The growth, survival rate and reproductive characteristics of Artemia urmiana fed by Dunaliella tertiolecta, Tetraselmis suecica, Nannochloropsis oculata, Chaetoceros sp., Chlorella sp. and Spirolina sp. as feeding microalgae

This study was performed to compare the efficiency of six microalgae namely Dunaliella tertiolecta, Tetraselmis suecica, Nannochloropsis oculata, Chaetoceros sp., Chlorella sp. and Spirolina sp. on the growth, survival rate and reproduction efficacy in Artemia urmiana in laboratory conditions. Artemia cysts were harvested from Urmia Lake and hatched according to the standard method. Live microalgae were cultured using the f/2 culture medium. Artemia survival was determined in treatments on days 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20. A highly significant difference (p<0.01) were found among three microalgae in terms of length growth, survival rates and reproduction characteristics in A. urmiana. In spite of higher length growth of A.urmiana fed on N. oculata than A. urmiana fed by T. suecica but survival and reproduction in the latter was better than the first treatment. In general, D. tertiolecta was more efficient than other microalgae examined in the present study on A. urmiana concerning not only to growth and survival but also to reproduction mode. So, it is preferred to feed A. urmiana

Fluctuation in density of ciliates in Bukan dam reservoir, Zarrinehrud, Iran

The abundance and species composition of ciliates were analyzed in the Bukan Dam Reservoir (West Azerbaijan, Iran) from January to December 2008. Surface water samples were collected at monthly intervals from the middle (Stations 1 and 3) and shallow (Stations 2 and 4) areas of the lake. Three samples were taken in the water column using a 5-litre sampler. Totally 30 liters water was collected, 200 ml of which was fixed immediately with 8.6 ml of a saturated HgCl2 solution and stained with 0.04% bromophenol blue. Three subsamples were counted in a 5-ml chamber and examined with a microscope (100 x) as well as Chlorophyll a and a few ecological parameters such as dissolved oxygen, pH, transperancy and water temperature were measured. Totally 50 ciliates species were found in Bukan Dam Reservoir. Regarding the density, a high-density period was detected from January to April with a mean density of 2.86 x 103 cells.l-1 Ciliata at stations 1 and 3 and 4.16 x 103 cells.l-1 at stations 2 and 4. The high density of ciliate in summer may be due to the increase in the density of bacteria and moderate metazooplankton as a result of the appearance of non-edible algae . The ciliata occurring at the highest densities were Coleps tessellates, Didinium nasutum, Paradileptus elephantinus, Stentor polymorphus, Zosterograptus labiatus, Paramecium bursaria, Cyclidium citrullus, Vorticella campanula, Halteria grandinella and Aspidisca costata. The maximum and minimum chlorophyll a values observed at the reservoir water were 10.39 µg.l-l and 1.0 µg.l-l being obtained in May and Octobor respectively

Effects of environmental factors on the growth and development of Astacous leptodactylous in Aras River and its Reservoir

In order to study plankton population composition and species diversity in different regions of Aras Rivers and the evident reservoir sampling was performed monthly from determined sampling sites from April 2007 to March 2008. Sampling was conducted in Reservoir Lake by a PVC pipe with 2.25 m length and 5 cm diameter by columnar method. Besides, in more dipper (>5 m) sites, sampling conducted from bottom to surface with 1-m intervals (layer sampling) by a 2-liter Ruttner type sampler. In river due to water flow sampling was conducted by a scaled measure. Phytoplankton sampling was performed by 1-liter bottles. Zooplankton was sampled by filtering of 30 L through 55- micron plankton net. These samples were then transferred into bottles and sampling date and the name of station were attached on the bottles. Then, the samples were fixed immediately and transported to laboratory. It should be mentioned some physical parameters were determined in situ. Also, a 1liter and another 2-liter water were collected to determine chlorophyll a and chemical factors respectively. Samples were preserved in dark and cold place for a week. The upper layers (without phytoplankton) were removed and the lower layer (with phytoplankton) was sampled into 5-ml chambers. The enumeration and identification was performed by a Nikon TS100 inverted microscope with ×400 (Phytoplankton) and ×200 (Zooplankton) magnification according to Utermohl (1958) method. About 50 fields were enumerated for each sample. The comparison of physicochemical and biological factors with standard criterion indicated that the presence of a fertile plain, agricultural growth, drought and higher water demand in recent years, as well as, higher population density, the Nakhjavan city location and sewage water flows into the Aras reservoir, the lake is going to be an eutroph lake. Sampling of crayfish was performed from 5 sampling sites seasonally. Aras reservoir freshwater crayfish biomass was sampled in 1391, by putting 100 funnel-shaped nets. At each site one row nets composed of 20 nets were put by rocks, connecting robe and boat. Twenty four hours later, total freshwater cray fish was sampled (at least 300 crayfish was randomly sampled from each site). The samples were transported to laboratory and their sex, sex percentage, biometric characteristics including length, weight were recorded. Length and weight groups were estimated totally and for males and females in each season. The average total length and weight were 106.43 ± 7.94 mm and 35.81 ± 10.86 gr respectively which both are lower than West-Azarbaijan fisheries criterion. In this study only 18.99 percent contained a length higher than exporting level (120 mm). Yet, only 16.46 percent of harvesting had higher than 50 g (exporting level). With regard to data, freshwater shrimp (Astacus leptodactylus) in Aras dam reservoir stock has reduced. In general, male-female ratio was high. The comparison of growth equations confirms that males had higher weights than equal females. In recent years, the freshwater crayfish harvesting has been declined due to increased harvesting and over loading of nutrients into the lake

