Scale and pattern of broadnose sevengill shark Notorynchus cepedianus movement in estuarine embayments

The detailed movements of 32 acoustically tagged broadnose sevengill shark Notorynchus cepedianus were documented in and around north-east Pacific Ocean estuarine embayments from 2005 to 2007. Arrangements of passive acoustic receivers allowed analysis of movement at several spatial scales, with sex and size examined as possible factors influencing the pattern and timing of these movements. Notorynchus cepedianus exhibited a distinctly seasonal pattern of estuary use over three consecutive years, entering Willapa Bay in the spring, residing therein for extended periods of time during the summer and dispersing into nearshore coastal habitats and over the continental shelf during the autumn. Notorynchus cepedianus within Willapa Bay showed spatio-temporal patterns of segregation by size and sex, with males and small females using peripheral southern estuary channels early in the season before joining large females, who remained concentrated in central estuary channels for the entire season. Individuals displayed a high degree of fidelity not only to Willapa Bay (63% were documented returning over three consecutive seasons), but also to specific areas within the estuary, showing consistent patterns of site use from year to year. Cross-estuary movement was common during the summer, with most fish also moving into an adjacent estuarine embayment for some extent of time. Most winter and autumn coastal detections of N. cepedianus were made over the continental shelf near Oregon and Washington, U.S.A., but there were also examples of individuals moving into nearshore coastal habitats further south into California, suggesting the feasibility of broad-scale coastal movements to known birthing and nursery grounds for the species. These findings contribute to a better understanding of N. cepedianus movement ecology, which can be used to improve the holistic management of this highly mobile apex predator in regional ecosystems.     

Early development of bacterial community diversity in emergently placed urinary catheters

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Approximately 25% of hospitalized patients have a urinary catheter, and catheter associated urinary tract infection is the most common nosocomial infection in the US, causing >1 million cases/year. However, the natural history of the biofilms that rapidly form on urinary catheters and lead to infection is not well described. FINDINGS: We characterized the dynamics of catheter colonization among catheters collected from 3 women and 5 men in a trauma burn unit with different indwelling times using TRFLP and culture. All patients received antibiotic therapy. Results: Colony-forming units increased along the extraluminal catheter surface from the catheter balloon to the urethra, but no trend was apparent for the intraluminal surface. This suggests extraluminal bacteria come from periurethral communities while intraluminal bacteria are introduced via the catheter or already inhabit the urine/bladder. Richness of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) increased over time on the intraluminal surface, but was constant extraluminally. CONCLUSIONS: OTU community composition was explained best by time rather than axial location or surface. Our results suggest that catheter colonization can be very dynamic, and possibly have a predictable succession.     

The Effectiveness of an Online Support Group for Members of the Community with Depression: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Background

Internet support groups (ISGs) are popular, particularly among people with depression, but there is little high quality evidence concerning their effectiveness.

Aim

The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an ISG for reducing depressive symptoms among community members when used alone and in combination with an automated Internet-based psychotherapy training program.

Method

Volunteers with elevated psychological distress were identified using a community-based screening postal survey. Participants were randomised to one of four 12-week conditions: depression Internet Support Group (ISG), automated depression Internet Training Program (ITP), combination of the two (ITP+ISG), or a control website with delayed access to e-couch at 6 months. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention, 6 and 12 months.

Results

There was no change in depressive symptoms relative to control after 3 months of exposure to the ISG. However, both the ISG alone and the combined ISG+ITP group showed significantly greater reduction in depressive symptoms at 6 and 12 months follow-up than the control group. The ITP program was effective relative to control at post-intervention but not at 6 months.

Conclusions

ISGs for depression are promising and warrant further empirical investigation.

Trial Registration

Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN65657330     

Effect of temperature on seed production in the invasive grass Glyceria maxima (Hartm.) Holmb. (Poaceae) in South Africa

Temperature is one of the main factors that determine sexual reproduction in terrestrial and emergent aquatic plant species. The effect of temperature on sexual reproduction and seed production of Glyceria maxima (Hartm.) Holmb. in the southern hemisphere is unknown. Glyceria maxima collections in February 2010 at three isolated infestations in KwaZulu-Natal failed to yield a single seed, only empty panicles. Laboratory experiments showed that vernalisation had no consistent effect on seed production. Field- and laboratory-grown plants produced seeds in the 2010/2011 season, because of having sufficient time at optimum temperatures required for seed production (1 491 and 1 585 hours, respectively), compared to a shorter period (1 352 hours) of suitable temperatures during the 2009/2010 growing season. An inadequate period of optimum temperatures (15–25°C) during seed production resulted in the lack of seeds in the field in the 2009/2010 growing season. This study showed that temperature and duration of exposure thereto during the seed-production period play vital roles in G. maxima sexual reproduction.     

