Genetic diversity in a deep-sea harpacticoid copepod found near two oil-drilling sites in the gulf of mexico

Sites adjacent to (near-field) and distant from (far-field) oil-drilling platforms were sampled for harpacticoid copepods at two locations in the northern Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, both at depths of ≈ 1100 m. The sites were located at Garden Banks Area Block 602 (GB 602) and Mississippi Canyon Area Block 292 (MC 292). Near-field sites at both locations were characterized by large numbers of a single undescribed species of harpacticoid copepod, Bathycletopsyllus sp., but this species was essentially absent from far-field sites. We sequenced a 710 bp portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COX I) to analyze the genetic diversity and population structure of Bathycletopsyllus sp. at the two platforms, and to determine if the harpacticoids examined were either a single species, or a complex of cryptic species. We found that divergence at the COX I gene (maximum 1.6) was within the range observed for intraspecific variability in previously-studied species of harpacticoid copepods that were well-characterized taxonomically. Thus, the two samples analyzed here were a single species and not a complex of cryptic species. In addition, there was significant genetic heterogeneity between the two samples, suggesting limited gene flow between the two sites. This was expected given the low dispersal potential typical of harpacticoids and the distance between the sites (407 km). Lastly, haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were both low in the GB 602 sample, giving a nominally-significant departure from a pure neutral model. This result could indicate the occurrence of selective sweeps, temporal population size variation or other processes not included in the neutral model. In contrast, haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were both higher in the MC 292 sample than at Garden Banks, and there was no detectable departure from neutrality. For both samples, diversity at the haplotype and nucleotide levels were within the range seen in shallow-water harpacticoid species inhabiting both uncontaminated and contaminated muddy sediments, so there was no evidence for pollution related effects in the present study. © 2010 The Crustacean Society

Improving the Applicability of AI for Psychiatric Applications through Human-in-the-loop Methodologies

Objectives: Machine learning (ML) and natural language processing have great potential to improve effciency and accuracy in diagnosis, treatment recommendations, predictive interventions, and scarce resource allocation within psychiatry. Researchers often conceptualize such an approach as operating in isolation without much need for human involvement, yet it remains crucial to harness human-inthe-loop practices when developing and implementing such techniques as their absence may be catastrophic. We advocate for building ML-based technologies that collaborate with experts within psychiatry in all stages of implementation and use to increase model performance while simultaneously increasing the practicality, robustness, and reliability of the process. Methods: We showcase pitfalls of the traditional ML framework and explain how it can be improved with human-inthe-loop techniques. Specifcally, we applied active learning strategies to the automatic scoring of a story recall task and compared the results to a traditional approach. Results: Human-in-the-loop methodologies supplied a greater understanding of where the model was least confdent or had knowledge gaps during training. As compared to the traditional framework, less than half of the training data were needed to reach a given accuracy. Conclusions: Human-in-the-loop ML is an approach to data collection and model creation that harnesses active learning to select the most critical data needed to increase a model’s accuracy and generalizability more effciently than classic random sampling would otherwise allow. Such techniques may additionally operate as safeguards from spurious predictions and can aid in decreasing disparities that artifcial intelligence systems otherwise propagate

Variation in Morphology vs Conservation of a Mitochondrial Gene in Montastraea cavernosa (Cnidaria, Scleractinia)

Skeletal morphology of many scleractinian corals may be influenced by environmental factors and may thus result in substantial intraspecific phenotypic plasticity and, possibly, in overlapping morphologies between species. Environmentally induced variation can also mask phenotypic variation that is genetically based. Morphological analyses and DNA sequence analyses were performed on Montastraea cavernosa from the Flower Garden Banks, Texas, and from the Florida Keys in order to assess variation within and between geographic regions. Skeletal characters, including corallite diameter, columella width, theca thickness, nearest-neighbor distance, length of first septa cycle, and width of first septa cycle, varied within colonies, among colonies, and between the Flower Garden Banks and the Florida Keys. Morphological variation may be controlled by environmental and genetic influences at different levels. If phenotype is under genetic control, it is not influenced by the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene, because analysis of a 708 base pair fragment revealed identical sequences of M. cavernosa from these geographic regions. This high level of nucleotide sequence similarity may result from functional constraints, efficient DNA repair mechanisms, or other processes. This gene was not found to exhibit any variation in association with that observed in the morphology, and we suggest that it is an inappropriate genetic marker to use to assess intraspecific variation within this species and possibly other scleractinian species as well. Analysis via other molecular techniques will be necessary in order to assess the factors that influence morphological variation and that distinguish populations within this species

Ensemble Concerts: University Glee Club, December 1, 1976

University Union AuditoriumWednesdayDecember 1,19768:00 P.M

with Comments on Feeding Biology

www.mapress.com/zootaxa

Winners and Losers: Formula versus Competitive Funding of Agricultural Research

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O3, O4, Q16,

Thoughts about disordered thinking: measuring and quantifying the laws of order and disorder

Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft