To characterize better the development of endothermy in tunas, we assessed how the abilities to generate heat and to conserve heat within the aerobic, slow-twitch (red) myotomal muscle using counter-current heat exchangers (retia) change with size in juvenile black skipjack tuna (Euthynnus lineatus) above and below the hypothesized minimum size for endothermy of 207 mm fork length (FL). Early j...

In our previous experiments with rats, ovary lipid from Skipjack Tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) (OLS) was shown to have a mitigating effect on anxiety and/or fear in elevated T-maze tests. This suggests that OLS has some effect on the central nervous system (CNS) of rats. Thus, we performed experiments to examine the status of CNS in rats given OLS. The effect of OLS on chronic stress was also exami...

Anyone who is familiar with live tunas must surely be impressed with the tremendous morphological investment in adaptations for high speed swimming. And anyone who is conversant with engineering principles must be aware of the extra energy required for even small increases in swim speed. Because of these high costs involved in the evolution and maintenance of a high velocity life style, the abi...

Executive BLOCKINSummary This paper is one of a suite of three pieces of work contracted to inform the WCPFC Management Objectives Workshop, planned to be held prior to WCPFC9. This paper focuses on target reference points, and the other two papers focus on limit reference points and harvest control rules. The presentation of this work to SC8 will provide the feedback necessary to undertake fur...

This paper shows a surprising similarity between the construction of, respectively, impossible differentials and square distinguishers. This observation is illustrated by comparing two attacks on IDEA (Biham & al., FSE’99 [2], Nakahara & al., 2001 [7]). Using this similarity, we also derive a 16-round square distinguisher on Skipjack, directly based on the impossible differential attack present...

As top predators of pelagic food webs, large fish naturally bioaccumulate mercury (Hg). Determining Hg burdens in commercialized fish is essential considering the concern about effects of contaminants on human health and the legal thresholds that are therefore set for local consumption and/or exportation. Total Hg levels were measured in the muscular tissue of 183 fish of five commercially impo...

RATIONALE The bias associated with lipid contents in fish tissues is a recalcitrant topic for trophic studies using stable isotopes. Lipids are depleted in the heavy carbon isotope ((13)C) and the lipid content varies considerably among species, tissues and in both time and space. We have applied and assessed different correction methods for tropical tuna tissues. METHODS We tested two types ...