We put together a special issue on current approaches in systems biology with a focus on mathematical modeling of metabolic networks. Mathematical models have increasingly been used to unravel molecular mechanisms of complex dynamic biological processes. We here provide a short introduction into the topics covered in this special issue, highlighting current developments and challenges.

As mucosal barriers in fish are the main sites where pathogens are encountered, mucosal immunity is crucial to avoid infection in the aquatic environment. In teleost fish, immunoglobulins are present in gut, gill and skin mucus, although not in the same amounts as in higher vertebrates. In mammals, the poly-Ig receptor (pIgR) is synthesized in epithelial cells and mediates the active transport ...

The exploration of cold-adapted microalgae offers a wide range of biotechnological applications that can be used for human, animal, and environmental benefits in colder climates. Previously, when the polar marine microalga <i>Chlamydomonas malina</i> RCC2488 was cultivated under both nitrogen replete and depleted conditions at 8°C, it accumulated lipids and carbohydrates (up to 32 and 49%, respectively), ...

Sovereignty acquired by occupation entails “recognize[d] title based on discovery,” “a reasonable period [of] … effective occupation of the region claimed to be discovered” and “the continuous and peaceful display of State authority.” Only terra nullius is subject to occupation. A territory inhabited by indigenous groups that sustain social and political organization may impede an occupying power ...

In Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) longline fisheries in the eastern North Pacific Ocean bycatch of yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) is a concern as their stock status along the U.S. West Coast is “rebuilding” from being “overfished”, the southeast Alaska stock has shown a ∼60% decline since at least 1994 and through 2015 where it stabilized, and the Canadian stock has been recently ...

The present study investigated how the concentration of PUFA in blood and muscle of Atlantic salmon (<i>Salmo salar</i> L.) changed when fed 4 diets containing very different amounts of LC-PUFA in fresh water for 84 days. The n-3 LC-PUFA constituted 4.4, 24.2, 18.4, and 51.5% of the total fatty acids in the diets made with rapeseed oil, anchoveta oil, a combination of rapeseed oil (60%) and anchoveta ...

<i>Background</i> - The recent blooming of metabarcoding applications to biodiversity studies comes with some relevant methodological debates. One such issue concerns the treatment of reads by denoising or by clustering methods, which have been wrongly presented as alternatives. It has also been suggested that denoised sequence variants should replace clusters as the basic unit of metabarcoding ...

I dette forsøket ble torsk fanget levende og lagret i merd hvor den ble fôret med hhv. lodde og kommersielt torskefôr i 3 måneder. Etter skånsom slakting og utblødning i 30 minutter, ble fisken sløyd og de biologiske data registrert før maskinell filetering enten pre-rigor (innen 2 timer etter død) og post-rigor (etter 4 dagers is-lagring av sløyd fisk). Det ble produsert ryggfileter (Loins) enten ...

Tourism development is considered a key accompanying strategy in creating alternative livelihood options for the communities living in and adjacent to the Marine Protected Areas. This paper examines the socioeconomic characteristics of the Nha Trang Bay protected area to determine the factors that influence the decision to participate in tourism sectors, and analyse whether these decisions would ...

Freshwater macroinvertebrates and fishes are focal groups in major ecosystem biomonitoring programs in the Iberian Peninsula. Yet, their use as bioindicators is sometimes constrained by the time and cost needed for sorting macroinvertebrates specimens and their challenging taxonomic identification, and the huge sampling procedures for capturing rare or incipient fish species, respectively. Given the ...