Nutrient transfer functions: the site of integration between feeding behaviour and nutritional physiology

Summary. We describe and extend a graphical approach to quantitative nutrition that focuses on the interplay between behavioural and physiological components of nutritional regulation. The site of integration is the nutrient transfer function, which is the function describing the time course of nutrient transfer between serially connected nutritional compartments (e.g., from the gut to the blood). The relationship between the shape of the nutrient transfer function and the temporal patterns of feeding determines the values of two key quantitative parameters of nutrition: the rate ('power') and the efficiency of nutrient acquisition. The approach can be extended to consider, in addition to the short-term behavioural and physiological decisions made by animals, some ecological determinants and longer-term, life history consequences of such decisions. Most importantly, this category of models can provide insights into the interplay among the various nutrients in an animal's diet. We illustrate this using hypothetical examples, and also present preliminary data for the power-efficiency relationships of protein and digestible carbohydrates in locusts. Finally, we consider existing evidence for the various means available to these and other insects for regulating such relationships. Received 24 September 1997; accepted 9 December 1997.     

Seaweed sex pheromones and their degradation products frequently suppress amphipod feeding but rarely suppress sea urchin feeding

Summary. A diverse group of brown seaweeds produce bouquets of C₁₁ metabolites, some of which act as pheromones that cue gamete release or attract sperm to eggs following release. We demonstrate that these C₁₁ metabolites and their degradation products also frequently and strongly deter feeding by the herbivorous amphipod Ampithoe longimana, but rarely by the herbivorous sea urchin Arbacia punctulata. Across the range of concentrations tested, seven of twelve C₁₁ metabolites or mixtures that we tested deterred feeding by the amphipod, but only two of eleven deterred the sea urchin. For those compounds where we could rigorously contrast the magnitude of deterrence against the amphipod with the magnitude of deterrence against the urchin, the amphipod was deterred significantly more than the urchin by five of six metabolites. Thus, C₁₁ compounds were more frequently and more strongly deterrent to the amphipod than to the sea urchin. These findings for C₁₁ metabolites conflict with previous investigations, where other classes of seaweed chemical defenses have been shown to deter feeding by large mobile herbivores like urchins and fishes but to be relatively ineffective against mesograzers, especially the species of amphipod that we used here. Our results suggest that C₁₁ metabolites are unusual among the known seaweed chemical defenses in that they are especially effective against mesograzers, which often consume seaweed spores, zygotes, and juveniles. The high concentrations of C₁₁ metabolites in brown algal eggs could allow these defenses to be especially important in defending gametes, zygotes, or young sporelings from herbivorous mesograzers. Received 26 February 1998; accepted 9 April 1998.     

Spawning behaviour and sex hormone levels in adult and precocious brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) males and the effect of anosmia

Summary. In the present experiment the behaviour and endocrine status of males of the brown trout, Salmo trutta L., (Salmoniformes: Salmonidae) were studied when males were kept in a stream tank with a nest digging female. Groups of mature adult males and precocious intact or anosmic male parr were placed with the nesting female so that the group resembled a natural spawning situation with big anadromous fish acting as dominant males and precocious parr acting as “sneakers”. A control experiment was also run with only males without a female present. In intact parr there were significant positive correlations between the per cent of the total observation time spent with a female, milt volume, and plasma concentration of 17α, 20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one. Anosmic parr had significantly lower volumes of strippable milt and gonadal steroid hormone levels compared with intact parr. However, no differences were found in the control experiment. Significantly fewer anosmic parr attended and courted the nesting female and those anosmic fish that attended the female had significantly lower plasma levels of gonadal hormones. Intact parr also displayed a greater number of agonistic acts against other parr without any difference in fighting ability. No differences in aggression occured in the control experiment. In adult males together with a female, post-experimental gonadal steroid hormone levels were higher than pre-experimental levels. Positive correlations between aggression and androgen hormone levels were observed in adult males. No differences in plasma hormone levels were observed between adult males and intact precocious males. The results show that olfactory occlusion results in low steroid hormone levels and milt volumes in precocious males placed in a spawning situation. The courting behaviour was also affected by anosmia. Odours from the nesting female may have caused the enhanced plasma hormone levels and stimulated the males to attend the female. Received 15 May 1997; accepted 29 June 1997.     

