Variations in physical-chemical factors, species composition, abundance and biomass of nano-and micro-phytoplankton assemblages, as well as their responses to environmental factors, were investigated over a complete cycle (6 months) in a semi-enclosed shrimp-farming pond near Qingdao, northern China. The aim was to establish the temporal patterns of phytoplankton communities and to evaluate protists as suitable bioindicators to water quality in mariculture systems. A total of 34 taxa with nine dominant species were identified, belonging to six taxonomic groups (dinoflagellates, diatoms, cryptophyceans, chlorophyceans, euglenophyceans and chrysophyceans). A single peak of protist abundance occurred in October, mainly due to chlorophyceans, diatoms and chrysophyceans. Two biomass peaks in July and October were primarily due to dinoflagellates and diatoms. Temporal patterns of the phytoplankton communities significantly correlated with the changes in nutrients, temperature and pH, especially phosphate, either alone or in combination with NO3-N and NH3-N. Species diversity, evenness and richness indices were clearly correlated with water temperature and/or salinity, whereas the biomass/abundance ratio showed a significant correlation with NO3-N. The results suggest that phytoplankton are potentially useful bioindicators to water quality in semi-enclosed mariculture systems.
许恒龙MIN Gi-SikCHOI Joong-KiAL-RASHEID Khaled A. S.林晓凤朱明壮
To study population dynamics of marine ciliates in different artificial seawaters （ASW）, the population growth dynamics of a common marine ciliate Euplotes vannus were investigated using beef extract media and rice media for five types of ASW and natural seawater （NSW）. The results show that： （1） the population growth rate was in the order of NSW〉Flack ASW〉Nakamula ASW〉Schmadz ASW〉Oshima ASW〉Subow ASW and was considerably higher in rice media than in beef extract media （apart from Subow ASW）; （2） the maximum density of E. vannus in stationary phase in each treatment was ranked as Hack ASW〉Nakamula ASW〉Schmadz ASW〉NSW〉Oshima ASW〉Subow ASW, and was again higher in rice media than in beef extract media （except for Subow ASW）; （3） the exponential and stationary phases were longer in rice media than in beef extract media; （4） strains of E. vannus that had been domesticated for 〉1 year in ASW grew significantly slower, with lower maximum density and longer stationary phase than those isolated and maintained in NSW. It was demonstrated that： （1） E. vannus may grow well in Flack, Nakamula and Schmads ASW compared with NSW （mainly in terms of growth rate）; and （2） Oshima ASW is the preferred choice for stock cultures of E. vannus, but the ASWs Flack, Nakamula and Schmadz are preferred for mass culture. These findings suggest that these three ASWs are effective for the cultivation of marine protozoa for experimental studies on ecology, toxicology and molecular biology.
The exceptionally large individual growth variation has been previously recognized in several sea cucumber cohorts. However, there is a lack of information regarding the mechanism of such individual differences. In this study, the sea cucumber Apostichopusjaponicus （Selenka） was reared individually in order to eliminate possible effects of social interaction, stocking density, etc. The results showed that there were substantial differences in growth among the sea cucumber individuals during the 100-day experiment. The special growth rate of the sea cucumber individuals differed by up to three folds （from 0.40% to 1.01%）, and the coefficient of variation in body weight increased from 12.04% to 40.51%. The final wet body weight, food intake and food conversion efficiency for each sea cucumber were generally positively correlated with their initial wet body weight （P〈0.05）. Energy budget of the animals showed that the food energy spent on respiration was much greater （about four folds） but energy deposited for growth was much less for （initially） smaller than for larger A. japonicus. The present result implies that there are obvious genetic differences among the sea cucumber individuals, largely accounting for the individual growth variation of the cohort sea cucumber. These results will provide some basic data for promoting selective breeding and fanning of the sea cucumber.
