The Miocene palaeobathymetry and palaeoenvironments of Carriacou, the Grenadines, Lesser Antilles

Carriacou, a small island in the Grenadines, Lesser Antilles, has a Cenozoic rock record that has been important in interpreting the geologic history of the Southern Lesser Antilles Arc Platform. The Lower‐Middle Miocene sedimentary succession of the southeast and east coasts, consisting of the Belmont, Kendeace, Carriacou and Grand Bay formations, has been interpreted as a shallowing‐upward sequence from turbidite basin to nearshore?/beach? palaeoenvironments. An earlier interpretation of the Belmont Formation as having been deposited in shallow water is at variance with the turbiditic nature of the succession; the included fossils are considered allochthonous. However, an interpretation of the Grand Bay Formation as deep water is supported by multiple lines of evidence, including sedimentology (turbidites), ichnology (autochthonous association of burrows typical of deep‐water environments) and palaeontology (terrestrial, planktic, and shallow and deep water benthic species mixed together). The minimum depth of deposition of the Grand Bay Formation was 150–200 m. This suggests that the (unseen) contact between the Carriacou and Grand Bay formations is either an unconformity, formed following rapid deepening of the basin, or a fault, the Grand Bay Formation being deposited in a separate basin from the shallowing‐upwards Belmont‐Kendeace‐Carriacou formations, against which it is now juxtaposed     

Biogeographic area relationships of lowland Neotropical rainforest based on raw distributions of vertebrate groups

Hypotheses of the historic biogeography of Neotropical anurans inhabiting lowland forests were generated using Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity. In order to establish comparisons with the biogeographical patterns of other vertebrates, previous cladistic analyses reported in the literature (for lizards and primates) were extended and reanalysed to match the geographical scope of the anuran analysis. Cladistic analysis of the distribution of 335 anuran species at 14 localities showed two regions that form a basal dichotomy: (1) Central America + Choco and (2) Amazon Basin + Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This result is interpreted as the first vicariance event that separated lowland Neotropical rainforests into Cis-Andean (east from the Andes) and Trans-Andean (west from the Andes) areas. Within the Cis-Andean localities, the earliest separation occurred between the Amazon Basin and the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Within the Amazon Basin, three distinctive clusters are defined: (1) Belem, (2) Guianan Region, and (3) Upper Amazon Basin. Data sets on the distribution of anurans, lizards, and mammals have strong cladistic signal. Strong congruence exists among the area cladograms of anurans, lizards, and primates. All of them have, or at least did not conflict with: (1) a basal separation between Cis- and Trans-Andean regions, (2) a Central American clade, (3) the Choco Region is sister to the Central American clade, (4) an Amazon Basin clade, (5) an Upper Amazon Basin clade, and (6) a Guianan clade. The area cladograms are dichotomous and therefore do not support biogeographic theories that hypothesize simultaneous isolations of biotas in the Neotropics.     

Costs and benefits of cervical screening. III. Cost/benefit analysis of a call of previously unscreened women

A population‐based cervical screening programme issued invitations to women with no record of a previous smear. This call was very good value, at £5780 per life saved or £159 per life‐year saved at 1991 prices. The first priority for the cervical screening service should be comprehensive coverage.     

Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus in Scotland - demography of a declining population

Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus numbers declined in Scottish forests between 1992 and 1997, although the rate (mean 16% per year, 95% CL 1–30%) differed among forests. Hens declined more quickly than cocks despite the sex ratio in chicks favouring females. A probable explanation is that adult cocks lived longer. Juvenile survival was less than adult survival, largely because juveniles were more likely to die from hitting fences. Although poor reproduction was probably the main cause of the decline, this might not have occurred had fence strikes been substantially fewer.