Habitat Associations of Fish Species and their Assemblages in the Tonawanda and Johnson Creek Watersheds of Northwestern New York State

Stream fishes and their habitats were surveyed at 108 sampling sites to determine the status of the rare longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) and redfin shiner (Lythrurus umbratilis) in the Tonawanda (TCW) and Johnson Creek (JCW) watersheds of northwestern New York, May-September 2005. Of the \u3e27,500 individuals captured and 70 fish species identified, most were cyprinids, followed by centrarchids, catostomids, and percids. Each watershed revealed cyclic patterns and substantial variation in the longitudinal profiles of habitat and fish assemblage variables, especially at sites with anthropogenic disturbances. Fish assemblagees were easily delineated longitudinally in the two watersheds using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) but associating fish species and their assemblage variables (CPUE, fish richness, Simpson’s Diversity) with habitat variables was more challenging using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA: 62 associations, 27 species) and multiple linear regression (MLR: 80 associations, 47 species/33 assemblages) at 17 watershed and sub-watershed scales. In the more statistically rigorous MLR analyses, aquatic vegetation accounted for the greatest number of habitat associations (32%), followed by pool type, bank cover and substrate composition (16-17% each), suggesting that these habitat features may have been the most important to stream fishes in the study. In most cases, these finding were supported by the literature on stream fish ecology. Overall, fish species richness has remained relatively high and stable over time in both watersheds, even with ongoing localized disturbances occurring in the lower basins: NYS Barge (Erie) Canal, Batavia Dam (TCW) and Lyndonville Dam (JCW), as well as agricultural and suburban activities. New habitat associations were suggested for seven species. Findings from this study have already assisted with restoration efforts for the longear sunfish and may support future management of lesser known stream fishes in New York State

Fish-habitat relationships in the Tonawanda and Johnson Creek Watersheds of Western New York State, USA

Warm water stream fish assemblages (2005) and habitat variables (2004 and 2005) were examined from May to September at 108 sites in the Tonawanda and Johnson Creek Watersheds of Western New York. Seventy species and \u3e 27,500 fishes were identified; ~98% were from Families Cyprinidae, Centrarchidae, Catostomidae and Percidae. Data were analyzed at 16 spatial scales using best subsets and backward stepwise multiple linear regression to explore associations between individual fish species ≥9% of total catch and fish assemblage variables [catch per unit effort (CPUE), species richness, Simpson’s diversity] with six habitat variables (pool type, maximum depth, substrate size, instream wood, bank cover, aquatic vegetation). CPUE was the only fish assemblage variable related to habitat variables, especially aquatic vegetation and pool type. Only two species (johnny darter, Etheostoma nigrum; round goby, Neogobius melanostomus) were significantly associated with habitat variables. The results reflected inherent difficulties understanding the complexities of habitat use by warm water stream fishes and their assemblages and how to manage them on a broad scale

Distribution of Campylobacter and Arcobacter in Livestock

We designed polymearse chain reaction (PCR) primers to distinguish Campylobacter jejuni from Campylobacter coli and to differentiate Arcobacter from other species of Campylobacter. We applied these PCR methods to estimate their prevalence in feces of healthy cattle and hogs and to identify risk factors for infection. For cattle, C. jejuni (23%), Arcobacter (11%), and C. coli (1.57%) were detected in healthy dairy cows (n=1,628). Campylobacter coli (69%), Arcobacter (46%) and C. jejuni (0.28%) were found in market weight hogs (n=1,057). This indicates the widespread distribution of these microbes livestock

CE-QUAL-W2: A Two-dimensional, Laterally Averaged, Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Model, Version 3.5

