Low Genetic Variability in the Hawaiian Monk Seal

The Hawaiian monk seal (   Monachus schauinslandi) is a critically endangered species that has failed to recover from human exploitation despite decades of protection and ongoing management efforts designed to increase population growth. The seals breed at five principal locations in the northwestern Hawaiian islands, and inter-island migration is limited. Genetic variation in this species is expected to be low due to a recent population bottleneck and probable inbreeding within small subpopulations. To test the hypothesis that small population size and strong site fidelity has led to low within-island genetic variability and significant between-island differentiation, we used two independent approaches to quantify genetic variation both within and among the principal subpopulations. Mitochondrial control region and tRNA gene sequences (359 base pairs) were obtained from 50 seals and revealed very low genetic diversity (0.6% variable sites), with no evidence of subpopulation differentiation. Multilocus DNA fingerprints from 22 individuals also indicated low genetic variation in at least some subpopulations (band-sharing values for "unrelated" seals from the same island ranged from 49 to 73%). This method also provided preliminary evidence of population subdivision (  F'_st estimates of 0.20 and 0.13 for two adjacent island pairs). Translocations of seals among islands may therefore have the potential to relieve local inbreeding and possibly to reduce the total amount of variation preserved in the population. Genetic variation is only one of many factors that determine the ability of an endangered species to recover. Maintenance of existing genetic diversity, however, remains an important priority for conservation programs because of the possibility of increased disease resistance in more variable populations and the chance that inbreeding depression may only be manifest under adverse environmental conditions.     

Human exposure to dioxins and furans: application of the substance flow analysis to health risk assessment

Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) is an important instrument that allows for the undertaking of environmental management for a specific contaminant. 'Control Analysis' is a tool that assesses the effect on a target flow of changes in flows forming part of a control basis set. The purpose of the present study was to perform a modeling of the annual PCDD/F flows in Tarragona Province and to apply the model for human health risk assessment. The validation of the model has been evaluated by comparing estimated fluxes with experimental values. Eleven subsystems, as well as a set of 88 flows of the system in Tarragona Province were considered. The total PCDD/F accumulation in Tarragona Province was between 62.6 and 159.5 g I-TEQ/y. Accumulation in sediments (27.9-74.6 g I-TEQ/y) and soils (35.0-80.8 g I-TEQ/y) are the two principal modes of deposition. Estimated flow in human adipose tissue means a mean intake of PCDD/F (via ingestion and inhalation) of 243 pg I-TEQ/person/day. The food chain pathway accounts for 99% of the total daily intake. As a result of the simulation, a 100% decrease in industrial emissions would cause a 1.7% reduction in the PCDD/F accumulation in humans. In turn, a 100% reduction of PCDD/Fs in the industrial waste waters would cause only an insignificant 0.1% decrease in the accumulation of PCDD/Fs in humans.     

Flow analysis of PCDD/Fs for Tarragona Province, Spain

The present study was intended to establish an inventory of PCDD/F emissions in Tarragona Province (Catalonia, NE Spain), as a preliminary phase in the development of a flow analysis of PCDD/Fs in this Province. In 1999, global PCDD/F emissions reached a value of 2.24 g I-TEQ/y, which means a density of 3.8 micrograms I-TEQ/inhabitant/y. The low amount of PCDD/Fs emitted to air by the only municipal solid waste incinerator in the Province (approximately 0.04% of the total) has been one of the most notable results. As a reflection of uncertainties in the estimates for individual sources, the 90th percentiles of PCDD/F releases for 1999 ranged up to 4.1 g I-TEQ/y.     

Decreased acid deposition and the chemical recovery of Killarney,Ontario, lakes

Lakes in Killarney Park near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, have shown dramatic water quality changes including general increases in pH and alkalinity, and decreases in SO4(2-), base cations and metals. While some lakes have recovered to pH > 6.0, many are still highly acidic despite decades of improvement. Very high historical S deposition related to emissions from the Sudbury metal smelters dominated the acidification process in this region. However, since the implementation of substantial S emission controls (90%) at the smelters, the Sudbury emissions are no longer the major source of S deposition in the Sudbury area. Wet deposition of SO4(2-) and SO4(2-) concentrations in lakewaters at Killarney now approach values in the Dorset, Ontario, area, about 200 km from Sudbury. This suggests that the S deposition to the Killarney area is now primarily from long-range transport, not from local sources. Studies of Killarney lakes are revealing the complex nature of the chemical recovery process. As lake acidity decreases, other changes including decreased Ca2+ concentrations, increased transparency, and altered thermal regimes may potentially affect some of these ecosystems. It is clear that continuing assessments of the recovery of Killarney lakes, within a multiple-stressor framework, are needed.     

