Trawl fishing impacts on the status of seabed fauna in diverse regions of the globe

Bottom trawl fishing is a controversial activity. It yields about a quarter of the world's wild seafood, but also has impacts on the marine environment. Recent advances have quantified and improved understanding of large‐scale impacts of trawling on the seabed. However, such information needs to be coupled with distributions of benthic invertebrates (benthos) to assess whether these populations are being sustained under current trawling regimes. This study collated data from 13 diverse regions of the globe spanning four continents. Within each region, we combined trawl intensity distributions and predicted abundance distributions of benthos groups with impact and recovery parameters for taxonomic classes in a risk assessment model to estimate benthos status. The exposure of 220 predicted benthos‐group distributions to trawling intensity (as swept area ratio) ranged between 0% and 210% (mean = 37%) of abundance. However, benthos status, an indicator of the depleted abundance under chronic trawling pressure as a proportion of untrawled state, ranged between 0.86 and 1 (mean = 0.99), with 78% of benthos groups > 0.95. Mean benthos status was lowest in regions of Europe and Africa, and for taxonomic classes Bivalvia and Gastropoda. Our results demonstrate that while spatial overlap studies can help infer general patterns of potential risk, actual risks cannot be evaluated without using an assessment model that incorporates trawl impact and recovery metrics. These quantitative outputs are essential for sustainability assessments, and together with reference points and thresholds, can help managers ensure use of the marine environment is sustainable under the ecosystem approach to management.     

Biodegradability of Disinfectants in Surface Waters from Buenos Aires: Isolation of an Indigenous Strain Able to Degrade and Detoxify Benzalkonium Chloride

Biodegradability of chlorhexidine (CH), triclosan (TC), and benzalkonium chloride (CBA) has been tested in 18 surface water sampling points in the urban area of Buenos Aires. Sampling points were located in both the Reconquista and the Matanza-Riachuelo basins as well as in the La Plata River. High tolerance to the three disinfectants was found and indigenous strains capable of degrading CBA and TC were isolated. Neither tolerance nor biodegradation were correlated with sewage pollution. A strain that degrades CBA was identified as belonging to the genus Pseudomonas using the API20NE system and 16SRNA sequencing. In batch assays, the strain was capable of degrading 100, 200, and up to 500 mg L^?1 of CBA in 10, 25, and 46 h respectively with specific growth rates (μ) of 0.56, 0.30, and 0.14 h^?1. The efficiency of the process was between 99.5–98.0% in terms of compound removal and between 93.8–89.1% in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD). The detoxification of the compound as a result of the biodegradation was assessed using Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Vibrio fischeri, and Lactuca sativa as test organisms.     

Heavy Metal Accumulation in Plant Species Indigenous to a Contaminated Portuguese Site: Prospects for Phytoremediation

Acid rock drainage (ARD) often contains ferrous iron, sulphate and high concentrations of trace elements detrimental to the environment. Future costs will be enormous if the problem is not treated today. Simple and cost-effective methods for remediation of historical mine sites are therefore desired. In this study, three mine waters were mixed with alkaline ash leachates, and the fate of trace elements from both the mine waters (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni and Co) and the ash leachates (Cr and Mo) was studied. Addition of ash water precipitates hydrous ferric oxides (HFO) and hydrous aluminium oxides (HAO) induced trace element sorption and coprecipitation. Composition of the formed HFO/HAO mix determines efficiency of the sorption and the relative order of sorption for different trace elements. Sorption occurred much earlier (often one pH unit or more) in a system with high iron concentrations compared to systems with lower iron concentrations. Removal of cadmium and zinc was low, below pH 8, if the amount of precipitates was low. Using ash for generation of alkaline water may be a problem with regard to chromium and molybdenum. This study shows that it is possible to avoid problems with molybdenum by keeping the final pH around 7, and chromium(VI) from the ash water will be reduced into chromium(III) and precipitated as the hydroxide in the presence of iron(II). Results imply that it is possible to also use fly ashes in alkaline leach beds in order to neutralize ARD followed by precipitation and sorption of trace elements.     

Phenylphenalenone type compounds from the leaf fibers of abaca (Musa textilis)

A series of phenylphenalenone type compounds, known to play a role as phytoalexins in plants of the Musaceae family, have been identified for the first time in the leaf fibers of abaca (Musa textilis). Among the phenylphenalenone type compounds identified, the structure of a novel compound, (1R)-2,3-dihydro-4,9-dihydroxy-8-methoxy-1-phenylphenalene, has also been described in abaca fibers. Its structure was elucidated by analysis of one- and two-dimensional NMR (correlation spectroscopy, heteronuclear single quantum correlation, and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation) spectroscopic data.     

