Hydromedusa Seasonality and Diversity in Galveston Bay

Hydrozoa (phylum Cnidaria) is one of the most diverse and widespread classes of gelatinous zooplankton. They are understudied because they are often inconspicuous and overlooked in many planktonic studies. Due to their complex life cycle, they undergo blooms and seasonal fluctuations. However, the factors that cause their fluctuations and blooms are unknown. Hydromedusae are top predators and are in direct competition with fish for resources. They can thus significantly impact the marine ecosystem during their seasonal blooms. Therefore, it is important to understand their seasonality, both in diversity and abundance, to better understand marine food webs and manage fishing grounds such as Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. To enhance our taxonomic knowledge of Hydrozoa in Galveston Bay and understand their seasonality, plankton samples were collected locally four times a week over thirteen months. These samples were examined for both abundance and species diversity to understand how the Hydrozoa population fluctuates in response to seasonal abiotic factors such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll a. Twenty-five different species were found in Galveston Bay with strong seasonality in overall abundance and species richness. Dominant species included Blackfordia virginica, Liriope tetraphylla, Clytia gracilis, Malagazzia carolinae, Nemopsis bachei and the genus Obelia. Temperature alone had strong correlation with overall medusa abundance and the majority of the dominant species. This study provides a first assessment of the composition of hydromedusa in Galveston Bay and their seasonal response to environmental factors

LIFE CYCLE AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF CADDISFLIES (INSECTA: TRICHOPTERA) IN THE NAVASOTA RIVER, TEXAS.

There is a lack of research focused upon the structure and function of low elevation, turbid lotic ecosystems such as the Navasota River, located in south-central Texas. The understanding of these ecosystems can be important to management of freshwater resources. Aquatic invertebrate communities and their ecological functions to the Navasota River and similar ecosystems are poorly studied. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the life cycle and community structure of caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) in the Navasota River, near where it joins the Brazos River. Four replicate samples were collected approximately once every month from a riffle. One species of the genus Cheumatopsyche is the dominant caddisfly in the river accounting for over 90% of all caddisflies collected. Based upon larval collections, emergency of adults appears to occur during the months of January and February. Data collection was hampered by extremely high water conditions during part of the year, resulting in gaps in the data

Hydromedusa Seasonality and Diversity in Galveston Bay

Hydrozoa (phylum Cnidaria) is one of the most diverse and widespread classes of gelatinous zooplankton. They are understudied because they are often inconspicuous and overlooked in many planktonic studies. Due to their complex life cycle, they undergo blooms and seasonal fluctuations. However, the factors that cause their fluctuations and blooms are unknown. Hydromedusae are top predators and are in direct competition with fish for resources. They can thus significantly impact the marine ecosystem during their seasonal blooms. Therefore, it is important to understand their seasonality, both in diversity and abundance, to better understand marine food webs and manage fishing grounds such as Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. To enhance our taxonomic knowledge of Hydrozoa in Galveston Bay and understand their seasonality, plankton samples were collected locally four times a week over thirteen months. These samples were examined for both abundance and species diversity to understand how the Hydrozoa population fluctuates in response to seasonal abiotic factors such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll a. Twenty-five different species were found in Galveston Bay with strong seasonality in overall abundance and species richness. Dominant species included Blackfordia virginica, Liriope tetraphylla, Clytia gracilis, Malagazzia carolinae, Nemopsis bachei and the genus Obelia. Temperature alone had strong correlation with overall medusa abundance and the majority of the dominant species. This study provides a first assessment of the composition of hydromedusa in Galveston Bay and their seasonal response to environmental factors

An integrative identification guide to the Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) of Bocas del Toro, Panama

This work is the first attempt to assess the biodiversity of the Hydrozoa in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro (Panamá, Caribbean Sea) using morphology and molecular taxonomy, and to produce field identification tools to help future identification and monitoring efforts in the area. We sampled, identified, vouchered, and barcoded 112 specimens of Hydrozoa from shallow coastal waters (0–22 m depth) in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro. The specimens belong to 70 taxa, of which 53 were identified at the species level, and 17 were identified at the genus or family level. We produced 64 sequences of the large ribosomal subunit of the mitochondrial RNA (mt lsu-rRNA, 16S), the genetic marker generally used for barcoding Hydrozoa. We updated the local checklist that now comprises 118 species, and produced 87 detailed taxon identification tables that display species descriptions augmented with pictures, geographic distribution (worldwide and in Bocas del Toro), GenBank accession numbers for the 16S mitochondrial gene, and a synopsis of the families they belong to

