The absence of krill from the South Georgia zone, winter 1983

An extremely low abundance of the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, was observed in the Scotia Sea during the austral winter of 1983. The decline could not be attributed to any of the environmental factors investigated, including phytoplankton biomass which was higher than expected. One effect of the reduced krill population, observed during the 1983 to 1984 summer, was a much lower than average breeding success for bird and seal predators of krill on Bird Island, South Georgia. Historical evidence suggests that drastic reductions in krill abundance may not be uncommon, and will have profound consequences for the developing krill fishery

The distribution, abundance and community structure of marine birds in southern Drake Passage and Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

We studied the distribution and abundance of marine birds in Bransfield Strait and southern Drake Passage during January and February 1985. We identified clusters of bird species, “communities” with similar distributions, and examined the extent to which the distributions of these seabird communities reflected the underlying physical oceanography of the region. Based on temperature, salinity and silicon data, we identified 11 water masses which resulted from varying degrees of mixing of water from the Pacific Basin, the Bellingshausen Sea, the Weddell Sea and terrestrial runoff. Seabird species assemblages were associated with contiguous clusters of water masses, suggesting a response by the birds to apparently subtle differences in their marine habitat

Walker-256 tumor growth is inhibited by the independent or associative chronic ingestion of shark liver and fish oil: a response linked by the increment of peritoneal macrophages nitrite production in Wistar rats

Fish oil (FO) is widely known by its capacity to positively modulate immune parameters and decrease the growth of some tumors. Despite the enormous number of studies addressing the effects of FO, there are few reports showing similar results using other marine sources of lipid compounds with biologic importance. This study aimed to compare the effects of shark liver oil (SLO), which is a source of omega-3 fatty acids and alkylglycerols, with those obtained with FO administration, or the association of both, on tumor growth and the innate immune system in Walker-256 tumor–bearing rats. Beginning at 21 days of age, Wistar rats were fed regular chow and/or FO and/or SLO supplement (1 g/kg body weight per day) for 14 weeks. Walker-256 tumor cells were inoculated on the 90th day. As expected, 14 days after inoculation, rats fed with FO presented tumor weights that were 50% lower than the control tumors (P &lt; .05). The association of both FO and SLO and ingestion of SLO alone also reached the same reduction level. Except for adhesion, all macrophage parameters assayed were 200% higher in rats fed with FO and those supplemented with both FO and SLO compared with control rats. Only reactive nitrogen species production was increased by SLO. These results suggest that SLO might also have indirect antitumor properties. Conversely, there were no additive effects when SLO was administered with FO. Therefore, SLO is another marine compound with in vivo antitumor effects, but its action mechanisms seem not to be related to major modifications on macrophage function.<br/

Molecular Epidemiology of Aspergillus collected from Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Background: Aspergillus respiratory infection is a common complication in cystic fibrosis (CF) and is associated with loss of pulmonary function and allergic disease. Methods: Fifty-three Aspergillus isolates recovered fromCF patients were identified to species by Internal Transcribed Spacer Region (ITS), β-tubulin, and calmodulin sequencing. Results: Three species complexes (Terrei, Nigri, and Fumigati) were found. Identification to species level gave a single Aspergillus terreus sensu stricto, one Aspergillus niger sensu stricto and 51 Aspergillus fumigatus sensu stricto isolates. No cryptic species were found. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study of Aspergillus species in CF using molecular methods. The paucity of non-A. fumigatus and of cryptic species of A. fumigatus suggests a special association of A. fumigatus sensu stricto with CF airways, indicating it likely displays unique characteristics making it suitable for chronic residence in that milieu. These findings could refine an epidemiologic and therapeutic approach geared to this pathogenRaquel Sabino was financially supported by a fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal (contract SFRH/BPD/72775/2010). This study was partially supported by a grant from the Child Health Research Institute, Stanford University, and a gift from Mr. John Flatley. José A.G. Ferreira was partially supported by a grant from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)