Approach to Improve Edible Bird Nest Quality & Establishing Better Bird Nest Cleaning Process Facility through Best Value Approach

Edible bird nest industries have existed for more than a century; however, it has been going through a few revolution cycles. As harvesting EBN from the natural habitat in the dark and dim limestone caves to the modern purpose-built swiftlet farms, the quality and quantity of the bird nests have risen to a new level. This success of changing the habitat of swiftlet colonies is revolutionary because the ease of rescuing bird nests from life-threatening experiences to a safe environment has improved. Furthermore, with a synthetic environment, the quality of bird nests has improved with decreased levels of pollution and the colony`s population increased due to better growth along with protection from predators. On the downside, edible bird nest cleaning processes experienced very few changes since the discovery of edible bird nests. The method of cleaning remains unchanged. Several machines have been introduced to replace human labor and the results are either ineffective or undesirable. In this study, existing practices were observed and analyzed by identifying the area of opportunity for improvement. A new proposed method has been implemented to enhance the quality and nutrients of the bird nests. The experimental methodology has been employed to analyzes a set of samples obtained from both cleaning methods. The results show a smaller expansion rate under the current method in processing edible bird nest; hence, the possibility of nutrients preserved has increased by 30% under the new method. The percentage of crude protein concentration in the newly improved method was 50.25% whereas in the traditional method, it was only 31.16%. This clearly indicates the difference of 19.09% nutrient lost between the new improved method and traditional cleaning method.

Courtship, spawning, and parental care behavior of the lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus L., in Newfoundland

The courtship, spawning, and paternal care behavior of lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus, in Broad Cove, Newfoundland, are described. Breeding lumpfish are sexually dimorphic and exhibit a distinct sexual dichromatism during reproduction. Spawning females are larger than males and pale blueish green in color. Male lumpfish nuptial coloration consists of a greyish black body and an orange–red ventral surface and fins. Spawning follows an extended courtship involving nest cleaning, fin brushing, and quivering. Females extrude pink eggs onto the surface of the nest which the male fertilizes. After fertilization, males mold the eggs into the nest, producing funnel-like depressions in the egg mass. Males remain with the eggs throughout the incubation period providing parental care. Pectoral fanning and puffing, the expelling of water from the mouth towards the surface of the egg mass, are the predominant parental care behaviors exhibited throughout the incubation period. Quantitative variation between males in the amount of time spent in parental care was independent of male size. Egg masses are maintained free of invertebrate predators by the male, but males are unable to defend eggs against predation by large groups of cunners, Tautogolabrus adspersus. Puffing behavior was more frequent towards the end of the incubation period than at the beginning. During hatching emergent larvae are swept from the nest site by male fanning and puffing behaviors.

The Breeding Behaviour of Tilapia Species (Pisces; Cichlidae) in Natural Waters: Observations On T. Karomo Poll and T. Variabilis Boulenger

Although the breeding behaviour of Cichlid fishes in aquaria has been studied by several authors, very little is known about their behaviour in natural waters. This paper presents data from field studies on the breeding behaviour of T. karomo Poll and T. variabilis Boulenger. Tilapia species can be divided into three groups according to differences in their breeding behaviour; 'guarders', 'male mouth-brooders', and `female mouth-brooders'. Both the species considered here are female mouth-brooders. Breeding males of T. karomo congregate on the spawning grounds and each male establishes a territory wherein he prepares a nest. The males have a brightly coloured breeding dress, including a long genital tassel; they are slightly larger than the females, which are less brightly coloured. The nests are plaques of clean sand often raised on mounds; nest cleaning is done by 'mouthing', 'nosing' and `fanning' the nest; the other activities of the male before and between spawnings are described. Females cruise over the spawning grounds singly or in small shoals; the male swims out to meet them as they enter his territory, turns and leads back to the nest. The sequence of movements of male and female in the nest during spawning is described. Often there is very little pre-spawning display and spawning may be complete in two to five minutes. After laying, the female collects the eggs in her mouth and leaves the spawning ground; the male remains in his territory and immediately starts courting other females. T. karomo females stay among the waterplants when brooding. They probably have three or four broods in succession; it is not known for how long the young are brooded. The breeding behaviour of T. variabilis in Lake Salisbury (Uganda) is described and was found to be very similar to that of T. karomo. The similarities and differences in behaviour between T. karomo and T. variabilis are discussed. T. variabilis has a distinct piebald-and-orange colour form; nearly all these piebald fish are females. 'Normal' males must, it seems, breed with these. The areas which are suitable for spawning may be determined by the nature of the bottom and by the availability of dissolved oxygen. Young T. karomo live in shoals; they 'skittered' at the surface near the spawning ground, which may indicate that the oxygen content of the water was low at times. Nests cleaning activities in T. karomo suggest incipient 'behaviour forms'. The long genital tassel, present in T. karomo and T. variabilis, is not glandular, it may attract the attention of the female; it emphasizes movements and increases the apparent size of the male. Problems raised by aquarium studies are examined in the light of field observations. The long pre-spawning display in T. mossambica in aquaria as opposed to the rapid spawning of T. karomo in the field may be due to specific differences and not to aquarium conditions. 'Surface territories' present in aquaria were never seen in natural waters. In 'guarder' species of Tilapia the territory is used both for spawning and for the protection of the young. In mouth-brooders the spawning ground provides a well-advertised meeting place for ripe fish. The continuous succession of broods produced in aquaria is probably due to the confined conditions which make it impossible for the females to segregate from the males after spawning. Reference is made to the behaviour of T. macrocephala (= T. heudeloti) a 'male mouthbrooder'.