Size assessment via a visual signal in snapping shrimp

Snapping shrimp are highly aggressive decapod crustaceans, with large, asymmetric chelae. Body size determines the outcome of both inter- and intrasexual interactions. Both the body and chela sizes of mated pairs are correlated, but the body size correlation is significantly stronger. In competitive interactions between individuals of the same sex, larger individuals usually win. Because the size of the major chela is a function of body size in both males and females, chela size could be used to assess body size early in interactions, before engaging in more high risk behaviors. To determine whether the major chela is used in size assessment, I presented shrimp with isolated chelae. Male snapping shrimp responded aggressively to isolated chelae when they were fixed open in a display posture, and the degree of aggressive response depended on the relative size of the chela. These data provide direct experimental evidence for the use of a visual signal in size assessment. Females, in contrast, responded aggressively to both the open and closed chela, and their responses did not depend on relative size. This sex difference in response may be due to differences in the value of certain resources, such as shelters, to males and females: females may be more willing to respond aggressively regardless of the apparent size of their opponent, in order to acquire more reliable information regarding size, motivation or fighting ability. Received: 30 December 1994/Accepted after revision: 14 August 1995     

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency by amniotic fluid steroid analysis

The concentration of 17OH-progesterone was measured in second trimester amniotic fluid samples from 12 mothers who previously had had an infant with congenital adrenal hyper-plasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency. In 4 affected pregnancies, the concentrations were more than 2 S.D. higher than those determined in 44 samples from normal pregnancies (mean ± S.D., 8·1 ± 2·4 nmol/1). The remaining 8 pregnancies were predicted to be unaffected based on the results of amniotic fluid concentrations within the normal range. In each instance, the infant was normal. The results indicate that measurement of amniotic fluid 17OH-progester-one concentrations during the second trimester is an accurate prenatal test for 21-hydroxylase deficiency. The results should be supplemented with determination of fetal sex by karyotype analysis on the amniotic fluid cells.     

The role of environmental and fisheries multi-controls in white seabream (Diplodus sargus) artisanal fisheries in Portuguese coast

Evaluating the effects of fishing and environmental factors on fish populations are fundamental tenets of fisheries science. In this study, we assess associations between environmental variables (sea surface temperature; North Atlantic Oscillation index; upwelling; wind magnitude; westerly winds; northerly winds; river discharge) and fishing variables (fishing effort) in Diplodus sagus catch rates accounting for regional analyses (northwest coast; southwest coast and Algarve—Algarve south coast). Different time series models for data fitting (multi-model approach) were used. The models were lagged, according to species fishing recruitment age based on the hypothesis that fisheries catches depend on larvae recruitment and survivorship. D. sargus catch rates across areas were unrelated to fishing effort but correlated to environmental variables, with seasonal events explaining much of the variability in trends. On the northwestern coast, the catch rates were mainly set by sea surface temperature (SST) and wind magnitude; however, southwestern coast catch rates were set by NAO winter. On the south coast, only one statistical model (SST, upwelling and westerly winds) associated spring conditions with D. sargus catch rates. The multi-model approach revealed autumn, winter and spring seasonal effects to be related with northwest, southwest and Algarve coastal catch rates, respectively, indicating a possible coastal longitudinal gradient related with given periods of spawning and larval availability. The metadata analysis yielded different results from the regional analyses. In summary, marine resource management should take regional environment characteristics and variability into account when determining sustainable catch rates in given areas for species with high habitat site fidelity.     