Marmoset phylogenetics, conservation perspectives, and evolution of the mtDNA control region

Marmosets (genus Callithrix) are a diverse group of platyrrhine primates with 13-15 purported taxa, many of them considered endangered. Morphological analyses constitute most of the basis for recognition of these forms as distinct taxa. The purpose of this study was to provide a molecular view, based on mitochondrial control region sequences, of the evolutionary history of the marmosets, concomitant with a molecular phylogenetic perspective on species diversity within the group. An additional purpose was to provide the first comparative examination of a complete New World monkey control region sequence with those of other mammals. The phylogenetic analyses provide convincing support for a split between the Atlantic forest and Amazonian marmosets, with the inclusion of the pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) at the base of the Amazonian clade. The earliest branch of the Atlantic forest group was C. aurita. In the Amazonian group, the analyses do not support the recognition of C. humeralifer and the recently described C mauesi as distinct taxa. They do, however, support a clear distinction between C. argentata and a strongly supported mixed clade of C. humeralifer and C. mauesi. In the Atlantic forest group, the phylogenetic tree suggests mixing between C. penicillata, C. kuhli, and possibly C. jacchus. Most of the sequence features characteristic of other mammal control regions were also evident in marmosets, with the exception that conserved sequence blocks (CSBs) 2 and 3 were not clearly identifiable. Tandem repeat units often associated with heteroplasmy in a variety of other mammals were not evident in the marmoset sequences.      

Persistent nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence polymorphism in the Amelanchier agamic complex (Rosaceae)

Individual plants of several Amelanchier taxa contain many polymorphic nucleotide sites in the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA). This polymorphism is unusual because it is not recent in origin and thus has resisted homogenization by concerted evolution. Amelanchier ITS sequence polymorphism is hypothesized to be the result of gene flow between two major North American clades resolved by phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences. Western North American species plus A. humilis and A. sanguinea of eastern North America form one clade (A), and the remaining eastern North American Amelanchier make up clade B. Five eastern North American taxa are polymorphic at many of the nucleotide sites where clades A and B have diverged and are thought to be of hybrid origin, with A. humilis or A. sanguinea as one parent and various members of clade B as the other parent. Morphological evidence suggests that A. humilis is one of the parents of one of the polymorphic taxa, a microspecies that we refer to informally as A. "erecta." Sequences of 21 cloned copies of the ITS1- 5.8S gene-ITS2 region from one A. "erecta" individual are identical to A. humilis sequence or to the clade B consensus sequence, or they are apparent recombinants of A. humilis and clade B ITS repeats. Amelanchier "erecta" and another polymorphic taxon are suspected to be relatively old because both grow several hundred kilometers beyond the range of one of their parents. ITS sequence polymorphisms have apparently persisted in these two taxa perhaps because of polyploidy and/or agamospermy (asexual seed production), which are prevalent in the genus.      

Ground wētā in vines of the Awatere Valley,Marlborough: biology,density and distribution

The endemic New Zealand ground wētā (Hemiandrus sp. ‘promontorius’) has a Naturally Uncommon conservation status. This is because of the paucity of information on its density and distribution. Here, the biology, density and distribution of a population of this wētā found in and around vineyards in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough was studied. Wētā density was assessed in vineyards, paddocks and shrublands in this valley. Soil moisture, penetration resistance, pH and organic matter were recorded at locations with and without wētā. Wētā density in vineyards was significantly higher than in either paddocks or shrub habitats. In vineyards, the density of this insect was significantly higher under-vines than in the inter-rows. Higher numbers of this wētā were found in moist soils that required lower force to burrow. Females laid an average of 55 eggs between March and April, which hatched in September. These findings highlight the intersection between agriculture and conservation.