Efficiency of presence-absence sampling used to estimate the mean abundance of fish eggs

ABSTRACT:   Statistical properties of estimators relating to the mean abundance of fish eggs were investigated using the data from the presence-absence sampling (PAS) and counting sampling (CS). PAS, which focuses on the presence-absence of eggs in a sample, is more cost-effective yet is unlikely to give more precise estimates than CS, which counts the number of eggs. But when limitations are given on the sampling cost and number of sampling stations, PAS may have advantages. This study shows that the mean square error (MSE) of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) based on PAS may become smaller than the MSE of the MLE based on counting data when the number of observations for PAS becomes larger. The observation number for PAS is determined, which minimizes the MSE of a combined estimator from the two MLE under a restriction of the total cost of observation. A dual problem is also solved. It is shown that MSE of the MLE in PAS is a monotone increasing function of the oversight probability. PAS becomes more informative as the distribution of the number of eggs is more aggregated.     

Experimental infections with Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer) on threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., and juvenile Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus spp

Experimental infections with Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer) were established on threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., juvenile pink, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum), and chum, Oncorhynchus keta (Walbaum), salmon. The prevalence and abundance of infections were initially higher on sticklebacks than on either salmon species. The initial prevalence and intensity of infections on chum salmon were higher than those on pink salmon, and declined on both species during louse development. The rate of parasite development to adult stages was similar on all species although development beyond the preadult stage was not observed on sticklebacks. These results confirm previous field observations on the occurrence and development of L. salmonis on threespine sticklebacks.     

Spatial and temporal trends in abundance of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, in Newfoundland with emphasis on impacts of the 1992 closure of the commercial fishery

Closure of the Newfoundland commercial Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., fishery in 1992 was the most restrictive measure introduced to help rebuild depressed local stocks of salmon. Here, the effects of the closure are evaluated by analysing trends in abundance since 1984, and estimates of survival in both freshwater and marine environments derived from enumeration of salmon at fish counting facilities. While freshwater production of smolts generally has been maintained, marine survival rates remain low (2–10%), and highly variable. Overall, total stock size differs little from that prior to the closure of the commercial salmon fishery. Spawning escapements have increased by a factor of 2 or 3 in some rivers, but in other areas total returns are lower on average than those prior to the fishery closure. Factors other than exploitation are contributing to lack of stock recovery, resulting in continued conservation concerns.     

Survival of reared Atlantic salmon and sea trout in relation to marine conditions of smolt year in the Baltic Sea

The marine survival of hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta) was examined in relation to marine conditions during post-smolt migration and in relation to stock traits. In 1970–2001, Carlin-tagged smolts were released in the Iijoki and Oulujoki rivers, the northern Baltic Sea. When both species were analysed together, the abundance of the three prey fish, herring (Clupea harengus), smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) and vendace (Coregonus albula) correlated positively with the survival of salmonids. In addition, the increase in smolt size appeared to improve the survival rate. Sea surface temperature (SST) may have affected indirectly through the abundance of prey fish during the post-smolt migration of salmon and sea trout. The smelt and vendace showed a statistical effect on survival only when the temperature effects were not included in the models. In sea trout, an increasing smolt length was not significantly correlated with the survival in good herring recruitment years, but in poor years survival increased very rapidly with increasing smolt size. The recapture rates of the salmonids tended to decrease between the years 1970 and 2001. During the same time period, the June SST slightly decreased. The positive correlation between the annual summer SST and recapture rate of salmon may partly explain the decreasing trend in recapture rates. An increase in smolt size did not compensate for the decline in the recapture rate of either species.     

Density effects on length at maturity of walleye pollock <Emphasis Type="Italic">Theragra chalcogramma</Emphasis> off the pacific coast of northern Japan in the 1990s

To determine how stock abundance fluctuations of walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma are related to variations in reproductive characteristics, the length at 50% maturity of the fish sampled off the Pacific coast of northern Japan from 1990 to 1999 was examined. In both sexes, the fish density increased, and the body length of age-3-5 fish decreased, but the condition factor and the age at 50% maturity showed no clear trend during this period. Male length at 50% maturity decreased, while value for females showed no clear trend. In both sexes, significant negative correlations were found between density index (combined age-3-5) and each body length at age-3-5. Significant positive correlations were seen between each body length at age-3-5 and length at 50% maturity in males. Positive correlation between body length at age-5 and length at 50% maturity was significant in females from 1990 to 1999, except for the samples in 1998. We suggest that the fish density might affect the length at maturity in males and possibly also in females.     

