International Journal of Aquatic Biology

Descriptive osteology of the vertebral column of Giant Trevally (Caranx ignobilis Forsskål, 1775) harvested from Aceh Province, Indonesia

Yusrizal Akmal — 2024-02-25

We report a detailed description of the vertebral column of the giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis, Forsskål 1775). A total of 10 giant trevally were obtained from the Jangka seawaters, Bireuen Regency, Aceh Province, Indonesia. The giant trevally vertebral columns were processed physically and chemically. The vertebral column was disarticulated and observed individually. Morphometric parameters were measured, including the length, width, and height of the centrum, the length of the rib, the length of the neural spine, and the length of the haemal spine. The results showed that the vertebral column of the giant trevally consisted of three regions, namely the abdominal vertebrae, the caudal vertebrae, and the urostyle. The abdominal region comprises 10 centra, 7 pairs of costae, 10 neural spines, and 4 haemonephropophysis. The caudal region comprises 13 centra, 13 neural spines, 13 haemal spines, and 1 haemonephropophysis. The urostyle region is composed of 2 hypurals, 1 parhypural, 1 uroneural, and 1 epural. Morphometrically, the length and height value of the centrum of the giant trevally were greater than the width. The 4^th costae, 14^th neural spines, and 11^th haemal spines were also observed to be the longest compared to others in their respective series.

Incidence of running mortality syndrome (RMS) in Pacific whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, in an intensive biofloc grow-out pond

Anisha Shafni John — 2024-02-22

Bacterial disease is a major problem in Pacific whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei farming areas where farmers are facing a huge production loss due to epidemic diseases. The incidence of running mortality syndrome (RMS) was reported in L. vannamei, in an intensive biofloc culture system. Infected shrimps showed bacterial spots on the surface of the carapace, thick transparent mucous attached to the hepatopancreas, antennal cut, and cannibalism. Microscopical examination revealed a lichen-like structure with undulated margins varying about 22-650 µm size. Morphological characteristics of the colonies were smooth, circular, and opaque. Histopathological studies showed the sloughing of the tubule, multiplication of the bacterial plaque, and infiltration of the hemocytes in the infected hepatopancreas. Scanning electron microscopy of the infected shrimp revealed bacilli and cocci-shaped bacteria. Using transmission electron microscopy, bacterial populations were observed in the cytoplasm.

The predominant gut microbiota in the grass puffer, Takifugu alboplumbeus, captured in both river and marine environments

Chia-Hui Chen — 2024-02-25

The grass puffer, Takifugu alboplumbeus, a euryhaline fish species, was collected from both river and marine environments, and the gut microbiota of these specimens was examined using clone library analysis and qPCR technology. The results indicated that Aliarcobacter sp. constituted 27.3-96.9% of the three 16S rDNA libraries for river pufferfish and 40.6-86.8% of the three libraries for saltwater pufferfish, indicating that this bacterium is the dominant organism in both river and saltwater pufferfish. Furthermore, Brevinema sp., Mucinivorans sp., Mycoplasma sp., Pseudomonas mosselii, and unclassified members of Desulfovibrionaceae family were detected in both river and saltwater pufferfish at frequencies of 50-83%. In contrast, Ilumatobacter fluminis, Ilumatobacter spp., Nitrincola sp., Tropicibacter alexandrii, and unclassified members of the Microthrixaceae and Mycoplasmataceae families, as well as the Mollicutes class, were detected only from river pufferfish, while Vibrio spp. were detected only in two out of three libraries of saltwater pufferfish. However, qPCR for Vibrionaceae showed that the abundance of Vibrionaceae in the gut of river pufferfish was significantly lower than in saltwater pufferfish, although neither was the predominant bacteria. These results indicate that river and saltwater pufferfish have different gut microbiota. This suggests that the differences in the gut microbiota between river and saltwater pufferfish may be related to the differences in salt tolerance of the gut bacteria, as well as the differences in the environmental microbiota of river and marine waters.

