Meadowview Biological Research Station is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and restoring rare wetland plants, habitats and associated ecosystems on the coastal plain of Maryland and Virginia. It was created in 1995 with the specific goal or restoring the rare yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava), the purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), and associate species to pitcher plant bogs or seepage wetlands in their historic ranges.Most pitcher plant habitats have been destroyed in this critical mid-Atlantic region to the point where less than 100 yellow pitchers plants were left in just two natural sites in southern Virginia by 2007. Meadowview worked to deal with, and reverse, the process of extirpation of local and regional pitcher plants habitats, flora, and fauna..
Southern yellow pine specimens collected from historical structures, stumps, and coarse woody debris in forests have been difficult to identify at the species level due to similar wood anatomy. This can be problematic for dendrochronologists when identifying the correct species used in the construction of historical structures, or reconstructing forest history on the landscape and using those specimens in the context of that history. We applied a quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) to update a century-old method plotting pith diameters against second annual ring diameters to discern one species of southern yellow pine from others. Our analysis estimates error rates for false positive and false negative determinations when comparing longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) to shortleaf (Pinus echinata Mill.) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). The cross-validated false positive error rates for the smallest dataset (n = 46), was nearly twice (9.52%) that determined as a simple proportion by counting errant observations (4.76%). QDA of the largest dataset (n = 206) gave a flatter zero contour and false positive rate (3.13%) like the proportionally determined value (1.56%), despite one additional observation being falsely assigned to longleaf pine by QDA. An unknown, unearthed southern pine specimen from southeastern Virginia was radiocarbon dated up to 500 years prior and assigned as longleaf by our method (probability >= 0.9998). Thus, through a QDA, it is possible to greatly improve confidence in identifications of key unknown specimens that can provide evidence of discerning one species, longleaf pine, from other southern yellow pines.
The mangrove red snapper is a favorite food fish in many Asian countries. Most table-sized snappers are from wild catch while a limited amount is cultured in floating net cages offshore or in ponds. Snapper is important to coastal fisheries and can be an ideal candidate for culture in cages. The popularity of farming food fishes is growing around coastal states. Growout culture of snapper are described in pond culture and culture in cages in ponds. In rearing snapper in cages inside the ponds, fish sampling and harvesting are easily done and also it helps in preventing disease infection and securing of fish stocks during flooding. A preliminary assessment of growth performance was undertaken in cages in brackish water ponds of Marine Biological Research Station, Ratnagiri. Seventy-five juveniles of red snapper caught from the wild from the nearby estuaries having initial average length of 19.06 ± 0.42 cm and initial average weight of 115.91 ± 1.29 g were stocked at a stocking density of 300 numbers in 9 m3 circular cages. The cages were harvested after a period of nine months. The red snapper attained a size range of 600 g to 1 kg weight. The results were encouraging, so fishermen should come forward to adopt the technology as an alternative livelihood option during lean season.
Growth and mortality parameters of spineless cuttlefish, Sepiella inermis were estimated based on length-frequency data collected from seawater at Ratnagiri from March 2015 to February 2017. Asymptotic length (L∞) and growth coefficient (K) were estimated to be 107 mm and 1.6 yr-1 for Ratnagiri by ELEFAN I (Electronic Length-Frequency Analysis). The instantaneous rate of total mortality (Z), natural mortality (M) and fishing mortality (F) were estimated to be 4.47 yr−1, 3.23 yr−1 and 1.24 yr−1 respectively along the Maharashtra coast. Age at length zero, to was estimated to be 0.00 969 year. S. inermis was found to attain a size of 60, 86, 97 and 103 mm at the end of 6, 12, 18 and 24 months, respectively. Length at first capture was found to be 41.10 mm. The current exploitation ratio (E) was determined to be 0.28.
Anthocyanin pigmentation is a significant horticultural feature in plants and can be a crucial mediator of plant–insect interactions. In carnivorous plants, the modified leaves that capture prey can be visually striking and are traditionally considered prey attractants. Nevertheless, the question of whether bold color and venation patterns function as lures for insect prey remains ambiguous, and appears to vary across taxa. Furthermore, vegetative pigments can have alternate functions as protectants against thermal and oxidative damage. Our dual-year study compares the wild-type pitcher phenotype with a true-breeding anthocyanin-free mutant of the white-topped pitcher plant ( Sarracenia leucophylla Raf.). We bred full-sibling crosses of S. leucophylla carrying either the wild-type anthocyanin gene or the anthocyanin-free variant. In both experimental years, growth points were established in outdoor plots and pitchers were allowed to capture prey before harvest at the end of each growing season. Dry weight of prey biomass was measured from pitchers of both pigment morphs, along with nectary counts, pitcher size, and internal temperature. The presence of anthocyanins in trapping leaves did not affect the biomass of insects captured. Nor did wild-type or anthocyanin-free pitcher morphs differ in size, temperature, or nectary counts. Instead, pitcher height, and, nominally, mouth diameter were better predictors of prey biomass. Despite striking visual differences in pitcher color, wild-type and anthocyanin-free plants did not catch significantly different quantities of prey. Our study provides empirical data that anthocyanin pigmentation in S. leucophylla does not affect the capture of prey biomass, and supports a growing body of literature showing that pigmentation traits serve in multiple contexts.
This study was performed to determine quality changes of battered and breaded pre-fried snack product developed from large sized (5.5–10.5 kg) Catla ( Catla catla ) fish stored at chilled temperature (− 2 to − 4 °C). Quality changes were assessed based on biochemical, microbiological and sensory quality evaluation at 2 days interval for a period of 18 days. Results of biochemical analysis showed increase in total volatile base-nitrogen (TVB-N) values from initial value of 4.15–13.74 mg/100 g, free fatty acid (FFA) increased from 0.95 to 2.98% in terms of oleic acid, peroxide value (PV) increased from 2.6 to 3.9 meq of O 2 /kg of fat and pH increased from 6.5 to 6.79 during 18 days chilled storage. Linearity (r 2 ) of TVB-N, FFA, PV and pH values during storage were found to be 0.98, 0.99, 0.97 and 0.99 respectively. In microbiological quality evaluation total plate count (Log. Values) increased from 2.17 to 4.65, while Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , Salmonella and spore count were not detected during storage period. Results of sensory analysis reported a negative correlation with storage period concluding the shelf life of battered and breaded fish cutlet from Catla fish to be 12 days at chilled storage conditions.
