An Economic Evaluation of the Potential of Fish Utilization in Riverine Environments

Aquatic fauna, and fish in particular, have had an important place in a number of theories of the development of complex cultural manifestations. Using experimental data, a number of specific characteristics of fish usage in riverine evironments have been evaluated. In one case 45.5 kg of fish were harvested in 4 man-hours from a floodplain slough using only two logs. The energy represented by the catch was sufficient for 9.9 man-days or a return of 60 to 1 [60 hours of energy per hour of labor]. Sufficient protein was produced for a return of 384 to 1 [384 hours of protein per hour of labor]. The species composition of the catch was also informative, with 50% of the weight contributed by gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum, a small fish. It is demonstrated that archaeological recovery techniques are heavily biased against the recovery of gizzard shad and other small fish remains. The nature of this bias and considerations for compensation are discussed.

Download Full-text

Comment upon the Economic Potential of Fish Utilization in Riverine Environments and Potential Archaeological Biases

American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/279874 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 562-567 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Adam G. Garson

Keyword(s):

Small Fish ◽

South American ◽

Economic Potential ◽

Fish Size ◽

Recovery Techniques ◽

Seasonal And Spatial Variations ◽

Fish Exploitation ◽

Fish Remains ◽

Fish Productivity ◽

High Fish

New data from the South American lowland tropics are used in support of a recent argument extolling the potential of fish utilization in major floodplains. The discussion will cover five points: (1) major floodplains in general, and the Amazon and Orinoco floodplains in particular, have similar characteristics that make them biologically productive regions; (2) high fish productivity and the use of mass-fishing techniques in floodplain regions are characteristics of lowland South America; (3) the ecological dynamics of the seasonally inundated savanna are particularly productive and propitious for seasonal exploitation using mass-fishing techniques; (4) differences in species composition and fish size may have implications for seasonal and spatial variations in fish exploitation; and (5) substantial biases are apparent against the retrieval of small fish remains using traditional archaeological recovery techniques.

Download Full-text

Improvements in water quality following biomanipulation of gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) in Lake Denham, Florida

Lake and Reservoir Management ◽

10.1080/07438141.2011.609633 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 287-297 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Walt Godwin ◽

Michael Coveney ◽

Edgar Lowe ◽

Lawrence Battoe

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Gizzard Shad ◽

Dorosoma Cepedianum

Download Full-text

Reflecting materials in the eyes of three teleosts, Orthopristes chrysopterus, Dorosoma cepedianum and Anchoa mitchilli

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.1973.0028 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 184 (1074) ◽

pp. 15-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Keyword(s):

Body Length ◽

Pigment Epithelium ◽

Total Body Length ◽

Gizzard Shad ◽

Dorosoma Cepedianum ◽

Anchoa Mitchilli ◽

First Report ◽

Total Body ◽

Bay Anchovy

The tapeta lucida of three species of teleosts were examined to determine the composition of the reflecting material. The fishes were bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli (Engraulidae), gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum (Clupeidae) and pigfish Orthopristes chrysopterus (Haemulidae). The tapetum of each species was situated in the pigment epithelium of the eye. That of the pigfish contained triglycerides identified as chiefly glyceryl tridocosahexaenoate. A reduced pteridine, 7, 8-dihydroxanthopterin, occurred in the tapetum of the gizzard shad. Guanine occurred in the tapetum of the bay anchovy. The tapetum of the shad contained brightly reflecting particles about 0.5 μm in diameter There were 10.8 mg of dihydroxanthopterin in the tapetum of a shad (total body length 23 cm) and 0.46 mg of guanine in the tapetum of an anchovy (total body length 9 cm). This is the first report of a pteridine acting as a retinal reflector in vertebrates. Various aspects of retinal reflectors of teleosts are discussed and their variety and common characteristics commented upon.

Download Full-text

Digestive enzyme and gut surfactant activity of detritivorous gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum)

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f00-036 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 57 (6) ◽

pp. 1113-1119 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

James C Smoot ◽

Robert H Findlay

Keyword(s):

Enzyme Activity ◽

Protease Activity ◽

Feeding Strategy ◽

Digestive Enzyme ◽

Artificial Substrates ◽

Gizzard Shad ◽

Dorosoma Cepedianum ◽

Digestive Physiology ◽

Protease Enzyme ◽

Surfactant Activity

Measuring digestive enzyme and surfactant activities tested specialization of gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) digestive physiology to a detritivorous feeding strategy. Digestive enzyme activity was measured in adult and larval gizzard shad using fluorescently labeled artificial substrates. Surfactant activity in gizzard shad was measured by comparing gut juice drop diameters over a range of dilutions. Enzyme activity in the ceca region of adult gizzard shad was high for esterase, beta-glucosidase, lipase, and protease. Enzyme activity was lower in posterior intestine sections than in anterior intestine sections, although protease activity remained high for the greatest distance in the intestine. Micelles were detected in adult gizzard shad gut juice, and surfactant activity was greatest in the ceca region. Larval gizzard shad protease activity was similar to that of adult fish, and surfactants were below their critical micelle concentration. Gizzard shad coupled digestive physiology with gut anatomy to obtain nutrients from detritus, and these adaptations may explain elevated growth rates observed in these fish when they are planktivorous.

Download Full-text

The role of water ventilation and sediment ingestion in the uptake of benzo[A]pyrene in gizzard shad (dorosoma cepedianum)

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry ◽

10.1002/etc.5620151015 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 15 (10) ◽

pp. 1752-1759 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Alan S. Kolok ◽

James N. Huckins ◽

Jimmie D. Petty ◽

James T. Oris

Keyword(s):

Gizzard Shad ◽

Dorosoma Cepedianum

Download Full-text

Survival strategies of sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus in desiccating pans in the northern Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽

10.4102/koedoe.v41i2.258 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

B.C.W. Van der Waal

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Clarias Gariepinus ◽

High Water ◽

Survival Strategies ◽

Small Fish ◽

Large Bulk ◽

Drying Up ◽

Fish Remains ◽

Adverse Environmental Conditions ◽

Dry Out

Observations in drying out pans showed that small (26-37 cm) sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus) can hide at the bottom of small pools filled with sticky mud whereas larger fish stay afloat at the surface in larger pools with sloppy mud, where they easily become prey or succumb to heat stress. The inability of larger fish to keep down in the sloppy mud of up to 40 cm depth is the result of their large bulk and high density of the mud. This may indicate a survival advantage for smaller fish in the final dry-out phase of pools and is supported by the presence of only small fish remains in the last drying up pools of dry pans. Another adaptation of smaller fish includes the temporary congregation outside the water enabling concealment under dense vegetation as a means to escape adverse environmental conditions, including high water temperatures and avian predation. The advantage small fish have over larger catfish under these extreme conditions may explain why catfish are known to show a wide variation in growth rate under natural and aquaculture conditions.

Download Full-text