LIANG Miao DONG Shuanglin GAO Qinfeng WANG Fang TIAN Xiangli
Hemocyte counts and phenoloxidase(PO)activity were examined after hemolymph being incubated in dopamine(DA),noradrenaline(NE)and serotonin(5-HT).Results showed that all the three biogenic amines(BAs)had a significant impact on total hemocyte count(THC),differential hemocyte count(DHC),and intracelluar and extracelluar phenoloxidase(PO)activity.Among these Bas,DA had the strongest effect on the above parameters,whereas 5-HT had the least effect.Preincubation with D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390,D2 receptor antagonist Sulpiride and 1:1 admixture of the two could significantly inhibit the effect of DA on these parameters.SCH23390 showed a stronger inhibitory effect than Sulpiride,and the admixture exhibited the strongest effect.These results suggested that the change of hemocyte count and activation of prophenoloxidase(proPO)system in Litopenaeusvan-namei hemocyte can be regulated by BAs,and DA modulates the two parameters via its receptors.
We investigated the effects of lipopolysaccharide （LPS） and dopamine （DA） on the activation of the prophenoloxidase （proPO） system of Litopenaeus vannamei. LPS and DA were shown with a negative dose-dependent effect on hyalne cells （HC）, semi-granular cells （SGC）, large granular cells （LGC）, and total haemocyte count （THC）. When haemocytes were treated with LPS or DA, serine proteinase activity and intracellular phenoloxidase （PO） activity were significantly reduced, but extracellular PO activity increased significantly. These findings indicated that the reduction in haemocyte counts was mainly because of the degranulation and activation of the proPO system from semi-granule and large granule cells. The PKC inhibitor, chelerythrine, and the TPK inhibitor, genistein, had an inhibitory effect on extracellular PO activity, while serine proteinase and intracellular PO activity increased. This suggests that the LPS and DA induce the activation of proPO in haemocytes via PKC and TPK-related signaling pathways, but serine proteinase may be activated only by PKC, as the genistein effects were not statistically significant. Electrophoresis analysis revealed that POs induced by LPS or DA have the same molecular mass and high diphenolase activity. Two PO bands at 526 kDa and 272 kDa were observed in PAGE, while in the haemocyte lysate supematant （HLS）, only a 272-kDa band was observed. This band was resolved after SDS-PAGE under non-reducing and reducing conditions into two groups of POs, 166 kDa and 126 kDa, and 78.1 kDa and 73.6 kDa, respectively, suggesting that PO in L. vannamei is an oligomer, which may have different compositions intra- and extracellularly.
The growth, metabolism and physiological response of the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, were investigated during periods of inactivity. The body weight, oxygen consumption rate (OCR), activities of acidic phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and content of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in the body wall and coelomic fluid of A. japonicus were measured during starvation, experimental aestivation and aestivation. The results showed that the body weight of sea cucumber in the three treatments decreased significantly during the experimental period (P < 0.05). The OCR of sea cucumber reduced in starvation and experimental aestivation treatments, but increased gradually in natural aestivation treatment. The activities of ACP and AKP of sea cucumber decreased gradually in all treatments, whereas those of SOD and CAT as well as Hsp70 content decreased in the starvation and experimental aestivation treatments and increased in natural aestivation treatment. The sea cucumber entered a state of aestivation at 24℃. To some extent, the animals in experimental aestivation were different from those in natural aestivation in metabolism and physiological response. These findings suggested that the aestivation mechanism of A. japonicus is complex and may not be attributed to the elevated temperature only.
The ecological processes and interrelationships between protists,either autotrophic or heterotrophic,and environmental factors in mariculture ponds are largely unknown.This study investigated the temporal dynamics of potentially harmful dinoflagellate,Prorocentrum minimum (Pavillard) Schiller,and its relationship to physico-chemical factors and protozoan grazers over a complete cycle in a semi-enclosed shrimp-farming pond near Qingdao,Northern China.P.minimum occurred frequently in low numbers from June to August,followed by a sharp increase from the middle of August,reaching a single maximum peak value of 2.2×105 cells L-1 in October.Temporal variation in abundance was positively correlated with dissolved nitrogen,but showed a significant inverse relationship to abundance of the dominant ciliates,Tintinnopsis lohmanni and Askenasia stellaris.The results provide statistical evidence that the number of P.minimum increased with increasing nitrogen,and the suppression or shortening of algal bloom may be associated with protozoan grazers,such as Tintinnopsis lohmanni,in mariculture ponds.
