What Happens after Conservation and Management Donors Leave? A Before and After Study of Coral Reef Ecology and Stakeholder Perceptions of Management Benefits

The coral reefs of Tanga, Tanzania were recognized as a national conservation priority in the early 1970s, but the lack of a management response led to damage by dynamite, beach seines, and high numbers of fishers until the mid 1990s. Subsequently, an Irish Aid funded IUCN Eastern Africa program operated from 1994 to mid 2007 to implement increased management aimed at reducing these impacts. The main effects of this management were to establish collaborative management areas, reduce dynamite and seine net fishing, and establish small community fisheries closures beginning in 1996. The ecology of the coral reefs was studied just prior to the initiation of this management in 1996, during, 2004, and a few years after the project ended in 2010. The perceptions of resource users towards management options were evaluated in 2010. The ecological studies indicated that the biomass of fish rose continuously during this period from 260 to 770 kg/ha but the small closures were no different from the non-closure areas. The benthic community studies indicate stability in the coral cover and community composition and an increase in coralline algae and topographic complexity over time. The lack of change in the coral community suggests resilience to various disturbances including fisheries management and the warm temperature anomaly of 1998. These results indicate that some aspects of the management program had been ecologically successful even after the donor program ended. Moreover, the increased compliance with seine net use and dynamite restrictions were the most likely factors causing this increase in fish biomass and not the closures. Resource users interviewed in 2010 were supportive of gear restrictions but there was considerable between-community disagreement over the value of specific restrictions. The social-ecological results suggest that increased compliance with gear restrictions is largely responsible for the improvements in reef ecology and is a high priority for future management programs.     

Predictability of coral bleaching from synoptic satellite and in situ temperature observations

Satellite and compiled in situ observations of sea surface temperatures have greatly increased the ability to detect anomalous and persistent warm water and are being widely used to predict climate change, coral bleaching and mortality. A field-based synoptic view of coral bleaching spanning eight countries and ∼35° of latitude in the western Indian Ocean tested the accuracy of synoptic temperature data derived from satellites and shipboard data to detect and predict bleaching during 2005. The ability to predict the degree of bleaching based on degree heating weeks data was moderate, but increased when past temperature anomalies and coral community susceptibility were included. It is estimated that slightly more than half of the bleaching response is due to anomalous warm water and nearly half due to taxa and community level acclimation or adaptation, where these two factors have opposing effects. Cumulative temperature anomalies do identify general areas with bleaching but both large over and underestimates of bleaching intensity were observed. Consequently, field observations are needed to confirm the synoptic satellite predictions for particular reefs, particularly where acclimation and reorganization of the coral community have occurred due to past bleaching events.     

Aerobic training increases the expression of adiponectin receptor genes in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of young men

Little is known about the effect of exercise training on the expression of adiponectin receptor genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In this study, we investigated the effects of aerobic training on the expression of AdipoR1 and AidpoR2 mRNAs in PBMCs, whole body insulin sensitivity, and circulating adiponectins in men. Thirty young men were randomly assigned to either a control (n=15) or an exercise (n=15) group. Subjects assigned to the exercise group underwent a 12-week jogging and/or running programme on a motor-driven treadmill at an intensity of 60%-75% of the age-based maximum heart rate with duration of 40 minutes per session and a frequency of 5 days per week. Two-way mixed ANOVA with repeated measures was used to test any significant time-by-group interaction effects for the measured variables at p=0.05. We found significant time-by-group interaction effects for waist circumference (p=0.001), VO_2max (p<0.001), fasting insulin (p=0.016), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p=0.010), area under the curve (AUC) for insulin response during the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (p=0.002), high-molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin (p=0.016), and the PBMC mRNA levels of AdipoR1 (p<0.001) and AdipoR2 (p=0.001). The exercise group had significantly increased mRNA levels of AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 in PBMCs, along with increased whole body insulin sensitivity and HMW adiponectin, decreased waist circumference, and increased VO_2max compared with the control group. In summary, the current findings suggest that exercise training modulates the expression of AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 mRNAs in PBMCs, implying that manipulation of the expression of these genes could be a potential surrogate for lifestyle intervention-mediated improvements of whole body insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis.     

Marine reserve recovery rates towards a baseline are slower for reef fish community life histories than biomass

Ecological baselines are disappearing and it is uncertain how marine reserves, here called fisheries closures, simulate pristine communities. We tested the influence of fisheries closure age, size and compliance on recovery of community biomass and life-history metrics towards a baseline. We used census data from 324 coral reefs, including 41 protected areas ranging between 1 and 45 years of age and 0.28 and 1430 km², and 36 sites in a remote baseline, the Chagos Archipelago. Fish community-level life histories changed towards larger and later maturing fauna with increasing closure age, size and compliance. In high compliance closures, community biomass levelled at approximately 20 years and 10 km² but was still only at approximately 30% of the baseline and community growth rates were projected to slowly decline for more than 100 years. In low compliance and young closures, biomass levelled at half the value and time as high compliance closures and life-history metrics were not predicted to reach the baseline. Biomass does not adequately reflect the long-time scales for full recovery of life-history characteristics, with implications for coral reef management.     

