Subtidal littering: Indirect effects on soft substratum macrofauna?

Changes in macrofauna community structure, abundance and species richness were examined both before and one year after the deployment of plastic and glass bottles at littered (litter density: 16 items / 100 m2) and non-littered (control) surfaces at three unimpacted coastal areas of the western Saronikos Gulf (Greece). In parallel, LOI% at the adjacent sediments and changes in the composition of feeding types of the megaepifauna that colonized the litter were examined across treatments. Significant changes in macrofauna community structure were demonstrated between before and after littering. At only one of the sites was there detected a significant difference in macrofauna community structure between control and littered plots after littering. This difference was linked with a significant increase in the abundance of opportunistic polychaete species and LOI% levels in the sediment surface due to the entrapment of macrophytal debris within the littered surface. The study did not show a consistent direct response of macroinfauna community to litter and the associated megafauna. Unlike the megafauna attracted by litter items, soft-substratum macrofauna is less responsive to the addition of novel hard substrates in adjacent sediments. Alternatively, it could be that the impact of littering with small items triggers a macrofauna response detectable in the long-run

Dynamic Phenotypic Clustering in Noisy Ecosystems

In natural ecosystems, hundreds of species typically share the same environment and are connected by a dense network of interactions such as predation or competition for resources. Much is known about how fixed ecological niches can determine species abundances in such systems, but far less attention has been paid to patterns of abundances in randomly varying environments. Here, we study this question in a simple model of competition between many species in a patchy ecosystem with randomly fluctuating environmental conditions. Paradoxically, we find that introducing noise can actually induce ordered patterns of abundance-fluctuations, leading to a distinct periodic variation in the correlations between species as a function of the phenotypic distance between them; here, difference in growth rate. This is further accompanied by the formation of discrete, dynamic clusters of abundant species along this otherwise continuous phenotypic axis. These ordered patterns depend on the collective behavior of many species; they disappear when only individual or pairs of species are considered in isolation. We show that they arise from a balance between the tendency of shared environmental noise to synchronize species abundances and the tendency for competition among species to make them fluctuate out of step. Our results demonstrate that in highly interconnected ecosystems, noise can act as an ordering force, dynamically generating ecological patterns even in environments lacking explicit niches

Is prolonged infusion of piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem in critically ill patients associated with improved pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and patient outcomes? An observation from the Defining Antibiotic Levels in Intensive care unit patients (DALI) cohort

Objectives:We utilized the database of the Defining Antibiotic Levels in Intensive care unit patients (DALI) study to statistically compare the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and clinical outcomes between prolonged-infusion and intermittent-bolus dosing of piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem in critically ill patients using inclusion criteria similar to those used in previous prospective studies.Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of a prospective, multicentre pharmacokinetic point-prevalence study (DALI), which recruited a large cohort of critically ill patients from 68 ICUs across 10 countries.Results: Of the 211 patients receiving piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem in the DALI study, 182 met inclusion criteria. Overall, 89.0% (162/182) of patients achieved the most conservative target of 50% fT(> MIC) (time over which unbound or free drug concentration remains above the MIC). Decreasing creatinine clearance and the use of prolonged infusion significantly increased the PTA for most pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets. In the subgroup of patients who had respiratory infection, patients receiving beta-lactams via prolonged infusion demonstrated significantly better 30 day survival when compared with intermittent-bolus patients [86.2% (25/29) versus 56.7% (17/30); P=0.012]. Additionally, in patients with a SOFA score of >= 9, administration by prolonged infusion compared with intermittent-bolus dosing demonstrated significantly better clinical cure [73.3% (11/15) versus 35.0% (7/20); P=0.035] and survival rates [73.3% (11/15) versus 25.0% (5/20); P=0.025].Conclusions: Analysis of this large dataset has provided additional data on the niche benefits of administration of piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem by prolonged infusion in critically ill patients, particularly for patients with respiratory infections

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Spatial variability and dynamics of macrobenthos in a Mediterranean delta front area: The role of physical processes

