The western Indian Ocean tuna fishery from 1980 to 1985: a summary of data collected by coastal states

Longliner and purse-seiner catch/effort statistics for tuna fisheries in the western Indian Ocean collected by Mozambique, Seychelles and Somalia are summarized. Although the data are not considered sufficient to indicate trends for the western Indian Ocean as a whole, an examination of data from the Seychelles EEZ shows that catch rates for yellowfin tuna declined consistently from 1982 to 1985, to about half their former levels. The data were processed by the FAO/Indo Pacific Tuna Development and Management Programme, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Growth of the buccaneer anchovy Encrasicholina punctifer off Mozambique, based on samples collected in research surveys

Growth of Encrasicholina punctifer (Engraulididae) is estimated, based on samples obtained during five surveys on Sofala Bank (central Mozambique). The estimated values of the von Bertalanffy growth function, TL∞=12 cm and K=2.0 yearˉ¹ are compared with results of growth studies elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, based mainly on the index Φ=log(sub)10 K+2*log(sub)10L∞ assumed to be constant within species. This comparison is rendered difficult by the uncertain taxonomical status of stolephorid anchovies.

Processing aspects of Indian mackerel: a review

Indian mackerel belongs to the family Scombridae and the genus Rastrelliger. The Indian mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier), is a pelagic shoaling fish widely distributed in the Indo Pacific region with maximum abundance in Indian coasts. Another species, R. brachysoma (Bleeker), also is reported from the Andamans in Indian waters. However, the former is the species that supports the fishery in India (Nair, 1970).

Phylogeny and evolution of the Drosophila nasuta subgroup based on mitochondrial ND4 and ND4L gene sequences

The sequences of the mitochondrial ND4 gene (1339 bp) and the ND4L gene (290 bp) were determined for all the 14 extant taxa of the Drosophila nasuta subgroup The average A + T content of ND4 genes is 76.5% and that of ND4L genes is 83.5%. A total of 114 variable sites were scored. The ND4 gene sequence divergence ranged from 0 to 5.4% within the subgroup. The substitution rate of the ND4 gene is about 1.25% per million years. The base substitution of the genesis strongly transition biased. Neighbor-joining and parsimony were used to construct a phylogeny based on the resultant sequence data set. According to these trees, five, distinct mtDNA clades can be identified. D. niveifrons represents the most diverged lineage. D, sulfurigaster bilimbata and D. kepulauana form two independent lineages. The other two clades are the kohkoa complex and the albomicans complex. The Kohkoa complex consists of D. sulfurigaster sulfurigaster, D. pulaua, D. kohkoa, and Taxon-F. The albomicans complex can be divided into two groups: D. nasuta, D. sulfurigaster neonasuta, D. sulfurigaster albostrigata, and D.. albomicans from Chiangmai form one group; and D. pallidifrons, Taxon-I, Taxon-J, and D. albomicans from China form the other group. High genetic differentiation was found among D. albomicans populations. Based on our phylogenetic results, we hypothesize that D. niveifrons diverged first from the D, nasuta subgroup in Papua New Guinea about 3.5 Mya. The ancestral population spread to the north and when it reached Borneo, it diversified sequentially into the kohkoa complex, D. s. bilimbata, and D. kepulauana. About 1 Mya, another radiation occurred when the ancestral populations reached the Indo-China Peninsula, forming the albomicans complex. Discrepancy between morphological groupings and phylogenetic results suggests that the male morphological traits may not be orthologous. (C) 1999 Academic Press.

Positive selection drives population differentiation in the skeletal genes in modern humans

During the course of evolution, the human skeletal system has evolved rapidly leading to an incredible array of phenotypic diversity, including variations in height and bone mineral density. However, the genetic basis of this phenotypic diversity and the relatively rapid tempo of evolution have remained largely undocumented. Here, we discover that skeletal genes exhibit a significantly greater level of population differentiation among humans compared with other genes in the genome. The pattern is exceptionally evident at amino acid-altering sites within these genes. Divergence is greater between Africans and both Europeans and East Asians. In contrast, relatively weak differentiation is observed between Europeans and East Asians. SNPs with higher levels of differentiation have correspondingly higher derived allele frequencies in Europeans and East Asians. Thus, it appears that positive selection has operated on skeletal genes in the non-African populations and this may have been initiated with the human colonization of Eurasia. In conclusion, we provide genetic evidence supporting the rapid evolution of the human skeletal system and the associated diversity of phenotypes.

