Sequestered defensive toxins in tetrapod vertebrates: principles, patterns, and prospects for future studies

Chemical defenses are widespread among animals, and the compounds involved may be either synthesized from nontoxic precursors or sequestered from an environmental source. Defensive sequestration has been studied extensively among invertebrates, but relatively few examples have been documented among vertebrates. Nonetheless, the number of described cases of defensive sequestration in tetrapod vertebrates has increased recently and includes diverse lineages of amphibians and reptiles (including birds). The best-known examples involve poison frogs, but other examples include natricine snakes that sequester toxins from amphibians and two genera of insectivorous birds. Commonalities among these diverse taxa include the combination of consuming toxic prey and exhibiting some form of passive defense, such as aposematism, mimicry, or presumptive death-feigning. Some species exhibit passive sequestration, in which dietary toxins simply require an extended period of time to clear from the tissues, whereas other taxa exhibit morphological or physiological specializations that enhance the uptake, storage, and/or delivery of exogenous toxins. It remains uncertain whether any sequestered toxins of tetrapods bioaccumulate across multiple trophic levels, but multitrophic accumulation seems especially likely in cases involving consumption of phytophagous or mycophagous invertebrates and perhaps consumption of poison frogs by snakes. We predict that additional examples of defensive toxin sequestration in amphibians and reptiles will be revealed by collaborations between field biologists and natural product chemists. Candidates for future investigation include specialized predators on mites, social insects, slugs, and toxic amphibians. Comprehensive studies of the ecological, evolutionary, behavioral, and regulatory aspects of sequestration will require teams of ecologists, systematists, ethologists, physiologists, molecular biologists, and chemists. The widespread occurrence of sequestered defenses has important implications for the ecology, evolution, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles.     

Organizational issues for disseminating recycling technologies of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics in the Japanese industrial landscape

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) are used for structural materials in the aircraft and automotive industries due to their lightweight and...     

Is a voluntary approach an effective environmental policy instrument?: A case for environmental management systems

Using Japanese facility-level data from an OECD survey, we estimate the effects of implementation of ISO14001 and publication of environmental reports on the facilities’ environmental performance. While most previous studies focused on an index of emissions toxicity, this study examines three areas of impacts, none of which have been explored in the literature: natural resource use, solid waste generation, and wastewater effluent. The study is also unique in that the effectiveness of ISO14001 is considered in relation to environmental regulations. Our findings are summarized as follows. First, both ISO14001 and report publication help reduce all three impacts; the former appears more effective in all areas except wastewater. Second, environmental regulations do not weaken the effect of ISO14001. Third, assistance programs offered by local governments—a voluntary approach—promote facilities’ adoption of ISO14001. These findings suggest that governments can use command-and-control and voluntary approaches concurrently.     

Interannual, seasonal, local and body size variations in reproduction of the prawn Penaeus (Marsupenaeus) japonicus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Penaeidae) in the Ariake Sea and Tachibana Bay, Japan

 The reproductive biology of female Penaeus japonicus Bate was investigated in the Ariake Sea and Tachibana Bay (located outside the Ariake Sea), Japan from 1994 to 1996. Interannual, seasonal, individual female body size and spatial influences on the incidence of spawning were examined. The proportion of inseminated females, increased with increasing body size up to 170 mm body length (BL) and decreased thereafter. The minimum size at maturity was similar between years; 130 to 140 mm BL. The minimum size of individuals with developing ovaries or spermatophores differed from that of ripe females by 20 to 25 mm. Spawning occurred in the central part of the Ariake Sea and Tachibana Bay but rarely in the inner part. P. japonicus had a clear reproductive cycle. Spawning started earlier and ended later, occurring from mid-May to mid-October, in the eastern central part of and outside of the Ariake Sea compared with the western central part, where spawning occurred from mid-June to mid-September. Spawning dynamics differed across seasons, body sizes and areas but not across years. The seasonal peak in the proportion of ripe females varied with body size. In small individuals (130 to 169 mm BL), no peak was observed, whereas in large individuals (>170 mm BL) the proportion of ripe individuals peaked in June. The proportion of ripe individuals increased with increasing body size and was high outside the Ariake Sea. Factors causing the variation in spawning dynamics are discussed. Received: 30 November 1998 / Accepted: 12 October 1999     

