Genetic identity determines risk of post-settlement mortality of a marine fish

Longitudinal sampling of four cohorts of Neopomacentrus filamentosus, a common tropical damselfish from Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, revealed the evolution of size structure after settlement. Light traps collected premetamorphic individuals from the water column ("settlers") to establish a baseline for each cohort. Subsequently, divers collected benthic juveniles ("recruits") at 1-3-month intervals to determine the relative impacts of post-settlement mortality during the first three months. Growth trajectories for individual fish were back-calculated from otolith records and compared with nonlinear mixed-effects models. Size-selective mortality was detected in all cohorts with the loss of smaller, slower growing individuals. Three months after settlement, recruits showed significantly faster growth as juveniles, faster growth as larvae, and larger sizes as hatchlings. The timing and intensity of post-settlement selection differed among cohorts and was correlated with density at settlement. The cohort with the greatest initial abundance experienced the strongest selective mortality, with most of this mortality occurring between one and two months after settlement when juveniles began foraging at higher positions in the water column. Significant genetic structure was found between settlers and three-month-old recruits in this cohort as a result of natural selection that changed the frequency of mtDNA haplotypes measured at the control region. The extent of this genetic difference was enlarged or reduced by artificially manipulating the intensity of size-based selection, thus establishing a link between phenotype and haplotype. Sequence variation in the control region of the mitochondrial genome has been linked to mitochondrial efficiency and weight gain in other studies, which provides a plausible explanation for the patterns observed here.     

Study of the uncertainty in NO<Subscript>2</Subscript> chemiluminescence measurements due to the NO–O<Subscript>3</Subscript> reaction in sampling lines

Introduction  

The change in light intensity that takes place when an ambient air sample is drawn into the detection chamber of a chemiluminescence monitor generates changes in the concentrations of several species, such as NO₂, NO and O₃. Although this phenomenon has been known for several decades, there is still no commonly accepted approach on when or how to correct for it in NO₂ and O₃ readings.     

Quantitative trace analysis of polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in ambient air samples from Mace Head (Ireland): A method intercomparison

A method intercomparison study of analytical methods for the determination of neutral, volatile polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) was carried out in March, 2006. Environmental air samples were collected in triplicate at the European background site Mace Head on the west coast of Ireland, a site dominated by ‘clean’ westerly winds coming across the Atlantic. Extraction and analysis were performed at two laboratories active in PFAS research using their in-house methods. Airborne polyfluorinated telomer alcohols (FTOHs), fluorooctane sulfonamides and sulfonamidoethanols (FOSAs/FOSEs) as well as additional polyfluorinated compounds were investigated. Different native and isotope-labelled internal standards (IS) were applied at various steps in the analytical procedure to evaluate the different quantification strategies. Field blanks revealed no major blank problems. European background concentrations observed at Mace Head were found to be in a similar range to Arctic data reported in the literature. Due to trace-levels at the remote site, only FTOH data sets were complete and could therefore be compared between the laboratories. Additionally, FOSEs could partly be included. Data comparison revealed that despite the challenges inherent in analysis of airborne PFAS and the low concentrations, all methods applied in this study obtained similar results. However, application of isotope-labelled IS early in the analytical procedure leads to more precise results and is therefore recommended.     

Limitations to colour-based sexual preferences in three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Female three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are suggested to select mates based on their red nuptial coloration, males with a redder display being more preferred. Although there are both laboratory and field data to support this view, there are also published accounts where females do not show a preference for the redder male. Here we report the results of a series of 19 trials where receptive gravid female three-spined sticklebacks were allowed to choose between two size-matched rival males. We used photographic and image analysis techniques to quantify male nuptial coloration to investigate how the magnitude of the colour difference between the two alternative males influenced female preferences. Using the amount of time a female spent oriented towards each male as a measure of his attractiveness to her, females were not always found to select the redder of the two presented males. We did, however, find that that the relative difference in coloration of the two males in each pair was important in determining the level of coloration-based preference, with females only selecting redder males consistently when the difference in coloration was sufficiently large. Received: 26 October 1999 / Received in revised form: 10 January 2000 / Accepted: 13 February 2000     

Regional differentiation and post-glacial expansion of the Atlantic silverside, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Menidia menidia,</Emphasis> an annual fish with high dispersal potential

The coastal marine environment of the Northwest Atlantic contains strong environmental gradients that create distinct marine biogeographic provinces by limiting dispersal, recruitment, and survival. This region has also been subjected to numerous Pleistocene glacial cycles, resulting in repeated extirpations and recolonizations in northern populations of marine organisms. In this study, we examined patterns of genetic structure and historical demography in the Atlantic silverside, Menidia menidia, an annual marine fish with high dispersal potential but with well-documented patterns of clinal phenotypic adaptation along the environmental gradients of the Northwest Atlantic. Contrary to previous studies indicating genetic homogeneity that should preclude regional adaptation, results demonstrate subtle but significant (F _ST = 0.07; P < 0.0001) genetic structure among three phylogeographic regions that partially correspond with biogeographic provinces, suggesting regional limits to gene flow. Tests for non-equilibrium population dynamics and latitudinal patterns in genetic diversity indicate northward population expansion from a single southern refugium following the last glacial maximum, suggesting that phylogeographic and phenotypic patterns have relatively recent origins. The recovery of phylogeographic structure and the partial correspondence of these regions to recognized biogeographic provinces suggest that the environmental gradients that shape biogeographic patterns in the Northwest Atlantic may also limit gene flow in M. menidia, creating phylogeographic structure and contributing to the creation of latitudinal phenotypic clines in this species.     

