Stream biofilms play an important ecological role in the supply of energy and organic matter to aquatic food webs. Bacterial community composition in stream biofilms is shaped by biotic interactions as well as physicochemical conditions which vary across space and time. However, knowledge of the relative importance of spatial versus temporal factors for microbial community composition is lacking. Here, we applied 16S rRNA gene...

Age compositions from eight blue cod ( Parapercis colias ) subpopulations off the South Island of New Zealand were compared to investigate recruitment patterns temporally and spatially. Findings indicate (1) recruitment is highly variable between years, (2) subpopulations closer to each other have similar age compositions, and (3) strong and weak recruitment events are linked and the key processes that drive recruitment streng...

A literature review on longevity of New Zealand deep‐sea fishes provided life history parameter estimates for 17 bony and five cartilaginous species. Preliminary age estimates for a further nine deep‐sea bony fishes were made from otolith zone counts and included results from a pilot analysis of radiocarbon age estimates from the otoliths of three of the species. Radiocarbon age estimates corroborated the otolith zone count ag...

Ponds are increasingly being constructed to enhance amenity values in human‐dominated lowland landscapes, but little is known of design features that influence macroinvertebrates which can provide important food resources for fish and waterbirds. We quantified pond characteristics, sampled benthic and water‐column macroinvertebrates in winter, and related abundance, biomass and community composition to characteristics of 34 po...

The eutrophication of lake ecosystems due to anthropogenic activities has impacted lakes worldwide and shallow lakes are particularly vulnerable. The retention of phosphorus (P) in lake sediments and its subsequent release to the water column is often a key factor in degraded water quality, algal blooms and delayed responses to lake restoration efforts. Despite this link between sedimentary P and poor ecosystem outcomes, a lim...

Mysidae are widely distributed in aquatic ecosystems and form a large proportion of the hyperbenthic biomass in estuaries. The seasonality, spatial distribution and reproductive biology of the two hyperbenthic mysid species, Tenagomysis chiltoni and Tenagomysis novaezealandiae , were studied in an open estuary. Sampling was conducted bi‐monthly at night between February 2008 and April 2009. These two mysid species are spatiall...

Phosphorus (P) release from sediments accumulating since catchment deforestation, has been linked to algal blooms which have occurred in Lake Wairewa (Canterbury, NZ) for over a century. However, the mechanisms controlling this internal P loading are poorly understood. To address this issue, we investigated sediment P fractions, P release, dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH at the sediment–water interface, and undertook targeted wat...

Lakes are ‘hotspots’ for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, primarily carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ). Understanding the processes regulating GHG emissions from lakes, and their temporal variability, is essential for more accurately quantifying the role of lakes in global GHG cycles. In this study, we identified the processes that affect CO 2 and CH 4 concentrations in a small (0.3 km 2 ) eutrophic monomictic lake (Oka...

Biomarkers in receptor species can be used to assess and monitor ecosystem health. This study aimed to develop mRNA biomarkers in the New Zealand triplefin Forsterygion capito and validate their induction in response to common estuarine contaminants. The targeted genes were cytochrome P450 1A ( cyp1a ), metallothionein ( mt ), vitellogenin ( vtg ), and cytochrome P450 aromatase ( cyp19b ). Fish were treated with intraperitonea...

Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus can be found in oysters in coastal environments. Vibrio vulnificus can induce life‐threatening illness when ingested with oysters, while V. parahaemolyticus usually causes self‐limiting gastroenteritis. This study investigated correlations between concentrations of these Vibrio species in Pacific oysters from eight New Zealand coastal regions (2008–2017), and seawater surface tempe...

The Motueka catchment is a major river system in the South Island, New Zealand, typically considered to be of ‘good water quality’. The catchment has high metal inputs originating from a mineral belt in the headwaters. This study investigated the induction of metallothionein (MT) in the common bully, Gobiomorphus cotidianus , to assess exposure to trace metal contamination in the Motueka River. The results showed a significant...

Wetland restoration or re‐establishment is a common conservation goal, and the ability of a wetland community to recover from events such as drought are key to its long‐term success. At the mouth of the Waiau River in Southland, New Zealand, a series of wetland ponds have been created by diverting water from the river. A period of particularly low river flows resulted in the wetland drying out entirely, except for a few deep c...