Assessment of heavy metals on some tissues of Marbled Teal, Marmaronetta Angustirostris in Al-Dalmaj Marsh, Iraq

Laith Ali Abed Al-Obeidi — 2024-02-25

The study was conducted in the Al-Dalmaj marsh which is one of the most important ecosystems in Iraq and the Middle East and represents one of the most important environments for the reproduction of Marbled Teal. The study evaluated the accumulation of heavy elements of Nickel, Cadmium, and Lead in the liver and small intestine tissues of MT during the summer and winter. The results showed that the concentration of heavy metals in the MT organs is consequent as small intestine > Liver. The average concentration of Ni was the highest as 6.6973 ppm in the small intestine, and the highest percentage was recorded at 4.3272 ppm in the liver during the summer. The highest cumulative rate of the element during both seasons was 5.95±0.54 in the intestine, and 1.1681 ppm was the highest rate of Cd in the liver during summer, and 0.9308 ppm was the highest concentration in small intestine during winter. The highest cumulative rate of concentration of elements in the liver during both seasons was 0.982±0.27 ppm. The highest level of Pb was 8.0715 ppm in summer, and 7.566 ppm in the small intestine. The highest cumulative average of the element during both seasons in the small intestine was 6.93±0.55 ppm.

Soft bottom Mollusks in the Eastern Mediterranean, Syrian transitional region

Izdihar Ammar — 2024-02-25

This study aimed to describe the distribution and diversity of soft bottom mollusk community in the Syrian transitional region and to assess the state of alien species in the northern part of the Syrian coast north of Latakia (Ibn Hani site) since 2010, at depths ranging between 110-160 m. Sixty benthic samples were collected monthly using a Van-Veen grab 1/40 m². Water temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen of the subsurface water were measured. Molluscan specimens were isolated and identified at the species level. The abundance and biomass for each species in the samples and per square meter were considered to assess spatial and temporal variation of Molluscan assemblages between depths within the months. A total of 167 mollusk species belonging to 3 classes were identified, 57 newly recorded in Syria, and 18 (10.7%) non-indigenous species were found. Among these, three new aliens of Retusa truncatula, Styloptygma beatrix, and Afrocardium richardi were recorded for Syria. The presence of these mollusks was associated with the soft sediments (mud), which did not differ by time or depths. The results revealed that the Molluscan community was dominant by Bittium arenarium, B. tarentinum, Odostomia lorioli, Turritella turbona, Varicorbula gibba, Nucula nucleus, and Lembulus pella. A significant decrease in biomass is expected due to overfishing and severe nutrient deficiency. Our study adds a large number of mollusks to the list of previously recorded species and confirms the increase in the number of aliens and the expansion of their spread in the medium depths. Greater efforts are required to detect more aliens and evaluate their progress, spread, and their relationship with natives, especially in harbors and port environments.

Water quality assessment of Al-Sabil River, Iraq using of CCME index

Ahmed A.A. Al-Ziyadi — 2024-02-25

The study aimed to determine the water quality of the Al-Sabil River using the Canadian Water Quality Index (CCME WQI). The study was performed by measuring some physical and chemical properties in four selected sites that extend in three provinces including Najaf, Al-Diwaniyah, and Al-Muthanna for a distance of 114 km for six months from August 2022 to January 2023. The results revealed that the average physical and chemical properties, including water temperature, pH, and EC were 19.33-25.33?, 7.25-7.54, and 1138-2510 µs/cm, respectively. The total suspended solids and turbidity recorded 1261-1676, 30.1-47.78, respectively. The DO and BOD have been recorded at 6.417-7.1, and 3.467-6.133 mg/L respectively. The total hardness, Ca, and Mg were 630-853.3 mg/L, 146.3-192.7 mg/L, and 87.39-236.19 mg/L, respectively. The phosphate, nitrite, and nitrate (mg/L) were 0.591-0.887, 0.486-1.539, and 1.772-6.921, respectively. The results of the study using the Canadian model water quality index (CCME WQI) showed that the lowest rate was 44.35 showing a poor condition in the first site and the highest rate was 51.41 as a marginal condition in the 3rd site.

