Freshwater macroinvertebrate data collected from streams in Taranaki, New Zealand (1981–2006) were used to examine seasonality of biological indices including taxon richness, %EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) richness, and the hard‐ and soft‐bottomed (‐sb) stream versions of the Macroinvertebrate Community Index (MCI). All indices tested showed modest but statistically significant seasonal variation in hard‐bot...

Molluscs are major aquaculture species worldwide. Molluscan aquaculture accounts for approximately 27% of the total world aquaculture production. The use and exchange of genetic resources have played an important role in the development of molluscan aquaculture. The introduction and use of non‐native species have been instrumental in oyster and scallop aquaculture; for example, the Pacific oyster, translocated from Japan, supp...

Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei Boone, 1931 and Penaeus monodon Fabricius, 1798 provide 87% of the world’s farmed marine shrimp, and 99% with another five species, Penaeus (Fenneropenaeus) chinensis (Osbeck, 1765), Penaeus (Fenneropenaeus) indicus Milne‐Edwards, 1837, Penaeus (Fenneropenaeus) merguiensis de Man, 1888, Penaeus (Litopenaeus) stylirostris Stimpson, 1874 and Penaeus (Marsupenaeus) japonicus Bate, 1888. Genetically...

This review describes the genetic resources of common carp relevant for food through fisheries and aquaculture. Common carp is naturally distributed in a large part of Asia and Europe and has been introduced worldwide and is reputed to have been cultured for centuries. Its status in Asia and Europe is discussed in detail. The rich diversity of carp in Asian aquaculture is described, with an emphasis on China, the largest produ...

From a genetic resources viewpoint, emerging aquaculture species and species groups are examined mainly in terms of food use. In addition, we include species that are becoming increasingly important for biodiversity conservation and related ecotourism aspects. Together with ornamental fish species, we argue that these species are facing increasing vulnerability and warrant attention. Our intention is to raise awareness of the...

The worldwide use of Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus Linnaeus, 1758) in aquaculture represents a somewhat unique scenario. The natural distributions and global genetic resources of tilapias are in Africa, yet the main centers of utilization for aquaculture are primarily in Asia. Within a few decades, Nile tilapia graduated from being an ‘orphan commodity’ (i.e. of interest to only resource‐poor fish farmers) to a globally...

There are 58 species of Clarias recognized in FishBase (as of January 2009), 33 in Africa and 25 in Asia. Aquaculture of clariids is important with 30 countries reporting a total production of over 300 000 t worth nearly US$400 million in 2006. Most production involves the African Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) and three Asian species, Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758), Clarias macrocephalus (Günther, 1864) and Clarias f...

This review describes the global use and exchange of salmonid genetic resources for human food from fisheries and aquaculture. Trends in population abundance, variations in the harvest of wild stocks, historic transfers and worldwide translocations of stocks for fisheries and aquaculture are briefly described for seven species of Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus ), for Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) and for Arctic charr ( Salvel...

The present paper reviews the use and exchange of genetic resources of the migratory freshwater fish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage 1878) (the striped or sutchi catfish). This species is naturally distributed in the Mekong River and Chao Phraya River basins, and is cultured in several countries, but current production occurs predominantly in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Catfish aquaculture in Vietnam has evolved from exten...

The role of flow and floodplains for the recruitment of fishes in the Murray‐Darling Basin, Australia, remains a contentious issue. In this context, the reproductive ecology of golden perch Macquaria ambigua , a widespread, high‐profile angling species with a propensity to produce large numbers of semi‐pelagic eggs remains to be resolved. Back‐calculation of spawning dates from otoliths of juvenile golden perch (Macquaria ambi...

Zelandobius edensis n. sp. is described from a spring‐fed creek in the headwaters of the Rangitata River catchment, South Canterbury, New Zealand. Adult males exhibit varying degrees of brachyptery and the only female collected also had short wings. Larvae are easily identified by their covering of long translucent hairs not found in other members of the Zelandobius confusus‐ group. The link between adult and nymph was confirm...

Macroctopus maorum , also known as Octopus maorum and Pinnoctopus cordiformis , grows to 12 kg and is the largest octopod in Australasia. In New Zealand, this species features in the diets of seals and albatrosses. Beaks of depredated octopus resist digestion and accumulate in the stomach until regurgitated or defecated. Beaks of M. maorum were differentiated reliably from those of other octopods in prey remains for octopus >...

This study compared the longitudinal size distribution of bluegill bullies ( Gobiomorphus hubbsi ) from Hutt River with existing data on the size distributions of bluegill bullies and torrentfish ( Cheimarrichthys fosteri) from Rakaia River, New Zealand. All populations had longitudinal trajectories that showed some increase in size with distance upstream. This increase in size appeared to primarily reflect the influence of am...

Numerical data based on stomach content analysis of the zooplanktivorous freshwater fish, Retropinna semoni , were used to examine the effect of fish sample size on mean counts of dominant prey items. Fifty adult R. semoni were collected from throughout the open‐water of Lake Benanee, Australia at each of five times over a diel period. Bootstrapping was used to generate confidence intervals around sample means, and markedly mo...

The annual distribution and dispersal of early‐stage phyllosoma of the Japanese spiny lobster Panulirus japonicus were examined in the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan off western Japan. Early‐stage larvae were sampled mainly in summer and relatively near the coast off western Kyusyu Island. Few larvae were found in the other three seasons in the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan. This finding suggests that P. japonicus l...

Nine genera and species of rhizocephalans were recorded from the off‐shore waters around New Zealand. Mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences were used to examine base differences between the European and New Zealand species of Parthenopea . Serial sections to study the internal structures of the reproductive organs were made for the genera Thylacoplethus and Thompsonia . Two species, Parthenopea australis n. sp. and Thylacop...

Pueruli and post‐pueruli, early juveniles and sub‐adults of the spiny lobster, Panulirus homarus and juveniles of P. ornatus were grown in different floating sea cages along the southeast coast of India from May 2003 to May 2007. The first type of cage had a galvanised iron pipe frame (2.0 m × 2.0 m × 1.2 m) with steel woven mesh and four inner detachable compartments (0.75 m × 0.75 m × 1.10 m). Fibre‐reinforced plastic was us...

The larvae and larval development of Galaxias maculatus are described from a freshwater lake and a saline river in southwestern Western Australia. The size at hatching (7.0 mm total length) was similar to that recorded elsewhere for G. maculatus and the sequence of fin development (i.e., caudal, dorsal, anal, pectoral, and pelvic fins) was identical to that recorded for galaxiids generally. There were relative increases in the...

The distribution of seven submerged aquatic pest plants is reported. Lake vegetation surveys recorded pest plants in 27.9% of 344 lakes, with two species co‐occurring in 5.8%, and three species in 2.6% of lakes. Egeria densa was most frequent (15.4% of lakes), followed by Ceratophyllum demersum (9.0%), Lagarosiphon major (7.3%), and Utricularia gibba (5.5%). Spread since 2000 has continued for five pest plants, with 34 lakes i...

Shrimp aquaculture has grown rapidly over several decades to become a major global industry that serves the increasing consumer demand for seafood and has contributed significantly to socio‐economic development in many poor coastal communities. However, the ecological disturbances and changes in patterns of trade associated with the development of shrimp farming have presented many of the pre‐conditions for the emergence and s...

Essential fatty acids (EFA) remain one of the least well‐understood and enigmatic nutrients in aquaculture nutrition. Of all dietary nutrients none has a greater direct impact on the composition of its consumer. Their importance stems not only to their impact on animal growth, but also to factors such as reproduction, immunity and product quality. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n‐3) has consistently been shown to provide the g...