Understanding and managing fish populations: keeping the toolbox fit for purpose.

Wild fish populations are currently experiencing unprecedented pressures, which are projected to intensify in the coming decades. Developing a thorough understanding of the influences of both biotic and abiotic factors on fish populations is a salient issue in contemporary fish conservation and management. During the 50th Anniversary Symposium of The Fisheries Society of the British Isles at the University of Exeter, UK, in July 2017, scientists from diverse research backgrounds gathered to discuss key topics under the broad umbrella of 'Understanding Fish Populations'. Below, the output of one such discussion group is detailed, focusing on tools used to investigate natural fish populations. Five main groups of approaches were identified: tagging and telemetry; molecular tools; survey tools; statistical and modelling tools; tissue analyses. The appraisal covered current challenges and potential solutions for each of these topics. In addition, three key themes were identified as applicable across all tool-based applications. These included data management, public engagement, and fisheries policy and governance. The continued innovation of tools and capacity to integrate interdisciplinary approaches into the future assessment and management of fish populations is highlighted as an important focus for the next 50 years of fisheries research.

Plasticity in response to feed availability: Does feeding regime influence the relative growth performance of domesticated, wild and hybrid Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr?

Growth of farmed, wild and F1 hybrid Atlantic salmon parr Salmo salar was investigated under three contrasting feeding regimes in order to understand how varying levels of food availability affects relative growth. Treatments consisted of standard hatchery feeding (ad libitum), access to feed for 4 h every day, and access to feed for 24 h on three alternate days weekly. Mortality was low in all treatments, and food availability had no effect on survival of all groups. The offspring of farmed S. salar significantly outgrew the wild S. salar, while hybrids displayed intermediate growth. Furthermore, the relative growth differences between the farmed and wild S. salar did not change across feeding treatments, indicating a similar plasticity in response to feed availability. Although undertaken in a hatchery setting, these results suggest that food availability may not be the sole driver behind the observed reduced growth differences found between farmed and wild fishes under natural conditions.

Effectiveness of TaqMan probes for detection of fish eggs and larvae in the stomach contents of a teleost predator.

Experiments were conducted on the ability of TaqMan molecular probes to detect plaice Pleuronectes platessa DNA from eggs, and cod Gadus morhua DNA from eggs and larvae following ingestion by a teleost predator, whiting Merlangius merlangus. Estimated half-life detection rate (T50) for eggs was 31 h, and 26 h for larvae, with some positive detections occurring even after visual inspection indicated complete gut clearance. Because TaqMan probes are taxon specific, the results presented demonstrate that this technique can provide a means of rapid and unambiguous detection of predation by teleosts on fish eggs and larvae.

Application of SNPs for population genetics of nonmodel organisms: new opportunities and challenges.

Recent improvements in the speed, cost and accuracy of next generation sequencing are revolutionizing the discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNPs are increasingly being used as an addition to the molecular ecology toolkit in nonmodel organisms, but their efficient use remains challenging. Here, we discuss common issues when employing SNP markers, including the high numbers of markers typically employed, the effects of ascertainment bias and the inclusion of nonneutral loci in a marker panel. We provide a critique of considerations specifically associated with the application and population genetic analysis of SNPs in nonmodel taxa, focusing specifically on some of the most commonly applied methods.

Temporal genetic homogeneity among shore crab (Carcinus maenas) larval events supplied to an estuarine system on the Portuguese northwest coast.

Despite the importance of larval biology in the life histories of many marine animals, relatively little information exists on the dynamics and genetic composition of larval cohorts. The supply of megalopae larvae of the shore crab, Carcinus maenas, was measured on a daily basis during 8 months spread along two larval periods (2006 and 2007) at the Ria de Aveiro estuary, on the Portuguese northwest coast. A total of 10 microsatellite DNA loci were employed to explore the genetic structure, variability and relatedness of temporally distinct megalopal events, selected from the major pulses of supply. Larval variation was also compared genetically with that of a previously studied adult crabs sample, at the same loci, collected in 2006 and 2007 along the Iberian Peninsula. Results revealed a lack of genetic differentiation and identical diversity levels among larval events over time. No evidence of reduced genetic diversity between megalopae relative to the diversity assessed from the pooled sample of adults was found. Moreover, there was no evidence of any family relatedness among larvae from temporal events. The results obtained for C. maenas contradict predictions made by the sweepstakes reproduction hypothesis, in which large variance in reproductive success is expected, which is presumably detectable as sharp genetic discontinuities among separate larval events. Data here indicate conversely a high degree of temporal genetic stability among larval supply to a given estuary under variable oceanographic conditions, consistent with the hypothesis that sampled larvae were drawn from a large number of adults that do not differ in reproductive success.

