Mercury Levels in Marine and Estuarine Fishes of Florida 1989–2001. 2nd edition revised

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Florida Marine Research Institute (FWC-FMRI) has examined total mercury levels in muscle tissue from a variety of economically and ecologically important species as part of an ongoing study to better understand mercury contamination in marine fishes.The FWC-FMRI Mercury Program is one of the most comprehensive programs in the United States for monitoring mercury levels in marine and estuarine fishes. Because mercury, a toxic metallic element, has been shown to bioaccumulate in fish tissue, humans consuming fish can potentially consume significant levels of mercury.We examined the concentration of total mercury in 6,806 fish, representing 108 species from 40 families. Species represented all major trophic groups, from primary consumers to apex predators.The majority of individuals we examined contained low concentrations of mercury, but concentrations in individual fish varied greatly within and among species. Species with very low mean or median mercury concentrations tended to be planktivores, detritivores, species that feed on invertebrates, or species that feed on invertebrates and small fish prey.Apex predators typically had the highest mercury concentrations. In most species, mercury concentration increased as fish size increased. Sampling in Florida waters is continuing, and future research relating mercury levels to fish age, feeding ecology, and the trophic structure of Florida’s marine and estuarine ecosystems will help us better understand concentrations of this element in marine fishes. (64pp.

The Relative Abundance and Feeding Habits of Juvenile Kingfish (Sciaenidae: Menticirrhus) in a Gulf of Mexico Surf Zone

We describe seasonal and diel occurrence patterns, density, dietary progressions, and trophic relationships of Menticirrhus littoralis, M. americanus and M. saxatitis collected from the Horn Island, Mississippi, surf zone. Menticirrhus littoralis was the most abundant species (62.7%), followed by M. americanus (21.8%) and M. saxatitis (15.5%). Densities were highest during spring and summer and decreased markedly during the winter. Species showed diel changes in abundance, with abundance increasing during dusk and dawn for M. littoralis, and during the day for M. americanus and M. saxatilis. All three species showed ontogenetic progressions in diet, with siphon tips from Donax spp., cumaceans and mysids being most important to smaller (\u3c80 mm SL) M. littoralis and M. americanus; cumaceans, mysids and amphipods were most important to smaller M. saxatitis. Larger individuals of all three species fed more on whole Donax, polychaetes, Emerita talpoida, brachyurans, and fishes. Both intra- and interspecific dietary overlap was greatest for the smaller size groups of juveniles and declined with growth. Dietary overlap between 20 mm size classes was greatest for intra- compared to interspecific comparisons

Early Life History of the Black Drum Pogonias cromis (Pisces: Sciaenidae) in Tampa Bay, Florida

The distribution, relative abundance, habitat, age, growth, and feeding habits of larval and juvenile black drum (Pogonias cromis) from Tampa Bay, Florida, are described. Spawning took place in the lower bay or nearshore Gulf waters from November through May, with the majority of spawning occurring in March. Spawning peaks often coincided with, but were not dependent on, the new or full moon and were seemingly influenced by tidal period. Most spawning occurred during rising temperatures and occurred earlier in Tampa Bay than in northern latitudes. Most larvae were collected during March and April, and more were found in incidental surface dip-net collections in Bayboro Harbor than from regular plankton-net collections in the bay. Larvae collected in the middle and upper bay were larger (2.9-7.3 mm) than those collected in the lower bay (1.8-5.8 mm). Plankton-net collections from midwater depths at the single night station and from bottom depths at the three day stations contained the majority of larval black drum. Juveniles 30-60 mm SL were abundant in May and June in rivers and tidal creeks with low to moderate salinities and unvegetated mud bottoms. At lengths \u3e100 mm SL, juveniles began dispersing throughout the bay. Ages determined from counting daily otolith rings agreed with ages determined by using length-frequency progressions and showed that black drum larvae had a growth rate of 0.2-0.3 mm/ day, whereas juveniles 35 to 150 mm grew 0.8-0.9 mm/day. Forty-eight percent of the larval stomachs examined were empty; stomachs with food contained primarily cope pods. Mollusks were the major food group in juvenile black drum stomachs; small (\u3c60 mm) juveniles consumed mainly bivalve siphon tips, whereas larger (\u3e75 mm) juveniles consumed more fish, bivalves, and gastropods

Early Life History of the Snook, Centropomus undecimalis, in Tampa Bay, Florida

Data accumulated during four sampling programs and incidental sampling are used to describe the distribution, growth, range of hatching dates, and diet of juvenile snook, Centropomus undecimalis, from Tampa Bay, Florida. A total of 1,655 juvenile snook ranging from 10 to 346 mm SL were collected (72% \u3c70 mm SL). Small juveniles were common in small, quiet marshes, creeks, and lagoons, but their presence was not limited to areas with any single salinity range or vegetation type. Larger juveniles occupied similar habitats but were also found along more open bay and river shores. Length-frequency and otolith analyses were used to determine juvenile growth rates, which varied from 0.5 to 1.2 mm SL/day depending on the spawning date, size, and collection date. Growth data suggested that spawning took place from April until December, with peak spawning occurring in the summer (July to September). Juveniles \u3c45 mm SL fed mainly on copepods and mysids; larger fish switched to a diet of palaemonid shrimp and cyprinodontid and poeciliid fishes