Sexual exchange relationships in captive chimpanzees?

Summary In a group of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), we studied whether females received more social benefits from males when they were in oestrus than at other times and whether males distributed their beneficial acts especially to females with whom they mated more frequently. When in oestrus, females were groomed more frequently by males than at other times. There was an indication that females were groomed especially by those males with whom they mated more often. From the male point of view, the relationship between active grooming and copulation frequency held only in interactions with oestrous females. No difference was found in the male's tendency to share food with females in oestrous or anoestrous condition. Further, clear disadvantages were associated with being in oestrus: females received support from males less frequently and were more often involved in conflicts with males than in their anoestrous period. Higher ranking males did not mate more often. No relationship was found between the frequency with which a male copulated with a given female and her dominance rank, age or parity, nor did he support her or share food more often with her.     

Photoinhibition and recovery of the kelp Laminaria saccharina at optimal and superoptimal temperatures

Effects of high irradiance on photosynthetic characteristics were examined in sporophytes of the kelp Laminaria saccharina Lamour. from 1992 to 1994. Exposure to high irradiance (700 mol photons m^-2s^-1) for 1 h at optimal temperature (12°C) caused a 40 to 60% decline in photosynthetic efficiency (alpha), quantum yield, and the ratio of variable to maximum chlorophyll fluorescence (F_v/F_m), an indicator of Photosystem II efficiency. Although the photoinhibition effects were partly attributable to protective mechanisms, a concurrent increase in minimal fluorescence (F_o) indicated damage to Photosystem II reaction centers. The magnitude of photoinhibition was proportional to irradiance and duration; however, F_v/F_m was significantly reduced after exposure to irradiances as low as 40 to 50 mol photons m^-2s^-1 for 1 h, or to 700 mol photons m^-2s^-1 for only 5 min. In contrast, photosynthetic capacity (P_max) was affected only at much higher irradiance. Superoptimal temperatures up to 24°C did not exacerbate high-light effects. At 25°C, however, alpha and P_max were more susceptible to photoinhibition than at lower temperatures. Recovery from photoinhibition was examined by following F_v/F_m and F_o for 24 h after exposure to high light. Recovery of F_v/F_m was fastest during the first 1 to 3 h, and slowed or ceased after 6 to 12 h, while recovery of F_o was relatively constant over 12 h. Dithiothreitol, which blocks formation of energy-dissipating xanthophylls, reduced both the initial rate and extent of recovery. Chloramphenicol, which blocks chloroplast-encoded protein synthesis, had little effect on initial rates of recovery, but stopped recovery after 3 h. Thus, L. saccharina appears to rely on the xanthophyll cycle to protect the photosynthetic apparatus, and reversal of this protective mechanism causes the rapid initial recovery in F_v/F_m. Longterm recovery depends on repair of damaged reaction centers. Both the rate and extent of recovery were temperature-dependent. The initial rate was higher at 18 to 22°C than at 12°C, but the extent of recovery over 24 h declined with increasing temperature. High temperatures, therefore, appear to enhance protective mechanisms, but disrupt repair processes. L. saccharina from Long Island Sound, an ecotype adapted to low light and high temperature, showed slightly but consistently greater effects of photoinhibition than plants from the Atlantic coast of Maine, but exhibited faster recovery at superoptimal temperatures.     

Caribbean mangroves and seagrass beds as daytime feeding habitats for juvenile French grunts, Haemulon flavolineatum

