Life history,population dynamics and production of Pontoporeia hoyi (Crustacea,Amphipoda) in relation to the trophic gradient of Lake George,New York

The life history characteristics, population dynamics and production of Pontoporeia hoyi in Lake George, New York, were studied from May 1981 through October 1982. P. hoyi, in terms of both density and standing crop, is the most prevalent member of the deep water macrobenthos of Lake George. It reproduces in the winter, with young being released in the late winter-early spring. At the southernmost study site, young released in the spring grew to 6–7 mm in length and bred during their first winter. At the remaining sites, P. hoyi required two years to complete its life cycle. This difference in life history characteristics can be related to food availability and temperature differences. The open waters of the south end of Lake George are not only more productive but are also more closely associated with the littoral zone, providing a wealth of bacteria-rich detritus for benthic deposit feeders. The greater food availability in the south basin of Lake George is reflected in significantly larger brood sizes and smaller size at maturity for P. hoyi populations from the south end of the lake.The southernmost study site has significantly greater P. hoyi density and standing crop than all other sites. The cohort of the year dominated density and standing crop at the southern site while the cohort of the previous year dominated standing crop at the other sites. Peak abundance ranged from 600 · m^–2 at the north site to 2 900 · m^–2 at the south site. Cohort production ranged from 2g · m^–2 at the north site to 15g · m^–2 at the south site.     

Dose dependent responses of cattle to Theileria parva stabilate

Dolan T. T., Young A.S., Losos G.J., McMillan I., Minder Ch.E. and Soulsby K. 1984. Dose dependent responses of Theileria parva stabilate. International Journal for Parasitology14: 89–95. A tick derived stabilate of Theileria parva (Maguga) was titrated in a large group of Boran (Bos indicus) cattle of the same age, sex and origin. The infectivity data was analysed using the independent action model. The cattle were identified as heterogeneous in their response to infection with 75% showing one ID₅₀ (0.0014) and 25% showing another (0.01). The disease responses of the cattle given different dose levels were compared for a variety of parameters. The results obtained showed these parameters to be dose dependent including the time to onset of piroplasm parasitaemia. The stabilate is of large volume and can be used for controlled challenge in immunity studies and for comparison of susceptibility between cattle of different breeds and from different epidemiological backgrounds.     

Genetic structure of natural populations of the red-spotted newt,Notophthalmus viridescens

Genetic variation is described at 15 loci in 2 neotenic and 12 nonneotenic populations of red-spotted newts. Though high levels of genetic similarity (I=0.990) were found among all populations, allele frequencies at six of the eight most polymorphic loci show significant heterogeneity across populations. Change in allele frequencies at two of these loci (Pep-2 and Ldh-1) is significantly correlated with latitude. Interspecific homologies are established for newt peptidases based on substrate specificities and lactate dehydrogenases based on tissue distribution, thermal stability, and kinetic properties. Nonneotenic populations are highly variable (H=0.157) and neotenic populations are only slightly, but significantly, less variable (H=0.120). The high levels of heterozygosity detected in nonneotenic populations may result from large effective population size and/or environmental heterogeneity. The unexpectedly high heterozygosity values obtained for the neotenic populations may indicate adult dispersal or the presence of some previously undetected red efts at these localities. In any case, a major change in life history has apparently had little effect on the genetic structure of these populations.This research was supported by grants from the Blakeslee Fund of Smith College.     

Life-history characteristics of a wild population of vervets (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) in Barbados,West Indies

Life history data are presented for a population of vervets, Cercopithecusaethiops sabaeus, in Barbados, West Indies. The data were obtained from two habituated troops and from vervets captured during a large-scale trapping program. Individuals of known age from one troop were weighed periodically, and separate growth curves generated for males and females. The mean weight of captured adult females was 3.3 kg; that of adult males, 5.3 kg. The average age at sexual maturity is estimated at 34 months for females and 60 months for males. Vervets give birth throughout the year, but most infants are born between April and July. The average interbirth interval following a surviving infant is 11.8 months. The mortality of juveniles is heaviest between birth and 2 years of age and decreases thereafter. Males emigrate from their natal troops at sexual maturity and one incident of a juvenile female emigrating is reported.     

Pyrococcus furiosus sp. nov. represents a novel genus of marine heterotrophic archaebacteria growing optimally at 100°C

Ten strains representing a novel genus of marine thermophilic archaebacteria growing at between 70 and 103°C with an optimal growth temperature of 100°C and a doubling time of only 37 min were isolated from geothermally heated marine sediments at the beach of Porto di Levante, Vulcano, Italy. The organisms are spherical-shaped, 0.8 to 2.5 m in width and exhibit monopolar polytrichous flagellation. They are strictly anaerobic heterotrophs, growing on starch, maltose, peptone and complex organic substrates. Only CO₂ and H₂ could be detected as metabolic products, the latter being inhibitory to growth at high concentrations. Hydrogen inhibition can be prevented by the addition of S^o, whereupon H₂S is formed in addition, most likely as the result of a detoxification reaction. The GC-content of the DNA of isolate Vc 1 is 38 mol%. The new genus is named Pyrococcus, the fireball. Type species and strain is Pyrococcus furiosus Vc 1 (DSM 3638).     