Benthic communities in delta fronts are subject to burial risk because of high riverine sediment discharges and to substrate instability due to deposition of fine sediments at shallow depths. This study examines the spatial distribution of macroinfauna in the subaqueous deltaic depositions of a small river in the eastern Mediterranean (the Spercheios river, Maliakos Gulf, Aegean Sea) in relation to environmental variables in the water column and sediment. Samples were taken at eight stations in January, May, August and November 2000. From late winter to spring enhanced phytoplanktonic biomass, elevated suspended load and poorly sorted sediments showed a simultaneous influence of riverine discharges and hydrodynamics on the benthic system. In contrast, from summer to autumn oligotrophy in the water column and low hydrodynamic regime were observed. Total abundance, biomass and numbers of benthic species were positively correlated with distance from the river but negatively correlated with suspended inorganic particles and sediment skewness. Species from different functional groups, ranging from surface-living opportunists to burrowers and predators, coexisted at each station. However, suspension feeders were numerically suppressed near the river mouth. Non-parametric multivariate regressions showed that the variance in the species data was explained by environmental variables to a level ranging from 53 to 69%. This indicated a strong link between the macrofauna and the delta front environment. The variables used as measures of hydrodynamics and turbidity (i.e. sediment skewness and sorting, suspended material and transparency) displayed great explanatory power. The results of the present study show that the distribution of species is related to fluctuations in hydrodynamic regime that influence substrate characteristics. The study also demonstrates that sediment discharges of small temperate rivers can determine species composition in the delta front and have a detrimental impact on the community at short distances from river outflows. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Dynamics of macrofaunal body size in a deltaic environment

Macrofaunal density, biomass, and respiration size spectra, as well as density- and respiration-body size allometries, were investigated in a deltaic environment of the eastern Mediterranean (Maliakos Gulf, Greece). Four stations were sampled along a gradient of increasing depth and decreasing water transparency from the river mouth to the plume area in May, August, and November 2000, and February and May 2001. Density and biomass significantly decreased in winter and spring near the river mouth. The shape and peaks of size spectra were temporally variable, indicating that no single factor determines body size at all times. The slopes of the seasonally averaged normalized biomass size spectra gradually decreased from -0.47 at the river mouth to -1.03 in the plume area, clearly indicating a biomass increase with increasing body size towards the river mouth. A flat lower boundary in density/body size relationships at all stations precluded a strong negative regression slope and indicated that the density of small- and intermediate-sized macrofaunal organisms is constrained by perturbations. Regressions of calculated respiration rates against body size were close to 0.75 only at the river mouth during winter, thus indicating that increases in riverine sediment discharges during that period constrain the macrofaunal community. Overall, there was no evidence of energy supply constraints for macrofaunal body size in Maliakos Gulf. Irrespective of whether size spectra and body size allometries conform to global patterns or not, they proved to be sensitive and straightforward descriptors for understanding the macrofauna's response to the deltaic environment. © Inter-Research 2006

Environmental variation and macrofauna response in a coastal area influenced by land runoff

Macrofauna community interactions with environmental variables in the water column (salinity, temperature, turbidity, transparency, suspended particulate matter, particulate organic matter, choloroplastic pigments) and in the sediment (granulometric variables, organic carbon and pigments) were investigated in a coastal area with high land runoff due to riverine and temporary stream discharges (Greece, Aegean Sea, Maliakos Gulf). Samples were taken along a distance-depositional gradient from the river mouth to the open sea at eight stations, at times of different precipitation regime from August 2000 to May 2001. The physical variables, such as transparency and median grain size, generally increased seawards, and parallelled the depositional gradient as opposed to measures of food inputs and hydrodynamic regime. High environmental heterogeneity was observed during peak precipitation. The total number of species increased seawards and from August (122 species) to May (170 species). Maximum abundance also increased from August (4953m-2) to May (10,220individualsm-2), irrespective of distance from river mouth. Species belonging to different functional groups, as to recolonization, feeding, motility and substrate preferences, coexisted at all times indicating high functional diversity. Non-parametric multivariate regression showed that at times of low, rising and falling precipitation 78-81% of community variation was explained by environmental variables, indicating that macrofauna distribution and species composition respond to food inputs and sediment characteristics. During peak land runoff the community-environment relationship weakened (57% of the variability explained). The diversity of functional traits of the most abundant species indicates that the macrofauna community can absorb the impact of increased turbidity, sedimentation and current-driven dispersion. The study offers baseline information for the integrated coastal zone management in microtidal areas with high land runoff under Mediterranean-type climate conditions. During peak land runoff the community-environment relationship weakened (57% of the variability explained) whilst species distribution ranges increased. The study shows that the functional diversity in the study area prior to high discharge period enable macrofauna community to absorb the impact of increased turbidity, sedimentation and current-driven dispersion. The study offers baseline information for the impact of high land runoff in microtidal areas under Mediterranean-type climate conditions. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd