Therapeutic governance: psycho-social intervention and trauma risk management,.

This paper critically analyses the significance of psycho-social intervention as a new form of international therapeutic governance based on social risk management. First, the paper examines the international psycho-social model and its origins in an Anglo-American therapeutic ethos. Second, the paper argues that psycho-social approaches jeopardise local coping strategies. Third, the paper highlights the potential political, social and psychological consequences of the pathologisation of war-affected societies. Finally the paper concludes that therapeutic governance represents the reduction of politics to administration.     

Unprecedented bleaching-induced mortality in Porites spp. at Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia

In April-May 1998, mass coral bleaching was observed in the lagoon of Rangiroa Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Six months later, the extent of bleaching-induced coral mortality was assessed at three sites. Corals in the fast-growing genus Pocillopora had experienced >99% mortality. Many large colonies of the slow-growing genus Porites (mean horizontal cross-sectional area 5.8 m²) had also died - a phenomenon not previously observed in French Polynesia and virtually unprecedented world-wide. At one site, 25% of colonies, or 44% of the pre-bleaching cover of living Porites, experienced whole-colony mortality. At the two other sites, recently dead Porites accounted for 41% and 82% of the pre-bleaching live cover. Mortality in Porites was negatively correlated with depth between 1.5 and 5 m. Using a 50-year dataset of mean monthly sea surface temperature (SST), derived from ship- and satellite-borne instruments, we show that bleaching occurred during a period of exceptionally high summer SST. 1998 was the first year in which mean monthly SSTs exceeded the 1961-1990 upper 95% confidence limit (29.4°C) for a period of three consecutive months. We suggest that the sustained 3-month anomaly in local summer SST was a major cause of coral mortality, but do not discount the synergistic effect of solar radiation. Recovery of the size-frequency distribution of Porites colonies to pre-bleaching levels may take at least 100 years.     

Elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus reduce fertilisation success of gametes from scleractinian reef corals

Spawned gametes were collected from colonies of Acropora longicyathus at One Tree Island and Goniastrea aspera at Magnetic Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, for use in fertilisation trials. Mean fertilisation rates were significantly reduced compared with controls (P<0.003), when gametes from the branching coral A. longicyathus were exposed to elevated ammonium concentrations at 1 µM and above in one cross (60-64% reduction), and at 100 µM in another cross (16% reduction). Mean fertilisation success of A. longicyathus gametes was also significantly reduced compared with controls in both crosses (P=0.000) at concentrations of 1 µM phosphate and above (35-75% reduction), and at 1 µM ammonium plus 1 µM phosphate and all higher concentrations (68-74% reduction). Similarly, the mean percentage of regular embryos that were developing normally was significantly reduced in most nutrient treatments compared with controls (P=0.000). Fertilisation trials using gametes from the brain coral G. aspera resulted in a significantly lower percentage of regular embryos (P=0.001) and a significantly higher percentage of deformed embryos (P=0.001) developing after exposure to elevated nutrient treatments compared with controls. Mean fertilisation rates for this species were only significantly reduced (P=0.034) in the 50 µM ammonium plus phosphate treatment in one cross (8% reduction), compared with the control. Therefore, ammonium and phosphate enrichment significantly impairs fertilisation success and embryo development in scleractinian reef corals.     

Ontogenetic variation in metabolism, biochemical composition and energy content during the early life stages of Farfantepenaeus paulensis (Crustacea: Decapoda: Penaeidae)

