Estimating baseline carbon emissions for the Eastern Panama Canal watershed

To participate in the potential market for carbon credits based on changes in the use and management of the land, one needs to identify opportunities and implement land-use based emissions reductions or sequestration projects. A key requirement of land-based carbon (C) projects is that any activity developed for generating C benefits must be additional to business-as-usual. A rule-based model was developed and used that estimates changes in land-use and subsequent carbon emissions over the next twenty years using the Eastern Panama Canal Watershed (EPCW) as a case study. These projections of changes in C stocks serve as a baseline to identify where opportunities exist for implementing projects to generate potential C credits and to position Panama to be able to participate in the emerging C market by developing a baseline under scenarios of business-as-usual and new-road development. The projections show that the highest percent change in land use for the new-road scenario compared to the business-as-usual scenario is for urban areas, and the greatest cause of C emission is from deforestation. Thus, the most effective way to reduce C emissions to the atmosphere in the EPCW is by reducing deforestation. In addition to affecting C emissions, reducing deforestation would also protect the soil and water resources of the EPCW. Yet, under the current framework of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), only credits arising from reforestation are allowed, which after 20 years of plantation establishment are not enough to offset the C emissions from the ongoing, albeit small, rate of deforestation in the EPCW. The study demonstrates the value of spatial regional projections of changes in land cover and C stocks: The approach helps a country identify its potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emission liabilities into the future and provides opportunity for the country to plan alternative development pathways. It could be used by potential project developers to identify which types of projects will generate the largest C benefits and provide the needed baseline against which a project is then evaluated. Spatial baselines, such as those presented here, can be used by governments to help identify development goals. The development of such a baseline, and its expansion to other vulnerable areas, well positions Panama to respond to the future market demand for C offsets. It is useful to compare the projected change in land cover under the business-as-usual scenario to the goals set by Law 21 for the year 2020. Suggested next steps for analysis includeusing the modeling approach to exploreland-use, C dynamics and management ofsecondary forests and plantations, soilC gains or losses, sources ofvariability in the land use and Cstock projections, and other ecologicalimplications and feedbacks resulting fromprojected changes in land cover.     

Chromosome analysis of multipronuclear human oocytes after in vitro fertilization

Multipronuclear human eggs are frequent after in vitro fertilization. Their chromosome analysis can provide useful information. Before cleavage it can confirm the suspected poly-ploidy. Among the cleaved multipronuclear eggs it provides an estimation of the incidence of the possible return to diploidy. Ninety-four multipronuclear eggs were fixed at the first, second, or third cleavage according to the air-drying method of Tarkowski with or without colchicine exposure: 60 were successfully analysed. Twelve were stopped before cleavage (six without colchicine treatment and six with colchicine treatment). They were polyploid, confirming the cytological observation. Forty-eight eggs cleaved and were stopped by colchicine treatment and karyotyped. Seventeen eggs (35 per cent) had produced diploid embryos. Mosaicism was frequent (15 cases, 31 per cent). Triploidy was not frequent (8 eggs, 17 per cent). Haploidy constituted the remaining cases (8 eggs, 17 per cent). Our data indicate that the initial count of pronuclei is a reliable test. Multipronuclear one-cell oocytes were confirmed to be polyploid. Furthermore, the developmental capacity of the multipronuclear oocytes is variable. Most of them cleaved. However, many multipronuclear oocytes led to diploid cleaving eggs.     

Transabdominal villus sampling in early second trimester: A safe sampling method for women of advanced age

Transabdominal chorionic villus sampling (TA-CVS) was performed in 707 viable singleton pregnancies to exclude chromosomal abnormalities. Maternal age ranged between 36 and 49 years (mean 37·9 years); gestational age varied between 10·2 and 18·3 weeks (mean 13·3 weeks). In 639 women (90·4 per cent), a sufficient amount of chorionic tissue (⩾ 10 mg) was obtained after one needle insertion; in 66 women (9·3 per cent) two insertions were needed. An abnormal chromosome pattern was established in 19 cases (2·9 per cent). Vaginal bleeding or spotting within 28 days after TA-CVS occurred in 11 cases (1·5 per cent). The completed follow-up of 678 chromosomally normal pregnancies showed an overall fetal loss rate of 2·6 per cent before 28 weeks. The overall perinatal mortality was 0·9 per cent. When relating fetal loss to gestational age at TA-CVS, this was 6·6 per cent in women sampled before 12 weeks against only 1·8 per cent after 12 weeks. At the same time, the percentage of fetal loss occurring within 2 weeks following the procedure was 75 and 30 per cent, respectively. It is suggested that these data reflect the decline in spontaneous abortion rate during this particular period of pregnancy. It is concluded that TA-CVS is an effective procedure which, when performed after the natural decrease of fetal loss, appears to be a safe option for women of advanced maternal age.     

Population structure and growth of Donax trunculus (Bivalvia: Donacidae) in the western Mediterranean

A comparison of shell growth in Donax trunculus (collected between 1988 and 1990 of Cullera, Spain) has been carried out using an analysis of cohort progression in monthly length frequency distributions, hyaline surface shell growth rings and internal microgrowth bands. In the Mediterranean there are two periods of recruitment of D. trunculus, one in the summer (July to September) and the other in winter (December to February). Clams recruited to the population in winter display a clear cessation in shell growth during the following summer which may possibly be correlated with spawning, whereas individuals of the summer recruited cohort show no growth cessation the following summer and continue to deposit shell during this period. The normally opaque shell of D.trunculus reveals the presence of translucent hyaline growth rings when the shells are backlit by a strong light source, and these have been shown to be laid down in the shell during summer months. Formation of a hyaline ring is accompanied by a narrowing of the microgrowth patterns present in shell sections. Both the hyaline rings and the length frequency distributions have been used to determine the age and growth rate of D. trunculus.     

