We developed a new biosensor device for environmental gas/liquid toxicity sensing, which utilizes the chemotaxis of microbial cells confined in a micro-aquarium. The device has an isolated micro-aquarium to confine microbial cells separately from flowing gas/liquid in two bypass microchannels, and the molecules of the flowing gas/liquid permeate from the microchannels into the micro-aquarium th...

Trade of ornamental aquatic species is a multi-billion dollar industry responsible for the introduction of myriad fishes into novel ecosystems. Although aquarium invaders have the potential to alter ecosystem function, regulation of the trade is minimal and little is known about the ecosystem-level consequences of invasion for all but a small number of aquarium species. Here, we demonstrate how...

While the collection of fish for the aquarium pet trade has been flagged as a major threat to wild populations, this link is tenuous for the unregulated wild collection of endemic species because of the lack of quantitative data. In this paper, we examine the extent and magnitude of collection and trade of endemic and threatened freshwater fishes from India for the pet markets, and discuss thei...

In recent years, there has been an increase in the rate and severity of diseases affecting habitat-forming marine organisms, such as corals, sponges, and macroalgae. Delisea pulchra is a temperate red macroalga that suffers from a bleaching disease that is more frequent during summer, when seawater temperatures are elevated and the alga's chemical defense is weakened. A bacterial cause for the ...

In this study, the epiphytic algae of Lemna minor collected from its natural habitat or grown in aquarium were analyzed for a period of six months from April 2016 to September 2016. While a total of 15 taxa, 1 belonging to Cyanophyta and 14 belonging to Bacillariophyta, were recorded for L. minor grown in aquarium, a total of 36 taxa, 3 belonging to Cyanophyta, 5 belonging to Chlorophyta, 1 bel...

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) outnumber ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in many terrestrial and aquatic environments. Although nitrification is the primary function of aquarium biofilters, very few studies have investigated the microorganisms responsible for this process in aquaria. This study used quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to quantify the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) and 16S rRNA ge...

The swimming behaviour of ten species of diving beetles was studied with a video image analysing system, with the aim of testing the interpretation of their size and shape as functional characters reflecting adaptations to different swimming strategies. Velocity, sinuosity of the trajectory, and the relation between the two were studied in an unobstructed aquarium and, for the four largest spec...

Free chlorine (FC) and free bromine (FB) produced during ozonation treatment of aquarium seawater pose a serious threat to the health of ornamental aquatic animals, but little is known about the concentration levels of these chemicals in aquarium facilities. In this study, a highly selective and sensitive analytical method based on the derivatization of FC and FB to corresponding 4-halo-2,6dime...

Ornamental fishes are among the most popular and fastest growing categories of pets in the United States (U.S.). The global scope and scale of the ornamental fish trade and growing popularity of pet fish in the U.S. are strong indicators of the myriad economic and social benefits the pet industry provides. Relatively little is known about the microbial communities associated with these ornament...