Search results for "fish"
showing 10 items of 3164 documents
Decomposer animal communities in forest soil along heavy metal pollution gradient
1996
Responses of soil decomposer animals to heavy metal contamination and to concomitant changes in organic matter quality and quantity and in soil microbial biomasses have been studied along a pollution gradient from a Cu-Ni smelter. Samples have been taken separately for nematodes, enchytraeids and microarthropods 0.5, 2 and 8 km from the smelter. Special attention has been paid to the changes in the collembolan fauna. The sampling sites have been located in homogeneous Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris) forests with podsolic soil profiles. In addition, an experiment has been carried out in which intact soil cores have been transferred in mesh baskets between the sites 2 and 8 km from the smelter…
Regulation and Role of Neuroglobin and Cytoglobin Under Hypoxia
2007
Neuroglobin (Ngb) and cytoglobin (Cygb) are two novel members of the globin superfamily that are ubiquitously present in vertebrates. Their exact physiological roles are still uncertain. Here we review the expression of Ngb and Cygb, with particular emphasis on their regulation and potential role under hypoxia. Ngb expression is confined to neurons and some endocrine tissues. At the subcellular level, Ngb is associated with the presence of mitochondria and thus linked to the oxidative metabolism. Hypoxia or ischemic insults most likely do not strongly increase Ngb levels in the rodent brain. This might be explained by the fact that most mammals are not adapted to low oxygen levels. In zebra…
Use of stable isotopes to investigate dispersal of waste from fish farm as a function of hydrodynamics.
2006
Stable isotopes were used to examine differential effects of fish farm waste on the water column and sediments. To achieve this objective, we chose 3 marine fish farms located along the coast of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) as point-source disturbances, and a control area. The hypothesis that carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of particulate (POM) and sedimentary (SOM) organic matter varied with increasing distance (from cages to 1000 m) was tested at 3 levels of hydrodynam- ics: low (mean velocity of current (MVC) ~12 cm s -1 ), intermediate (MVC ~22 cm s -1 ), and high (MVC ~40 cm s -1 ). Different isotopic signals from allochthonous (fish waste) over natural (phytoplankton, terrigenou…
Reduction of the frequency of herbaceous roots as an effect of soil compaction induced by heavy grazing in rangelands of SW Spain
2017
Rangelands in SW Spain constitute the most extensive ranching system on the Iberian Peninsula. During the last few decades, a significant increase in livestock numbers, along with a progressive substitution of cattle for sheep, have led to land degradation processes such as the reduction of grass cover and increased soil compaction in heavily grazed areas. Nevertheless, a better understanding of how soil compaction affects grass production is still needed. In this study, some of the effects of soil compaction due to heavy grazing are analysed, mainly the reduction of the frequency of herbaceous roots and its relationships with bulk density and soil penetration resistance. The study was carr…
Digestion and absorption of polyunsaturated fatty acids
1991
Polyunsaturated fatty acids play an important part in the structure and function of cellular membranes and are precursors of lipid mediators which play a key role in cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. Dietary sources of essential fatty acids are vegetable oils for either linoleic or alpha-linolenic acids, and sea fish oils for eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids. Because of the specificity of the pancreatic lipid hydrolases, triglyceride fatty acid distribution is an essential parameter in the digestibility of fats. The efficiency of the intestinal uptake depends on the hydrolysis and especially on their micellarization. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid ethyl ester digestion is …
Biochemical identification and tissue-specific expression patterns of keratins in the zebrafish Danio rerio
1998
We have identified a number of type I and type II keratins in the zebrafish Danio rerio by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, complementary keratin blot-binding assay and immunoblotting. These keratins range from 56 kDa to 46 kDa in molecular mass and from pH 6.6 to pH 5.2 in isoelectric point. Type II zebrafish keratins exhibit significantly higher molecular masses (56-52 kDa) compared with the type I keratins (50-48 kDa), but the isoelectric points show no significant difference between the two keratin subclasses (type II: pH 6.0-5.5; type I: pH 6.1-5.2). According to their occurrence in various zebrafish tissues, the identified keratins can be classified into "E" (epider…
Fatty acid composition of a cultured sturgeon hybrid (×)
2005
Abstract Analyses of fatty acids from the dorsal muscle of Acipenser naccarii × A. baerii sturgeon hybrid were carried out. The data were compared with those reported in the literature for other sturgeons reared for human consumption. This hybrid would seem to be of great nutritional interest, its flesh being more beneficial for human health than those of other cultured sturgeons. In fact, the level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was very high (34.7 ± 0.67%), being similar to that of monounsaturated fatty acids (37.9 ± 0.83%). Moreover, the PUFAs- n 3/PUFAs- n 6 ratio (6.74) was noticeably higher in this hybrid than in the other cultured sturgeon species. There were also high cont…
Patterns of earthworm, enchytraeid and nematode diversity and community structure in urban soils of different ages
2016
Annelids (Lumbricidae and Enchytraeidae) and nematodes are common soil organisms and play important roles in organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling and creation of soil structure and porosity. However, these three groups have rarely been studied together and only few studies exist for urban soils. We studied the diversity and community composition of annelids and nematodes in soils spanning more than two centuries of urban soil development in Neuchâtel (Switzerland) and assessed the relationships 1) among these three groups and 2) between each group and environmental (physical, chemical and functional) characteristics of soils and soil age. While the groups of environmental variable…
Biologically and Pharmacologically Active Saponins from Plants: Recent Advances
2000
Saponins as triterpene or steroid glycosides were well known in ancient times for their detergent, haemolytic and fish toxic activities, properties which are correlated with the amphiphilic character of the molecules and their ability to complex cholesterol.
Utilization of different dietary lipid sources at high level in herbivorous grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella): mechanism related to hepatic fatty …
2008
Herbivorous grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) has been reported to exhibit low capacity to utilize high dietary lipid, but different lipid sources might affect this limited capacity. In order to compare the effects of different lipid sources with different lipid levels, juvenile grass carp were fed one of nine diets containing three oils [lard, plant oil mixed by maize and linseed oil, and n-3 high unsaturated fatty acid-enriched (HUFA-enriched) fish oil] at three lipid levels (20, 60 and 100 g kg(-1) dry diet) for 8 weeks. Decreased feed intake, poor growth performance, hepatic pathology and higher blood lipid peroxidation were found in 60 and 100 g kg(-1) fish oil groups. Conversely, i…