Coral genera of New Caledonia

Although New Caledonia is surrounded by one of the 3 largest coral reef systems of the world, the published generic records indicate abnormally low coral diversity. Exploration of the reefs in the south-eastern part of the island, largely by means of SCUBA, has yielded specimens which increase the known genera and sub-genera by 50%. New Caledonia now ranks sixth among the coral provinces of the world, with at least 53 genera and sub-genera of reef-building corals. Many of the new records were made in a type of coral environment unlike any previously described. Comparison of the New Caledonia fauna with those of Fiji, the Grett Barrier Reef of Australia, and the Ryukyu Islands reaffirms the remarkable homogeneity of the Indo-Pacific coral faunas.     

Considering connections between Hollywood and biodiversity conservation

Cinema offers a substantial opportunity to share messages with a wide audience. However, there is little research or evidence about the potential benefits and risks of cinema for conservation. Given their global reach, cinematic representations could be important in raising awareness of conservation issues and species of concern, as well as encouraging greater audience engagement due to their heightened emotional impact on viewers. Yet there are also risks associated with increased exposure, including heightened visitor pressure to environmentally sensitive areas or changes to consumer demand for endangered species. Conservationists can better understand and engage with the film industry by studying the impact of movies on audience awareness and behavior, identifying measurable impacts on conservation outcomes, and engaging directly with the movie industry, for example, in an advisory capacity. This improved understanding and engagement can harness the industry's potential to enhance the positive impacts of movies featuring species, sites, and issues of conservation concern and to mitigate any negative effects. A robust evidence base for evaluating and planning these engagements, and for informing related policy and management decisions, needs to be built.     

Stable isotope ratio variations in non-scleractinian coelenterate carbonates as a function of temperature

Some coelenterates of the class Hydrozoa and some anthozoan coelenterates from the subclass Octocorallia secrete skeletons of calcium carbonate. Skeletal carbonates of three hydrozoans and of two octocorals were analyzed for the stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen. The results suggest that each of these coelenterates deposits CaCO₃ in oxygen isotopic equilibrium with seawater, and that at least one octocoral, Heliopora, has skeletal carbon in apparent isotopic equilibrium with atmospheric CO₂. Two of these coelenterates, Millepora and Helipora, are significant contributors to the construction of coral reefs. Whereas ¹⁸O of these corals is temperature dependent, ¹³C is not obviously related to temperature. The ¹⁸O-temperature relationship is not significantly different from the oxygen isotope paleotemperature scale developed by Epstein et al. (1953). These findings contrast with numerous analyses of the carbonate in scleractinian coelenterates, which have long been reported to deposit CaCO₃ skeletons whose carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions are not in equilibrium with the external sea-water environment.     

The effects of chronic exposure to asbestos fibers in the Amazon molly Poecilia formosa

Amazon mollies were exposed for 6 months to several concentrations of coarse and fine asbestos particles suspended in their aquarium water. At the end of this period, the fish were serially sectioned and the tissues examined for lesions. Pathological changes were found in the kidneys, the major site of accumulation of the mineral fibers after their entry into the body through the intestinal mucosa. There was no evidence of entry of particles through the gill epithelium. Epithelial hypertrophy and secondary lamellar telangiectasia of the gills appeared to be the result of physical abrasion by the asbestos particles. There was no cellular injury in the liver or the muscles.     

Rates of accumulation of dieldrin by a freshwater filter feeder: Sphaerium corneum

The rate of dieldrin accumulation by Sphaerium corneum was determined in the field and under controlled conditions in the laboratory. The methods gave comparable results and it was established that Sphaerium attained an equilibrium concentration of dieldrin in its tissues in a short time period and exhibited a bioaccumulation factor of 1000. The rate of dieldrin accumulation by direct uptake from dieldrin in solution was compared to the rate obtained for indirect uptake from dieldrin adsorbed onto particulate material. The primary route of dieldrin uptake into Sphaerium was shown to be by direct partitioning of residues into lipoidal tissues from water. The effect of temperature on the rate of accumulation was also studied. The rate of accumulation increased with temperature in the range 5 degrees C to 20 degrees C. The frequency of gill cilia beat in relation to accumulation rate was studied in this temperature range and a correlation is shown.     

A possible approach for the assessment of radiation effects on populations of wild organisms in radionuclide-contaminated environments?

