Biography:

Isham alzoubi has completed his PhD at the age of 27 years fromDoctor of Philosophy Degree in Agricultural Mechanization Engineering (University of Tehran – Iran) University and Postdoctoral Studies from School of Surveying Geospatial Engineering-Department of Surveying and Geomatics Engineering, University of Tehran .  Current Job: General commission for scientific Agricultural Research – Damascus – Syria (Mechanical Engineer)  He has published more than 16 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of repute.

Abstract:

Land leveling is one of the most important steps in soil preparation for agricultural and other purposes. . New techniques based on artificial intelligence, such as Artificial Neural Network, integrating Artificial Neural Network and Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA-ANN), or Genetic Algorithms (GA-ANN), or Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO-ANN) have been employed for developing predictive models to estimate the energy related parameters and the results were compared to SPSS and Sensitivity Analysis  results. In this study, several soil properties such as cut/fill volume, compressibility factor, specific gravity, moisture content, slope of the area, sand percent, and swelling index were measured and their effects on energy consumption were investigated. Totally 90 samples were collected from 3 land areas by grid size of 20m×20m. The aim of this work was to develop predictive models based on artificial intelligence techniques to predict the environmental indicators of land leveling . Results of sensitivity analysis illustrated that only three parameters consist of soil density, soil compressibility, and soil cut/fill volume had meaningful effects on energy consumption.  Among the proposed methods, the GA-ANN had the most capability in prediction of the environmental energy parameters. However, for prediction of LE and FE the ANN and ICA-ANN algorithms had better performance. On the other hand, SPSS software had higher R 2 value than Minitab software and sensitivity analysis and in fact close to the ANN values. Keywords: Energy; Imperialist competitive algorithm; Sensitivity analysis; ANN; Land levelling; Environmental indicators.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network; energy; environmental research; Imperialist Competitive Algorithm; Sensitivity Analysis

Biography:

Ana Mansourkiaei completed her PhD at the age of 34 years from Islamic Azad University Scientific and Research Branch. She is a diving instructor. Also she had taken her diving certificate from CMAS. She had published more than 5 papers in reputed journals.

Abstract:

Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) and Long tail tuna (Thunnus tonggol) are epipelagic and migratory species of family Scombridea which have a significant role in terms of ecology and fishery. Phylogenetic relationships of S. commerson from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea and Arabian Sea, and T. tonggol from Oman Sea were investigated through sequence data of mitochondrial DNA D-loop region using High Resolution Melting-Real Time PCR. S. commerson were classified into 20 groups and T. tonggol were banded into 8 groups. Finally 40 samples of S. commerson and 16 samples of T. tonggol were chosen to sequence for phylogenetic and genetic analyses.  None clustered NJ tree indicated the proximity amid S. commerson in four stations and T. tonggol into stations. As figures demonstrated in sequence analyses of mitochondrial DNA D-Loop region a sublimely high degree of genetic similarity among S. commerson from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea and Arabian Sea and also among T. tonggol from the Oman Sea were perceived, thereafter, having one stock structure of S. commerson in four regions and one stock structure of T. tonggol in two regions were proved.  And this approximation can be merely justified by their emigration process along the coasts of Oman Sea and Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea Accordingly, The assessment of distribution patterns of 40 samples of S. commerson and 16 samples of T. tonggol in the constructed Phylogenetic tree and using mtDNA D-Loop sequences ascertained that no significant clustering according to the sampling sites were concluded. And Fst values shows this similarity as well. 

Biography:

Arpita Dalal is pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Dr.Susmita Gupta (Associate Professor) of the department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar, India and is a senior research fellow (SRF) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India. She has cleared National Eligibility Test (NET), December 2014 for Environmental Sciences and recently she has been awarded and designated as JSPS HOPE Fellow at the 8th HOPE Meeting with Nobel Laureate, JSPS, Japan. Currently she has been selected in a PhD exchange programme jointly sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Delhi, India and British Council, UK under the programme ‘Newton Bhabha PhD placement programme’, and isnow working as a visiting research associate at Queen’s University, Belfast, UK under the guidance of Prof. Jaimie Dick for a period of six months. At present she has three papers in peer reviewed journals (SCI indexed)

Abstract:

