A link between eumelanism and calcium physiology in the barn owl

In many animals, melanin-based coloration is strongly heritable and is largely insensitive to the environment and body condition. According to the handicap principle, such a trait may not reveal individual quality because the production of different melanin-based colorations often entails similar costs. However, a recent study showed that the production of eumelanin pigments requires relatively large amounts of calcium, potentially implying that melanin-based coloration is associated with physiological processes requiring calcium. If this is the case, eumelanism may be traded-off against other metabolic processes that require the same elements. We used a correlative approach to examine, for the first time, this proposition in the barn owl, a species in which individuals vary in the amount, size, and blackness of eumelanic spots. For this purpose, we measured calcium concentration in the left humerus of 85 dead owls. Results showed that the humeri of heavily spotted individuals had a higher concentration of calcium. This suggests either that plumage spottiness signals the ability to absorb calcium from the diet for both eumelanin production and storage in bones, or that lightly spotted individuals use more calcium for metabolic processes at the expense of calcium storage in bones. Our study supports the idea that eumelanin-based coloration is associated with a number of physiological processes requiring calciu

A review of nitrogen isotopic alteration in marine sediments

Key Points: Use of sedimentary nitrogen isotopes is examined; On average, sediment 15N/14N increases approx. 2 per mil during early burial; Isotopic alteration scales with water depth Abstract: Nitrogen isotopes are an important tool for evaluating past biogeochemical cycling from the paleoceanographic record. However, bulk sedimentary nitrogen isotope ratios, which can be determined routinely and at minimal cost, may be altered during burial and early sedimentary diagenesis, particularly outside of continental margin settings. The causes and detailed mechanisms of isotopic alteration are still under investigation. Case studies of the Mediterranean and South China Seas underscore the complexities of investigating isotopic alteration. In an effort to evaluate the evidence for alteration of the sedimentary N isotopic signal and try to quantify the net effect, we have compiled and compared data demonstrating alteration from the published literature. A >100 point comparison of sediment trap and surface sedimentary nitrogen isotope values demonstrates that, at sites located off of the continental margins, an increase in sediment 15N/14N occurs during early burial, likely at the seafloor. The extent of isotopic alteration appears to be a function of water depth. Depth-related differences in oxygen exposure time at the seafloor are likely the dominant control on the extent of N isotopic alteration. Moreover, the compiled data suggest that the degree of alteration is likely to be uniform through time at most sites so that bulk sedimentary isotope records likely provide a good means for evaluating relative changes in the global N cycle

Morphological and metabolic changes in common carp, Cyprinus carpio, during short-term copper exposure: interactions between Cu^{2+}$ and plasma cortisol elevation

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT)-contaminated soil was remediated by an anaerobic/aerobic slurry process. Prior to treatment, the soil was spiked with [14.C] -TNT Leaching experiments were carried out with the decontaminated soil to determine the degree of binding of the radiolabel under a variety of conditions. To simulate natural degradation processes of soil organic matter, each of three columns was subjected to a different treatment known to enhance biological transformation over a 92-week period. Only minor amounts of radioactivity (1.0% of the bound radioactivity) were released from treated soil incubated in the presence of the lignin-degrading fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Simulation of seasonal variation in temperature, including freezing of the soil, did not cause a significant release of radioactivity (1.4%). Growth and flowering of the bush bean Phaseolus vulgaris only released 0.8% of the bound radioactivity to the eluate; however, during the decomposition phase, an additional 7.7% of the bound radioactivity was released. We propose that this radioactivity was bound to soluble humic material that was mobilized due to a pH shift during the decomposition of the plant organic matter. This is supported by the observation that neither free TNT nor its metabolites were present in the eluate. During the different incubation experiments, 3.9 to 8.5% of the bound radioactivity was found as 14.C02. The results indicate a slow turnover of even strongly bound immobilized metabolites of TNT