The penaeid shrimp farming industry is a fast‐growing sector which continues to suffer from significant feeding inefficiencies. Shrimp are slow to feed on pellets, with consumption dependent on a wide range of environmental and physiological parameters. Feed management on farms remains mainly based on feeding trays which can be difficult to observe and often result in overfeeding. While our understanding of shrimp feeding beha...

Newly evolving strains of pathogenic microorganisms in aquaculture are posing formidable challenge in controlling and/or eradication of diseases affecting aquaculture. Many research studies have aimed to address this challenge, and the delivery of vaccines using biocompatible nano‐delivery systems is widely investigated. Nanoparticles (NPs) have tremendous potential for application as delivery vehicles of novel vaccines. At pr...

Novel genome editing techniques allow for efficient and targeted improvement of aquaculture stock and might be a solution to solve challenges related to disease and environmental impacts. This review has retrieved the latest research on genome editing on aquacultured finfish species, exploring the technological progress and the scope. Genome editing has most often been used on Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus Linnaeus), fo...

Zebrafish is a worldwide used animal model to better understand cultured fish species; thus, in the last two decades, zebrafish facilities have been created in many aquaculture research centres. However, and despite the attempts of rigorous aseptic conditions for animal husbandry in wet laboratory facilities, the presence of parasites cannot be underestimated. The microsporidium Pseudoloma neurophilia , which mostly affects th...

Sumithion is an organophosphate insecticide, extensively used to remove tiger bug from aquaculture ponds prior to the release of fish larvae. Its usage in aquaculture may initially assist in insect eradication; however, the harmful effects of sumithion may surpass the beneficial effects and may be alarming for the farmed fish and other aquatic organisms. This study summarizes the consequential effects of sumithion on the natur...

Shrimps live in a complex aquatic ecosystem with numerous other biotic and abiotic factors, especially pathogenic microorganisms, which require the adaptation of prudent protective and survival strategies. As invertebrates, shrimps reply on humoral and cellular innate immune response mechanisms for protection against pathogens. One integral part of the humoral innate immune defence mechanism involves many biomolecules that are...

The recent advances in the field of aquaculture over the last decade has helped the cultured‐fish industry production sector to identify problems and choose the best approaches to achieve high‐volume production. Understanding the emerging roles of non‐coding RNA (ncRNA) in the regulation of fish physiology and health will assist in gaining knowledge on the possible applications of ncRNAs for the advancement of aquaculture. The...

This review aims to explore developments in the usage of multistrain probiotics in commercial freshwater‐cultured fish and to address factors that affect the efficacies of multistrain probiotics to enhance growth parameters, survival after bacterial infection and immune modulation in comparison to monostrain probiotics. From bibliographic searches in Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed, it was possible to select 81 articles that...

The Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus causes white tail disease, which primarily infects giant freshwater prawns, Macrobrachium rosenbergii . The infection leads to almost 100% mortality in post‐larvae, causing significant economic losses in aquaculture farms. To develop effective measures against outbreaks, a good understanding of the virus is essential. In this review, we discuss key aspects of the Macrobrachium rosenbergi...

The family Carangidae contains several species of aquaculture interest, including the amberjacks, yellowtails and trevallies. Among them, the greater amberjack ( Seriola dumerili ), the Japanese amberjack or yellowtail ( Seriola quinqueradiata ) and the yellowtail kingfish ( Seriola lalandi ) are considered the species with the highest potential for commercial aquaculture. Understanding the reproductive physiology–biology, spa...

The Sry‐related high mobility group box ( Sox ) genes family is a group of transcription factors playing crucial roles during reproduction and development. At least 50% amino acid sequences of Sox protein family are similarity to the sex‐determining region on the Y chromosome (Sry). The sox family exists throughout the invertebrates and vertebrates and plays an important role in sex determination and differentiation, gonadal d...

One of the major challenges in any sustainable aquaculture production systems is the accumulation of nitrogenous waste such as ammonia and its biological nitrification products vi z nitrite and nitrate. Considering the bio‐security issues, amelioration of these wastes without water exchange can be accomplished only by way of establishing in situ nitrification and denitrification through biofilters/bioreactors activated with ni...