Evidence for Positive Selection on the Osteogenin (BMP3) Gene in Human Populations

Background: Human skeletal system has evolved rapidly since the dispersal of modern humans from Africa, potentially driven by selection and adaptation. Osteogenin (BMP3) plays an important role in skeletal development and bone osteogenesis as an antagonist of the osteogenic bone morphogenetic proteins, and negatively regulates bone mineral density. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here, we resequenced the BMP3 gene from individuals in four geographically separated modern human populations. Features supportive of positive selection in the BMP3 gene were found including the presence of an excess of nonsynonymous mutations in modern humans, and a significantly lower genetic diversity that deviates from neutrality. The prevalent haplotypes of the first exon region in Europeans demonstrated features of long-range haplotype homogeneity. In contrast with findings in European, the derived allele SNP Arg192Gln shows higher extended haplotype homozygosity in East Asian. The worldwide allele frequency distribution of SNP shows not only a high-derived allele frequency in Asians, but also in Americans, which is suggestive of functional adaptation. Conclusions/Significance: In conclusion, we provide evidence for recent positive selection operating upon a crucial gene in skeletal development, which may provide new insight into the evolution of the skeletal system and bone development.

Study morphologic, phylogenic relationships DNA barcoding of of identified decapod group (Crustacean) of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea.

Phylogenetic relationships among all described species (total of 12 taxa) of the decapoda, were examined with nucleotide sequence data from portions of mitochondrial gene and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI). The previous works on phylogeny proved that the mitochondrial COI gene in crustacean is a good discriminative marker at both inter- and intra-specific levels. We provide COI barcode sequences of commertial decapoda of Oman Sea, Persian Gulf, Iran. Industrial activities, ecologic considerations, and goals of the decapoda Barcode of Life campaign make it crucial that species of the south costal be identified. The reconstruction of evolut phylogeny of these species are crucial for revealing stock identity that can be used for the management of fisheries industries in Iran. Mitochondrial DNA sequences were used to reconstruct the phylogeny of the Penaeus species of marine shrimp. For this purpose, DNA was extracted using phenol- chloroform well as CTAB method. The evolutionary relationships among 12 species of the decapoda were examined using 610 bp of mitochondrial (mt) DNA from the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene. Finally the cladograms were compared and the resulted phylogenetic trees confirmed that the Iran's species origin is Indo-west pacific species. Iran's species, which were not grouped with the other decapoda taxa seem to always form a sister clade with Indo-west pacific species with strong bootstrap support 100%. The result completely agrees with the previously defined species using morphological characters.However, we still lack any comprehensive and clear understanding of phylogenetic relationships in this group.

Genetic diversity of Bartail flathead (Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus,1758)) using AFLP markers in Persian Gulf

Platycephalus indicus is a large benthic fish that inhabits temperate and tropical coastal waters of the Indo-West Pacific and found on sand or mud bottom in vary shallow area of estuary and near shore to depth of 25m. This species is dominant species of platycephalidae family, in Khuzestan, Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces and mainly is captured by bottom trawl, gillnet and moshta in Hormozgan. This study was designed to evaluate population variation and differentiation of bartail flathead (Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus, 1785))in the Iranian waters of Persian Gulf using the morphometric and meristic characters and by AFLP marker. . A total 180 fish specimens were collected by gill net from six station(khor mosa, bahrekan, shif, motaf, charak and bandar abbas) that was 30 individual related to every station in Iranian shores of Persian Gulf . 28 morphometric factors and 11meristic specialties were measured and morphometric factors was standardized with Beacham formula. Univariate analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA) revealed significant differences with varying degrees between the means for 21 standardized morphometric measurements and 6 meristic counts that showed high significant differences between the six stations sampling. Discriminate function analysis (DFA) or the overall random assignment of individuals into their original groups was for morphometric and meristic characters was 47.9% and 53.9% respectively. The data were subjected to a principle component analysis (PCA) which grouped in eight and four factors for morphometric and meristic charactersrespectively.. Genetic diversity of six populations of bartail flathead (Platycephalus indicus) was investigated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). A total of 118 reproducible bands amplified with ten AFLP primer combinations were obtained from 42 fishes that were collected from six different locations in the northern of Persian Gulf. The percentage of polymorphic bands was 57.06%. Average of Nei’s genetic diversity was 0.200±0.008, and Average of Shannon’s index was 0.300±0.011. The results of AMOVA analysis indicated that 66% of the genetic variation contained within populations and 34% occurred among populations and gene flow was 0.6454.The estimated level of population differentiation asmeasured by average Fst value across all loci was 0.327. Plotting discriminant functions 1 and 2 and UPGMA dendrograms based on Euclidian distance and genetic distance also showed at least five separate populations of bartail flathead in the northern Persian Gulf.