Aquatic insects are commonly known as good fish diet, bioindicators of freshwater pollution and can be utilised asbiocontrol agents. Understanding the drivers of insect distribution, abundance and species richness is thus vital for healthy fish stocks and aquaculture practices. The present study examined spatial and temporal variation in aquatic insect assemblages in several different lentic (standing freshwater) ecosystems- oxbow lake, Floodplain Lake, rural and urban ponds, and two agricultural fields of Cachar district, Assam. With kick sampling, aquatic insects were collected along with water samples in four seasons (post monsoon, winter, premonsoon and monsoon) during 2013-14. We collected2260 individuals belonging to 119 taxa,36 familiesand8 orders. The highest number oftaxa was recorded from the floodplain lake,with thelowest from the oxbow lake. Post monsoon and winter recorded highest taxa, whereas monsoon had the lowest. Engelmann’s scale of dominance showed Anisops breddini (Water boatman), Cloeon sp. (Mayfly), Micronectas cultellaris (Lesser water boatman), M. Haliploides (Lesser water boatman), and Ochthebius sp. (Minute moss beetle) as the eudominant taxa from the different lentic systems. There was a significant positive correlation ofbothtaxa richness and taxa density with dissolved oxygen and potassium, whereas there were negative correlations with water temperature, rainfall, water depth and size of water bodies. In addition, we discuss here the factors regulating the distribution of aquatic insects in different seasons.

Biography:

Prof. Bhunia has received his PhD from University of Wyoming and postdoctoral training from University of Arkansas. Currently, he is professor of food microbiology at Purdue University and the Chair of Microbiology Training Group of Purdue University interdisciplinary Life Sciences program (PULSe). His expertise is in the area of foodborne pathogen detection, pathogenesis, and probiotic vaccine. He has published 154 research articles, 2 text books (Fundamental Food Microbiology; Foodborne Microbial Pathogens), 3 edited books, and delivered over 115 talks in national and international venues. He holds 3 patents, and has received Purdue Agriculture Research Award, Purdue Faculty Scholar, Purdue Team Award, IFT R&D Award, Outstanding Graduate Educator Award, and the recipient of High-End Foreign Experts Recruitment Program (China) fellowship. He is also a member of the USDA National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF).

Abstract:

Rapid pathogen testing tools are in high demand. A novel, label-free on-plate colony screening tool employing light scattering technology, called BARDOT (bacterial rapid detection using optical scattering technology) for pathogens from water, food, clinical specimens and environmental samples is described. When a red diode laser (635 nm) is illuminated in the center of a bacterial colony, it generates unique scatter signature for each phylogeny. BARDOT was used for detection and identification of Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp, Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria, and Bacillus spp. using scatter image libraries. It was also used sucessfully for detection and identification of Enterobactericiae and coliforms from food and water samples. The colonies are further confirmed by PCR or genome sequencing, thus BARDOT could serve as a pre-screening tool for molecular analysis of pathogens from food and water.

Biography:

Dr. Ashraf Suloma is the head of Fish Nutrition Lab at the Department of animal production, Fac. of Agriculture, Cairo University. He has published more than 34 papers in reputed journals. His main fields of interest are: 1- Develop least cost diet for freshwater fish from local ingredients 2- Improve the land and water productivity for fish farms through aquaculture-agriculture integration, periphyton and biofloc systems

Abstract:

Demand for food is increasing with an increase in human population. Saline agriculture can greatly contribute to increase agricultural output and support future demand in food and energy. This has led researchers to turn to coastal and desert lands to provide food via saline agriculture. The major problem in saline agriculture start after irrigation, and when the water evaporates leaves behind a salt residue that will build up over time eventually destroying the soil. Moreover, adding too much salt water to a desert soil will form a salt pan, creating a totally arid and sterile environment. The goal of this project is to develop closed-loop saline aquaponic (soilless culture) processes for zero-waste sustainable production of fish and crops in areas where traditional crops cannot be grown in order to turn the deserts and costal land into crops and biofuel producing agricultural lands. This work was supported by TriNex project; Knowledge-Triangle Platform for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus.

Biography:

Carole Blay has graduated as biology engineer in 2009 (France). She has worked on the domestication of cultivated crops such as Pennisetum glaucum and Digittaria sp. of the research institute for the development. Then, she has worked for IFREMER on the “pearl oyster” Pinctada Margaritifera on the genetic improvement of the donor oyster. In 2014, she has started a phD on genetic determinism of pearl quality trait on pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera. This work will improve the knowledge on the effects of genotype and research genes responsible for the expression of the quality traits (color and pearl size)

Abstract:

The pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera, produces valuable cultured pearls as a result of the biomineralization process of a selected mantle graft from a donor oyster inserted together with a nucleus into the gonad of a recipient oyster. Production and annual exportation of cultured pearls increased from 86 kg in 1980 to 16 tons in 2012 valuing 65 million Euros of incomes. The commercial value of cultured pearls depends on different parameters, including pearl size, shape, colour, darkness level, classification grade, lustre and surface quality. Overall feature, pearl size is the most valuable one, with the largest pearls being the most valuable. To explore the respective roles of donor and recipient in pearl formation, a uniform experimental graft was designed with large and small donor oyster shell phenotypes, used to graft recipient oysters monitored for their growth-related traits every 3 months over one year period. At the same time, phenotypic parameters corresponding to pearl size and quality traits were recorded. Phenotypic interaction analysis demonstrated 1) a positive correlation between recipient shell biometric parameters and pearl size, 2) donor effect on cultured pearl quality traits. Furthermore, the expressions of biomineralization biomarkers encoding proteins in the aragonite or prismatic layer showed: 1) overexpression of an aragonite-related gene in the large-shelled donor phenotype in the graft tissue, and 2) correlation of gene expression in the pearl sac tissue with pearl quality traits and recipient biometric parameters. These results emphasize that the recipient mainly drives pearl size and the donor mainly drives pearl quality traits.

Biography:

Chris G Carter joined IMAS as Professor of Aquaculture Nutrition in 2009 after being Professor of Aquaculture at UTAS in Launceston since 2004. He was also the Aquaculture Program Leader for the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute for 10 years. He is an international expert on feeding and nutrition physiology of aquatic ectotherms and his interests range from understanding growth to finding alternative proteins and oils for aquafeeds. He has supervised over 50 research and honours students and strongly believes research training is one of the most important roles of a University. He has been the Education Program Leader for two CRCs, served on the Graduate Board of Studies and is a recipient of the "Dean of Graduate Studies Research Award for a Significant Contribution to Graduate Research Supervision and Education". He is also acts as External Examiner for aquaculture courses at the University Putra Malaysia and University of Mauritius and is a member of the Editorial Board of Aquaculture Nutrition.

Abstract:

Tasmania is an island to the south of the Australian continent and is Australia’s smallest state by geography and population size. However, it is the country’s largest seafood producer by value which is mainly attributable to farmed Atlantic salmon (21% value of Australian seafood). Several salmonid species are found in Tasmania, none are endemic and all have been introduced sometime since European settlement. The State presents a unique location for aquaculture research on salmonid species due to a range of environmental, commercial and historical factors. The aim of the presentation is to present a brief historical perspective on the history of salmonids in Tasmania with a focus on research in physiology and nutrition. Tasmania is a climate change hot-spot so that changes to the marine environment often occur here before they do in other regions of the world. Historically, high water temperatures have been advantageous in promoting high growth of farmed Atlantic salmon. Generally salmon perform optimally over a wide temperature range and maintain high levels of growth performance outside the optimum temperature range. As higher temperatures are experienced more often the industry is developing responses to potential impacts of climate change. Strategies include selective breeding for robustness, developing management practices and formulating feeds for the conditions. Salmon are considered hypoxia sensitive, unexpectedly some Tasmanian salmon down regulate their metabolic rate in response to low dissolved oxygen. Sub-optimum high temperature and low dissolved oxygen increase protein and energy requirements. Feed formulation and feeding regimes can be managed accordingly. Alternative protein and oil ingredients are being investigated and provide interesting insights into the interactions between temperature, other environment factors and nutrition. There is also consideration of locally sourced ingredients. Multiple strategies based on a better understanding of physiology and nutrition is in place to support sustainable salmon farming Tasmania.

Biography:

David Vander Zwaag is Professor of Law and Canada Research Chair in Ocean Law and Governance at the Marine & Environmental Law Institute, Dalhousie University. He is a member of the IUCN’s World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) and co-chairs the WCEL Specialist Group on Oceans, Coasts and Coral Reefs. He has published over 150 papers in the marine and environmental law field. His co-edited book publications include, among others, Polar Oceans Governance in an Era of Environmental Change and Aquaculture Law and Policy: Towards Principled Access and Operations.

Abstract:

This presentation will highlight three main international law and policy “current systems” that set courses for achieving sustainable aquaculture operations around the globe. First, key provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will be described. The Convention grants coastal States jurisdictional rights over aquaculture developments within national zones of jurisdiction, including 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones, but also imposes environmental responsibilities, such as the fundamental duty to protect and preserve the marine environment. Second, the role of international environmental law agreements in setting directions for the management of aquaculture will be reviewed with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) being central. For example, the CBD’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 includes a target (target 7) for managing aquaculture areas sustainably by 2020 in order to ensure the conservation of biodiversity. A CBD technical report on solutions for sustainable aquaculture, published in 2004, suggests best practices including avoiding the use of non-native species and encouraging the culture of different species together (polyculture). A third source of international guidance for aquaculture is documents emanating from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The implications of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries for aquaculture will be emphasized along with key FAO technical guidelines applicable to aquaculture calling for precautionary and ecosystem approaches.