This manual documents the two-dimensional, laterally averaged, hydrodynamic and water quality model CE-QUAL-W2. This manual was prepared in the Environmental Laboratory (EL), us Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES), Vicksburg, MS. Bonita Niel and Dr. William Roper, CERD-C provided funding for Version 3.1 of the manual under the Numerical Model Maintenance Program. The principal investigator for Version 3.2 of CE-QUAL-W2 and the User Manual was Mr. Thomas M. Cole of the Water Quality and Contaminant Modeling Branch (WQCMB), Environmental Processes and Effects Division (EPED), EL. This report supersedes the Version 3.2 manual. Revisions made in this V3.5 manual were made under the direction of Dr. Scott Wells at Portland State University. Dr. Chris Berger at Portland State University contributed significantly to this revision. Dr. Berger\u27s macrophyte algorithm was one ofthe many new features of V3.5. The assistance of Mr. Robert Annear at Portland State University is also acknowledged

The Sarasota Dolphin Whistle Database : a unique long-term resource for understanding dolphin communication

Funding for data collection and analysis over the years has been provided by the National Science Foundation, The Royal Society of London, Dolphin Quest, Adelaide M. and Charles B. Link Foundation, Marine Mammal Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earthwatch Institute, Protect Wild Dolphins Fund of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Grossman Family Foundation, WHOI Ocean Life Institute, Vulcan Machine Learning Center for Impact, and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Current support for PT’s involvement is provided by the Office of Naval Research Grants N00014-18-1-2062 and N00014-20-1-2709 through a subaward from Carnegie Mellon University. Current support for LS’s involvement is provided by the Adelaide M. & Charles B. Link Foundation and Dolphin Quest.Common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) produce individually distinctive signature whistles that are learned early in life and that help animals recognize and maintain contact with conspecifics. Signature whistles are the predominant whistle type produced when animals are isolated from conspecifics. Health assessments of dolphins in Sarasota, Florida (USA) provide a unique opportunity to record signature whistles, as dolphins are briefly separated from conspecifics. Recordings were first made in the mid 1970’s, and then nearly annually since 1984. The Sarasota Dolphin Whistle Database (SDWD) now contains 926 recording sessions of 293 individual dolphins, most of known age, sex, and matrilineal relatedness. The longest time span over which an individual has been recorded is 43 years, and 85 individuals have been recorded over a decade or more. Here we describe insights about signature whistle structure revealed by this unique and expansive dataset. Signature whistles of different dolphins show great variety in their fundamental frequency contours. Signature whistle types (with ‘whistle type’ defined as all whistles visually categorized as sharing a particular frequency modulation pattern) can consist of a single stereotyped element, or loop (single-loop whistles), or of multiple stereotyped loops with or without gaps (multi-loop whistles). Multi-loop signature whistle types can also show extensive variation in both number and contour of loops. In addition, fundamental frequency contours of all signature whistle types can be truncated (deletions) or embellished (additions), and other features are also occasionally incorporated. However, even with these variable features, signature whistle types tend to be highly stereotyped and easily distinguishable due to the extensive variability in contours among individuals. In an effort to quantify this individual distinctiveness, and to compare it to other species, we calculated Beecher’s Information Statistic and found it to be higher than for any other animal signal studied so far. Thus, signature whistles have an unusually high capacity to convey information on individual identity. We briefly review the large range of research projects that the SDWD has enabled thus far, and look ahead to its potential to answer a broad suite of questions about dolphin communication.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Implications of Low Energy Supersymmetry Breaking at the Tevatron

The signatures for low energy supersymmetry breaking at the Tevatron are investigated. It is natural that the lightest standard model superpartner is an electroweak neutralino, which decays to an essentially massless Goldstino and photon, possibly within the detector. In the simplest models of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking, the production of right-handed sleptons, neutralinos, and charginos leads to a pair of hard photons accompanied by leptons and/or jets with missing transverse energy. The relatively hard leptons and softer photons of the single e^+e^- \gamma \gamma + \EmissT event observed by CDF implies this event is best interpreted as arising from left-handed slepton pair production. In this case the rates for l^{\pm} \gamma \gamma + \EmissT and \gamma \gamma + \EmissT are comparable to that for l^+l^- \gamma \gamma + \EmissT.Comment: 18 pages, Latex, tables correcte

Correction: In situ spectroscopic investigations of MoOx/Fe2O3 catalysts for the selective oxidation of methanol

