The relationship between bleaching and mortality of common corals

Reef corals are likely to have many subtle but four gross responses to anomalous warm water. These are (1) not bleach and live (mortality <10%), (2) not bleach and die (mortality >20%), (3) bleach and live, and (4) bleach and die. The frequency of these four possible gross responses was determined for 18 common coral taxa over an exceptionally warm 1998 El Niño where intense bleaching was observed, and mortality determined from line transects averaged 41.2±34.7 (±SD). Field studies included (1) recording the loss of color (bleaching) and observing recently dead individuals among 6,803 colonies during five sampling periods and (2) estimating mortality based on 180 m of line-intercept transects completed 4 months before and near the end of the bleaching episode. There was no clear relationship between the loss of color and either direct observation or transect-based estimates of mortality for the 18 taxa. The morphology of the taxa did not influence color loss but branching and encrusting taxa had higher mortality than massive and submassive taxa. Loss of color and mortality are the most common responses to warm water as only Pavona did not lose color or die and only two taxa, Cyphastrea and Millepora, did not significantly lose color but died. Of the 15 taxa that lost color, five taxa, Astreopora, Favia, Favites, Goniopora, and Leptoria, did not die. These taxa are those most likely to have reduced potential mortality by the loss of pigments and associated algal symbionts. Death of the branching taxa was detected reasonably by direct field observation but some taxa were underestimated when compared with mortality estimates based on line transects. Death of encrusting and massive taxa including Echinopora, Galaxea, Hydnophora, Montipora, Platygyra, and massive Porites was poorly detected from direct observations but they proved to have modest to high mortality (20–80%) based on line transects. There was no single response of these common corals to warm water but these data, collected during an extreme warm-water anomaly, indicate that the loss of color is most frequently a sign of morbidity, particularly for branching and encrusting taxa.Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin     

Biliary secretion,retention and excretion of five 14C-labelled polychlorinated biphenyls in the rat

Five ¹⁴C-labelled polychlorinated biphenyls: 2,4′,5-trichlorobiphenyl, 2,2′,4,5′-tetrachlorobiphenyl, 2,2′,4,5,5′-pentachlorobiphenyl, 2,2′,3,4,4′-pentachlorobiphenyl and 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl were administered orally to bile-cannulated rats. The activity secreted in the bile, excreted in the feces and the urine was determined. Residues of radioactivity in certain tissues and the carcass were also measured.The trichlorobiphenyl showed the highest absorption (93.8%±5.4) from the gastrointestinal tract and biliary secretion of radioactivity (87.6%±6.1 of the dose). The hexachlorobiphenyl showed the lowest absorption and biliary secretion, 28.2%±1.4 and 18.6%±1.3, respectively. The urinary excretion was low and the radioactive residues in the eviscerated carcasses increased with the chlorine content of the biphenyls.     

Individual PCBs as predictors for concentrations of non and mono-ortho PCBs in human milk

32 Dutch human milk samples were analyzed for PCBs with either HRGC-ECD or HRGC-LRMS in the NCI mode. Samples were collected from three different locations in The Netherlands: Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Groningen. Quantitatively, no differences could be observed between the three localities, while in addition the congener specific pattern showed a striking similarity for all individual samples. Only principal component analysis revealed slight individual differences. Based on similarities in the PCB profiles, linear relationships were calculated between 2,3′4,4′,5-PnCB (#118) or 2,2′4,4′5,5′HxCB (#153) and the most relevantnon andmonoortho PCBs exhibiting dioxinlike activity. These PCBs included 2,3,3′,4,4′-PnCB (#105), 3,3′,4,4′5-PnCB (#126) 2,3,3′,4,4′,5-HxCB (#156), 2,3,3′,4,4′,5′-HxCB (#157), 2,3′,4,4′,5,5′-HxCB (#167) and 3,3′,4,4′,5′5-HxCB (#169). Good linear relationships were observed between individual PCBs. Based on the results of this study, PCB #118 can be used to predict concentrations of the PCBs #105 and #126. PCB #153 can be used as a predictor for the PCBs #156, #157, #167 and #169, but also for the total toxic equivalencies (TEQs) ofnon andmonoortho PCBs present in human milk. This method using certain PCBs as predictors for other toxicological relevant congeners, can be useful and cost effective, e.g. for epidemiological studies. However, before applied a number of conditions should be met. These are:

1. A stable composition of the PCB matrix should be established.
2. A possible time dependent change in composition of the matrix should first be excluded when used over different time periods.

     

Keeping the blood flowing—plasminogen activator genes and feeding behavior in vampire bats

The blood feeding vampire bats emerged from New World leaf-nosed bats that fed on fruit and insects. Plasminogen activator, a serine protease that regulates blood coagulation, is known to be expressed in the saliva of Desmodus rotundus (common vampire bat) and is thought to be a key enzyme for the emergence of blood feeding in vampire bats. To better understand the evolution of this biological function, we studied the plasminogen activator (PA) genes from all vampire bat species in light of their feeding transition to bird and subsequently mammalian blood. We include the rare species Diphylla ecaudata and Diaemus youngi, where plasminogen activator had not previously been studied and demonstrate that PA gene duplication observed in Desmodus is not essential to the vampire phenotype, but relates to the emergence of predominant mammalian blood feeding in this species. Plasminogen activator has evolved through gene duplication, domain loss, and sequence evolution leading to change in fibrin-specificity and susceptibility to plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. Before undertaking this study, only the four plasminogen activator isoforms from Desmodus were known. The evolution of vampire bat plasminogen activators can now be linked phylogenetically to the transition in feeding behavior among vampire bat species from bird to mammalian blood. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Calcite-seeded crystallization of calcium phosphate for phosphorus recovery

For phosphorus recovery from wastewater, the present paper aims at understanding the crystallization of calcium phosphate by using calcites (Juraperle and Coccolith) as seeds from hard water. Synthetic hard water with 60 mgCl(-1) carbonate and 10 mgPl(-1) phosphate was prepared and used in the batch experiments of calcite-seeded crystallization. The solution composition was measured throughout the batch crystallization process, and the corresponding saturation indices with respect to the minerals were calculated with PHREEQC Program. The surface of the calcite seeds was observed and measured with environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and BET method. The studies show that both calcites are effective seeds for the crystallization of calcium phosphate from hard water; the used calcites are more efficient than the original ones because newly formed crystals with calcium phosphate have covered their surfaces. The studies show that the calcite seeds can be used for phosphorus recovery from hard waters.