Mobilization of cloned luciferase genes into Vibrio harveyi luminescence mutants

A recombinant plasmid which carried a 5 kb fragment of Vibrio harveyi DNA containing the luxA and luxB genes was mobilized from Escherichia coli into luminescence-deficient mutants of V. harveyi. The cloned genes complemented a temperature sensitive luciferase mutation, but failed to complement lesions in two different aldehyde deficient mutants. Expression of the cloned genes was not subject to autoinduction in either E. coli or in V. harveyi.     

Dependent competing risks: a stochastic process model

Analyses of human mortality data classified according to cause of death frequently are based on competing risk theory. In particular, the times to death for different causes often are assumed to be independent. In this paper, a competing risk model with a weaker assumption of conditional independence of the times to death, given an assumed stochastic covariate process, is developed and applied to cause specific mortality data from the Framingham Heart Study. The results generated under this conditional independence model are compared with analogous results under the standard marginal independence model. Under the assumption that this conditional independence model is valid, the comparison suggests that the standard model overestimates by 4% the effect on life expectancy at age 30 due to the hypothetical elimination of cancer and by 7% the effect for cardiovascular/cerebrovascular disease. By age 80 the overestimates were 11% for cancer and 16% for heart disease. These results suggest the importance of avoiding the marginal independence assumption when appropriate data are available — especially when focusing on mortality at advanced ages.     

Food acquisition by competing surfperch on a patchy environmental gradient

Synopsis Black surfperch, Embiotoca jacksoni, and striped surfperch, Embiotoca lateralis, coexisted along steep sloping rocky habitats at Santa Cruz Island, California. The range of depths occupied (to 15 m) was characterized by a strong gradient in abundance of prey and a changing mosaic of substrate types from which surfperch harvested food. Availability of prey and diversity of benthic substrates were greatest in shallowest areas and both declined with increasing depth. Individuals of both surfperch species were residential within a narrow range of depths, with the result that different segments of their populations were consistently exposed to different foraging environments. These two phenomena (residential behavior combined with a gradient in availability of resources) resulted in variation in foraging behaviors and diets among individuals that resided at different depths. The pattern of within-population variation differed between the surfperch species. Black surfperch individuals achieved similar taxonomic diets and expended similar foraging effort at all depths, but deep-water foragers captured much less prey biomass per unit effort. The taxonomic composition of striped surfperch diets differed among depths, and although similar amounts of prey biomass were captured everywhere, individuals in deep areas expended much greater effort to obtain that level of food return. For both species, habitat profitability (food return to foraging effort) declined with depth. The difference in habitat profitability appeared to influence fitness components of both surfperches. Individuals occupying deep habitats were about 5% shorter in standard length than conspecifics of the same chronological age living in shallow areas; the disparity in body size resulted in an estimated difference in clutch size of 10–18%.     

INCIDENTAL MORTALITY OF NORTHERN SEA LIONS IN SHELIKOF STRAIT, ALASKA

The incidental catch of northern sea lions ( Eumetopias jubatus ) in the walleye pollock ( Theragra chalcogramma ) joint-venture fishery in Shelikof Strait, Alaska, was studied during 1982–1984 to assess the nature and magnitude of the catch. Data were obtained by placing U.S. observers on foreign processing vessels. Dead sea lions recovered from trawl nets were counted, sexed and measured, teeth were removed for age determination by dental laminae; and stomach contents were analyzed. Although the fishery has continued to expand both in number of boats and estimated total catch (74,136 metric tons [t] in 1982 to 171,539 t in 1984), the estimated incidental catch of northern sea lions has declined (ranging from 958 to 1,436 in 1982, 216 to 324 in 1983 and 237 to 355 in 1984). Of the sea lions processed, 73 percent were caught between 2000 and 0500 h, probably during net retrieval. Most caught sea lions were females ranging in age from 1–25 yr with a mean age of 6.43 yr; 79 percent of the females were sexually mature and probably part of the reproducing population. Males had a mean age of 4.8 yr and only 12 percent were old enough to obtain and defend territories. Analysis of stomach contents showed that the sea lions consumed pollock the same size as that taken by the commercial fishery. The impact of the incidental catch on the Gulf of Alaska sea lion population is unknown.     

A new life table of leaves ofPhaseolus vulgris L. in relation to their position within the canopy and plant density

In order to demonstrate in detail the relationship between the longevity and productivity of leaves within a canopy, a new life table approach, the ‘bioeconomic life table’, was applied to the leaves of kidney bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in relation to planting density and their position within the canopy. The net photosynthetic rate for upper leaves under full daylight tended to decline gradually due to leaf senescence from about 20 days after leaf emergence, and for the lower leaves the decrease was very rapid due to both shading and senescence about 10 days after emergence. Analysis of the survivorship curves and daily surplus production of leaves suggested that the lower and middle leaves, especially the latter, survived without surplus production of dry matter after they had reached mean longevity, and while the upper leaves at high density had a much shorter mean longevity, they had very large values of daily surplus production throughout the survival period. For the total foliage, the summed value of accumulated surplus production during the survival period was about five times as large as the summed value of the dry weight of the dead leaves, regardless of planting density. The daily rate of canopy leaf respiration was almost proportional to that of canopy gross photosynthesis for the various leaf area indices of the canopy, so that there was no optimum leaf area index that maximized canopy daily surplus production.