Patterns of Social Affiliation and Group Composition for Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in San Luis Pass, Texas

Group sizes, group composition, and association patterns of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were investigated in the San Luis Pass area (Sep. 1995- Aug. 1996) of the Galveston Bay Estuary to examine differences in community structure of individuals inhabiting different portions of the estuary. Group sizes (n = 83) ranged from 1 to 29 (x̄ = 10.6) and were seasonally variable, with the largest groups occurring in spring (x̄ = 16.3) and the smallest groups during the fall (x̄ = 6.3). Seventy-one individuals were identified using photoidentification, and the sex of six dolphins (three males, three females) was determined. At least 31 (48.4%) groups were of mixed sex. Twenty-nine dolphins that were identified five or more times were used to calculate half-weight coefficients of association (COAs), which ranged from 0.00 to 0.83 (x̄ = 0.46). Coefficients of association for male pairs were higher than COAs for female and mixed-sex pairs. Permutation tests were performed to test for nonrandom associations and presence of preferred or avoided companions. The null hypothesis of random association was rejected, indicating that dolphins preferentially associated with some individuals and avoided others. In all replicates, three known-male pairs had significantly large COAs. These preliminary results suggested that, excluding mother-calf pairs that were not examined, male pairs formed the most stable social bonds

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Vulnerability to climate change of United States marine mammal stocks in the western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean.

Climate change and climate variability are affecting marine mammal species and these impacts are projected to continue in the coming decades. Vulnerability assessments provide a framework for evaluating climate impacts over a broad range of species using currently available information. We conducted a trait-based climate vulnerability assessment using expert elicitation for 108 marine mammal stocks and stock groups in the western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. Our approach combined the exposure (projected change in environmental conditions) and sensitivity (ability to tolerate and adapt to changing conditions) of marine mammal stocks to estimate vulnerability to climate change, and categorize stocks with a vulnerability index. The climate vulnerability score was very high for 44% (n = 47) of these stocks, high for 29% (n = 31), moderate for 20% (n = 22), and low for 7% (n = 8). The majority of stocks (n = 78; 72%) scored very high exposure, whereas 24% (n = 26) scored high, and 4% (n = 4) scored moderate. The sensitivity score was very high for 33% (n = 36) of these stocks, high for 18% (n = 19), moderate for 34% (n = 37), and low for 15% (n = 16). Vulnerability results were summarized for stocks in five taxonomic groups: pinnipeds (n = 4; 25% high, 75% moderate), mysticetes (n = 7; 29% very high, 57% high, 14% moderate), ziphiids (n = 8; 13% very high, 50% high, 38% moderate), delphinids (n = 84; 52% very high, 23% high, 15% moderate, 10% low), and other odontocetes (n = 5; 60% high, 40% moderate). Factors including temperature, ocean pH, and dissolved oxygen were the primary drivers of high climate exposure, with effects mediated through prey and habitat parameters. We quantified sources of uncertainty by bootstrapping vulnerability scores, conducting leave-one-out analyses of individual attributes and individual scorers, and through scoring data quality for each attribute. These results provide information for researchers, managers, and the public on marine mammal responses to climate change to enhance the development of more effective marine mammal management, restoration, and conservation activities that address current and future environmental variation and biological responses due to climate change

Stock profiles and narratives.

Detailed scoring results profile and descriptions of the climate impacts on each stock, including key drivers of vulnerability, exposure, and sensitivity; data quality and gaps; and background information on the stock. (PDF)</p

Raw attribute and factor scores.

Expert scores for each exposure factor and sensitivity attribute aggregated by stock. (CSV)</p

Sensitivity attribute and exposure factor mean scores summarized by taxonomic group.

Box and whisker plots of sensitivity attribute mean scores and exposure factor mean scores for each of the five taxonomic groups. (DOCX)</p

Sensitivity attribute mean scores for all scored stocks.

Sensitivity attribute mean scores for 108 U.S. marine mammal stocks in the western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. The vertical bar represents the median; the box is bounded by the first and third quartiles; whiskers represent 1.5 times the inter-quartile range; points represent all outlying values.</p