcJkvIb7-FNhe5Q&bvm=bv.41248874,d.bGE&cad=rja

The historical, political and scientific aspects of salmon hatchery programmes designed to enhance fishery production, or to recover endangered populations, are reviewed. We start by pointing out that the establishment of hatcheries has been a political response to societal demands for harvest and conservation; given this social context, we then critically examined the levels of activity, the biological risks, and

This paper explores the costs of sea lice control strategies associated with salmon aquaculture at a farm level in Norway. Diseases can cause reduction in growth, low feed efficiency and market prices, increasing mortality rates, and expenditures on prevention and treatment measures. Aquaculture farms suffer the most direct and immediate economic losses from diseases. The goal of a control strategy is to minimize the total disease costs, including biological losses, and treatment costs while to maximize overall profit. Prevention and control strategies are required to eliminate or minimize the disease, while cost-effective disease control strategies at the fish farm level are designed to reduce the losses, and to enhance productivity and profitability. Thus, the goal can be achieved by integrating models of fish growth, sea lice dynamics and economic factors. A production function is first constructed to incorporate the effects of sea lice on production at a farm level, followed by ...