Responses of Mole Salamanders to Clearcutting: Using Field Experiments in Forest Management

Impacts of forest management practices on amphibian populations have received growing attention in the last 10 yr. However, to date, measured responses include only comparisons of species diversity indices and population counts without true spatial and temporal controls. We used an experimental approach to test for differences in growth rate, fecundity, age at maturity, and whole-body storage lipids in individual mole salamanders, Ambystoma talpoideum, placed in differently managed habitats. Four 100-m(2) field enclosures were built in each of two habitats, a 4-mo-old clearcut and an adjacent 40-yr-old pine forest. On 19 July 1994, 80 recently metamorphosed and individually marked, weighed, and measured (snout-vent length) A. talpoideum were randomly assigned to field enclosures (n = 640 salamanders). Between 31 October 1994 and 31 March 1995, salamanders were collected from the enclosures using pitfall traps. Body mass and length, whole-body nonpolar storage lipids, clutch size, and egg nonpolar lipids were determined for sexually mature salamanders. After an average of 5-6 mo exposure to clearcut and 40-yr-old pine forest, there were no significant differences between habitats for number of recaptured salamanders, final body mass, final body length, percent whole-body storage lipid, clutch size, or percent storage lipid of eggs. Our results suggest, in contrast to expectations based on many comparative studies with other species, that habitat modification resulting from clearcutting may not have detrimental effects on newly metamorphosed A. talpoideum. We contrast our experimental approach, with its strengths and weaknesses, to previous comparative studies and identify the inherent complexities involved in establishing a causal link between habitat management (clearcutting) and effects on amphibians

Comparison of F(ab') versus Fab antivenom for pit viper envenomation: A prospective, blinded, multicenter, randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine) has been the only antivenom commercially available in the US since 2007 for treatment of Crotalinae envenomation. Late coagulopathy can occur or recur after clearance of Fab antivenom, often after hospital discharge, lasting in some cases more than 2 weeks. There have been serious, even fatal, bleeding complications associated with recurrence phenomena. Frequent follow-up is required, and additional intervention or hospitalization is often necessary. F(ab')2 immunoglobulin derivatives have longer plasma half life than do Fab. We hypothesized that F(ab')2 antivenom would be superior to Fab in the prevention of late coagulopathy following treatment of patients with Crotalinae envenomation. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial, comparing late coagulopathy in snakebitten patients treated with F(ab')2 with maintenance doses [F(ab')2/F(ab')2], or F(ab')2 with placebo maintenance doses [F(ab')2/placebo], versus Fab with maintenance doses [Fab/Fab]. The primary efficacy endpoint was coagulopathy (platelet count < 150 K/mm(3), fibrinogen level < 150 mg/dL) between end of maintenance dosing and day 8. RESULTS: 121 patients were randomized at 18 clinical sites and received at least one dose of study drug. 114 completed the study. Of these, 11/37 (29.7%) in the Fab/Fab cohort experienced late coagulopathy versus 4/39 (10.3%, p < 0.05) in the F(ab')2/F(ab')2 cohort and 2/38 (5.3%, p < 0.05) in the F(ab')2/placebo cohort. The lowest heterologous protein exposure was with F(ab')2/placebo. No serious adverse events were related to study drug. In each study arm, one patient experienced an acute serum reaction and one experienced serum sickness. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, management of coagulopathic Crotalinae envenomation with longer-half-life F(ab')2 antivenom, with or without maintenance dosing, reduced the risk of subacute coagulopathy and bleeding following treatment of envenomation

Status of the Appalachian Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus centaureae wyandot) in Virginia

ABSTRACT The Appalachian grizzled skipper (Pyrgus centaureae wyandot) was documented historically (primarily from shale barren habitats) in 11 counties in Virginia. Between 1992 and 2002, staff of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, conducted 175 surveys for P. c. wyandot at 75 sites in 12 counties. The species was observed at only six sites during these surveys, representing two new county records. All observations since 1992 combined account for &lt;80 individuals. Due to forest succession and threats from gypsy moth control measures, all recent sites for P. c. wyandot in Virginia may be degrading in overall habitat quality

Ecological Studies Related to Construction of the Defense Waste Processing Facility on the Savannah River Site

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) was built on the Savannah River Site (SRS) during the mid-1980's. The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) has completed 12 years of ecological studies related to the construction of the DWPF complex. Prior to construction, the 600-acre site (S-Area) contained a Carolina bay and the headwaters of a stream. Research conducted by the SREL has focused primarily on four questions related to these wetlands: (1) Prior to construction, what fauna and flora were present at the DWPF site and at similar, yet undisturbed, alternative sites (2) By comparing the Carolina bay at the DWPF site (Sun Bay) with an undisturbed control Carolina bay (Rainbow Bay), what effect is construction having on the organisms that inhabited the DWPF site (3) By comparing control streams with streams on the periphery of the DWPF site, what effect is construction having on the peripheral streams (4) How effective have efforts been to lessen the impacts of construction, both with respect to erosion control measures and the construction of refuge ponds'' as alternative breeding sites for amphibians that formerly bred at Sun Bay Through the long-term census-taking of biota at the DWPF site and Rainbow Bay, SREL has begun to evaluate the impact of construction on the biota and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Similarly, the effects of erosion from the DWPF site on the water quality of S-Area peripheral streams are being assessed. This research provides supporting data relevant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Executive Orders 11988 (Floodplain Management) and 11990 (Protection of Wetlands), and United States Department of Energy (DOE) Guidelines for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetland Environmental Review Requirements (10CFR1022)

Les bases de données du GIS Sol : un accès à la connaissance de l’état des sols sur le territoire

National audienceDepuis maintenant presque 20 ans, le GIS Sol conçoit et coordonne les programmes nationaux d’acquisition des données sur les sols. Ainsi, sous son impulsion et grâce aux financements de ses membres, l’unité de service InfoSol de l’INRA a organisé les actions d’inventaire et de surveillance des sols, tout comme la récupération et la sauvegarde de données anciennes ou acquises par différents acteurs (bureaux d’étude, laboratoires) afin de constituer un système d’information unique sur les sols de France. Ces dernières années, le traitement des données et leur mise à disposition se sont accélérés, rendant ainsi possible l’accès à des informations sur les sols. Sont ainsi disponibles et accessibles des données de base sur les sols (ex : nature, distribution) ainsi que des informations sur les teneurs nationales du fond pédogéochimique en divers éléments majeurs (ex : Al, Fe, Ca, K) et traces (ex : As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Zn) tout comme les concentrations attendues en certaines familles de contaminants organiques persistants dans l’environnement (ex : HAP, PCB, dioxines). Cette intervention fait le bilan de 20 ans d’un dispositif unique en Europe qui a organisé la coopération entre les ministères de l’Agriculture et de l’Ecologie, des instituts de recherche et des agences de l’Etat pour créer et faire prospérer un système d’information sur les sols de France