Improvement of an efficient separation method for chemicals in diesel exhaust particles: analysis for nitrophenols

GOAL, SCOPE, AND BACKGROUND: Diesel exhaust is believed to consist of thousands of organic constituents and is a major cause of urban pollution. We recently reported that a systematic separation procedure involving successive solvent extractions, followed by repeated column chromatography, resulted in the isolation of vasodilatory active nitrophenols. These findings indicated that the estimation of the amount of nitrophenols in the environment is important to evaluate their effect on human health. The isolation procedure, however, involved successive solvent extractions followed by tedious, repeated chromatography, resulting in poor fractionation and in a significant loss of accuracy and reliability. Therefore, it was crucial to develop an alternative, efficient, and reliable analytical method. Here, we describe a facile and efficient acid-base extraction procedure for the analysis of nitrophenols. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) were collected from the exhaust of a 4JB1-type engine (ISUZU Automobile Co., Tokyo, Japan). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was performed with a GCMS-QP2010 instrument (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). RESULTS: A solution of DEP in 1-butanol was extracted with aqueous NaOH to afford a nitrophenol-rich oily extract. The resulting oil was methylated with trimethylsilyldiazomethane and subsequently subjected to GC-MS analysis, revealing that 4-nitrophenol, 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol, 2-methyl-4-nitrophenol, and 4-nitro-3-phenylphenol were present in significantly higher concentrations than those reported previously. DISCUSSION: Simple acid-base extraction followed by the direct analysis of the resulting extract by GC-MS gave only broad peaks of nitrophenols with a poor detection limit, while the GC-MS analysis of the sample pretreated with (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane gave satisfactorily clear chromatograms with sharp peaks and with a significantly lowered detection limit (0.5 ng/ml, approximately 100 times). CONCLUSION: The present method involving an acid-base extraction, in situ derivatization, and GC-MS analysis has shown to be a simple, efficient, and reliable method for the isolation and identification of the chemical substances in DEP.     

藻细胞破碎释放有机物的特性

对含藻水及藻细胞破碎条件下水样中有机物的分子质量分布、吸光度(UV)、总有机碳(TOC)进行了研究.结果表明,含藻水及其藻体细胞破碎后水样中有机物可划分为5个分子质量群,平均分子质量分别为8785.254,4476.826,3880.367,2968.352,1522.776u;藻体细胞破碎后向水体中释放带有双键基团的有机物,随破碎时间的延长,水样UV₂₆₀值增加;藻体细胞破碎后,主要溶出平均分子质量为8785.254u的大分子有机物,使水样TOC值随破碎时间的增加而增加.     

北京市汽车行驶工况和污染物排放系数调查研究

利用先进的技术和设备调查了北京市不同道路上的汽车行驶状况,基于这些调查数据进行了不同道路的汽车行驶工况解析,分别确定了用于北京市汽车排放污染物测定的一般道路行驶工况,快速路行驶工况,高速路行驶工况,城区综合道路行驶工况和综合道路行驶速度特征工况。     

Seasonal variation of monoterpene emission rate in a pine forest

A technique to observe terpene emission rate in a forest without disturbing the environment of plant, was developed, and the seasonal variation of monoterpene emission rate from a branch in a pine forest was measured.     

Tagging studies on the growth of the sea hare Aplysia kurodai on an intertidal rocky shore

A total of 1,427 juvenile Aplysia kurodai were tagged and released during spring tides in January and February, 1973, on the rocky shore of Nabeta Bay, Japan. Recapture, weighing and release were repeated within a defined observation area during 10 spring tides from late January to early June. Recapture rates decreased with time and became significantly low after the end of the spawning season (March and April in this area). Of 1,427 individuals released, 550 (ca. 39%) were never recaptured. Only 68 individuals (ca. 5%) were recaptured 5 to 10 times during the observation period. The growth curves of these 68 individuals displayed a common growth pattern of body weight increasing almost linearly, attaining a maximum during the spawning season and then decreasing gradually. The maximum weight varied fairly widely from one individual to another. Laboratory measurements indicated a growth pattern similar to that observed in the field, and a fairly remarkable daily fluctuation in body weight was observed under laboratory conditions. The described tagging-recapture method, with slight modifications, should prove useful for future studies on the life history and ecology of A. kurodai.