Extinction vulnerability of coral reef fishes

With rapidly increasing rates of contemporary extinction, predicting extinction vulnerability and identifying how multiple stressors drive non-random species loss have become key challenges in ecology. These assessments are crucial for avoiding the loss of key functional groups that sustain ecosystem processes and services. We developed a novel predictive framework of species extinction vulnerability and applied it to coral reef fishes. Although relatively few coral reef fishes are at risk of global extinction from climate disturbances, a negative convex relationship between fish species locally vulnerable to climate change vs. fisheries exploitation indicates that the entire community is vulnerable on the many reefs where both stressors co-occur. Fishes involved in maintaining key ecosystem functions are more at risk from fishing than climate disturbances. This finding is encouraging as local and regional commitment to fisheries management action can maintain reef ecosystem functions pending progress towards the more complex global problem of stabilizing the climate.     

C17 prevents inflammatory arthritis and associated joint destruction in mice

C17 was first described about ten years ago as a gene expressed in CD34+ cells. A more recent study has suggested a role for C17 in chondrogenesis and development of cartilage. However, based on sequence analysis, we believe that C17 has homology to IL-2 and hence we present the hypothesis that C17 is a cytokine possessing immune-regulatory properties. We provide evidence that C17 is a secreted protein preferentially expressed in chondrocytes, hence in cartilage-rich tissues. Systemic expression of C17 in vivo reduces disease in a collagen antibody-induced arthritis model in mice (CAIA). Joint protection is evident by delayed disease onset, minimal edema, bone protection and absence of diverse histological features of disease. Expression of genes typically associated with acute joint inflammation and erosion of cartilage or bone is blunted in the presence of C17. Consistent with the observed reduction in bone erosion, we demonstrate reduced levels of RANKL in the paws and sera of mice over-expressing C17. Administration of C17 at the peak of disease, however, had no effect on disease progression, indicating that C17's immune-regulatory activity must be most prominent prior to or at the onset of severe joint inflammation. Based on this data we propose C17 as a cytokine that s contributes to immune homeostasis systemically or in a tissue-specific manner in the joint.     

Cutting edge: A critical functional role for IL-23 in psoriasis

Interleukin-23 is a key cytokine involved in the generation of Th17 effector cells. Clinical efficacy of an anti-p40 mAb blocking both IL-12 and IL-23 and disease association with single nucleotide polymorphisms in the IL23R gene raise the question of a functional role of IL-23 in psoriasis. In this study, we provide a comprehensive analysis of IL-23 and its receptor in psoriasis and demonstrate its functional importance in a disease-relevant model system. The expression of IL-23 and its receptor was increased in the tissues of patients with psoriasis. Injection of a mAb specifically neutralizing human IL-23 showed IL-23-dependent inhibition of psoriasis development comparable to the use of anti-TNF blockers in a clinically relevant xenotransplant mouse model of psoriasis. Together, our results identify a critical functional role for IL-23 in psoriasis and provide the rationale for new treatment strategies in chronic epithelial inflammatory disorders.     

Assessing gear modifications needed to optimize yields in a heavily exploited, multi-species, seagrass and coral reef fishery

Effective management is necessary if small-scale fisheries, such as those found in mixed habitats including seagrass and coral reefs, are to continue providing food for many of the poorest communities of the world. Gear-based management, although under represented and under studied, has the potential to be adaptive, address multiple objectives, and be crafted to the socio-economic setting. Management effectiveness in seagrass and coral reef fisheries has generally been evaluated at the scale of the fish community. However, community level indicators can mask species-specific declines that provide significant portions of the fisheries yields and income. Using a unique dataset, containing ten years of species level length frequency catch data from a multi-gear, multi-species seagrass and coral reef fishery in Kenya, we evaluate species specific fishery statuses, compare gear use to gear regulations and estimate the potential needs for further gear restrictions. Despite the high diversity of the fishery, fifteen species represented over 90% of the catch, and only three species represented 60% of the catch. The three most abundant species in the catch, Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepède), Siganus sutor (Valenciennes) and Leptoscarus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard) all showed evidence of growth overfishing. Lethrinus lentjan, with an exploitation rate of 0.82, also shows evidence of recruitment overfishing. Current legal but weakly enforced gear restrictions are capable of protecting a significant portion of the catch up to maturity but optimization of yield will require that the current mesh size be increased from 6.3 to 8.8 and 9.2 cm to increase yields of L. lentjan and S. sutor, respectively. Given the difficulties of enforcing mesh size, we recommend that the economic benefits of these larger mesh sizes be communicated and enforced through co-management. This abstract is also available in Kiswahili (Abstract S1).     

Patterns of RNA synthesis in early meiotic prophase oocytes from fetal mouse ovaries

In a study of the early meiotic prophase stages of mouse oogenesis from d12 of gestation to 10d post-partum the patterns of RNA synthesis during these stages of oogenesis using H³-uridine incorporation as visualized by light microscope autoradiography are reported. We find that chromosomal RNA synthesis occurs in all stages except early to mid-pachytene, the time of maximum chromosome condensation. Diplotene and dictyate nuclei are the most heavily labelled stages. Nucleolar labelling ceases before leptotene and reappears in late pachytene or early diplotene, even though nucleoli can be identified in all stages except early to mid-pachytene.