It is frequently asserted that measures to protect the biotic environment from increased radiation exposures arising from human activities should be focussed on the population rather than the individual. It is, however, difficult (if not impossible) to identify any population-specific attributes that can be affected by radiation exposure directly rather than through the mediation of direct, known and identifiable effects in individual organisms. Indeed, it is often conceded that this difficulty forces attention to be refocussed onto the effects in individuals. Regulatory controls on radioactive waste management and disposal could then be implemented to ensure that any radiation effects in individual native plants and animals remain at, or below, some acceptable level (yet to be defined). Nevertheless, the question remains as to whether such controls would also provide for the protection of the population. An answer to this question depends on the availability of a model that allows the integration of the known effects of radiation exposure on the mortality, morbidity, fertility and fecundity of individuals into an assessment of the possible impact at the population level. The utility of one such approach, the Leslie Matrix Model, is explored in respect of a fish population (the plaice, Pleuronectes platessa). This initial implementation of the population model is simplistic (and, certainly, environmentally unrealistic), but it is concluded that the output from the model does provide some insights into how the population might respond to radiation-induced changes in individual attributes, and that further development in the direction of increased realism is fully warranted.     

Mitochondrial control region sequence analyses indicate dispersal from the US East Coast as the source of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans in the Bahamas

Lionfish are popular aquarium fish from the Indo-Pacific that have invaded the western Atlantic. Two species, Pterois volitans and P. miles, were well established along the United States east coast before the first lionfish were reported from the Bahamas in 2004, where they quickly dispersed throughout the archipelago by 2007. The source of the Bahamian lionfish invasion has been in question because of the hypothesized low connectivity between Florida and Bahamas reef species as well as the temporal lag in their arrival in the Bahamas. Mitochondrial control region haplotypes (680 bp) were determined and analyzed for lionfish specimens from the Bahamas, North Carolina, and two sites within their native range (Indonesia and the Philippines). Exact tests, pairwise F _st and AMOVA analyses all showed no significant differentiation between the Bahamas and North Carolina specimens. The similarity between the Bahamas and North Carolina lionfish was also reflected in a minimum spanning network and neighbor-joining distance tree generated from the data. Sequence analyses also revealed the presence of only Pterois volitans, as no P. miles were detected in the Bahamian sample. These results indicate that the source of the Bahamian lionfish is egg and larval dispersal from the United States east coast population, and support previous models of reef fish dispersal that suggest a low level of connectivity between the Bahamas and east coast of Florida.     

Thermally induced biological effects caused by once-through cooling systems: A rationale for evaluation

The thermally induced biological effects of power plants with once-through cooling systems can be evaluated in a logical, scientifically defensible manner. First, we combined a near-field integral model (the Shirazi-Davis model) with a far-field model (the Okubo-Pritchard model) to predict the fields of excess temperature and velocity associated with a hypothetical power plant sited on a river and an estuary, and to establish the time-excess temperature exposure histories resulting from the interaction of an assumed distribution of organisms with these fields. Next, we developed a new thermal response model to assess the thermal effects of these exposures on these organisms.Our thermal response model can be used with data from existing and proposed power plants to estimate what fraction of plankton in waters contiguous to the plant will be exposed to thermal doses greater than those that cause death at any stated level. The model can also be used to aid in the design of once-through cooling systems to keep the mortality rate caused by thermal stresses below any designated threshold. The inputs to the model are the frequency distribution of time-excess temperature histories experienced by particular plankton (the Representative Important Species), thermal resistance curves for those organisms, and the spatial and temporal variations of the natural temperature of the receiving waters.To illustrate, we applied our thermal response model to three important aquatic environments of New York State, Long Island Sound, the lower Hudson River, and Lake Ontario. The Representative Important Species were identified for each of these environments and the thermal resistance data for their early (entrainable) life stages were reviewed. Fromall of the thermal resistance data available for any of the entrainable species composing these three communities, we constructed community thermal resistance curves and showed how they could be combined in graphic form with the distribution of thermal doses computed from the physical models and an assumed distribution of organisms in the receiving waters. For each community it appeared that the most sensitive organisms were the ichthyoplankton and juvenile fish; therefore, protection of these organisms from thermal stress should protect the entrainable populations as a whole.Finally, we made several recommendations for future research so that the full management potential of our approach can be achieved.