Direct on-swab metabolic profiling of vaginal microbiome host interactions during pregnancy and preterm birth

The pregnancy vaginal microbiome contributes to risk of preterm birth, the primary cause of death in children under 5 years of age. Here we describe direct on-swab metabolic profiling by Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (DESI-MS) for sample preparation-free characterisation of the cervicovaginal metabolome in two independent pregnancy cohorts (VMET, n = 160; 455 swabs; VMET II, n = 205; 573 swabs). By integrating metataxonomics and immune profiling data from matched samples, we show that specific metabolome signatures can be used to robustly predict simultaneously both the composition of the vaginal microbiome and host inflammatory status. In these patients, vaginal microbiota instability and innate immune activation, as predicted using DESI-MS, associated with preterm birth, including in women receiving cervical cerclage for preterm birth prevention. These findings highlight direct on-swab metabolic profiling by DESI-MS as an innovative approach for preterm birth risk stratification through rapid assessment of vaginal microbiota-host dynamics

Changes in preterm birth and stillbirth during COVID-19 lockdowns in 26 countries.

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. Changes in PTB rates, ranging from -90% to +30%, were reported in many countries following early COVID-19 pandemic response measures ('lockdowns'). It is unclear whether this variation reflects real differences in lockdown impacts, or perhaps differences in stillbirth rates and/or study designs. Here we present interrupted time series and meta-analyses using harmonized data from 52 million births in 26 countries, 18 of which had representative population-based data, with overall PTB rates ranging from 6% to 12% and stillbirth ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 per 1,000 births. We show small reductions in PTB in the first (odds ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.95-0.98, P value <0.0001), second (0.96, 0.92-0.99, 0.03) and third (0.97, 0.94-1.00, 0.09) months of lockdown, but not in the fourth month of lockdown (0.99, 0.96-1.01, 0.34), although there were some between-country differences after the first month. For high-income countries in this study, we did not observe an association between lockdown and stillbirths in the second (1.00, 0.88-1.14, 0.98), third (0.99, 0.88-1.12, 0.89) and fourth (1.01, 0.87-1.18, 0.86) months of lockdown, although we have imprecise estimates due to stillbirths being a relatively rare event. We did, however, find evidence of increased risk of stillbirth in the first month of lockdown in high-income countries (1.14, 1.02-1.29, 0.02) and, in Brazil, we found evidence for an association between lockdown and stillbirth in the second (1.09, 1.03-1.15, 0.002), third (1.10, 1.03-1.17, 0.003) and fourth (1.12, 1.05-1.19, <0.001) months of lockdown. With an estimated 14.8 million PTB annually worldwide, the modest reductions observed during early pandemic lockdowns translate into large numbers of PTB averted globally and warrant further research into causal pathways

Changes in preterm birth and stillbirth during COVID-19 lockdowns in 26 countries.

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. Changes in PTB rates, ranging from -90% to +30%, were reported in many countries following early COVID-19 pandemic response measures ('lockdowns'). It is unclear whether this variation reflects real differences in lockdown impacts, or perhaps differences in stillbirth rates and/or study designs. Here we present interrupted time series and meta-analyses using harmonized data from 52 million births in 26 countries, 18 of which had representative population-based data, with overall PTB rates ranging from 6% to 12% and stillbirth ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 per 1,000 births. We show small reductions in PTB in the first (odds ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.95-0.98, P value <0.0001), second (0.96, 0.92-0.99, 0.03) and third (0.97, 0.94-1.00, 0.09) months of lockdown, but not in the fourth month of lockdown (0.99, 0.96-1.01, 0.34), although there were some between-country differences after the first month. For high-income countries in this study, we did not observe an association between lockdown and stillbirths in the second (1.00, 0.88-1.14, 0.98), third (0.99, 0.88-1.12, 0.89) and fourth (1.01, 0.87-1.18, 0.86) months of lockdown, although we have imprecise estimates due to stillbirths being a relatively rare event. We did, however, find evidence of increased risk of stillbirth in the first month of lockdown in high-income countries (1.14, 1.02-1.29, 0.02) and, in Brazil, we found evidence for an association between lockdown and stillbirth in the second (1.09, 1.03-1.15, 0.002), third (1.10, 1.03-1.17, 0.003) and fourth (1.12, 1.05-1.19, <0.001) months of lockdown. With an estimated 14.8 million PTB annually worldwide, the modest reductions observed during early pandemic lockdowns translate into large numbers of PTB averted globally and warrant further research into causal pathways

