Distribution and Status of Rare and Endangered Mussels (Mollusca: Margaritiferidae, Unionidae) in Arkansas

Knowledge of the distribution and population status of freshwater bivalves occurring in Arkansas has increased markedly during the past decade. Sufficient data has become available to delineate species which are rare and/or endangered within the state. Historical and recent records from Arkansas exist for four mussels currently listed as federally endangered species: the fat pocketbook (Potamilus capax), the pink mucket (Lampsilis orbiculata), Curtis\u27 pearly mussel (Epioblasma florentina curtisi), and the turgid-blossom pearly mussel (Epioblasma turgidula). Ten additional mussels which occur or were thought to occur in Arkansas are being considered for federal protection by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Several other taxa may warrant protective status

Recent Mollusca of Arkansas with Annotations to Systematics and Zoogeography

A total of 223 taxa of Mollusca are presently known from Arkansas. The geological history and geomorphology of the region, particularly the presence of the Interior Highlands, have been responsible for the development of a diverse molluscan fauna. Thirty regionally endemic forms are included among the 107 terrestrial gastropods, 36 aquatic gastropods, 65 unionacean mussels, and 15 sphaeriacean clams

Systematic bias in baroclinic energy estimates in shelf seas

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Long-term adherence to healthy dietary guidelines and chronic inflammation in the prospective Whitehall II study

Background Inflammation plays an important role in the cause of cardiovascular diseases and may contribute to the association linking an unhealthy diet to chronic age-related diseases. However, to date the long-term associations between diet and inflammation have been poorly described. Our aim was to assess the extent to which adherence to a healthy diet and dietary improvements over a 6-year exposure period prevented subsequent chronic inflammation over a 5-year follow-up in a large British population of men and women. Methods Data were drawn from 4600 adults (mean ± standard deviation, age 49.6 ± 6.1 years, 28% were women) from the prospective Whitehall cohort II study. Adherence to a healthy diet was measured using Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) scores in 1991-1993 (50.7 ± 11.9 points) and 1997-1999 (51.6 ± 12.4 points). Chronic inflammation, defined as average levels of serum interleukin-6 from 2 measures 5 years apart, was assessed in 1997-1999 and 2002-2004. Results After adjustment for sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, and health status, participants who maintained a high AHEI score (ie, a healthy diet, n = 1736, 37.7%) and those who improved this score over time (n = 681, 14.8%) showed significantly lower mean levels of interleukin-6 (1.84 pg/mL, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.71-1.98 and 1.84 pg/mL, 95% CI, 1.70-1.99, respectively) than those who had a low AHEI score (n = 1594, 34.6%) over the 6-year exposure period (2.01 pg/mL, 95% CI, 1.87-2.17). Conclusions These data suggest that maintaining and improving adherence to healthy dietary recommendations may reduce the risk of long-term inflammation.</p

Effects of live-bait shrimp trawling on seagrass beds and fish bycatch in Tampa Bay, Florida

The use of live shrimp for bait in recreational fishing has resulted in a controversial fishery for shrimp in Florida. In this fishery, night collections are conducted over seagrass beds with roller beam trawls to capture live shrimp, primarily pink shrimp, Penaeus duorarum. These shrimp are culled from the catch on sorting tables and placed in onboard aerated “live” wells. Beds of turtlegrass, Thalassia testudinum, a species that has highest growth rates and biomass during summer and lowest during the winter (Fonseca et al., 1996) are predominant areas for live-bait shrimp trawling (Tabb and Kenny, 1969). Our study objectives were 1) to determine effects of a roller beam trawl on turtlegrass biomass and morphometrics during intensive (up to 18 trawls over a turtlegrass bed), short-term (3-hour duration) use and 2) to examine the mortality of bycatch finfish following capture by a trawl

Systematic Bias In Baroclinic Energy Estimates In Shelf Seas

A simple model of an internal wave advected by an oscillating barotropic flow suggests flaws in standard approaches to estimating properties of the internal tide. When the M2 barotropic tidal current amplitude is of similar size to the phase speed of the M2 baroclinic tide, spectral and harmonic analysis techniques lead to erroneous estimates of the amplitude, phase, and energy in the M2 internal tide. In general, harmonic fits and bandpass or low-pass filters that attempt to isolate the lowest M2 harmonic significantly underestimate the strength of M2 baroclinic energy fluxes in shelf seas. Baroclinic energy flux estimates may show artificial spatial variability, giving the illusion of sources and sinks of energy where none are actually present. Analysis of previously published estimates of baroclinic energy fluxes in the Celtic Sea suggests this mechanism may lead to values being 25%–60% too low