Saliva chromogranin A in growing pigs: A study of circadian patterns during daytime and stability under different storage conditions

Salivary chromogranin A (CgA) is considered to be a biomarker of activation of the sympatho-adrenomedullary system, and has recently been proposed as a useful indicator of the acute stress response in pigs. The aim of the present study was to determinate whether salivary CgA concentrations in healthy growing pigs exhibits any circadian pattern during the daytime, and to evaluate its stability under different storage conditions. A total of 80 pigs (40 in spring and another 40 in autumn) of two different ages and genders were used. To establish the circadian pattern, saliva samples were collected at 07.00, 11.00, 15.00 and 19.00 h on two consecutive days. Pooled samples were used for the stability study and were measured on the day of sampling and periodically for up to 360 days later. Samples were stored at 4 °C, ?20 °C or ?80 °C and the effect of repeated freezing and thawing was also evaluated.No circadian pattern was detected for salivary CgA in either season and there were no significant effects of gender or age. However, mean salivary CgA concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in the pigs sampled in autumn, compared to those sampled in the spring. Short term storage at 4 °C is recommended for up to 2 days, whereas frozen samples can be stored for 1 year at ?20 °C or ?80 °C, without substantial reduction in CgA values. In addition, samples can be frozen and thawed up to seven times without significant loss of the biomarker.     

Traders' preference for goat characteristics in selected markets of Pangasinan, Philippines

Preference for goat characteristics was determined from 42 traders in six markets in Pangasinan, an important trading center for goats in Luzon, the Philippines, and analyzed using a hedonic price model to determine whether these characteristics are important price determinants of goats. This information is important to goat raisers to respond to the needs of the local market, and thus to achieve a better price and higher income in goat raising. Meatiness, size, breed, sex and age (in descending order) were the dominant goat characteristics preferred by traders. Meatiness had the largest positive influence on price, with a price premium of US$6.24 (US$1.00 = PhP 53), whereas the age of the animal had the smallest influence at US$3.72. However, size and meatiness are manifestations of good breeds. Therefore, continued efforts to improve breeds in order to produce good quality goats are imperative to cater to market needs. Different characteristics implied different price premiums. Traders offered a higher price premium for better goat characteristics; thus, the improvement of these characteristics could result in higher returns for goat raisers.     

Hepatozoon spp.: report of some cases in dogs in Brasília, Brazil

Canine hepatozoonosis is a disease caused by the tick-borne protozoan Hepatozoon spp. It has been reported in the United States, southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East. In Brazil, canine hepatozoonosis is an emerging protozoal tick-borne disease, and is characterized by distinct clinical signs. The objective of this study was to analyze the laboratory findings of some hepatozoonosis cases in dogs in Brasília, Brazil, and their clinical signs. The animals of this experiment showed low parasitemia, similar to H. americanum, but the clinical signs presented were similar to H. canis. According to our observations and in agreement with O'Dwyer et al. [Vet. Parasitol. 94 (2001) 143], the Brazilian Hepatozoon appears more to resemble the species found in the eastern Hemisphere than with H. americanum of North America, or could be caused by a new species. Our data revealed that hepatozoonosis could be considered endemic in Brasília.     

Pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone administered by the intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous routes to dogs

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone after single intravenous (i.v.), intramuscular (i.m.) and subcutaneous (s.c.) doses in healthy dogs. Six mongrel dogs received ceftriaxone (50 mg/kg) by each route in a three-way crossover design. Blood samples were collected in predetermined times after drug administration. Results are reported as mean +/- standard deviation (SD). Total body clearance (Cl(t)) and apparent volume of distribution (V(z)) for the i.v. route were 3.61 +/- 0.78 and 0.217 +/- 0.03 mL/kg, respectively. Terminal half-life harmonic mean (t(1/2 lambda)) was 0.88; 1.17 and 01.73 h for the i.v., i.m and s.c. routes, respectively. Mean peak serum concentration (C(max)) was 115.10 +/- 16.96 and 69.28 +/- 14.55 microg/mL for the i.m and s.c. routes, respectively. Time to reach C(max) (t(max)) was 0.54 +/- 0.24 and 1.29 +/- 00.64 h for the i.m and s.c. routes, respectively. Mean absorption time (MAT) was 1.02 +/- 0.64 and 2.23 +/- 00.73 h for the i.m and s.c. routes, respectively. Bioavailability was 102 +/- 27 and 106 +/- 14% for the i.m and s.c. routes, respectively. Statistically significant differences were determined in C(max), t(max), MAT and t(1/2 lambda) of s.c. administered ceftriaxone when compared with the i.v and i.m. routes. These findings suggest that once or twice s.c. or i.m. daily administered ceftriaxone should be adequate to treat most susceptible infections in dogs.