Fluctuation and diversity of Hydromedusae (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) in a highly productive region of the Gulf of Mexico inferred from high frequency plankton sampling

Hydrozoa medusae undergo blooms and seasonal fluctuations; however the drivers of such fluctuations are unknown. To understand how medusa populations fluctuate in response to seasonal factors such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll a, and to enhance our taxonomic knowledge of Hydrozoa in Galveston Bay (TX), we performed frequent plankton sampling from September 2015 to September 2016. We collected 1,321 medusae in 190 sampling days. Using molecular barcoding and morphological analyses we identified 25 species, of which 21 are a first record for Galveston Bay and eight for the Gulf of Mexico. Daily medusa abundance is non-linearly related to temperature, with peak abundance estimated with multivariate regression analysis at approximately 21C. The role that temperature plays in driving medusa abundance has implications for future climate change scenarios, given that temperature in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to rise 4 °C by the end of the century. We also show that the biodiversity of the Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico is underestimated and that molecular barcoding is an important and efficient tool to identify large number of medusae. We conclude that dense plankton sampling is necessary to capture both diversity and abundance of planktonic medusae

Improved Comet assay for the assessment of UV genotoxicity in Mediterranean sea urchin eggs.

International audienceGametes and embryos of broadcast spawners are exposed to a wide range of chemical and physical stressors which may alone, or in conjunction, have serious consequences on reproductive outcomes. In this study, two Mediterranean echinoid species, Paracentrotus lividus and Sphaerechinus granularis, were chosen as models to study the genotoxicity of UV radiation (UVR) on the eggs of broadcast-spawning marine invertebrates. The single cell gel electrophoresis, or Comet assay, was successfully adapted to assess DNA strand breakage in sea urchin eggs. The results demonstrated that the genetic material of sea urchin eggs is susceptible to environmentally realistic UV exposure. The induction of DNA damage in the irradiated unfertilized eggs suggests that the previously described defense mechanisms in sea urchin eggs do not completely protect the egg's DNA against UV toxicity. Taken together, our results suggest that UV-impairment of the genetic integrity of the eggs might have a role in postfertilization failures and abnormal embryonic development. Although both species were vulnerable to UVR, embryonic development was less dramatically impaired in P.Lividus. This observation supports the postulation that species inhabiting shallower environments possess more efficient mechanisms to overcome UV-induced DNA alterations. The present demonstration of the utility and sensitivity of the Comet assay to evaluate DNA integrity in eggs from marine invertebrates opens new perspectives for monitoring the long-term effects of environmental exposure on populations and for the routine screening of substances for genotoxicity in marine systems

Ultraviolet radiation induces structural and chromatin damage in Mediterranean sea-urchin spermatozoa.

International audienceThere is growing concern about the effects of enhanced levels of solar ultraviolet radiation on the living components of the biosphere (i.e. cancer, loss of biodiversity and productivity, etc.). In shallow coastal environments, many benthic species release their gametes directly in the water column where fertilisation occurs and the planktonic larvae remain for several weeks. Any effects on these early life stages could significantly impair reproductive input or alter the fitness of the community. The purpose of this paper is to provide new insights into the mechanisms of UV toxicity on sea-urchin spermatozoa in a cytological context, and to address the question of the potential ecological consequences of the damage. The Mediterranean sea-urchin Sphaerechinus granularis (Lamarck) was chosen as a model to study the effects of ecologically relevant doses of UV-R on the spermatozoa of marine invertebrates. Structural damage was visualised by use of transmission electron microscopy and the single-cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) assay was used to assess chromatin integrity in spermatozoa. The present results provide experimental evidence that irradiation with UV induces structural and chromatin damage in sea-urchin sperm. Almost 90% of spermatozoa exhibited morphological alterations and DNA strand breakage increased 2-fold. The observed alterations of the acrosome, plasma membrane and mitochondria can explain the concomitant impairment of fertilisation (23% decrease of fertilisation rate), which in turn may affect reproductive success. On the other hand, how DNA damage and fertilisation rate correlate remains unclear; however, when not repaired genetic lesions can lead to abnormal development and/or the transmission of heritable damage. The 3-fold decrease of the frequency of 2-celled embryos indicates a delay or inhibition of the first cell division, which may be ascribed to impairment of nuclear chromatin and/or other cellular targets