Restricted adaptive cluster sampling

Adaptive cluster sampling can be a useful design for sampling rare and patchy populations. With this design the initial sample size is fixed but the size of the final sample (and total sampling effort) cannot be predicted prior to sampling. For some populations the final sample size can be quite variable depending on the level of patchiness. Restricted adaptive cluster sampling is a proposed modification where a limit is placed on the sample size prior to sampling and quadrats are selected sequentially for the initial sample size. As a result there is less variation in the final sample size and the total sampling effort can be predicted with some certainty, which is impor- tant for many ecological studies. Estimates of density are biased with the restricted design but under some circumstances the bias can be estimated well by bootstrapping. © Rapid Science 1998     

Management of basiphilous dune slack communities in relation to carbonate accumulation and hydrological conditions

In dune slacks in The Netherlands, a decline of rare mesotrophic basiphilous plant species and their plant communities has been observed in combination with an increase of more productive systems with common, taller acidophilous plant species. This has been attributed to both natural and anthropogenic changes. In a humid climate with a precipitation surplus, as in The Netherlands, the calcium carbonate content of a calcareous soil increases with depth. However, soils in coastal dune slacks, may have a higher carbonate content in the topsoil horizon than in the underlying layers. Carbonates which buffer the pH can prolong the presence of mesotrophic basiphilous plant communities which are of high conservation value. To explain the occurrence of calcareous surface horizons in dune slacks, hydrological and micromorphological analyses were carried out in three dune slacks. Two slacks are situated on the Wadden Sea islands in the northern part of The Netherlands; one on Schiermonnikoog and one on Texel. The third slack is situated in the dunes on the island of Goeree in the southwestern part of The Netherlands. In all three slacks, carbonate occurs as mollusc and gastropod fragments (silt- or sand-sized) and as micritic nodules in the topsoil layer, due to aeolian deposition and sedimentation by water.In situ carbonate accumulation (calcitans and calcareous crusts) due to CO₂ release in inundated and/or capillary rise of calcareous groundwater near, or at the soil surface. Accumulation of carbonate also occurs as a result of biological activity by algae in the topsoil of the Goeree site. In general, hydrological processes maintaining high levels of calcareous groundwater are a prerequisite for the maintenance of high carbonate levels in topsoils. Such levels are necessary for the conservation and management of basiphilous pioneer vegetation.     

Semi-parametric statistical approaches for space-time process prediction

The problem of estimation and prediction of a spatial-temporal stochastic process, observed at regular times and irregularly in space, is considered. A mixed formulation involving a non- parametric component, accounting for a deterministic trend and the effect of exogenous variables, and a parametric component representing the purely spatio-temporal random variation is proposed. Correspondingly, a two-step procedure, first addressing the estimation of the non- parametric component, and then the estimation of the parametric component is developed from the residual series obtained, with spatial-temporal prediction being performed in terms of suitable spatial interpolation of the temporal variation structure. The proposed model formula-tion, together with the estimation and prediction procedure, are applied using a Gaussian ARMA structure for temporal modelling to space-time forecasting from real data of air pollution concentration levels in the region surrounding a power station in northwest Spain.     