Biotic, temporal and spatial variability of tritium concentrations in transpirate samples collected in the vicinity of a near-surface low-level nuclear waste disposal site and nearby research reactor

The results of a 21 month sampling program measuring tritium in tree transpirate with respect to local sources are reported. The aim was to assess the potential of tree transpirate to indicate the presence of sub-surface seepage plumes.Transpirate gathered from trees near low-level nuclear waste disposal trenches contained activity concentrations of ³H that were significantly higher (up to ∼700 Bq L⁻¹) than local background levels (0-10 Bq L⁻¹). The effects of the waste source declined rapidly with distance to be at background levels within 10s of metres. A research reactor 1.6 km south of the site contributed significant (p < 0.01) local fallout ³H but its influence did not reach as far as the disposal trenches.The elevated ³H levels in transpirate were, however, substantially lower than groundwater concentrations measured across the site (ranging from 0 to 91% with a median of 2%). Temporal patterns of tree transpirate ³H, together with local meteorological observations, indicate that soil water within the active root zones comprised a mixture of seepage and rainfall infiltration. The degree of mixing was variable given that the soil water activity concentrations were heterogeneous at a scale equivalent to the effective rooting volume of the trees. In addition, water taken up by roots was not well mixed within the trees. Based on correlation modelling, net rainfall less evaporation (a surrogate for infiltration) over a period of from 2 to 3 weeks prior to sampling seems to be the optimum predictor of transpirate ³H variability for any sampled tree at this site.The results demonstrate successful use of ³H in transpirate from trees to indicate the presence and general extent of sub-surface contamination at a low-level nuclear waste site.     

Determining floodplain sedimentation rates using Cs in a low fallout environment dominated by channel- and cultivation-derived sediment inputs, central Queensland, Australia

Fallout ¹³⁷Cs has been widely used to determine floodplain sedimentation rates in temperate environments, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Its application in low fallout, tropical environments in the southern hemisphere has been limited. In this study we assess the utility of ¹³⁷Cs for determining rates of floodplain sedimentation in a dry-tropical catchment in central Queensland, Australia. Floodplain and reference site cores were analysed in two centimetre increments, depth profiles were produced and total ¹³⁷Cs inventories calculated from the detailed profile data. Information on the rates of ¹³⁷Cs migration through local soils was obtained from the reference site soil cores. This data was used in an advection–diffusion model to account of ¹³⁷Cs mobility in floodplain sediment cores. This allowed sedimentation rates to be determined without the first year of detection for ¹³⁷Cs being known and without having to assume that ¹³⁷Cs remains immobile following deposition. Caesium-137 depth profiles in this environment are demonstrated to be an effective way of determining floodplain sedimentation rates. The total ¹³⁷Cs inventory approach was found to be less successful, with only one of the three sites analysed being in unequivocal agreement with the depth profile results. The input of sediment from catchment sources that have little, or no, ¹³⁷Cs attached results in true depositional sites having total inventories that are not significantly different from those of undisturbed reference sites.     

The problem of using fixed-area subsampling methods to estimate macroinvertebrate richness: a case study with Neotropical stream data

Subsampling has been widely applied in the laboratory to process freshwater macroinvertebrate samples. Currently, many governmental agencies and research groups apply the fixed-count approach, targeting a number of individuals per sample, and at the same time keeping track of the number of quadrats (fraction of the sample) processed. However, fixed-area methods are still in use. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the reliability of macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness estimates developed from processing a standard number of subsampling quadrats (i.e., fixed-area approaches). We used a dataset from 18 tropical stream sites experiencing three different levels of human disturbance (most-, intermediate-, and least-disturbed). With 12 quadrats processed (half the sample), the collection curves started to stabilize, and for more than half of the sites studied, it was possible to sample at least 80 % of the total taxonomic richness of the sample. However, we observed that the minimum number of quadrats to achieve 80 % of taxonomic richness was strongly negatively correlated with the number of individuals collected in each site: the fewer the individuals in a sample, the greater the processed proportion of that sample needed to represent it properly. Thus our results indicate that for any given areal subsampling effort (any fixed fraction of the sample), samples with different numbers of individuals will be represented differently in terms of the proportion of the total number of taxa of the whole samples, those with greater numbers being overestimated and those with fewer numbers being underestimated. Therefore, we do not recommend the use of fixed-area subsampling methods alone if the main purpose is to measure and analyze taxonomic richness; instead, we encourage researchers to use fixed-count approaches for this purpose.     