Degradation of the crocodile population in the Olifants River Gorge of Kruger National Park,South Africa

• 1. Top predators such as crocodiles often reflect ecosystem degradation. The recent spate of close to 200 Nile crocodile deaths may reflect the ecosystem state of the Olifants–Letaba River system in the Kruger National Park. This paper investigates whether the crocodile deaths were indeed the consequence of a rare and perhaps acute event given the variability in annual population growth rates of crocodilians.
• 2. Spotlight‐ and helicopter‐based surveys designed to correct for availability and detectability bias were used to estimate population sizes of crocodiles from 2008 to 2010 in and around the Olifants River Gorge, the focal area of crocodile deaths.
• 3. Correction factors derived from individually observed crocodiles for both spotlight‐ and helicopter‐based counts were lower than those typically used for Nile crocodiles as well as other crocodile species. Even so, corrected spotlight‐ and helicopter‐based estimates were comparable and the number of crocodiles in the focal study area declined significantly from 780 (95% CI: 637–1222) to between 460 (spotlight estimate, 95% CI 375–665) and 505 (aerial estimate, 95% CI: 559–1746) during the period of crocodile deaths. The average annual decline of 35% was at the lower end of the distribution of annual population growth rates across the rivers of Kruger National Park.
• 4. The crocodile deaths reflect a possible rare event that suggests a degraded crocodile population, possibly the consequences of broad‐scale cascades of environmental deterioration of the Olifants–Letaba River system.
• 5. Even so, the potential risk of local demise of the population in the focal study area in the short term may be diminished through evolutionary, demographic and spatial resilience inherent within crocodiles that can accommodate the as yet unknown disease dynamics of pansteatitis. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

2006年夏季珠江口5大口门网采浮游植物群落的调查

于2006年8月记录了珠江入海口5个大面站位的网采浮游植物。经初步鉴定共计5门54属119种(包括6个变种,不包括若干未定名种)。此次网采浮游植物以淡水硅藻和绿藻为主,硅藻64种,约占总种数的53.78%,其中出现频率较高的属有菱形藻(Nitzschia)、小环藻(Cyclotella)、针杆藻(Synedra)等;绿藻门次之37种,常见属有栅藻(Scenedesmus)、盘星藻(Pediastrum)和新月藻(Closterium)。浮游植物细胞密度为2.085×105～2.40×106ind./m3,平均值为1.0443×106ind./m3,其中S2水域的细胞密度最高,S1次之、S3至S5依次减少。对多项群落特征参数如多样性和相似性等进行了分析,结果表明其生物多样性及物种丰富度都较高;其群落结构除S2外,各站位均处于相对稳定状态;站位之间群落组成的相似性不高。     

Dynamics of extinction of a small population of the three‐spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L) caused by habitat modification

• 1. Abundance of a population of three‐spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., in a small backwater of Afon Rheidol in mid‐Wales (UK) was estimated annually each October from 1972 to 1999 by mark–recapture.
• 2. The population became extinct in 2000, because of land‐use changes in 1995, which modified the drainage pattern through the backwater, causing the backwater to eventually dry up.
• 3. The final decline to extinction started from an estimated abundance of 1550 in 1998 and the abundance in 1999, the year before extinction, was 85. The smallest abundance from which the population showed an increase was 670.
• 4. Two years before extinction (1998), the population was characterized by an anomalously high proportion of small fish.
• 5. There was a significant power relationship between the years to extinction and population size, but if the data were analysed in two periods, 1972–1989 and 1990–1999, the relationship was only significant for the second period.
• 6. There was no relationship between time to extinction and per capita annual rate of increase (k), although values of k were unusually low in the last two years before extinction.
• 7. Time to extinction was not related to mean length, mean mass or the condition of the fish.
• 8. The results suggest that the indicators of impending extinction may vary with the causes of extinction and may be ambiguous, even when a long time‐series of demographic data is available. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.