Dry weight (DW), oxygen consumption, ammonia-N excretion, proximate biochemical composition (total protein, carbohydrate, lipid, water and ash), and energy content (estimated from biochemical composition and by wet combustion) were determined in early developmental stages of cultured Farfantepenaeus paulensis. Pooled samples from embryonic, larval and postlarval stages (at 26 ± 1 °C and 34 ± 1‰) were used for measurements. The study focused on physiological and biochemical processes during transitional periods of ontogeny, such as hatching, lecithotrophic and planktotrophic stages, metamorphosis, and the attainment of a benthic existence in postlarva. DW showed higher increment between protozoea I (PZ I) and mysis I (M I) than in the next mysid and postlarval stages. Individual rates of oxygen consumption and ammonia-N excretion increased, while weight-specific rates presented significant reduction throughout development. Higher weight-specific oxygen consumption was registered in nauplius III (N III) and PZ I, following a decrease in subsequent stages. Postlarval stages PL V–VI and PL X–XII exhibited the lowest values among the stages studied. Weight-specific excretion was high in N III and protozoeal stages, with maximum values in PZ II, while the following stages were marked by lower rates. O:N ratios indicated higher protein catabolism in the stages between egg and M I and a shift to more lipid utilization close to metamorphosis. Water content was higher in the protozoeal stages and decreased afterwards. Higher percentages of protein, lipid and carbohydrate (%DW) were observed in egg and nauplius stages. Protein and lipid decreased from the egg through the naupliar and protozoeal stages, rising again in mysis stages. Lipid content (%DW) decreased in PL V–VI and PL X–XII. Lipid:protein ratios showed an increase of the importance of lipid between PZ III and M II. Carbohydrates represented a minor fraction of body composition, and ash percentages increased from egg to a maximum in PZ II, decreasing in subsequent stages. Energy content determined by wet combustion or calculated by energy equivalents presented the same trend throughout development, varying similarly to protein. Protein was the main energy contributor to body energy in all stages, while the importance of lipid was higher in egg and early naupliar stages. Trends observed in metabolic rates and body composition may be associated to morphological and behavioral changes during the early stages of penaeid development, such as the transition from herbivory to omnivory, and the adoption of a benthic existence. Different ontogenetic energy strategies contribute to succeed through such diverse type of development. Received: 4 July 2000 / Accepted: 6 December 2000     

Chromosomal and nuclear characteristics of deep-sea hydrothermal-vent organisms: correlates of increased growth rate

A range of tissue and cell types from adult and juvenile stages of vent- and non-vent-dwelling deep-sea and shallow-water organisms were compared for signs of cell division, in preparation for a cytogenetic study of the different groups. Virtually all the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) vent species (bresiliid shrimp, bathymodiolid mussel, branchipolynoid polychaete, and a range of small gastropods) showed an abundance of metaphase chromosome spreads, indicating a generally high intrinsic rate of cell division, irrespective of their phylogenetic group. In comparison, similar tissues and life-history stages (i.e. gonad, developing eggs and gill) from two deep-sea bathypelagic crustaceans, Hymenodora and Gnathophausia, failed to yield any convincing evidence of cell division. This indicated that rates of growth and reproduction in the rest of the deep sea are extremely low. While much has been written about the contrasting growth rates of vent versus non-vent organisms, this is the first direct evidence of differences in cell-division rate between vent and non-vent species, which undoubtedly reflects contrasting conditions relating to food availability and temporal stability in these two deep-sea environments. The cells of shallow-water marine invertebrates (Mytilus, Nucella, Littorina, Pomatoceros and Crangon), based on the results of previous cytogenetic investigations, occupy an intermediate position with respect to their cell-division kinetics. When chromosome numbers, DNA content and nuclear diameters were compared between vent and non-vent species, this showed that no change had occurred in these characters since the time of vent colonisation. Representative chromosome spreads from hydrothermal-vent organisms are shown here for the first time.     

Hepatopancreatic endosymbionts in coastal isopods (Crustacea: Isopoda), and their contribution to digestion

Three isopod species (Crustacea: Isopoda), commonly found in the intertidal and supratidal zones of the North American Pacific coast, were studied with respect to symbiotic microbiota in their midgut glands (hepatopancreas). Ligia pallasii (Oniscidea: Ligiidae) contained high numbers of microbial symbionts in its hepatopancreatic caeca. Numbers of endosymbionts were strongly reduced by ingestion of antibiotics. By contrast, the hepatopancreas of Idotea wosnesenskii (Valvifera: Idoteidae) and Gnorimosphaeroma oregonense (Sphaeromatidea: Sphaeromatidae) did not contain any microbiota. Results of feeding experiments suggest that microbial endosymbionts contribute to digestive processes in L. pallasii, the most terrestrial of the three isopods that we studied. The acquisition of digestion-enhancing endosymbionts may have been an important evolutionary step allowing isopods to colonize terrestrial habitats where relatively indigestible leaf litter is the primary food source. By contrast, the ability to digest phenolic compounds was most developed in one of the more marine species, suggesting that this trait may have evolved independently in isopod species that consume a phenolic-rich diet, whether in marine habitats or on land. Received: 28 August 2000 / Accepted: 8 December 2000     

Population structure of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the western Pacific Ocean, inferred from microsatellite loci