Light-dependence of carbon and sulfur production by polar clones of the genus Phaeocystis

Blooms of the marine prymnesiophyte genus Phaeocystis link the oceanic and atmospheric compartments of the carbon and sulfur cycles. Modeling the fluxes of dimethylsulfide from the ocean to the atmosphere has been limited due to a lack of information on functional responses to environmental variables. In this study, the light-dependence of extracellular carbon production and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) production by non-axenic polar clones of Phaeocystis spp. was examined at different growth stages. Comparative experiments were run with non-axenic arctic clones of the diatoms Thalassiossira nordenskioeldii and Skeletonema costatum. A large portion of carbon incorporated by the colonial stage of Phaeocystis spp. is released extracellularly, in particular in stationary colonies. This extracellular production can be modeled as a function of irradiance, as for carbon incorporation. In Phaeocystis spp., cellular and extracellular carbon incorporation represent different uptake rates, indicating the formation of two distinct carbon pools. The release of extracellular carbon by polar Phaeocystis spp. was not a constant fraction of total production over the irradiance range used. We observed little extracellular carbon production by cells at high irradiance, and maximal rates were observed at intermediate irradiance. Newly incorporated carbon that accumulates in the mucilage of the colonial stage of antarctic Phaeocystis sp. during photosynthesis was not reutilized for cellular growth during the dark period, as observed for temperate clones. In contrast, only a minor fraction of the radiocarbon incorporated by the diatoms was released extracellularly for all growth stages. The production of DMS was an order of magnitude higher for Phaeocystis spp. than for diatoms. The chlorophyll-specific production of DMS and DMSP (dimethylsulphoniopropionate, the precursor to DMS) by Phaeocystis spp. showed a hyperbolic response to irradiance, while arctic diatoms (weak or non-producers of DMS), on the other hand, did not show any light-dependency of DMS production. An inverse relationship between DMS and DMSP production in stationary clones of arctic P. pouchetii was observed, but not for the exponentially growing antarctic clone. Stationary colonies also had higher DMS and dissolved DMSP production rates than exponentially growing ones. These relationships can be extrapolated to the field in areas where Phaeocystis spp. dominates.     

Correlated evolution of male and female testosterone profiles in birds and its consequences

Circulating levels of testosterone in adults have mainly evolved as a consequence of selection on males for increased levels, while levels of circulating testosterone in females may be an indirect consequence of selection on males. A review of the literature revealed that intense directional selection for high levels of circulating testosterone in birds is likely to be mainly due to direct selection on males. A comparative study of testosterone levels in birds revealed a strong positive relationship between peak testosterone levels in adult females and peak levels in males. The slope of this relationship was significantly less than unity, implying that the testosterone levels in females have been reduced in species with high levels in males. An analysis of the order of evolutionary events suggested that peak concentration of testosterone in females changed after peak concentrations of testosterone in males. Females in colonial species of birds had significantly higher circulating peak testosterone levels compared to females of solitary species, and relative levels after controlling for the effects of peak levels in males were also larger, suggesting that any costs of high testosterone levels in females are particularly likely in colonial birds. Direct selection on male circulating testosterone levels may increase the costs that females incur from high testosterone titers. For example, high female levels may negatively affect ovulation and laying and may also affect the levels of testosterone that females deposit in their eggs and hence the exposure of pre- and post-hatching offspring to testosterone. This in turn may affect not only offspring behavior, but also offspring development and the trade-offs between growth, development of immune function, and behavior in offspring.     

Effects of ultraviolet radiation on different life cycle stages of the south Pacific kelps, Lessonia nigrescens and Lessonia trabeculata (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae)

The effects of exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), 280–400 nm, in different life histories and development stages of the kelps, Lessonia nigrescens and L. trabeculata, collected in the south-east Pacific coast (30°S) were evaluated in the laboratory. Germination and viability (motile zoospores, settled spores), diameter of the primary cell of the gametophytes, percentage of female gametophytes, fertility and sporophytes production were measured after exposure to three radiation treatments (PAR; PAR + UVA; PAR + UVA + UVB). The effects of UVR in young sporophytes (diploid stage) were evaluated as changes in maximal quantum yield of chlorophyll fluorescence of photosystem II (PSII) (F _v/F _m). A significant decrease in all variables was observed for the treatment that included UVB (PAR + UVA + UVB) after 2 and 4 h of exposure, in relation to the control. The motile spores were more sensitive to UVR exposure compared to settled spores and gametophytes, suggesting that along with an increase in ontogenetic development; there is an increase in the tolerance to UVR. In addition, it was observed that early stages of the intertidal L. nigrescens were more tolerant to UVR compared to the subtidal L. trabeculata. These results allow initially to infer that UVR may be regarded as an important environmental factor influencing the upper limit of distribution of these species, mainly through its detrimental effects on the early stages of the life cycle.