Caribbean seagrass beds are important feeding habitats for so-called nocturnally active zoobenthivorous fish, but the extent to which these fishes use mangroves and seagrass beds as feeding habitats during daytime remains unclear. We hypothesised three feeding strategies: (1) fishes feed opportunistically in mangroves or seagrass beds throughout the day and feed predominantly in seagrass beds during night-time; (2) fishes start feeding in mangroves or seagrass beds during daytime just prior to nocturnal feeding in seagrass beds; (3) after nocturnal feeding in seagrass beds, fishes complete feeding in mangroves or seagrass beds during the morning. We studied the effect of habitat type, fish size, social mode and time of day on resting and feeding behaviour of large juvenile (5–10 cm) and sub-adult (10–15 cm) Haemulon flavolineatum in mangroves and seagrass beds during daytime. Sub-adults occurred in mangroves only, spent most time on resting, and showed rare opportunistic feeding events (concordant with strategy 1), regardless of their social mode (solitary or schooling). In contrast, large juveniles were present in both habitat types and solitary fishes mainly foraged, while schooling fishes mainly rested. Exceptions were small juveniles (±5 cm) in seagrass beds which foraged intensively while schooling. Large juveniles showed more feeding activity in seagrass beds than in mangroves. In both habitat types, they showed benthic feeding, whereas pelagic feeding was observed almost exclusively in the seagrass beds. In both habitat types, their feeding activity was highest during 8:00–10:30 hours (concordant with strategy 3), and for seagrass fishes, it was also high during 17:30–18:30 hours (concordant with strategy 2). The study shows that both mangroves and seagrass beds provide daytime feeding habitats for some life-stages of H. flavolineatum, which is generally considered a nocturnal feeder.     

Slow eyelid closure as a measure of driver drowsiness and its relationship to performance

Objective: Slow eyelid closure is recognized as an indicator of sleepiness in sleep-deprived individuals, although automated ocular devices are not well validated. This study aimed to determine whether changes in eyelid closure are evident following acute sleep deprivation as assessed by an automated device and how ocular parameters relate to performance after sleep deprivation.

Methods: Twelve healthy professional drivers (45.58 ± 10.93 years) completed 2 randomized sessions: After a normal night of sleep and after 24 h of total sleep deprivation. Slow eye closure (PERCLOS) was measured while drivers performed a simulated driving task.

Results: Following sleep deprivation, drivers displayed significantly more eyelid closure (P < .05), greater variation in lane position (P < .01) and more attentional lapses (P < .05) compared to after normal sleep. PERCLOS was moderately associated with variability in both vigilance performance (r = 0.68, P < .05) and variation in lane position on the driving task (r = 0.61, P < .05).

Conclusions: Automated ocular measurement appears to be an effective means of detecting impairment due to sleep loss in the laboratory.     

Wool-waste as organic nutrient source for container-grown plants

A container experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that uncomposted wool wastes could be used as nutrient source and growth medium constituent for container-grown plants. The treatments were: (1) rate of wool-waste application (0 or unamended control, 20, 40, 80, and 120 g of wool per 8-in. pot), (2) growth medium constituents [(2.1) wool plus perlite, (2.2) wool plus peat, and (2.3) wool plus peat plus perlite], and (3) plant species (basil and Swiss chard). A single addition of 20, 40, 80, or 120 g of wool-waste to Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) and basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) in pots with growth medium provided four harvests of Swiss chard and five harvests of basil. Total basil yield from the five harvests was 1.6–5 times greater than the total yield from the unamended control, while total Swiss chard yield from the four harvests was 2–5 times greater relative to the respective unamended control. The addition of wool-waste to the growth medium increased Swiss chard and basil tissue N, and NO₃–N and NH₄–N in growth medium relative to the unamended control. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis of wool fibers sampled at the end of the experiments indicated various levels of decomposition, with some fibers retaining their original surface structure. Furthermore, most of the wool fibers’ surfaces contained significant concentrations of S and much less N, P, or K. SEM/EDX revealed that some plant roots grow directly on wool-waste fibers suggesting either (1) root directional growth towards sites with greater nutrient concentration and/or (2) a possible role for roots or root exudates in wool decomposition. Results from this study suggest that uncomposted wool wastes can be used as soil amendment, growth medium constituent, and nutrient source for container-grown plants.     

Quantification of activated carbon contents in soils and sediments using chemothermal and wet oxidation methods

Activated carbon (AC) strongly sorbs organic pollutants and can be used for remediation of soils and sediments. A method for AC quantification is essential to monitor AC (re)distribution. Since AC is black carbon (BC), two methods for BC quantification were tested for AC mixed in different soils and sediments: i) chemothermal oxidation (CTO) at a range of temperatures and ii) wet-chemical oxidation with a potassium dichromate/sulfuric acid solution. For three soils, the amount of AC was accurately determined by CTO at 375 °C. For two sediments, however, much of the AC disappeared during combustion at 375 °C, which could probably be explained by catalytic effects by sediment constituents. CTO at lower temperatures (325-350 °C) was a feasible alternative for one of the sediments. Wet oxidation effectively functioned for AC quantification in sediments, with almost complete AC recovery (81-92%) and low remaining amounts of native organic carbon (5-16%).