Correction for ‘In situ spectroscopic investigations of MoOx/Fe2O3 catalysts for the selective oxidation of methanol’ by Catherine Brookes et al., Catal. Sci. Technol., 2016, 6, 722–730.</p

O-GlcNAc modifications regulate cell survival and epiboly during zebrafish development

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The post-translational addition of the monosaccharide O-linked β-<it>N</it>-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) regulates the activity of a wide variety of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. The enzymes O-GlcNAc Transferase (Ogt) and O-GlcNAcase (Oga) catalyze, respectively, the attachment and removal of O-GlcNAc to target proteins. In adult mice, Ogt and Oga attenuate the response to insulin by modifying several components of the signal transduction pathway. Complete loss of <it>ogt </it>function, however, is lethal to mouse embryonic stem cells, suggesting that the enzyme has additional, unstudied roles in development. We have utilized zebrafish as a model to determine role of O-GlcNAc modifications in development. Zebrafish has two <it>ogt </it>genes, encoding six different enzymatic isoforms that are expressed maternally and zygotically.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We manipulated O-GlcNAc levels in zebrafish embryos by overexpressing zebrafish <it>ogt</it>, human <it>oga </it>or by injecting morpholinos against <it>ogt </it>transcripts. Each of these treatments results in embryos with shortened body axes and reduced brains at 24 hpf. The embryos had 23% fewer cells than controls, and displayed increased rates of cell death as early as the mid-gastrula stages. An extensive marker analysis indicates that derivatives of three germ layers are reduced to variable extents, and the embryos are severely disorganized after gastrulation. Overexpression of Ogt and Oga delayed epiboly and caused a severe disorganization of the microtubule and actin based cytoskeleton in the extra-embryonic yolk syncytial layer (YSL). The cytoskeletal defects resemble those previously reported for embryos lacking function of the Pou5f1/Oct4 transcription factor <it>spiel ohne grenzen</it>. Consistent with this, Pou5f1/Oct4 is modified by O-GlcNAc in human embryonic stem cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that O-GlcNAc modifications control the activity of proteins that regulate apoptosis and epiboly movements, but do not seem to regulate germ layer specification. O-GlcNAc modifies the transcription factor Spiel ohne grenzen/Pou5f1 and may regulate its activity.</p

In situ spectroscopic investigations of MoOx/Fe2O3 catalysts for the selective oxidation of methanol

Multicomponent oxide shell@core catalysts have been prepared, affording overlayers of MoOx on Fe2O3. This design approach allows bulk characterization techniques, such as X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS), to provide surface sensitive information. Coupling this approach with in situ methodologies provides insights during crucial catalytic processes. Calcination studies were followed by a combination of XAFS and Raman, and demonstrate that amorphous multi-layers of MoOx are first converted to MoO3 before formation of Fe2(MoO4)3. However, a single overlayer of Oh Mo units remains at the surface at all times. In situ catalysis studies during formaldehyde production identified that Mo6+ was present throughout, confirming that gas phase oxygen transfer to molybdenum is rapid under reaction conditions. Reduction studies in the presence of MeOH resulted in the formation of reduced Mo–Mo clusters with a bonding distance of 2.6 Å. It is proposed that the presence of the clusters indicates that the selective conversion of MeOH to formaldehyde requires multiple Mo sites

Prescribing practices of primary-care veterinary practitioners in dogs diagnosed with bacterial pyoderma

Concern has been raised regarding the potential contributions of veterinary antimicrobial use to increasing levels of resistance in bacteria critically important to human health. Canine pyoderma is a frequent, often recurrent diagnosis in pet dogs, usually attributable to secondary bacterial infection of the skin. Lesions can range in severity based on the location, total area and depth of tissue affected and antimicrobial therapy is recommended for resolution. This study aimed to describe patient signalment, disease characteristics and treatment prescribed in a large number of UK, primary-care canine pyoderma cases and to estimate pyoderma prevalence in the UK vet-visiting canine population