What’s the Problem? River Management,Education, and Public Beliefs

This paper invokes the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a diagnostic tool to explain an existing public education program's limited success at improving river water quality in the City of Perth, Western Australia. A reflective, client-driven research approach was used. A facilitated expert workshop defined an environmental problem (excess nutrients leaving gardens and entering waterways) and a desired behavior (residents purchasing environmentally sensitive fertilizer) to address the problem. A TPB-based belief elicitation survey captured respondents' beliefs regarding the desired behavior. The findings suggest respondents were aware of the links between purchasing environmentally sensitive fertilizer and river water quality. However, this behavior is compromised by the challenges in identifying appropriate products, product quality concerns, and cost. Viewing the content of a public education program through the lens of the TPB reveals insights into how and why the program fell short in achieving one of its key behavioral change goals.     

Emissions Control and Ambient Air Quality at a Secondary Steel Production Facility

Steel production from electric arc furnaces has been continuously rising over the past few years. The trend is expected to continue due to both the anticipated increase in demand for steel, and to the replacement of obsolete open hearth furnaces. In 1972 steel produced in electric arc furnaces, which makes up 25 to 30% of the annual United States steel production, was produced primarily from recycled scrap steel in approximately 300 electric arc furnaces operated by 99 companies at 121 locations.¹ Over half of these furnaces are smaller than 50 tons, and many are located in small bar mills producing a variety of merchant steel products.     

Polyethism and the importance of context in the alarm reaction of the grass-cutting ant, Atta capiguara

Leaf-cutting ants exhibit an aggressive alarm response. Yet in most alarm reactions, not all of the ants encountering a disturbance will respond. This variability in behaviour was investigated using field colonies of Atta capiguara, a grass-cutting species. Crushed ant heads were applied near foraging trails to stimulate alarm reactions. We found that minor workers were disproportionately likely to respond. Only 34.7DŽ.8% of ants travelling along foraging trails were minor workers, but 82.1Lj.1% of ants that responded were minors. Workers transporting grass did not respond at all. The alarm response was strongest at the position and time where minors were most abundant. Ants were more likely to respond when they were travelling along trails with low rather than high traffic. Minor workers followed a meandering route along the trail, compared with the direct route taken by foragers. We argue that an important function of minor workers on foraging trails is to patrol the trail area for threats, and that they then play the key role in the alarm reaction.     

Leachate characteristics,dry matter yield of Urochloa decumbens and properties of two contrasting soils irrigated with sludgewater in columns

Increasing demands on freshwater and challenges in disposal of wastewaters encourage their use for irrigation. The study evaluated the effects of irrigation of signal grass (Urochloa decumbens) with sludgewater on leaching, uptake and retention of a range of elements in two contrasting soils in columns. The grass was grown on a sandy loam and a clay soil packed in plastic columns and irrigated for 119 days with either undiluted, diluted sludgewater or tap water. The sludgewater had a pH of 6.9 and high aluminum (Al), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), and boron (B). Analyses were conducted on leachates, above-ground plant biomass (two harvests), and soils at the end of the experiment. Sludgewater treatments increased grass biomass yield and uptake of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg) in both soils with a greater nutrient uptake from the clay than the sandy loam. The application of sludgewater increased Mn and reduced P (sandy loam only) in the leachate with no effects on Al, Fe, or B. Uptake of Al, Fe, and B was increased by sludgewater application. Even when diluted, the sludgewater increased extractable Mn, particularly in the clay soil. The findings showed that irrigation of the soils with sludgewater increased Mn and B concentrations and uptake by signal grass, with no negative effects on biomass production. Leaching and accumulation in the soils of toxic elements were minimal in the short term. Sludgewater can therefore be used to grow signal grass in both soils although these effects need to be evaluated under field conditions.