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Notes: In this work, we report on the impact of distinct growth parameters that affect the roughness and surface morphology of La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 epitaxial thin films grown by rf sputtering, namely, the film thickness and the deposition temperature. Data for films with thicknesses ranging from 2.4 to 108 nm will be presented. A correlation with transport measurements is also reported: whereas films thicker than 6 nm show the typical metal-to-insulator transition, the thinner film is insulating. The resistivity is strongly enhanced when decreasing film thickness. Nuclear magnetic resonance measurements have been used to monitor the relative concentration of the localized Mn4+ and delocalized Mn3+/4+ states. It is found that the relative intensity of the delocalized Mn3+/4+ configuration (I3+/4+) progressively lowers when reducing film thickness. Of significance could be the observation that I3+/4+ remains finite for the thicknesses corresponding to insulating films, thus suggesting that an electrically inhomogeneous state is formed in a region close to the interface with the substrate. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: The efficacy of trout oil (TO), extracted from trout offal from the aquaculture industry, was evaluated in juvenile Murray cod Maccullochella peelii peelii (25.4±0.81 g) diets in an experiment conducted over 60 days at 23.7±0.8 °C. Five isonitrogenous (48% protein), isolipidic (16%) and isoenergetic (21.8 kJ g−1) diets, in which the fish oil fraction was replaced in increments of 25% (0–100%), were used. The best growth and feed efficiency was observed in fish fed diets containing 50–75% TO. The relationship of specific growth rate (SGR), food conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) to the amount of TO in the diets was described in each case by second-order polynomial equations (P〈0.05), which were: SGR=–0.44TO2+0.52TO+1.23 (r2=0.90, P〈0.05); FCR=0.53TO2–0.64TO+1.21 (r2=0.95, P〈0.05); and PER=–0.73TO2+0.90TO+1.54 (r2=0.90, P〈0.05). Significant differences in carcass and muscle proximate compositions were noted among the different dietary treatments. Less lipid was found in muscle than in carcass. The fatty acids found in highest amounts in Murray cod, irrespective of the dietary treatment, were palmitic acid (16:0), oleic acid (18:1n-9), linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3). The fatty acid composition of the muscle reflected that of the diets. Both the n-6 fatty acid content and the n-3 to n-6 ratio were significantly (P〈0.05) related to growth parameters, the relationships being as follows. Percentage of n-6 in diet (X) to SGR and FCR: SGR=–0.12X2+3.96X–32.51 (r2=0.96) and FCR=0.13X2–4.47X+39.39 (r2=0.98); and n-3:n-6 ratio (Z) to SGR, FCR, PER: SGR=–2.02Z2+5.01Z–1.74 (r2=0.88), FCR=2.31Z2–5.70Z+4.54 (r2=0.93) and PER=–3.12Z2–7.56Z+2.80 (r2=0.88) respectively. It is evident from this study that TO could be used effectively in Murray cod diets, and that an n-3:n-6 ratio of 1.2 results in the best growth performance in Murray cod.

Notes: Abstract The Australian native freshwater fish Murray cod, Maccullochella peelii pellii (Mitchell), currently supports a fledgling inland aquaculture industry, which is thought to have considerable growth potential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of two alternate protein sources [blood meal (BM) and defatted soybean meal (SBM)] as substitutes for fish meal at various levels of inclusion in diets for juvenile Murray cod. The growth performance of juvenile Murray cod in response to nine isonitrogenous and isocalorific diets (50% protein, 14% lipid, 20.2 kJ g−1) consisting of a control diet in which protein was supplied from fish meal, and test diets in which the fish meal protein was substituted at levels of 8%, 16%, 24%, and 32% with BM or SBM was evaluated from a 70-day growth experiment. The per cent apparent dry matter (% ADCdm) and percentage protein digestibility (% ADCp) of the test diets were also determined using Cr2O3 as a marker. Survival in all the SBM dietary treatments was high but that of fish on the BM dietary treatments was significantly (P 〈 0.05) lower than in all the other dietary treatments. Specific growth rate (% day−1) of Murray cod fed SBM incorporated diets ranged from 1.63 ± 0.06 to 1.78 ± 0.10 and even at the highest level tested (32% of the dietary protein from SBM) was not significantly different (P 〉 0.05) from the fish fed the control diet (1.65 ± 0.09). Feed conversion ratios of the SBM dietary treatments ranged from 1.36 ± 0.08 to 1.45 ± 0.07. The protein efficiency ratios and protein conversion efficiencies of Murray cod in the soybean meal treatments were also good and for a majority of the SBM diets were better than those for the control diet. Per cent ADCdm and ADCp of the SBM diets tested ranged from 70.6 ± 1.46 to 72.3 ± 1.81% and 88.6 ± 0.57 to 90.3 ± 0.17%, respectively, and was not significantly different (P 〉 0.05) from the control diet (% ADCdm 74.3 ± 1.63; % ADCp 91.3 ± 0.55). The reasons for significantly poor survival and growth of Murray cod reared on BM incorporated diets, and relatively poor digestibility of these diets are discussed. The study shows that for Murray cod diets in which fish meal protein is substituted up to 32% performance or carcass composition is not compromised.