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

Book Reviews

Book reviews of: Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War By Elizabeth R. Varon. College Edition. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021. Maps, acknowledgments, timeline, notes, suggested readings, glossary, index. Pp. xxv, 531. $29.99 paper. ISBN: 978-0-19-933539-8.) Hurtin’ Words: Debating Family Problems in the Twentieth-Century South. By Ted Ownby. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2018. Acknowledgements, illustrations, notes, index. Pp. xiv, 334.$90 cloth, $29.95 paper,$22.99 electronic. ISBN: 978-1-46964-700-5.) Illusions of Emancipation: The Pursuit of Freedom & Equality in the Twilight of Slavery. By Joseph P. Reidy. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019. Acknowledgements, illustrations, map, notes, index. Pp. 1, 506. $39.95 Hardcover,$29.99 E-Book. ISBN: 978-1-4696-4836-1.) Civil War Monuments and the Militarization of America. By Thomas J. Brown. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019. 384 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 87 halftones, notes, bibl., index, Paper, $29.97, 978-1-4696-5374-7.) Reconstruction Politics in a Deep South State: Alabama, 1865–1874. By William Warren Rogers, Jr. (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2021. Acknowledgments, illustrations, notes, bibliography. Pp. 1, 439.$54.95 cloth. ISBN: 978-0817320744.) Fugitivism: Escaping Slavery in the Lower Mississippi Valley, 1820–1860. By S. Charles Bolton. (Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press, 2019. Acknowledgements, appendix, notes, index. Pp. x, 302. $34.95 cloth. ISBN: 978-1-68226-009-9.) Bernardo de Gálvez: Spanish Hero of the American Revolution. By Gonzalo M. Quintero Saravia. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018. Acknowledgements, appendix, notes, bibliography, index. Pp. xi, 602,$38.00 cloth. ISBN: 9781469640792.

NKX2-1 mutation in a family diagnosed with ataxic dyskinetic cerebral palsy

Benign hereditary chorea caused by mutations in the NK2 homeobox 1 gene (NKX2-1), shares clinical features with ataxic and dyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP), resulting in the possibility of misdiagnosis. A father and his two children were considered to have ataxic CP until a possible diagnosis of benign familial chorea was made in the children in early teenage. The father's neurological condition had not been appreciated prior to examination of the affected son. Whole exome sequencing of blood derived DNA and bioinformatics analysis were performed. A 7 bp deletion in exon 1 of NKX2-1, resulting in a frame shift and creation of a premature termination codon, was identified in all affected individuals. Screening of 60 unrelated individuals with a diagnosis of dyskinetic or ataxic CP did not identify NKX2-1 mutations. BHC can be confused with ataxic and dyskinetic CP. Occasionally these children have a mutation in NKX2-1.Gai McMichael, Eric Haan, Alison Gardner, Tzu Ying Yap, Suzanna Thompson, Robert Ouvrier, Russell C. Dale, Jozef Gecz, Alastair H. MacLenna

Induction of viral and tumour specific CTL responses using antibody targeted HLA class I peptide complexes

The production of cytotoxic T cells with specificity for cancer cells is a rapidly evolving branch of cancer therapeutics. A variety of approaches aim to amplify anti-tumour cytotoxic T cell responses using purified peptides, tumour cell lysates or recombinant HLA/peptide complexes in differing antigen presenting systems. Using a two-step biotin-streptavidin antibody targeting system, recombinant HLA-class I/peptide complexes were attached to the surface of B cells via the anti-CD20 B9E9-scFvSA antibody-streptavidin fusion protein. Flow cytometry with a conformation dependant monoclonal antibody to HLA class I indicated that targeted HLA-class I/peptide complexes remain on the surface of B cells in culture for periods in excess of 72 h. PBMCs were stimulated in vitro for 8–14 days using the autologous B cells as antigen presenting cells. Following a single cycle of stimulation specific cytotoxic T cell responses to targeted HLA-A2 complexes containing the M1, BMLF1 and Melan A peptides could be demonstrated by tetramer staining and Cr release assays. With the HLA-A2/BMLF1 complex up to 2.99% of CD8+ve cells were tetramer positive producing 20% lysis (E : T 10 : 1) of CIR-A2 target cells in an in vitro cytotoxicity assay compared to baseline levels of 0.09% tetramer +ve and 2% lysis in the unstimulated population. PBMCs from a healthy donor treated with two cycles of stimulations with targeted HLA-A2/Melan A complexes, demonstrated expansion of the melanA tetramer +ve population from 0.03% to 1.4% producing 15% lysis of Melan A pulsed target cells. With further consideration to the key variables of HLA/peptide complex density, the ratio of stimulator to effector cells and optimum cytokine support, this system should offer an easy and effective method for the in vitro amplification of specific cytotoxic T cell responses and warrants development for the in vivo induction of cytotoxic T cell responses in cancer therapy

The Origin and Evolution of Mutations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

SummaryMost mutations in cancer genomes are thought to be acquired after the initiating event, which may cause genomic instability and drive clonal evolution. However, for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), normal karyotypes are common, and genomic instability is unusual. To better understand clonal evolution in AML, we sequenced the genomes of M3-AML samples with a known initiating event (PML-RARA) versus the genomes of normal karyotype M1-AML samples and the exomes of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) from healthy people. Collectively, the data suggest that most of the mutations found in AML genomes are actually random events that occurred in HSPCs before they acquired the initiating mutation; the mutational history of that cell is “captured” as the clone expands. In many cases, only one or two additional, cooperating mutations are needed to generate the malignant founding clone. Cells from the founding clone can acquire additional cooperating mutations, yielding subclones that can contribute to disease progression and/or relapse