Bioremediation efficiency of Sea cucumber Holothuria scabra (Jaeger, 1833) on the quality of water and sediment of Shrimp Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) pond culture

Jomar F. Besoña — 2024-02-25

The bioremediation efficiency of the sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, held at different stocking densities as an eco-based waste treatment technology on the quality of water and sediment of the Penaeus monodon pond culture, was evaluated in this study. Two separate experiments were simultaneously conducted indoors for five days using 100-L capacity aquaria. The treatments for the pond water experiment were: (T1) control, 10 L pond water only, (T2) 10 L pond water + one sea cucumber, and (T3) 10 L pond water + two sea cucumbers. For the pond sediment experiment, the conditions of the three treatments were the same except that pond sediments were added in each aquarium. The results showed that T2 had a significant reduction of ammonia (28%), and nitrite (84%) in pond water, and nitrogen (88%) and phosphorus (9%) in pond sediment. It also efficiently improved the management of the microbial load with a significant decrease, particularly in heterotrophs (39%) in pond water compared to that in the control treatment. The results showed that the presence and activity of H. scabra have a positive bioremediation effect on waste as demonstrated by reduced ammonia, nitrite, nitrogen, and phosphorus levels and microbial load from the P. monodon pond water and sediment. Furthermore, the stocking density of one sea cucumber is more efficient in reducing these wastes compared to the two sea cucumbers stocking density. The result suggested that H. scabra can be a potentially efficient bioremediator of waste in shrimp ponds.

Effect of turbidity on fish morphology: A case study of swordtail, Xiphophurus helleri, during early ontogeny

Ahmed S. Naser — 2024-04-25

This work is aimed to study the effect of turbidity on the swordtail’s body shape during its early developmental stages. For this purpose, two treatments were designed as turbid and clear water, each with three replicates for 60 days. The body shape data was extracted by digitizing 16 landmark points on 2D pictures to analysis using the geometric morphometric technique. The results showed a significant difference between the two treatments in terms of body shape. Fish under turbid conditions had shorter eye diameters, lower and shorter heads, more dorsal position snout, and deeper caudal peduncles. The priorities in the new environment i.e. turbid water needs to be changed to decrease the adverse effect of the resulting pressures of this environment and increase the survival rate leading to increasing the ability of the developing fish to occupy a wider range of habitats.

Larval stages of digenetic trematode parasitizing freshwater snails in the water bodies of Maysan Governorate, Iraq

Rehal J. Husain — 2024-02-25

A survey was conducted on the larval stages of digenetic trematodes parasitizing freshwater snails in the water bodies of the Degla River passing through Maysan Governorate, southern Iraq, from March 2022 to February 28, 2023. The rates of snail infection with cercariae varied. Examination of 5,109 snails revealed four types infected with cercariae, namely: R. auricularia, P. acuta, M. tuberculata, and Melanopsis spp., with infection rates of 44.5, 16, 26.5, and 13%, respectively. The researcher identified 21 species of cercariae belonging to 12 families: Plagiorchidae, Echinostomatidae, Microphallidae, Fasciolidae, Gymnophallidae, Telorchiidae, Lecithodendriidae, Haematoloechidae, Heterophyidae, Haploporidae, Transversotrematidae, and Cyathocotylidae. Thirteen species were recorded for the first time in Iraq: Xiphidiocercariae II, Monostomatous I, and Gymnocephalous II from R. auricularia snails, Xiphidiocercariae IV from P. acuta snails, Gymnocephalous III, Parapleurolophocercous I, Pleurolophocerca I, Monostomatous II, Pleurolophocerca II, and Gymnocephalous IV from Melanopsis spp. snails, and Furcocercous I from M. tuberculata snails, as well as Macrocercous I and Macrocercous II.

More than a mountain in the Arabian Peninsula: Inland fish diversity in Dhofar Region, Oman: An annotated checklist, taxonomy, short description, distribution and conservation

