Polycyclic musk compounds in higher trophic level aquatic organisms and humans from the United States

Polycyclic musks, 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[g]-2-benzopyran (HHCB) and 7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (AHTN), are used as fragrance ingredients in numerous consumer products such as cleaning agents and personal care products. Studies have reported the widespread occurrence of these musks in surface waters and fish from western European countries. Nevertheless, little is known about their accumulation in humans and wildlife in the United States. In this study, we measured concentrations of HHCB and AHTN in human adipose fat collected from New York City. Furthermore, tissues from marine mammals, water birds, and fish collected from US waters were analyzed to determine the concentrations of HHCB and AHTN. Concentrations of HHCB and AHTN in human adipose fat samples ranged from 12 to 798 and from <5 to 134 ng/g, on a lipid weight basis, respectively. A significant correlation existed between the concentrations of HHCB and AHTN in human adipose fat. Concentrations of HHCB and AHTN were not positively correlated with age or gender of the donors. HHCB was found in tissues of several wildlife species, but not in the livers of polar bear from the Alaskan Arctic. Among wildlife species analyzed, spinner and bottlenose dolphins collected from Florida coastal waters contained measurable concentrations of HHCB.     

The scope and severity of white-nose syndrome on hibernating bats in North America

Assessing the scope and severity of threats is necessary for evaluating impacts on populations to inform conservation planning. Quantitative threat assessment often requires monitoring programs that provide reliable data over relevant spatial and temporal scales, yet such programs can be difficult to justify until there is an apparent stressor. Leveraging efforts of wildlife management agencies to record winter counts of hibernating bats, we collated data for 5 species from over 200 sites across 27 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces from 1995 to 2018 to determine the impact of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a deadly disease of hibernating bats. We estimated declines of winter counts of bat colonies at sites where the invasive fungus that causes WNS (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) had been detected to assess the threat impact of WNS. Three species undergoing species status assessment by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Myotis septentrionalis, Myotis lucifugus, and Perimyotis subflavus) declined by more than 90%, which warrants classifying the severity of the WNS threat as extreme based on criteria used by NatureServe. The scope of the WNS threat as defined by NatureServe criteria was large (36% of Myotis lucifugus range) to pervasive (79% of Myotis septentrionalis range) for these species. Declines for 2 other species (Myotis sodalis and Eptesicus fuscus) were less severe but still qualified as moderate to serious based on NatureServe criteria. Data-sharing across jurisdictions provided a comprehensive evaluation of scope and severity of the threat of WNS and indicated regional differences that can inform response efforts at international, national, and state or provincial jurisdictions. We assessed the threat impact of an emerging infectious disease by uniting monitoring efforts across jurisdictional boundaries and demonstrated the importance of coordinated monitoring programs, such as the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), for data-driven conservation assessments and planning.     

Status of Southeast Asia's marine sharks and rays

In Southeast Asia, elasmobranchs are particularly threatened. We synthesized knowledge from the peer-reviewed and gray literature on elasmobranchs in the region, including their fisheries, status, trade, biology, and management. We found that 59% of assessed species are threatened with extinction and 72.5% are in decline; rays were more threatened than sharks. Research and conservation is complicated by the socioeconomic contexts of the countries, geopolitical issues in the South China Sea, and the overcapacity and multispecies nature of fisheries that incidentally capture elasmobranchs. The general paucity of data, funds, personnel, and enforcement hinders management. Reduced capacity in the general fishery sector and marine protected areas of sufficient size (for elasmobranchs and local enforcement capabilities) are among recommendations to strengthen conservation.     

Determination of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in sediment samples of twelve rivers in eastern China

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener concentrations and their distributions were determined for the first time in 12 major rivers of eastern China. It was found that the PCB contamination level in those rivers was relatively low compared to the levels reported in most developing countries. Total amount of PCBs in the river sediments ranged from 10 to 22 ng/g dry weight and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene (DDE) ranged from 0.89 to 7.62 ng/g. The PCB concentrations were basically homogeneous in different rivers; however, they consistently changed with the percent of total organic carbon (TOC). The PCB concentrations and compositions found in the 12 river sediments were very similar, with the tetra‐ and penta‐ groups as the dominants. Given that distributions and contaminant levels in sediments reflect the number of PCBs, the contamination of the 12 major rivers in eastern China is probably due to atmospheric deposition rather than the point source contamination.     