Notes: Murray cod is a top-order carnivore with high culture potential. Currently, there are no commercial diets formulated specifically for Murray cod. In this study, results of two growth trials on Murray cod (80–83.5-g mean initial weight), conducted in commercial settings, using two laboratory-formulated diets (DU1 and DU2; 48.9% and 49.1% protein, and 16.9% and 16.1% lipid, respectively, on a dry matter basis), and two commercial diets, formulated for other species (salmon – CD/S and barramundi – CD/B) but used in Murray cod farming are presented. The two commercial diets had less protein (46.6% and 44.4%) but higher lipid (21.7% and 19.5%). The energy content of the feeds tested was similar (about 20–22 kJ g−1). The growth performance and feed utilization of Murray cod did not differ significantly amongst the diets, but the food conversion ratio and % protein efficiency ratio in fish fed the DU1 and DU2 diets were consistently better. There was significantly less carcass and muscle lipid deposition in fish fed with the latter diets. Of the fatty acids in muscle, the lowest amounts (in μg mg lipid−1) of n-3 (262.5±2.9), n-6 (39.8±0.9) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (302.3±3.8) were observed in fish fed CD/S, and the highest in fish fed DU2 and CD/B. Fatty acids 16:0 and 18:0, 18:1n-9 and 16:1n-7, and 22:6n-3, 20:5n-3, 22:5n-3 and 18:2n-6 were the dominant fatty acids amongst the saturates, monoenes and PUFA, respectively, and accounted for 80.8–88.7% of all identified fatty acids (23) in muscle of Murray cod. The study showed that Murray cod could be cultured successfully on a diet (DU2) containing 20% soybean meal without compromising growth and/or carcass quality. Differences in the proximate composition and fatty acid composition of muscle of wild and farmed Murray cod were observed, the most obvious being in the latter. Wild Murray cod had significantly less (P〈0.05) saturates (192.6±1.84 vs. 266.3±3.51), monoenes (156.5±8.7 vs. 207.6±6.19), n-3 (145.2±5.24 vs. 261.8±3.2) but higher n-6 (144.3±2.73 vs. 48.3±1.38) in muscle (all values are in μg mg lipid−1) than in farmed fish. Wild fish also had a much lower n-3 to n-6 ratio (1.0±0.03 vs. 5.4±0.09).

Notes: This study attempts to evaluate the influence of the impounding of Lake Dartmouth (36°35′S, 147°31′E; on Mitta Mitta River in Victoria) on the Macquarie perch (Macquaria australasica, Cuvier 1830), an Australian percichthyid fish of riverine origin. In this study the yearly changes in body condition and spawning performance of adult populations in the impoundment were evaluated in relation to lake features, in particular the water level. Body condition of the spawning population of Macquarie perch in Lake Dartmouth, in year n was related to mean annual storage volume of the lake, with a time lag of one year during the post-filling phase of the lake (1991–1997). The influence of condition on the reproductive performance of captive female Macquarie perch from Lake Dartmouth using artificial propagation techniques was evaluated over the period 1991–1997. The mean relative fecundity (mrf), expressed as the number of eggs produced per kilogram of body weight of hypophysed fish, showed a decrease over the period, but the mean weight of hypophysed fish did not decrease over the same time period. The mrf (Ymrf) was positively correlated to yearly mean relative condition factor (XRc), the relationship being:The spawning variables, mean percentage fertilization (Yfn) (1991–1997) and mean larval production (Yln) (1992–1996) in each year (n) were also related to the mean relative condition factor (XRc) of female fish that spawned after hypophysation in each year. It is suggested that the declining success in the artificial propagation of this species is caused by a declining maternal condition of female fish collected from the impoundment, resulting from poor nutrition.