Hamid Reza Esmaeili — 2024-02-25

Oman, a country in Southwest Asia, situated on the south-eastern quarter of the Arabian Peninsula presents a high level of biodiversity especially marine elements. Although arid habitats cover most parts of Oman (82%), the region has mountainous area including the Dhofar region located in the Southwestern Arabian Coast ecoregion supporting several inland/freshwater systems that are vital for the survival of people as well as for different groups of animals and plants. The current checklist provides for each species of inland waters of the Dhofar region all recognized and named taxa, documenting recent changes and controversies in nomenclature, its records, taxonomic status, synonyms, etymology, common English name, short description, range expansion, conservation status, and detailed distribution map based on several field investigations throughout the region. We also provide native, endemic, and introduced species. The diversity of inland fishes of the Dhofar region included in this annotated checklist consists of 12 recognized species in 12 genera, nine families, seven orders, and a class. The most diverse order is Gobiiformes with five species (41.7%), followed by Cichliformes (two species, 16.7%), Cypriniformes, Cyprinodontiformes, Centrarchiformes, Gonorynchiformes and Mugiliformes (one species, 8.3% each). A total of 11 native species (84.15%) in eight families and one exotic species (15.85%) in one family are listed here. Out of 11 native species, one species (9.1%) in one family is endemic element that is restricted to the Dhofar territory only. It seems that Dhofar comprises more than 29.3% of the recorded inland fish species of the Arabian Peninsula, and about 52.2% of the inland fishes of Oman. Hence, Dhofar is one of the most diverse areas in the Arabian Peninsula and Oman in terms of inland ichthyodiversity. Identification of all recognized species was confirmed by DNA barcoding (mitochondrial COI). The Dhofar region also harbours 867 plant species (63% of all known plant species of Oman) including 41 endemic plants one species of endemic toad of the Arabian Peninsula, the Dhofar toad, Duttaphrynus dhofarensis (Bufonidae), 60 species of terrestrial reptiles (59,41% of all known species of Omani terrestrial reptiles), 475 bird species, 67 species of wild mammals (49 terrestrials and 18 marine mammals) including the critically endangered Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr). Dhofar is renowned for its biological diversity but they are under natural and anthropological pressures particularly climate change, overgrazing of rangelands, habitat destruction, pollution, water abstraction, exotic introduction, and also some fisheries and shipping activities at the Arabian Sea. Due to its high biodiversity, needs to be taken to ensure that the wild life and their habitats are managed in a sustainable way.

Heavy metal pollution in water, sediment, and Asian clam, Corbicul fluminea, in three different regions of the Euphrates River

Kadhum Sabah Nasir — 2024-02-25

The Euphrates River, a vital waterway in the Middle East, faces numerous environmental threats. The Asian clam, Corbicula flaminea, is an invasive bivalve species native to Southeast Asia, known for its rapid growth and limited lifespan. This study aimed to estimate the heavy metal pollution of Manganese, Nickel, Strontium, Vanadium, Cadmium, Lead, Iron, and Copper using C. flaminea, sediments, and water samples collected from three different regions along the Euphrates River in the two seasons of winter and summer seasons. The results showed that the sediment (493.82±12.08) had the greatest mean Mn content, followed by Mollusca (104.915±33.215) and water (147.6±78.4). Similarly, sediment had the greatest mean Ni content (104.565±24.335), followed by mollusks (32.29±5.91) and water (19.8±3.6). With the highest amount found in water samples (1338.5±121.5), Sr revealed the greatest variances across the three sample types, followed by Mollusca (296.785±148.215) and sediments (227.795±27.105). The sediment also contained a significant amount of V (32.655±7.245). The samples from Al-Fadhli showed higher concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Sr in the winter and higher concentrations of other heavy metals, Mn, V, and Fe, in the summer.

Forecasting habitat changes of Vimba persa (Pallas, 1814) under climate change using machine learning techniques in the southern Caspian Sea basin

Najmeh Tabasinezhad — 2024-02-25

The global climate change will decrease species distribution, loss of biodiversity, and decreased food security. The main purpose of this study was to forecast the distribution of Vimba persa in the southern Caspian Sea basin under two optimistic and pessimistic scenarios in 2050 and 2080 by the MaxEnt model in R software. Five environmental variables ?were used for the modeling: annual ?mean temperature, annual temperature range, annual ?precipitation, flow accumulation, and slope. The results demonstrated that the model's performance in predicting species distribution was "Good" (0.862) based on the Area Under the Curve criterion. The annual temperature range variable had the greatest impact (61.5) on determining the distribution of the studied species among the environmental variables used in modeling. Moreover, the results indicate that the distribution range of the Caspian vimba is likely to be reduced in 2050 and 2080 under both optimistic and pessimistic climate change scenarios. Hence, the decreasing distribution of this fish, an economic species interested in sport fishing, poses a serious threat to food security and livelihoods for local communities. In conclusion, policymakers should focus on increasing public awareness, implementing correct management practices, taking preventive measures, developing protection plans, allocating more funds for reconstruction and the restoration of aquatic ecosystems, and trying to reduce the accelerating factors of climate change.