491 research outputs found
Vegetation Effects on Fish Distribution in Impounded Salt Marshes
We compared the density and biomass of resident fish in vegetated and
unvegetated flooded habitats of impounded salt marshes in the northern Indian
River Lagoon (IRL) Estuary of east-central Florida. A 1-m2 throw trap was used
to sample fish in randomly located, paired sample plots (n = 198 pairs) over 5 seasons
in 7 impoundments. We collected a total of 15 fish taxa, and 88% of the fishes
we identified from the samples belonged to three species: Cyprinodon variegatus
(Sheepshead Minnow), Gambusia holbrooki (Eastern Mosquitofish), and Poecilia
latipinna (Sailfin Molly). Vegetated habitat usually had higher density and biomass
of fish. Mean fish density (and 95% confidence interval) for vegetated and unvegetated
sites were 8.2 (6.7–9.9) and 2.0 (1.6–2.4) individuals m-2, respectively; mean
biomass (and 95% confidence interval) for vegetated and unvegetated sites were
3.0 (2.5–3.7) and 1.1 (0.9–1.4) g m-2, respectively. We confirmed previous findings
that impounded salt marshes of the northern IRL Estuary produce a high standing
stock of resident fishes. Seasonal patterns of abundance were consistent with fish
moving between vegetated and unvegetated habitat as water levels changed in the
estuary. Differences in density, mean size, and species composition of resident
fishes between vegetated and unvegetated habitats have important implications for
movement of biomass and nutrients out of salt marsh by piscivores (e.g., wading
birds and fishes) via a trophic relay
Scale-Dependent Habitat Selection of Nesting Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets
Foraging habitat selection of nesting Great Egrets (
Ardea alba
) and Snowy Egrets (
Egretta thula
) was
investigated within an estuary with extensive impounded salt marsh habitat. Using a geographic information system,
available habitat was partitioned into concentric bands at five, ten, and 15 km radius from nesting colonies to assess
the relative effects of habitat composition and distance on habitat selection. Snowy Egrets were more likely than
Great Egrets to depart colonies and travel to foraging sites in groups, but both species usually arrived at sites that
were occupied by other wading birds. Mean flight distances were 6.2 km (SE = 0.4, N = 28, range 1.8-10.7 km) for
Great Egrets and 4.7 km (SE = 0.48, N = 31, range 0.7-12.5 km) for Snowy Egrets. At the broadest spatial scale both
species used impounded (mostly salt marsh) and estuarine edge habitat more than expected based on availability
while avoiding unimpounded (mostly fresh water wetland) habitat. At more local scales habitat use matched availability.
Interpretation of habitat preference differed with the types of habitat that were included and the maximum
distance that habitat was considered available. These results illustrate that caution is needed when interpreting the
results of habitat preference studies when individuals are constrained in their choice of habitats, such as for central
place foragers
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A Calibrated Method of Massage Therapy Decreases Systolic Blood Pressure Concomitant With Changes in Heart Rate Variability in Male Rats.
ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to develop a method for applying calibrated manual massage pressures by using commonly available, inexpensive sphygmomanometer parts and validate the use of this approach as a quantitative method of applying massage therapy to rodents.MethodsMassage pressures were monitored by using a modified neonatal blood pressure (BP) cuff attached to an aneroid gauge. Lightly anesthetized rats were stroked on the ventral abdomen for 5 minutes at pressures of 20 mm Hg and 40 mm Hg. Blood pressure was monitored noninvasively for 20 minutes following massage therapy at 5-minute intervals. Interexaminer reliability was assessed by applying 20 mm Hg and 40 mm Hg pressures to a digital scale in the presence or absence of the pressure gauge.ResultsWith the use of this method, we observed good interexaminer reliability, with intraclass coefficients of 0.989 versus 0.624 in blinded controls. In Long-Evans rats, systolic BP dropped by an average of 9.86% ± 0.27% following application of 40 mm Hg massage pressure. Similar effects were seen following 20 mm Hg pressure (6.52% ± 1.7%), although latency to effect was greater than at 40 mm Hg. Sprague-Dawley rats behaved similarly to Long-Evans rats. Low-frequency/high-frequency ratio, a widely-used index of autonomic tone in cardiovascular regulation, showed a significant increase within 5 minutes after 40 mm Hg massage pressure was applied.ConclusionsThe calibrated massage method was shown to be a reproducible method for applying massage pressures in rodents and lowering BP
Green Fluorescent Protein in the sea urchin: new experimental approaches to transcriptional regulatory analysis in embryos and larvae
The use of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) as a reporter
for expression transgenes opens the way to several new
experimental strategies for the study of gene regulation in
sea urchin development. A GFP coding sequence was associated