Ranging behavior of the mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda: a test of the ecological constraints model

The ecological constraints model predicts that daily travel distance and home range size of social animals will increase as group size increases in order to meet the dietary needs of additional group members. This theory has been supported more predominantly by studies of frugivorous primate species than by studies of folivorous species. We examined the ranging patterns of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, who include both herbaceous vegetation and fruit in their diet, to determine how ecological, behavioral, and social parameters influence movement patterns. Data were collected from three groups of gorillas with overlapping home ranges at a low-altitude location (1,450–1,800 m) and one group at a high-altitude location (2,100–2,500 m) in Bwindi from September 2001 to August 2002. We analyzed daily travel distance and home range size in relation to group size, while also considering patterns of frugivory, rainfall, and location (proxy for food availability) within the park. Both daily travel distance and home range size were positively related to group size. In addition, the degree of frugivory positively influenced daily travel distance and home range size, while rainfall negatively influenced daily travel distance only. Finally, groups at the low-altitude location, with higher fruit availability, traveled less than the group at the high-altitude location. These results demonstrate that mountain gorillas in Bwindi provide support for the ecological constraints model, but further studies are needed to determine how fine-scale spatial and temporal availability of food resources influence movement patterns. Ranging patterns of Bwindi gorillas are compared to those observed in other gorilla populations in the context of the ecological constraints model.Communicated by D. Watts     

Exploring relationships between observed activation rates and functional attributes of lane departure prevention

Objective: Drivers’ use of lane departure warning and prevention systems is lower than use of other crash avoidance technologies and varies significantly by manufacturer. One factor that may affect use is how well a system prevents unintended departures. The current study evaluated the performance of systems that assist in preventing departures by providing steering or braking input in a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, 2016 Ford Fusion, 2016 Honda Accord, and 2018 Volvo S90. These vehicles were selected because a prior observational study found that the percentage of privately owned vehicles that had lane departure prevention systems turned on varied among these 4 automakers.

Method: In each vehicle, a test driver induced 40 lane drifts on left and right curves by steering the vehicle straight into the curve so that vehicles departed in the opposite direction and 40 lane drifts on straightaways by slight steering input to direct the vehicle to left and right lane markers.

Results: Vehicles from automakers with higher observed lane departure prevention use rates (Volvo, Chevrolet) featured systems that provided steering input earlier and more often avoided crossing lane markers by more than 35?cm compared to vehicles from automakers with lower observed use rates (Ford, Honda).

Conclusion: The study identified functional characteristics (i.e., timing of steering input, prevention of departures more than 35?cm) of lane departure prevention systems that were strongly associated with observed activation of these systems in privately owned vehicles. Although this relationship does not imply causation, the findings support the hypothesis that functional characteristics of lane departure prevention systems affect their use. Designers may be able to use these results to maximize driver acceptance of future implementations of lane departure prevention.     

Association of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Waminoa</Emphasis> sp. (Acoela) with corals in the Wakatobi Marine Park,South-East Sulawesi,Indonesia

This is the first quantitative study on the prevalence of epizoic Waminoa sp. acoel worms and their association with corals in the Wakatobi Marine National Park (WMNP), South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia. Three replicate transects were laid on the reef crest, flat and slope at six sites in 2006 and eight sites in 2007. Four of the sites were common in both years. In total 69 transects were surveyed in 2006, and 87 transects in 2007. A total of 4.8% of all observed hard corals were associated with acoel worms in 2006 and 2.6% of hard and soft corals in 2007. Acoels were present on 16 and 21 of the coral taxa studied in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The worms were strongly associated with the azooxanthellate coral Tubastrea spp. and were rare or absent on the most abundant coral genera Montipora and Porites. The mean number of corals having acoels was highest on reef slopes, whereas acoels were virtually absent on reef flats. Corals that had a high and a medium cover of worms were more common in 2007 than in 2006. No significant trend in the adaptation of the zooxanthellae of Waminoa sp. to different depths at different sites was revealed. The impact of the worm on the coral is unknown, but high numbers may have a shading effect and a negative impact on the coral’s photophysiology. This acoel merits more study of its life cycle, its photophysiology, and its impact on its host corals. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Controlling range expansion in habitat networks by adaptively targeting source populations

Controlling the spread of invasive species, pests, and pathogens is often logistically limited to interventions that target specific locations at specific periods. However, in complex, highly connected systems, such as marine environments connected by ocean currents, populations spread dynamically in both space and time via transient connectivity links. This results in nondeterministic future distributions of species in which local populations emerge dynamically and concurrently over a large area. The challenge, therefore, is to choose intervention locations that will maximize the effectiveness of the control efforts. We propose a novel method to manage dynamic species invasions and outbreaks that identifies the intervention locations most likely to curtail population expansion by selectively targeting local populations most likely to expand their future range. Critically, at any point during the development of the invasion or outbreak, the method identifies the local intervention that maximizes the long‐term benefit across the ecosystem by restricting species’ potential to spread. In so doing, the method adaptively selects the intervention targets under dynamically changing circumstances. To illustrate the effectiveness of the method we applied it to controlling the spread of crown‐of‐thorns starfish (Acanthaster sp.) outbreaks across Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Application of our method resulted in an 18‐fold relative improvement in management outcomes compared with a random targeting of reefs in putative starfish control scenarios. Although we focused on applying the method to reducing the spread of an unwanted species, it can also be used to facilitate the spread of desirable species through connectivity networks. For example, the method could be used to select those fragments of habitat most likely to rebuild a population if they were sufficiently well protected.