Livelihood challenges and healthcare-seeking behavior of fishermen amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has posed significant challenges to human wellbeing and survival, particularly among groups of people such as the Sundarbans mangrove forest resource-dependent communities (SMFRDCs), and especially the fishermen in these communities, in developing countries like Bangladesh. It is therefore essential to explore the livelihood conditions, health status and care-seeking behavior of the fishermen in these communities during the ongoing pandemic. This study was carried out by applying mixed methods, including interviews and focus group discussion (FGD), in the three sub-districts of Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat, which are in the southwestern region adjacent to the Sundarbans mangrove forest (SMF) of Bangladesh. Quantitative data were collected from 76 fishermen through telephone interviews, while 24 fishermen participated in three distinct focus group discussions. The findings suggest that the fishermen have experienced a reduction of income, as they have been barred from entering the SMF during the pandemic, which has gradually affected their number of trips to and stays at the forest as well as their catch of fisheries resources. The decline in demand in both regional and international markets has left the fishermen with only a handful of alternative ways to adjust to these unprecedented circumstances, such as borrowing money, selling household assets, and in some extreme cases marrying off young children to reduce the financial burden, as many are now jobless. Their financial hardship during the pandemic has affected their households' capacity to afford basic household necessities, including food, fuel, education, and health expenses. Subsequently, when these fishermen suffer ailments such as fever, cough, headache, and cold - the general symptoms of COVID-19 - they cannot seek medical assistance from trained doctors. Their financial constraints have compelled them to rely on indigenous knowledge, in particular village quack doctors, or in some cases to seek help from local pharmacies for modern medicine. Thus, the government should provide financial support and strengthen the local market value chain so that disadvantaged fishermen in SMFRDCs can adopt alternative livelihood opportunities. Furthermore, longitudinal research on the impacts of COVID-19 on livelihood, local adaptation strategies, health status, and care-seeking behavior is also strongly recommended.

Suitability of cryoprotectants and impregnation protocols for embryos of Japanese whiting Sillago japonica.

The purpose of this study was to examine the suitability of cryoprotectant agent (CPA) impregnation protocols for the embryos of Japanese whiting (Sillago japonica), a small-sized, easy-to-rear, and prolific marine fish which may constitute a suitable experimental material for the development of cryopreservation methods for fish embryos. Our immediate goals were to assess the toxicity and permeability of various CPAs to whiting embryos of different developmental stages. Exposure of gastrula, somites, tail elongation, and pre-hatching embryos to 10%, 15%, and 20% solutions of propylene glycol (PG), methanol (MeOH), dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO), dimethylformamide (DFA), ethylene glycol (EG), and glycerol (Gly) in artificial sea water (ASW; 33 psu) for 20 min revealed that CPA toxicity for whiting embryos increased in the order of PG

Interspecific and intraspecific variations in sibling species of sea urchin Echinometra.

Interspecific and intraspecific morphological and fertilization variations were studied in three sibling species of Echinometra (known as sp. B, C and D) found off the coast of Okinawa, Japan. Eggs from C and D were readily fertilized by sperm from all three color morphs of B when the sperm concentrations were high, but no fertilization was observed when sperm of the former were mixed with eggs from the latter. Under limiting sperm concentrations, however, both C and D were incapable to fertilize reciprocally with B. In contrast, crossing between C and D produced fertilization membrane at high and limiting sperm concentrations in both directions. Interspecific crosses between B vs. C and B vs. D clearly showed that these combinations were reproductively isolated in contrast to that observed for crossing between C and D. Interestingly, intraspecific fertilization of B showed considerable morphological variation in addition to variability in fertilization success. Intraspecific fertilization and morphological variations may occur due to a number of genetic and/or non-genetic factors. While the underlying cause(s) remain to be elucidated, the results of the present study suggest that B is now speciating very slowly.