with three different previously studied cis-regulatory
systems, viz those of the SM50 gene, expressed in skeletogenic mesenchyme, the CyIIa gene, expressed in archenteron, skeletogenic and secondary mesenchyme, and the
Endo16 gene, expressed in vegetal plate, archenteron and
midgut. We demonstrate that the sensitivity with which
expression can be detected is equal to or greater than that
of whole-mount in situ hybridization applied to detection
of CAT mRNA synthesized under the control of the same
cis-regulatory systems. However, in addition to the
important feature that it can be visualized nondestructively
in living embryos, GFP has other advantages. First, it freely diffuses even within fine cytoplasmic cables, and thus reveals connections between cells, which in sea urchin
embryos is particularly useful for observations on regulatory systems that operate in the syncytial skeletogenic mesenchyme. Second, GFP expression can be dramatically visualized in postembryonic larval tissues. This brings postembryonic larval developmental processes for the first time within the easy range of gene transfer analyses. Third, GFP permits identification and segregation of embryos in which the clonal incorporation of injected DNA has occurred in any particular desired region of the embryo. Thus, we show explicitly that, as expected, GFP transgenes are incorporated in the same nuclei together with other transgenes with which they are co-injected
Theory of the "honeycomb chain-channel" reconstruction of Si(111)3x1
First-principles electronic-structure methods are used to study a structural
model for Ag/Si(111)3x1 recently proposed on the basis of transmission electron
diffraction data. The fully relaxed geometry for this model is far more
energetically favorable than any previously proposed, partly due to the unusual
formation of a Si double bond in the surface layer. The calculated electronic
properties of this model are in complete agreement with data from
angle-resolved photoemission and scanning tunneling microscopy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett (the ugly postscript
error on page 4 has now been repaired
The expression of caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase in two wheat genotypes differing in lodging resistance
Stem lodging-resistance is an important phenotype in crop production. In the present study, the expression of the wheat COMT gene (TaCM) was determined in basal second internodes of lodging-resistant (H4564) and lodging-susceptible (C6001) cultivars at stem elongation, heading, and milky endosperm corresponding to Zadoks stages Z37, Z60, and Z75, respectively. The TaCM protein levels were analysed by protein gel blot and COMT enzyme activity was determined during the same stem developmental stages. TaCM mRNA levels were higher in H4546 from elongation to the milky stages and in C6001 the TaCM mRNA levels decreased markedly at the heading and milky stages. The TaCM protein levels and COMT activity were also higher in H4564 than that in C6001 at the heading and milky stages. These results corresponded to a higher lignin content measured by the Klason method and stem strength and a lower lodging index in H4564 than in C6001 at the heading and milky stages. Therefore, the TaCM mRNA levels, protein levels, and enzyme activity in developing wheat stems were associated with stem strength and lodging index in these two wheat cultivars. Southern analysis in a different population suggested that a TaCM locus was located in the distal region of chromosome 3BL, which has less investigated by QTL for lodging-resistant phenotype
Scintillation proximity assay for measurement of RNA methylation
Methylation of RNA by methyltransferases is a phylogenetically ubiquitous post-transcriptional modification that occurs most extensively in transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Biochemical characterization of RNA methyltransferase enzymes and their methylated product RNA or RNA–protein complexes is usually done by measuring the incorporation of radiolabeled methyl groups into the product over time. This has traditionally required the separation of radiolabeled product from radiolabeled methyl donor through a filter binding assay. We have adapted and optimized a scintillation proximity assay (SPA) to replace the more costly, wasteful and cumbersome filter binding assay and demonstrate its utility in studies of three distinct methyltransferases, RmtA, KsgA and ErmC’. In vitro, RmtA and KsgA methylate different bases in 16S rRNA in 30S ribosomal particles, while ErmC’ most efficiently methylates protein-depleted or protein-free 23S rRNA. This assay does not utilize engineered affinity tags that are often required in SPA, and is capable of detecting either radiolabeled RNA or RNA–protein complex. We show that this method is suitable for quantitating extent of RNA methylation or active RNA methyltransferase, and for testing RNA-methyltransferase inhibitors. This assay can be carried out with techniques routinely used in a typical biochemistry laboratory or could be easily adapted for a high throughput screening format
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