Limnological of Bukan Dam Reservoir

In order to limnological study of Bukan Dam reservoir, sampling was performed monthly from determined sampling sites from April 2013 to March 2014. Sampling was conducted in reservoir lake by a PVC pipe with 2.25 m length and 5 cm diameter by columnar method. Besides, in more dipper (>5 m) sites, sampling conducted from bottom to surface with 1-m intervals (layer sampling) by a 2-liter Ruttner type sampler. In rivers due to water flow sampling was conducted by a scaled measure. Phytoplankton sampling was performed by 1-liter bottles. Zooplankton was sampled by filtering of 30 L through 55- micron plankton net. These samples were then transferred into bottles and sampling date and the name of station were attached on the bottles. Then, the samples were fixed immediately and transported to laboratory. It should be mentioned some physical parameters were determined in situ. Also, a 2-liter and another 1-liter water were collected to determine chlorophyll a and chemical factors respectively. Samples were preserved in dark and cold place for a week. The upper layers (without phytoplankton) were removed and the lower layer (with phytoplankton) was sampled into 5-ml chambers. The enumeration and identification was performed by a Nikon TS100 inverted microscope with ×400 (Phytoplankton) and ×200 (Zooplankton) magnification according to Utermohl (1958) method. About 50 fields were enumerated for each sample. The comparison of physicochemical and biological factors with standard criterion indicated that the presence of a fertile plain, agricultural growth, drought and higher water demand in recent years, as well as, higher population density, the Saghez city which is the main source of pollution in Bukan dam reservoir has caused that Bukan dam is in the transit state from mesotrophy to eutrophy. The results of the present study suggested that higher trophy in Bukan dam reservoir together with algal high density has negatively affected the Fish life and has reduced the stock in the lake. However, complementary studies should be performed prior to releasing. In this way the problems of other ecosystems should be prevented

Molecular barcoding of the Aras reservoir alga Microcystis aeruginosa (Kützing) Kützing 1846 by ITS-2 gene

Today, due to population increase and anthropogenic activities together with sewage and agricultural waste water entrance, aquatic ecosystems have been exposed to high pollutions. Phytoplankton is a group of water floating algae that have crucial roles in providing nutrients and oxygen for other organisms, nitrogen and CO_2 fixation. These organisms are considered as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. They are found in various water habitats all over the world, affected by environmental variables such as pH, light and temperature and used for determination of water pollution degree and quality. Phytoplankton composition and density may be used as a complementary indicator of water trophy state. Phytoplankton communities indicate short and long term variations of aquatic systems. One of the most obvious problems in freshwater ecosystems is algal bloom or over growth of some blue- green algae which can decrease oxygen, and in some cases bring about toxin excretion and fish and human kills. In addition, many of bloom forming cyanobacteria produce secondary metabolites which can create sever poisoning in mammals including human. The genus Microcystis is a key bloom forming cyanobacteria in aquatic ecosystems. Populations of this genus form intense blooms in water bodies that has attracted more attentions in recent years. Various species of this alga have been distributed in stagnant and eutroph freshwater around the world. Microcystis has been defined by genetic criteria such as 16S rRNA molecular sequencing, but its classification in levels lower than genus is unclear and the presence of its classical morphospecies is doubtful. However, this genus creates sever blooms in eutrophic waters all over the world and many species produce toxins. Therefore, identification of its natural diversity in the levels lower than genus has high importance. However, several characteristics of Microcystis morphotypes which are classified a traditional species, actually are present and observed in different regions of the world. At present, they can be considered as morphospecies that belong to one genotype and have similar ecology. These traditional species with definite phenotypic and ecophysiological characteristics cannot be eliminated completely. Their identification is essential for ecological and ecotoxicological studies. Interistic transcribed separator (ITS) gene is a section of genome which is located between 16s rRNA and 23s genes. This gene has more heterogeneity than 16s rRNA; so it is used to identify many genera of cyanobacteria. The Aras reservoir located in the north-west of Iran plays important roles as fisheries, drinking and agricultural water supply and recreational activities in the region. The present thesis was undertaken to: analyze the Microcystis sp. populations by molecular methods such as ITS in Aras Reservoir. Samples for molecular analysis were collected from 10 sampling sites on 18 August 2013. Samples for molecular study of Microcystis were collected from two different depths (surface and 1 m depth) and transferred to laboratory without any treatments. Microscopic images of Microcystis were sent to professor Komárek and was confirmed