Metals in Feathers of Bonin Petrel, Christmas Shearwater, Wedge-Tailed Shearwater, and Red-Tailed Tropicbird in the Hawaian Islands, Northern Pacific

Levels of environmental pollutants are usually higher in mainland and coastal areas than in offshore or oceanic islands due to higher inputs from agricultural and industrial sources. Levels of heavy metals are usually higher in adult than in young birds, because they have had longer to accumulate metals in their tissues, and/or because they may eat larger, more contaminated, prey. We examined the levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium in the adults and young of Bonin petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca), Christmas shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis) and red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) on Midway Atoll, and adult wedge-tailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus) on Midway Atoll and on Manana Island (off Oahu) in the northern Pacific. All birds were analyzed individually except for Christmas Shearwater chicks where samples were pooled to obtain sufficient quantities for analysis. Significant (p<0.05) age-related differences were found for mercury, selenium, manganese and chromium in Bonin petrels, for selenium and mercury in Christmas shearwaters, and for chromium and mercury in Red-tailed Tropicbirds. Lead approached significance for all three species. Adults had higher levels than young except for chromium and manganese in the petrels and arsenic in all three species. There were significant interspecific differences in concentrations of all metals except arsenic for the adults nesting on Midway. Christmas shearwaters had the highest levels of all metals except mercury and chromium. Bonin petrels, the smallest species examined, had mercury levels that were over three times higher than any of the adults of the other three species. For wedge-tailed shearwaters, levels of chromium and lead were significantly higher, and manganese and selenium were lower on Midway than Manana. Knowledge of the foraging ranges and habits of these far-ranging seabirds is inadequately known, but does not currently explain the observed differences among species. We could not find a consistent pattern of differences between the burrow nesting species (Bonin petrel, Wedge-tailed shearwater) and the surface nesting tropicbirds. There was no consistent pairwise correlation between any metals across all species.     

Disinfection By-Products in Water Produced by Ozonation and Chlorination

Water produced by advanced treatment of a groundwater was evaluated to determine the amount of DBPs (Disinfection By-Products) including trihalomethanes (THMs). Both Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GS/MS) were adopted for detection and identification of DBPs such as trihalomethanes (THMs), halo-acetic acids (HAAs) and aldehydes. Two disinfection modes (ozonation followed by chlorination and chlorination alone) were compared to determine the DBPs generation. The mutagenitic acivity of ozonated water, chlorinated water after ozonation and potable water was assessed using the Ames test. Chloroform, dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) were the main constituents of THMs and HAAs, respectively. THMs accounted for more than 85% of all DBPs measured, whereas haloacetic acids accounted for around 14%. Ozonation followed by chlorination proved to be better in terms of THMs and HAAs control. The combined system produced 28.3% less DBPs compared to chlorination alone. Ozonation was found capable of reducing mutagenic matter in the groundwater by 54.7%. The combined system also resulted in water with no mutagenicity.     

An Assessment of the Ecological Condition of Long Island Sound, 1990–1993

Data from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) from 1990 to 1993 were used to assess the condition of the Long Island Sound (LIS) estuary. Ambient water, sediment and biota were collected during the summer months from 53 LIS stations using an unbiased sampling design. The design consists of two LIS subunits, LIS proper, and small estuaries (<2.6 km2) at the margins of the Sound. Selected indicators of condition included: benthic species composition, abundance and biomass; fish species composition and gross external pathology; sediment physical and chemical characterization and sediment toxicity; and water clarity and quality. Results of the four-year sampling indicated that 28(±11)% of the areal extent of LIS proper had a benthic index < zero (impacted) and 51(±12)% of the area of small estuaries was impacted. Analysis of the results of other indicators also shows that small estuaries were particularly affected. For example, 42(±10)% of the areal extent of small estuaries exhibited sediment toxicity, and significant chemical contamination was evident in 22% of the area of small estuaries. Low dissolved oxygen (D.O.) concentrations (<5 ppm), however, appeared to affect only the deeper open waters of western LIS. Approximately 48(±12)% of the areal extent of LIS proper documented exposure to at least moderate D.O. stress (<5 ppm). The overall results of this monitoring study indicate that significant anthropogenic impacts have occurred in LIS and that if remediation was to take place, specific localized sediment problems would need attention. Point source and non-point source nutrient inputs to the Sound, which are believed to be the primary causative factor for the observed hypoxic conditions, would also need attention.