Aquaculture of the mangrove red snapper

Mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) is an important marketable species throughout the Indo-Pacific region. It is a euryhaline species; it can tolerate freshwater, brackishwater and marine water. Modular culture is the common system in snapper production in the Philippines. Stocking density is 4,000 fry per cropping; there could be 2 croppings per year. Brief details are given of investment costs and returns for culture in brackishwater pens.

A glimpse into some sea cucumbers in Panay, Philippines

Except for coastal dwellers, most Filipinos do not know what sea cucumbers are, although most must have dined on them at some time. A description is given of what sea cucumbers are and how they look, how they are processed and how they are cultured. Sea cucumbers, which belong to the families Holothuridae and Stichopodidae, have a worldwide distribution and are found in large numbers in the Indo-West Pacific region. In the Philippines, sea cucumbers have never been cultured, although it is one of the sources of dried sea cucumbers in the international market. This is most probably due to the fact that wild supply has apparently been sufficient for trading.

The rediscovery of Notopoides latus Henderson in the western Indian Ocean (Crustacea-Decapoda, Raninidae)

The small brachyuran family Raninidae Dana is represented in the Indo-West Pacific region by eight genera, with only some twenty species. One of the least known genera is Notopoides, which contains only a single species. This genus was first described by Henderson (1888) on the basis of material collected by H.M.S. "Challenger" from the Kei Islands, in the Banda sea off Indonesia. There have been no subsequent reports of this species in the ninety seven years since its original discovery. During the course of the study of the benthic fauna off the coast of East Africa, the Fisheries Research Vessel "Manihine" obtained five specimens of this rare species. These new records, collected during a short period of time, indicate that the species is probably not uncommon in this region, which also represents a great increase in its known geographical range. Specimens have been deposited in the collections of the National Museum, Nairobi, the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, and the National Museum, Singapore: Catalogue numbers are crust. 1092 ; Crust. D. 28567; NMS. 1972.8.4.1, male of 35x26 respectively.

Development and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the endangered Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis)

The finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) is one of the smallest cetacean species widely distributed in the shallow coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific Oceans. The population size of the Yangtze subspecies (N. p. asiaeorientalis) has sharply decreased in the last two decades and access to objective data on its population structure and genetic diversity would be of great assistance for their proper management. Here we report on the isolation of nine polymorphic microsatellite using the "Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing repeats" (FIASCO) protocol. Polymorphism was assessed using 30 porpoise individuals randomly sampled in the Yangtze River. The number of alleles per locus varies from 2 to 9, with an average value of 5.56, whereas the ranges of observed and expected heterozygosi ties were 0.300-0.633 (mean 0.496) and 0.473-0.804 (mean 0.659), respectively.