The study of establishment of rainbow trout culture and hatchery farms on Zayanderood’s River region in Caharmahal and Bakhtiyari Province

The aim of this study was to find the best location for establishment of rainbow trout culture and hatcheries farms on Zayanderood’s river region in Charmahal and Bakhtiyari province. This survey carried out over ten station along Zayanderood’s river. The result of physical and chemical analysis showd that the annual average of air temperature varied from 9.5oC - 10oC where the pH annual average value were between 7.5 and 8.8. the dissolve oxygen concentration in stations except in rainbow trout farm effluent were above 10 mg/l. the other chemical , pollutant as well as pesticides levels were under the limiting concentration for rainbow trout culture and Hatcheries activity. The plankton survey showed that the Bacillurophyta were the dominant group of phytoplankton where protozoa constituted the most abundant group of zooplankton the Benthic organisms sensitive to pollutant in particular Epirus were dominant group in all stations. In regard to fishes presence in river, five species of Ciprinidae, one species from Balitoridae and one species from salmonidae families were identified. The capacity for development of rainbow trout culture for tow phase period in Zayanderood’s river region with respect to self purification potential (self purification potential were determined from the oxidation of the effluent of the only active trout farm of the river region), minimum of 10 L/s water requirement for production of trout in concrete canal and pond system and 1 L/S water need for production in semi circular closed system were estimated to be 5202 metric tons

Measuring the Efficiency and Congestion of Iranian Airports in 2008 with Data Envelopment Analysis

ABSTRACT Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a non-parametric method in operations research for measuring the efficiency of a set of decision making units (DMUs) such as firms with multiple inputs and outputs. Efficiency is the ability to produce the outputs with a minimum input required. Congestion is evidenced when the attainment of maximal output requires a reduction in one or more of the input amounts used. This study measures the efficiency and congestion of 45 Iranian airports in 2008 with considering three inputs such as airport area, runway area and terminal area and there outputs such as the number of operational flights, the number of passengers and cargo handle. The results illustrated that most airports were not profitable and require increasing their outputs significantly. In other words, they require increasing the passenger movement, aircraft movements and cargo handle for being more efficient. Moreover, the study demonstrates that most airports have congestion in their airport area and suggests that those airports should decrease their airport area to increase their efficiencies

Mandibular and maxillary canine as a tool for sex determination

Introduction: Teeth measurement assist in the forensic and anthropological investigation to estimate age, confirm sex and race of a person. Maximum resistance to change in a natural disaster and also the most level of sexual dimorphism in canines makes them important in mentioned fields. Materials and Methods: During this study, an effort has been created to determine the sex of a person by using Canine Index (CI) which calculated for mandibular and maxillary canines. Mesio-distal (MD) breadth of canines and also the respective inter-canine distances (ICD) were tested using the independent samples t-test revealed significant sex dimorphism among the 100 individuals (50 males and 50 females) of Iranian population in the age group of 18-35 years. Conclusion: It is evident from our study that the maxillary canine index (MaxCI) is a valuable tool for determining sex

Mutual diffusion in concentrated liquid solutions: A new model based on cluster theory

In dilute solutions, diffusion is dominated by motion of single molecules. Conversely, in non-ideal concentrated solutions, mass transfer by diffusion can be heavily influenced by molecular clustering. Cluster theory in concentrated solutions can be approached using the Cussler model, which has been used to explain experimental mutual diffusion data in highly concentrated solutions. In this work, using the Cussler model and the critical point theory as a starting point, a new model for predictions of mutual diffusion coefficients in binary mixtures over the whole composition range was developed. The model is based on modifications of the concentration correlation function and explains well the experimental mutual diffusion data and their dependence on composition and activity coefficients. The model does not require any knowledge of intra-diffusion coefficients and can be used to predict mutual diffusion coefficients over the whole composition range