Isolation and characterization of 12 dinucleotide microsatellite loci in the anadromous fish Osmerus eperlanus (L.).

A subtractive hybridization method was used to isolate 12 dinucleotide microsatellite loci for the anadromous European smelt, Osmerus eperlanus (L.). Three to 17 (mean 8.08) alleles per locus were identified in the two populations screened, and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.067 to 0.933. Loci in both populations showed significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg expected frequencies. These 12 loci provide a good basis for investigation of O. eperlanus population structure.

TaqMan DNA technology confirms likely overestimation of cod (Gadus morhua L.) egg abundance in the Irish Sea: implications for the assessment of the cod stock and mapping of spawning areas using egg-based methods.

Recent substantial declines in northeastern Atlantic cod stocks necessitate improved biological knowledge and the development of techniques to complement standard stock assessment methods (which largely depend on accurate commercial catch data). In 2003, an ichthyoplankton survey was undertaken in the Irish Sea and subsamples of 'cod-like' eggs were analysed using a TaqMan multiplex, PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assay (with specific probes for cod, haddock and whiting). The TaqMan method was readily applied to the large number of samples (n = 2770) generated during the survey and when combined with a manual DNA extraction protocol had a low failure rate of 6%. Of the early stage 'cod-like' eggs (1.2-1.75 mm diameter) positively identified: 34% were cod, 8% haddock and 58% whiting. As previous stock estimates based on egg surveys for Irish Sea cod assumed that the majority of 'cod-like' eggs were from cod, the TaqMan results confirm that there was probably substantial contamination by eggs of whiting and haddock that would have inflated estimates of the stock biomass.

Microsatellites reveal high levels of population substructuring in the species-poor Eretmodine cichlid lineage from Lake Tanganyika.

This study investigated fine-scale population substructuring in an apparently monogamous, biparental mouth-brooding cichlid. Microsatellite allele frequencies were determined at four polymorphic loci for nine populations of Eretmodus cyanostictus. We provide empirical support for the hypothesis that a species employing this breeding strategy should exhibit high levels of population substructuring. Stretches of sand represent considerable barriers to dispersal and, in contrast to the rock-dwelling cichlids of Lake Malawi, distance alone, along a continuous rocky shoreline, is sufficient to reduce gene flow significantly There was a significant pattern of isolation by distance both along the whole study area and over the stretch of continuous shoreline, suggesting that this species has poor dispersal capabilities and that juveniles establish territories close to their natal site. Despite limited dispersal, E. cyanostictus populations are not significantly more inbred than a more-widely dispersing rock-dwelling cichlid from Lake Malawi. This finding may cast doubt on the hypothesis that polyandry has evolved as a mechanism for maintaining genetic diversity in Lake Malawi cichlids. High levels of substructuring may not always promote high levels of speciation, and other factors, such as the intensity of sexual selection, may be more important in determining the speciation potential of a lineage.

Therapeutic iron chelators and their potential side-effects.

A number of iron-chelating agents are currently being considered as orally active alternatives to desferrioxamine (DFO), the therapeutic agent for the treatment of body iron overload that is available at present. These include bidentate hydroxypyridinones (HPO), tridentate desferrithiocin (DFT) analogues and hexadentate aminocarboxylate (HBED) chelators. All chelating agents have the potential to induce toxic effects when iron homoeostasis is affected within the body. This can arise when the absorption, distribution and utilization of iron is affected. Alternatively, chelating agents can induce toxicity by directly interfering with iron-dependent metalloenzymes located within the body. These effects are, however, mainly localized to non-haem enzymes such as ribonucleotide reductase and lipoxygenase. The resultant iron complexes also have the ability to induce toxicity. Depending on the coordination geometry and donor atoms associated with the metal centre, redox cycling of the iron centre with the corresponding generation of free radicals can result.