稀土冠醚络合物的研究

稀土冠醚配合物由于其有趣的稀土／冠醚配比和结构以及其在稀土萃取分离、光谱探针等方面应用的可能性，引起了人们极大的研究兴趣，在固体配合物合成、晶体结构、配合物稳定性、冠醚在稀土萃取分离中应用等方面展开了广泛的研究。但是，对于不同配比配合物的反应机理及本质的探讨尚注意不够；三元配合物的合成工作较少；冠醚对稀土元素萃取需要有大体积对阴离子存在，且萃取效率不高，分离因数低。所有这些表明，对稀土冠醚配合物的合成及其性质，有必要作进一步深入的研究。本论文以冠醚(2,2)及其衍生物以及18－冠－6作为配体，研究其稀土配合物的结构及性质，取得了一些有意义的结果。1．合成轻稀土La-Nd硝酸盐与冠醚(2,2)配合物并测定了它们的晶体结构。晶体属于三斜晶系，空间群PT。随着原子序数增加，晶胞体积减小。配合物中，中心离子位于冠醚环中心，三个硝酸根均以双齿形式配位，其中两个位于位阻较小的冠醚环一侧，另一个位于其对侧。中心离子的配位数为12。指出硝酸稀土冠醚(2,2)配合物存在着两种不同的结构: [Ln(NO_3)_3(2,2)I (Ln = La - Sm); [Ln(NO_3)_2(2,2)]NO_3 (Ln = Eu)。用“堆积原理”解释了这种结构差异的原因。2．原INDO法计算了配合物La(NO_3)_3(2,2)的净电荷分布、电子结构、键级。用XPS验证了净电荷分布计算结果。键级计算结果表明，镧与配位原子间的键具有一定程度的共价性。镧的5d轨道对共价成份的贡献最大，而4f轨道基本上不参与成键，镧与冠醚环上氮原子间具有较强的作用，从而提高了稀土冠醚(2,2)配合物的稳定性。3．合成了稀土苦味酸盐与冠醚(2,2)配合物。元素分析结果指出：La、Pr-Sm配合物为无水的1:1配合物，Eu-Lu配合物为含水配合物。用IR、NMR、TG研究了La、Pr-Sm四个配合物的性质。IR研究结果表明，冠醚环上C-O-C、C-N-C反对称伸缩振动频率在形成配合物后向低波数位移40 cm~(-1)左右。N－H伸缩振动频率向低波数位移并发生分裂，其中一个分裂峰位移达-130 cm~(-1)。配位后，苦味酸C－O伸缩振动频率向低波数位移约10 cm~(-1)，苯环上硝基面外摇摆振动发生分裂，表明苦味酸以酚氧原子及硝基氧原子参与配位。~1H NMR结果表明，配位后，冠醚环上质子向高场位移。4．合成了未见文献报道的十五个稀土－PMBP－18C6三元配合物。元素分析结果指出配合物组成为1:3:1，用IR、NMR、FAB－MS TG－DTA研究了配合物性质。IR结果指出：形成配合物后，冠醚C－O－C反对称伸缩振动频率位移较小，表明了稀土与冠醚间的作用较弱。FAB－MS中[Ln(PMBP)_2·18C6]~+谱峰丰度小于[Ln(PMBP)_2]~+，也反映了三元配合物中稀土与冠醚间的较弱的作用，表明三元配合物的稳定性不如二元配合物。选择La~(3+)、Lu~(3+)、Y~(3+)、Pr~(3+)、Eu~(3+)、Ho~(3+)的三元配合物进行了~1H NMR研究。对抗磁性离子La~(3+)、Lu~(3+)、Y~(3+)的配合物，与自由配体比较，各组质子均向高场位移。顺磁性离子Pr~(3+)、Eu~(3+)配合物中，PMBP苯环质子发生更大位移，同时谱峰宽化。冠醚环上质子及PMBP甲基质子共振峰消失。Ho~(3+)配合物由于强烈的宽化作用而没有出现质子核磁共振信号。5．研究冠醚(2,2)的两种衍生物对Pr~(3+)的萃取行为，结果表明，在没有大体积对阴离子存在下，冠醚对Pr(NO_3)_3能有较高的萃取率，这种现象尚未见文献报导。考察了冠醚浓度、稀土浓度等对萃取分配比的影响，随着冠醚浓度增加，萃取分配比增加，而稀土浓度增加时，萃取分配比下降。

