We evaluated the potential cancer risk to adults from ingesting polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish and shellfish using an equilibrium partitioning model of PCB bioaccumulation in the aquatic animal. Estimated potential cancer risk to humans increased exponentially with increasing hydrophobicity of the PCB. However, the addition of food-chain sources of PCBs was necessary to cause potentia...

Aquatic animals swimming in isolation and in groups are known to extract energy from the vortices in environmental flows, significantly reducing muscle activity required for locomotion. A model for the vortex dynamics associated with this phenomenon is developed, showing that the energy extraction mechanism can be described by simple criteria governing the kinematics of the vortices relative to...

In this thesis we investigate the locomotion of fish and birds by applying both new and well known mathematical techniques. The two-dimensional model is first studied using Krasny’s vortex blob method, and then a new numerical method based on Wu’s theory1 is developed. To begin with, we will implement Krasny’s ideas for a couple of examples and then switch to the numerical implementation of the...

Recent finds of early tetrapods have established that the most primitive form, Acanthostega, retained internal gills and other fish-like features; this has led to the conclusion that it was a primarily aquatic animal. Other Late Devonian tetrapods, such as Ichthyostega and Tilerpeton, provide no evidence of internal gills, but have also been interpreted as inhabiting an aquatic environment. The...

Zebra mussels clog water pipes of power plants in the Great Lakes region. Boaters on the Mississippi River are injured by jumping carp. Predatory and scary-looking snakeheads prowl the Potomac River. These are just a few examples of an issue that has become a global problem. Hundreds of aquatic species have been moved outside their native ranges by humans. Some species are moved incidentally as...

Although caviar is the most significant and famous fishery product of Iran, in recent years the country has gained a lot of experience and had some significant success with other fishery and aquaculture products. Iranian fisheries and aquaculture production reached 522,000 metric tons in 2005, of which 75% originated from capture fishery and 25% from aquaculture activities. Various fishery and ...

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing sector in the world and it is expected to produce significant quantities of fish in the coming years to meet the growing global demand for aquatic animal products. The expansion and diversification of the sector, along with globalisation and trade liberalisation have resulted in aquatic animals and animal products moving around the world rapidly...