Biography:

Esther Michelle has completed her Masters in Aquaculture majoring in Aquaculture Nutrition at the age of 26 years from Universiti Malaysia Sabah. She is currently an educator in a technical institute teaching mainly on aquaculture feed and also fish husbandry

Abstract:

A preliminary experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of different feeding frequency on the growth, feed conversion ratio(FCR) and specific growth rate (SGR) of red tilapia, Oreochromis sp. Feeding twice a day (TW) was applied as a control in this trial compared with feeding once a day (ON) and thrice a day (TH) at a common hours of fish feeding. Initial average weight of fish used was 2.7±2 g. Trial was done in triplicates and 150 fish was randomly distributed into each aquarium. Experimental fish was fed using a commercial pellet based on 5% of total body weight per day. Final weight of fish was significantly higher in the ON treatment compared to TW and TH with 10.98 g, 8.29 g and 7.63 g, respectively. Fish weight was constantly increasing in all treatments throughout the experimental period. SGR for ON was 2g/day which means fish gain weight of 2g every day until the final day of the experiment. The present study shows that feeding once a day (ON) resulted to higher feed efficiency of feed based on the growth (linear relationship).

Biography:

Fabio Cervellione graduated as DVM at Milan University, and completed his MSc in Aquatic Veterinary Studies at Stirling University. He worked for 9 years as a diagnostic veterinarian for fresh water farmed species for Skretting, which is a leading shrimp and fish feed company in the aquaculture sector. He works now for Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre in Norway, in the Health Department, directed by Dr. Charles McGurk. He is a PhD candidate at Ghent University, focusing on semi-quantitative histology of the gastro intestinal tract of whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) with Prof. Wim Van den Broeck, Professor of Cell Biology and Histology

Abstract:

The hepatopancreas is the main organ of the gastro-intestinal tract in crustaceans and it is  routinely assessed by pathologists for signs of disease and health monitoring because it is the site of digestion, nutrient absorption, reserve storage, detoxification, synthesis and secretion of digestive enzymes. The hepatopancreas is mainly composed of 4 different cell types: E-cells, B-cells, F-cells and R-cells. R-cells resemble the absorptive cells of the vertebrate intestine and store mainly lipids and glycogen. Many decapods can survive weeks or even months of total starvation. In the past, a few studies focused on the influence of feeding on hepatopancreas structure but none of them using computed-assisted image analysis. Image analysis is a fast, objective and applicable method for routine screening of high number of samples, both for diagnostic perspectives and research applications. In the present study, whiteleg shrimp (2±1g, C inter-moult stage)  were housed individually in glass tanks (27±1°C, pH at 7.8-8.1, and salinity at 20±1gL-1). Three feeding regimes were compared over a 15 days period: fed (5% of body weight/day); starved; and re-fed after 10 days of starvation. Morphological changes caused by starvation were analysed in paraffin sections and frozen sections with computer-assisted image analysis software (Visiopharm®). Hepatopancreatic parameters measured were: total tissue area, lumen area, lipid droplets, F-cells, and infiltration of haemocytes. Effect of starvation on the ultrastructure of the hepatopancreas was also studied by TEM. Application of image analysis on a routine basis will permit health monitoring of the nutritional status in farmed decapods.

Biography:

Galina Iozepovna Pronina defended her thesis at the age of 28 at the Moscow veterinary Academy named after K. I. Skryabin, Russia and received her doctorate at the Department of physiology, ethology and biochemistry of animals at the Moscow agricultural Academy named after K. A. Timiryazev, Russia. She is the head of the laboratory of All-Russian research Institute of irrigation fish breeding. She has published more than 190 articles in well-known journals.

Abstract:

The industrial fish farming is followed by lower immune status of cultured specimens in connection with high stocking density, handling and other technological factors. Specific immune-modulating substances or selection for higher immune status could be used for solving of this problem. The most dangerous multifactorial infection in commercial carp farms is red spot disease (RSD) caused by Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Spring Viremia of Carp Virus Rhabdovirus carpio. The authors had obtained a new commercial mirror hybrid carp “Surskiy Malokostny” (with lower number of bones) characterized by high rates of weight growth, survival and immune resistance. The application for selection achievement for this cross had No. 77897. The high immune resistance of new hybrid is connected with characteristics of one of parent lines, Angeline mirror carp exposed to long-term selection after outbreak of RSD more than 60 years ago. The leucogram of new hybrid was characterized by high levels of myeloid segmental cells suggested full development of inborn cell immunity.  The lower level of lysosomal cation protein in neutrophils of new hybrid before winter comparing with control full-scaled carp of commercial line is the feature of high immune resistance.