Disease and colony foundation in the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollis: The survival advantage of nestmate pairs

To determine the impact of inbreeding and outbreeding on disease resistance and survival during colony foundation, nestmate (NM) and non-nestmate (NON) primary reproductives of the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollis were exposed to a single or double dose of conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Male and female primary reproductive pairs originating from the same parent colony had higher survivorship than NON pairs in control and conidia-exposure treatments. The survival advantage of NM primary reproductives increased with the intensity of pathogen challenge and was significantly greater in the single- and double-dose treatments than in the controls. Although NM pairs had significantly lower mortality than NON pairs, the survivorship of colonies stabilized as they matured and inbred and outbred colonies did not differ in offspring production. These results demonstrate that colony foundation by NON male and female reproductives may have a disease-related survival cost during this critical phase of their life cycle. There may also be a cost associated with lower offspring heterozygosity, but in the first generation this does not appear to significantly impact colony growth.     

提供给热带森林管理的地方知识:植物次生化学节律和月亮周期的关系

本研究运用满月时收获非木材林产品的当地实践如识,来证明控制叶片分解速率的化学物质随月亮周期而波动,并且这种现象可能已发展为一种植物一食草动物之间的相互关系.当地知识认为,满月期收获的叶片更为耐用.满月期收获的棕榈叶片具有较高的总碳量、半纤维素和碳化合物、而钙的浓度则较低.这些化学上的变化使棕榈叶在满月收获时对食草动物不太敏感且更为耐用.本研究提出了热带植物减少食叶功物食用及影响衰老叶片的分解速度和耐用性(尤其在满月期)的作用机制.本研究认为森林经营中有必要利用天然的生命周期,并为当地人的收获实践提供了科学依据.     

Fetal diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in 190 women infected during pregnancy

One hundred and ninety women who contracted toxoplasmosis after the seventh week of pregnancy underwent antenatal diagnosis, including ultrasound examination and biological tests. Tests included Toxoplasma isolation in fetal blood and amniotic fluid by mouse inoculation, specific IgM and IgA in fetal blood, and non-specific tests. Twenty fetuses had positive specific as well as non-specific tests for Toxoplasma infection. At birth, four of these presented with clinical congenital toxoplasmosis and 12 with subclinical forms. Antenatal diagnosis enabled the detection of 83 per cent of the infected fetuses. Under specific conditions, cordocentesis permits early diagnosis and considerably reduces the number of terminations of pregnancy.     

Anhydramnios and cessation of fetal growth in a pregnant mother with polychemotherapy during the second trimester

This paper discusses the case of a pregnant woman with polychemotherapy during the second trimester of pregnancy for rhabdomyosarcoma of the face and cessation of fetal growth with disappearance of amniotic fluid after the first course of therapy.     

Prospective risk in reciprocal translocation heterozygotes at amniocentesis as determined by potential chromosome imbalance sizes. Data of the european collaborative prenatal diagnosis centres

The Data of the European Cooperative Prenatal Diagnosis Laboratories (Boué and Gallano, 1984) of 596 prenatal (amniocyte) diagnoses of familial rep was examined as to relationships between balanced/unbalanced result and ascertainment, carrier parent and chromosome imbalance size (percentage haploid autosome length). Each rearrangement was graphed once with actual (unbalanced result) or potential (normal or balanced result) imbalances plotted with trisomy as the ordinate and monosomy as the abscissa. The graphed data was divided into 15 regions, each of 2·0 per cent trisomy and 0·75 per cent monosomy and the rate of unbalanced pregnancies determined for each region. The highest rates of chromosomally unbalanced progeny (excluding regions with inadequate data) were found closest to the origin (i.e. associated with the smallest imbalances) and these were for ascertainment category 1 (previous rep unbalanced child) 22·3 per cent for maternal carriers and 39 per cent for paternal carriers. Overall in pooled data for this ascertainment category (without reference to the imbalance graphs) there were for paternal carriers 28·6 per cent unbalanced pregnancies and for maternal carriers 18·1 per cent. The graphed data, therefore, revealed the higher rates associated with some of the rep with small potential (combined duplication/ deficiency) imbalances. Lesser rates were observed for ascertainment category 2 (carrier parent with a history of recurrent miscarriage) with overall percentages of imbalanced progeny ranging from 2·7 (paternal carriers) to 4·7 (maternal carriers). Again, higher rates were revealed in graphed data for small potential imbalances. All unbalanced results for this group (ascertainment category 2) plotted in the region closest to the origin with rates of 16 per cent (maternal carriers) and 9·5 per cent (paternal carriers) in this region. Remarkably in both ascertainment groups 1 and 2 there was no significant difference in the size of the imbalanced segments for unbalanced progeny. In ascertainment group 1 this was (dup/def; mean ±S.D.): 1·09±0·77/0·47 ± 0·45 and in ascertainment group 2: 1·09 ±0·80/0·66±0·71. From the graphed data which arguably denote viability relationships, a trisomy was approximately 2·7 times as likely to survive until amniocentesis as a monosomy of equivalent size. It is proposed that given further data, risk estimates could be determined for rep heterozygotes using the present approach where empiric data (from the family history or an analysed series of similar rep) is not available.     

