Do summer temperatures trigger spring maturation in Pacific lamprey,Entosphenus tridentatus?

Abstract –  Pacific lamprey, Entosphenus tridentatus , return to streams and use somatic energy to fuel maturation. Body size decreases, the lamprey mature, spawn, and then die. We predicted that warm, summer temperatures (>20 °C) would accentuate shrinkage in body size, and expedite sexual maturation and subsequent death. We compared fish reared in the laboratory at diel fluctuating temperatures of 20–24 °C (mean = 21.8 °C) with fish reared at cooler temperatures (13.6 °C). The results confirmed our predictions. Lamprey from the warm water group showed significantly greater proportional decreases in body weight following the summer temperature treatments than fish from the cool water group. A greater proportion of warm water fish sexually matured (100%) and died (97%) the following spring than cool water fish (53% sexually mature, 61% died). Females tended to mature and die earlier than males, most obviously in the warm water group.     

Diseases of the adrenal cortex of dogs and cats

The most common cause of hypoadrenocorticism in dogs is idiopathic immune-mediated destruction of the adrenal cortex. Other causes include anterior pituitary insufficiency, pituitary or adrenal neoplasia, acute withdrawal of exogenous corticosteroids, and mitotane toxicity. Females are affected more often than males; only 1 feline case has been documented. Animals 2-5 years old are most commonly affected. Clinical signs include lethargy, weakness, weight loss, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea and bradycardia. Hematologic and biochemical changes can include eosinophilia, lymphocytosis, anemia, hyperkalemia, hyponatremia and hypercalcemia. Diagnosis is by finding negligible resting levels of plasma cortisol and no response to ACTH administration, and a serum Na:K ratio of 20:1 or less. Treatment involves restoring fluid volume, correcting acidosis, and supplementing salt and glucocorticoids. Daily oral use of prednisone at 0.05 mg/kg can safely maintain most affected dogs. Some dogs only require glucocorticoids in stressful situations. Iatrogenic secondary adrenocortical insufficiency (iatrogenic Cushing's disease) may result from a single injection of long-acting glucocorticoids or from long-term use. Clinical signs are the same as for natural hyperadrenocorticism, but endogenous cortisol release is suppressed. Treatment is gradual withdrawal of the offending glucocorticoid and elimination of the cause that initially prompted glucocorticoid therapy.     

Species diversity: Concept,measurement, and response to clearcutting and site-preparation

A review of aspects of diversity recently introduced in the statistical literature by Patil and Tallie is given: species diversity as an average property of a community is defined; the property averaged is identified as species rarity; and relations between common indices of diversity and associated measures of rarity are illuminated. This paper also computes common indices of diversity from substantial empirical data collected before clearcutting and site-preparation under two management regimes and for 3 years following planting of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) to illustrate that the initial response to these forest operations is increased species diversity, i.e., increased species rarity. This response may be expected whenever clearcutting and site preparation reduces but does not eliminate previously abundant, late-successional species and permits the reappearance of early-successional species, including forbs and grasses.     

Libri novi

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Studies on the comparative effectiveness of permethrin and deet against bloodsucking arthropods

A comparison was made of the effectiveness of permethrin and deet against Ornithodoros parkeri (Acari: Argasidae), Leptotrombidium fletcheri (Acari: Trombiculidae), Rhodnius prolixus (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), Phlebotomus papatasi and Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae), Anopheles Stephensi, Anopheles albimanus, Aedes taeniorhynchus, Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae), Glossina morsitans (Diptera: Glossinidae) and Xenopsylla cheopis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae), using dose-response methods. At the ED₉₅ (95% effective dose) level, deet was more potent (P<0.05) than permethrin against all species except O. parkeri and R. prolixus. In addition, the slope of the dose-response line for deet was greater than that for permethrin against all species except O. parkeri and R. prolixus. Permethrin exhibited repellent and/or toxic effects, depending on the dose used and the individual tolerances of members of the insect test population.     

Aircraft noise - a threat to aviation

Almost five years ago, the Sixteenth Session of the ICAO Assembly adopted a resolution on aircraft noise in the vicinity of airports. The resolution was followed by a special international meeting on noise in Montreal in 1969 which called for recommendations for the development of noise requirements for existing subsonic jet aircraft “as a matter of the utmost urgency.” Despite increasing public, local and congressional demands for noise relief and the demonstrated technical feasibility of modifying current aircraft to afford significant noise reductions, nothing of a tangible nature, other than research, has been accomplished to date. While curfews and restrictive legislation limiting the growth of aviation have abounded, U.S. governmental agencies have failed to carry out the mandate given them by Public Law 90-411 in 1968 which directed the FAA to “... prescribe and amend such rules and regulations ... to provide for the control and abatement of aircraft noise ...”, as far as the existing fleet of aircraft is concerned.