稀土——冠醚配合物的合成、结构、性质及应用研究

近20年来，冠醚类化合物的络合选择性以及稀土——冠醚络合物在结构和性质上的特殊性一直吸引着人们的研究兴趣，研究稀土冠醚的配位作用，探讨冠醚在稀土分离，作为光谱探等方面的应用一直为人们所重视，并取得了丰富的研究资料，但由于稀土冠醚配位作用的复杂性，目前人们尚无法解释许多实验事实，因此，有必要进行配合物的深入研究，同时考虑到目前高纯稀土生产中，对少量的矸金属、矸土金属杂质仍无十分有效的分离方法，而冠醚对矸金属、矸土金属的配位能力大于稀土，利用冠醚有可能实现这一分离，为此我们完成了如下工作：研究了水合稀土硝酸盐与B12C4、Cy12C4和B15C5络合物的合成结构和性质。对于B12C4，轻重稀土均可得到稳定的无水络合物（1：1），对Pr、Cd、Lu的络合物的晶体结构分析表明，三者具有相同的结构特征。Cy12C4表现出了与B12C4相似的配位性能，它与轻重稀土均可得到稳定的无水络合物；对La、Eu、Lu络合物的晶体结构研究表明，La、Eu络合物中三个NO_3~-呈不对称排列，这在“伞型”结构的稀土硝酸盐络合物中尚无报道；对于B15C5，轻重稀土表现出了不同的配位能力，其中，轻稀土络合能力较强，可以得到无水的直接配位络合物R(NO_3)_3、B15C5(R=La-Gd)，但Sm和Gd络合物的稳定性已变差，晶体结构及红外数据表明，这些络合物具有相同的结构特征；重稀土与B15C5得到含水配恰 物；通过对典型含水重稀土络合物Yb(NO_3)_3、3H_2O、B15C5和的结构和性质研究，指出B15C5不参与中心离子配位是含水重稀土-B15C5络合物的结构特点。研究了La(NO_3)_3、L(L=16C5, Me_216C5)及Lu(NO_3)_3、3H_2O、16C6的合成结构和性质，分析了它们的结构特点。初步总结了水合稀土盐与冠醚的配位特点，分析了1：2冠醚直接配位型络合物难以形成的原因及影响冠醚与水配竞争的因素，总结了稀土——冠醚络合物的结构特征。用INDO法研究了Lu(NO_3)_3、B12C4及Lu(NO_3)_3、Cy12C4电子结构，比较了取代基苯环和单环已基对配体配位性能的影响。研究了DCC对HNO_3溶液中Ca和La的萃取，指出DCC对硝酸镧基本不萃取，对Ca萃取率可达20%。因而具有明显的分离作用。

中性芳烃烯土氯化铝配合物的合成结构及催化反应性能

本文以经铝粉活化的AlCl_3与无水氯化稀土在芳烃溶剂中反应，分离到了一系列含有不同芳烃配体的中性芳烃稀土氯化铝配合物。对这些配合物进行了元素分析和水解色谱分析，证实了配合物的组成。这是迄今为止继Cotton 报道的S_m(C_6Me_6)(AlCl_4)_3之后仅有的溶液中合成的芳烃配合物的例子。对配合物进行了红外、校磁共振谱的测定，发现配合物中配合体的特征吸收和化学位移与游函的配体一致，说明配合物中配体与中心金属函子的作用较弱。对典型的配合物进行了X－射线晶体结构测定。对含相同中心函子不同配体的配合物结构研究发现，在配体与中心金属函子的作用中，电子效应和空间效应同时反方向起作用，即电子效应加强配体与中心金属函子的作用，空间效应阻碍配体与中心金属离子作用。这两种作大约在二甲基苯为配体时达到平衡。其后，随着电子性的甲基增多，两种效应对配体与中心金属离子作用的影响相互抵消。同时对含有相同配体不同中心金属离子的配合物的结构研究中发现，中心金属离子对配合物的结构没有明显的影响，其键参数的差别主要来自离子半径的变化。对配合物的电子结构进行了研究。对S_m(CH_3C_6H_6)(AlCl_4)_3的INDO计算表明：1．配体甲苯环上电子云密度有所下降，并且邻、对位下降幅度较间位大、六个环上C原子电子云分布与游离和甲苯比较差别缩小。2．环上H原子的电子云密度降低，说明配位对环上H原子有一定的活化作用。3．中心离子的正电荷下降。中心稀土离子主要以5d、6s、6p参与成键。用L_a(C_6H_6)(AlCl_4)_3和Nd(C_6H_6)(AlCl_4)_3作催化剂研究了苯与已烯－1的烷基化反应，发现配合物的催化活性比相应的氯化稀土大，这可能是由于配合物的生成使Zn~(3+)在芳烃菏剂中可以均相存在，因而提高了催化剂的活性。另外发现，反应在较低产率即达到平衡，这可能是存在着已烯－1与苯在催化剂上的络合一释络平衡。