Five polymorphic microsatellite loci were examined in 1391 yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) from eight regions of the western (Coral Sea, eastern Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Philippines and Solomon Islands) and eastern (California and Mexico ) Pacific Ocean. Across all samples, numbers of alleles per locus ranged from 7 to 30 (mean: 17.0), and observed heterozygosities per locus ranged from 0.223 to 0.955 (mean: 0.593). Temporal collections were available for three areas: no significant temporal heterogeneity was observed for the Coral Sea (1991/1992 and 1995/1996 collections) or eastern Australia (1994/1995, 1995/1996, 1996/1997 and 1997/1998), but there was slight but significant heterogeneity at one locus (cmrTa-161) between the two Philippines collections (1994/1995 and 1996/1997). Genotypes generally showed a good fit to Hardy-Weinberg expectations within populations; only cmrTa-208 in the pooled Coral Sea population gave a significant deviation after Bonferroni correction for 40 tests, with a small but significant excess of homozygotes. Four loci showed no evidence of population differentiation following contingency Chi-squared and F_ST analyses. The fifth locus, cmrTa-161, showed small but significant differentiation (F_ST=0.002, P<0.001). This heterogeneity was largely a result of the Philippines 1994/1995 and Fiji collections; there was no correlation with geographic distance. The average F_ST across all five loci was very low (F_ST=0.002), but it was significant (P<0.001). It is unclear whether this low but significant differentiation reflects noise in the dataset, perhaps arising from experimental error, or real population differentiation. The finding of very limited population heterogeneity accords with most of the earlier allozyme and mitochondrial DNA studies of yellowfin tuna in the Pacific Ocean.     

Morphological and genetic adaptation to a lagoon environment: a case study in the bryozoan genus Alcyonidium

The Fleet (southern England) is a stable (ca. 5,000 years) coastal saline lagoon that supports a population of Alcyonidium resembling the common coastal epiphyte, Alcyonidium gelatinosum (L.). A combination of morphological, reproductive, and ecological characters was used to compare lagoonal and non-lagoonal proximate populations. Comparisons revealed a difference in the timing of spawning, considered to be related to the temporally restricted availability of viable substrata within the lagoonal basin. Allochronous spawning and spatial separation together suggest that the lagoonal taxon is reproductively isolated. The two populations were further compared with seven other coastal populations of Alcyonidium using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. The results confirm the individuality of the lagoonal taxon but also a close relationship with three A. gelatinosum populations. We present and consider four hypotheses that may account for the presence of this genetically distinct taxon: (1) diversification within the Fleet; (2) colonisation from another lagoon; (3) non-indigenous species status; and (4) introduction by shipping or other anthropogenically mediated dispersal mechanism. Significant diversification on the time scale involved has been demonstrated for isolated freshwater environments and, therefore, is feasible within a saline lagoon. Hypothesis 1 and, to a lesser extent, hypothesis 2 are consistent with the recognition of individual lagoons as 'biogeographic' islands of importance for their unique or characteristic biodiversity. The study also represents the first example of concordant morphological, reproductive, and genetic diversification in a marine bryozoan.     

Molecular response of the sponge Suberites domuncula to bacterial infection

The aim of this study was the documentation of the molecular immune response of Suberites domuncula upon bacterial infection. Additionally, the bacteria that are naturally present in the sponge after prolonged aquarium maintenance were characterized. After 6 months of maintenance of S. domuncula in seawater aquaria, only one bacterial 16S rDNA sequence could be recovered, which belongs to the genus Pseudomonas. Concomitantly, morphologically uniform bacteria were found encapsulated in bacteriocytes. These findings indicate that certain bacteria, possibly of the genus Pseudomonas, are able to persist for long periods in host bacteriocytes. Subsequent to performing a previously established infection assay with S. domuncula, a potentially pathogenic Vibrio sp. was isolated from the tissues. Furthermore, the host tissue disintegrated and asexual propagation bodies (gemmules) were formed. In order to gain insights into the molecular events occurring after bacterial infection, the stress-response kinases, p38 protein kinase and JNK protein kinase, were analyzed. It is demonstrated that these two kinases are activated (phosphorylated) upon incubation of the tissue with the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Moreover, LPS strongly inhibits protein synthesis. It is concluded that there are many functionally different interactions between S. domuncula and bacteria and that the animal possesses mechanisms to differentiate between bacteria and to respond accordingly.