Climate change adaptation in the ski industry

Regardless of the success of climate change mitigation efforts, the international community has concluded that societies around the world will need to adapt to some magnitude of climate change in the 21st century. While some economic sectors (e.g., agriculture, water resources and construction) have been actively engaged in climate change adaptation research for years, adaptation has received scant consideration within the tourism-recreation industry. This is particularly the case for adaptation by tourism operators (supply-side). One exception where progress on supply-side climate adaptation has been made is the ski industry. This paper provides a brief overview of the literature on the implications of climate change for the international ski industry and how adaptation by ski area operators has been treated within these studies. This is followed by an inventory of climate adaptation practices currently used by ski industry stakeholders, including the historical development of certain key adaptations and constraints to wider use. The characteristics of ski areas with higher adaptive capacity are identified. Considering the highly competitive nature of the ski industry and the generally low climate change risk appraisal within the industry, climate change adaptation is anticipated to remain individualistic and reactive for some time. With only a few exceptions, the existing climate change literature on winter tourism has not considered the wide range of adaptation options identified in this paper and has likely overestimated potential damages. An important task for future studies is to develop methodologies to incorporate adaptation so that a more accurate understanding of the vulnerability of the international ski industry can be ascertained.     

The feasibility of processing lead-based paint abatement wastes through primary and secondary lead smelters

This study was undertaken to determine the feasibility of processing soil and lead-based paint (LBP) abatement waste through primary and secondary lead smelting facilities. The main objectives were to determine the compatibility of soil and LBP abatement waste with lead smelting circuits; the costs associated with transporting and processing the abatement waste through a smelter; and a review of major environmental laws or regulations which may impact the lead smelting industry's ability to carry out this process. While not all categories of LBP wastes are suited for reclamation through lead smelters, sufficient classes are to make the effort worthwhile. Specifically, lead paint chips, dusts, heatgun sludge, soils and certain blasting abrasives appear metallurgically compatible with the lead smelting circuits. Additionally, there do not appear to be any current regulatory statutes that forbid the process from being carried out, so long as certain permit modifications are obtained. Finally, the estimated smelting costs seem to compare favourably with current treatment and disposal fees at approved landfills. However, despite the promise of these initial findings, a great deal of work remains to be done if the concept of processing lead paint wastes through lead smelters for reclamation is to become a reality.     

Molecular relationships and species divergence among <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phragmatopoma</Emphasis> spp. (Polychaeta: Sabellaridae) in the Americas

Phragmatopoma spp. are marine, reef-building polychaetes that inhabit the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones of both coasts of the Americas. Phragmatopoma californica is found in the Pacific Ocean along the California coast south to Mexico, while Phragmatopoma caudata inhabits the Caribbean islands and Atlantic Ocean from the Florida coast south to Brazil. Although apparently geographically isolated, P. californica and P. caudata have been found to interbreed (Pawlik 1988a) and thus their specific taxonomic relationship has been unclear. In this study, two genes, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and the first internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-1), were sequenced to assess the specific status of P. californica and P. caudata as well as Phragmatopoma virgini. Comparison of sequences revealed that samples of P. californica shared no COI haplotypes or ITS-1 sequences with P. caudata. Phylogenetic analyses, including maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods, clustered each species in separate, well-supported clades with genetic distances between them being greater than between either contested species or the uncontested, valid species, P. virgini. Thus, the molecular data support that P. californica and P. caudata are separate species. However, the sample of individuals of P. virgini included one genetically divergent individual, whose morphology was found to match that of a species formerly recognized as P. moerchi but since synonymized with P. virgini. Divergences among lineages were dated using the COI sequences, after adjustment for non-clock-like behavior. Consequently, we suggest that P. virgini and P. caudata are sister taxons and that P. californica diverged from the P. virgini/P. caudata clade ∼5.7 mya with P. virgini diverging from P. caudata ∼3 mya.     

Chinook salmon use of spawning patches: relative roles of habitat quality, size, and connectivity.

Declines in many native fish populations have led to reassessments of management goals and shifted priorities from consumptive uses to species preservation. As management has shifted, relevant environmental characteristics have evolved from traditional metrics that described local habitat quality to characterizations of habitat size and connectivity. Despite the implications this shift has for how habitats may be prioritized for conservation, it has been rare to assess the relative importance of these habitat components. We used an information-theoretic approach to select the best models from sets of logistic regressions that linked habitat quality, size, and connectivity to the occurrence of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) nests. Spawning distributions were censused annually from 1995 to 2004, and data were complemented with field measurements that described habitat quality in 43 suitable spawning patches across a stream network that drained 1150 km2 in central Idaho. Results indicated that the most plausible models were dominated by measures of habitat size and connectivity, whereas habitat quality was of minor importance. Connectivity was the strongest predictor of nest occurrence, but connectivity interacted with habitat size, which became relatively more important when populations were reduced. Comparison of observed nest distributions to null model predictions confirmed that the habitat size association was driven by a biological mechanism when populations were small, but this association may have been an area-related sampling artifact at higher abundances. The implications for habitat management are that the size and connectivity of existing habitat networks should be maintained whenever possible. In situations where habitat restoration is occurring, expansion of existing areas or creation of new habitats in key areas that increase connectivity may be beneficial. Information about habitat size and connectivity also could be used to strategically prioritize areas for improvement of local habitat quality, with areas not meeting minimum thresholds being deemed inappropriate for pursuit of restoration activities.