Bycatch of franciscana dolphins Pontoporia blainvillei and the dynamic of artisanal fisheries in the species' southernmost area of distribution

Na Argentina, a toninha é um dos cetáceos mais vulneráveis devido às capturas por rede de pesca artesanal. O presente estudo teve como objetivo estimar as capturas acidentais no sul da província de Buenos Aires, através de entrevistas aos capitães de barcos de pesca artesanal, entre os anos 2006-2009. As capturas foram reportadas para redes de emalhe e de camarão; com as mais altas frequências entre outubro e fevereiro, a 5 km da costa e 10-20 m de profundidade. A mortalidade acidental média anual estimada foi de 107 golfinhos (IC 95% = 87-129), 92 em redes de emalhe (IC 95% = 73-112) e 15 em redes de camarão (IC 95% = 8-25), com uma captura de 0,029 golfinhos/km de rede de emalhe (IC 95% = 0,023-0,036) e 0,024/rede de camarão (IC 95% = 0,012-0,035). As flutuações anuais responderam principalmente às diferenças nos dias de pesca. Considerando o último levantamento estimativo feito para o norte costeiro da província, estima-se uma mortalidade entre 360-539 golfinhos/ano em toda a província de Buenos Aires. Esses valores correspondem de 2,5-3,7% da abundância populacional da Argentina; o que traria como consequência um declínio populacional da espécie, tornando-se fundamental encontrar alternativas de pesca para a área.In Argentina, the franciscana dolphin is one of the most vulnerable cetaceans regularly entangled in coastal artisanal fishery nets. The aim of this paper is to estimate the species' incidental mortality on the Southern coast of Buenos Aires province through interviews with the captains of artisanal fishing vessels, in the period 2006-2009. Franciscana bycatch was reported for gillnets and shrimper gear all year round but it occurred more frequently between October and February, at 5 km offshore and 10-20 m depth. The estimated mean annual incidental mortality was 107 dolphins (CI 95% = 87-129), 92 caught in gillnets (CI 95% = 73-112) and 15 in shrimpers' gear (CI 95% = 8-25) with a capture per unit effort of 0.029 dolphins per km of gillnet (CI 95% = 0.023-0.036) and 0.022 per shrimpe r's net (CI 95% = 0.012-0.035). Annual fluctuations were due to differences in the number of gillnetting fishing days. If mortality estimates for the Northern coast are also taken into account, values attain a maximum of 360-539 dolphins bycaught in the entire Buenos Aires province, representing 2.5-3.7% of the species' abundance in Argentina. This will inevitably lead to the decline of franciscana dolphin populations in the near future unless alternative fishing grounds are identified and alternative gearadopted

Quantifying the Spatial Ecology of Wide-Ranging Marine Species in the Gulf of California: Implications for Marine Conservation Planning

There is growing interest in systematic establishment of marine protected area (MPA) networks and representative conservation sites. This movement toward networks of no-take zones requires that reserves are deliberately and adequately spaced for connectivity. Here, we test the network functionality of an ecoregional assessment configuration of marine conservation areas by evaluating the habitat protection and connectivity offered to wide-ranging fauna in the Gulf of California (GOC, Mexico). We first use expert opinion to identify representative species of wide-ranging fauna of the GOC. These include leopard grouper, hammerhead sharks, California brown pelicans and green sea turtles. Analyzing habitat models with both structural and functional connectivity indexes, our results indicate that the configuration includes large proportions of biologically important habitat for the four species considered (25–40%), particularly, the best quality habitats (46–57%). Our results also show that connectivity levels offered by the conservation area design for these four species may be similar to connectivity levels offered by the entire Gulf of California, thus indicating that connectivity offered by the areas may resemble natural connectivity. The selected focal species comprise different life histories among marine or marine-related vertebrates and are associated with those habitats holding the most biodiversity values (i.e. coastal habitats); our results thus suggest that the proposed configuration may function as a network for connectivity and may adequately represent the marine megafauna in the GOC, including the potential connectivity among habitat patches. This work highlights the range of approaches that can be used to quantify habitat protection and connectivity for wide-ranging marine species in marine reserve networks

SOUTHERN BLOTTING ANALYSIS BY CYSTIC FIBROSIS GENIC FRAME RECOGNITION

Southern blotting identification of many DNA homologue sequences has given an essential contribution to the development of hereditary disease gene detection. Aim of our study has been to show how Southern blotting can be used for identification and mapping of specific DNA fragments and for making maps of specific endonuclease restriction sites. In our laboratory research,genomic DNA has been isolated from an organism, cleaved with endonuclease restriction enzymes and,after electroforesis in 1% agarose gel,transferred on a filter. Our study gives a contribution to the understanding of genome organization and number of copies and their position on the gene of interest, which is homologue to the probe used

COGNITIVE EVALUATION AND METODOLOGY FOR BIOCHEMICAL AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS BY MASS SPECTROMETRY.

Aim of this work is to consider Mass Spectrometry as projected towards the future, trough the consolidation of always new investigations,disposing of a wide revelation system for powerful and sure data management. Mass Spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique able to radically modify and change post-genomic research in biochemical, biological and medical fields and its application is involved in the development of highly revelant techniques for new experimental models. "Imaging Mass Spectrometry" has been analyzed to evaluate its different fields of application and use, and to stress new acquisition in proteomic research, above all for tumor study

ISOLAMENTO E DETERMINAZIONE DELLA CAPACITA' ANTIOSSIDANTE DELLA VITAMINA E IN ACTINIDIA CHINENSIS PLANCH.

Actinidia chinensis Planch., della famiglia Actinidiacee, ha un'acidità dovuta alla presenza di acido ascorbico (vitamina C), che, insieme alle vitamine A e B, potassio e fibre, determinano, con altri acidi organici, una elevata attività antiossidante ed autoconservante. Il kiwi, come viene comunemente chiamato, ha un potente effetto preventivo contro le malattie cardiovascolari. Ha lo stesso effetto terapeutico dell'aspirina nel preconcetto di queste malattie, senza gli effetti collaterali di quest'ultima, perchè il kiwi induce una grande efficacia inibitoria sull'accumulo di depositi e placche nelle arterie, causa principale di questo tipo di patologie. Obiettivo di questo studio è determinare la presenza di una molecola, isolata dalla buccia del kiwi, analoga al tocoferolo, appartenente alla vitamina E

ASSETTO LIPIDICO NELLE CORONOPATIE IN CORRELAZIONE CON RETINOLO E ALFA-TOCOFEROLO

Questo studio ha lo scopo di correlare retinolo e alfa-tocoferolo con colesterolo e trigliceridi, quali fattori di rischio di malattie coronopatiche. E' stata riscontrata una riduzione della concentrazione di retinolo e di alfa-tocoferolo nei soggetti affetti da coronopatia, non rilevata nei soggetti sani. Il rapporto retinolo/trigliceridi, unito ai valori di alfa-tocoferolo/colesterolo ha dimostrato il rischio di malattia coronopatica.This study aims correlating retinol, alpha-tocopherol and serum cholesterol levels and triglyceridemia as risk factors for coronary diseases. A decrease in retinol and alpha-tocopherol concentration was detected in patients affected by coronary disease; this decrease was not noted in normal subjects. The ratio between retinol/triglycerides related to alpha-tocopherol/cholesterol concentration, showed a risk of coronary diseases