An integrated modeling framework for performing environmental assessments: Application to ecosystem services in the Albemarle-Pamlico basins (NC and VA, USA)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses environmental models to inform rulemaking and policy decisions at multiple spatial and temporal scales. As decision-making has moved towards integrated thinking and assessment (e.g. media, site, region, services), the increasing complexity and interdisciplinary nature of modern environmental problems has necessitated a new generation of integrated modeling technologies. Environmental modelers are now faced with the challenge of determining how data from manifold sources, types of process-based and empirical models, and hardware/software computing infrastructure can be reliably integrated and applied to protect human health and the environment.In this study, we demonstrate an Integrated Modeling Framework that allows us to predict the state of freshwater ecosystem services within and across the Albemarle-Pamlico Watershed, North Carolina and Virginia (USA). The Framework consists of three facilitating technologies: Data for Environmental Modeling automates the collection and standardization of input data; the Framework for Risk Assessment of Multimedia Environmental Systems manages the flow of information between linked models; and the Supercomputer for Model Uncertainty and Sensitivity Evaluation is a hardware and software parallel-computing interface with pre/post-processing analysis tools, including parameter estimation, uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. In this application, five environmental models are linked within the Framework to provide multimedia simulation capabilities: the Soil Water Assessment Tool predicts watershed runoff; the Watershed Mercury Model simulates mercury runoff and loading to streams; the Water quality Analysis and Simulation Program predicts water quality within the stream channel; the Habitat Suitability Index model predicts physicochemical habitat quality for individual fish species; and the Bioaccumulation and Aquatic System Simulator predicts fish growth and production, as well as exposure and bioaccumulation of toxic substances (e.g., mercury).Using this Framework, we present a baseline assessment of two freshwater ecosystem services-water quality and fisheries resources-in headwater streams throughout the Albemarle-Pamlico. A stratified random sample of 50 headwater streams is used to draw inferences about the target population of headwater streams across the region. Input data is developed for a twenty-year baseline simulation in each sampled stream using current land use and climate conditions. Monte Carlo sampling (n = 100 iterations per stream) is also used to demonstrate some of the Framework's experimental design and data analysis features. To evaluate model performance and accuracy, we compare initial (i.e., uncalibrated) model predictions (water temperature, dissolved oxygen, fish density, and methylmercury concentration within fish tissue) against empirical field data. Finally, we ‘roll-up’ the results from individual streams, to assess freshwater ecosystem services at the regional scale.     

Migration path annotation: cross-continental study of migration-flight response to environmental conditions

Understanding the movements of animals is pivotal for understanding their ecology and predicting their survival in the face of rapid global changes to climate, land use, and habitats, thus facilitating more effective habitat management. Migration by flying animals is an extreme form of movement that may be especially influenced by weather. With satellite telemetry studies, and the growing availability of information about the Earth's weather and land surface conditions, many data are collected that can advance our understanding about the mechanisms that shape migrations. We present the track annotation approach for movement data analysis using information about weather from the North American Reanalysis data set, a publicly available, regional, high-resolution model-observation hybrid product, and about topography, from a publicly available high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM). As a case study, we present the analysis of the response to environmental conditions in three contrasting populations of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) across North America, tracked with a three-dimensional GPS-based sensor. Two populations in the east and west coasts of the United States responded similarly to weather, indicating use of both slope and thermal soaring. Continental-interior, "Plains populations," exhibited a different migratory pattern primarily indicative of thermal soaring. These differences help us understand the constraints and behaviors of soaring migrants. The track annotation approach allowed large-scale comparative study of movement in an important migratory species, and will enable similar studies at local to global scales.     

是负责任的行动还是公关?非政府组织对志愿举措的看法

非政府组织倾向于高度怀疑工业界对志愿举措的促进,特别是当它们似乎被用来证明去掉法规有理或妨碍独立监测与评估时更加如此.此外,非政府组织还把矛头指向由于缺乏信息或缺乏多利害攸关者参与而产生的严重可信度差距.减少可信度差距和提高志愿举措的有效性的行动,要包括创造更大的透明度、允许独立验证、包含性、可持续性价值的内化、和互补性使用一种使之有能力的法规框架.1998年联合国可持续发展委员会会议是第一次包括一个"工业片"的.来自工会、非政府组织、工业界及其它有关方面的代表出席了会议.介绍了工商界对志愿举措的使用，以及监测和确保其有效性的办法(见第26页方框).本文是在该可持续发 展委员会1998年会议举行前不久写的.