Atlas of Fishes of the St. Louis Bay Drainage in Southern Mississippi

This atlas presents a comprehensive report on fishes collected in the St. Louis Bay drainage between October 1950 and October 1989, prior to several recent years of accelerated commercial and residential development. A total of 261 samples taken at 126 sites from headwaters of major streams to the mouth of St. Louis Bay resulted in the collection of 75,625 specimens representing 124 species plus 2 hybrid sunfish combinations. Precise locality data are given for each collection site, with number of species and specimens taken at each site, followed by a total list of species taken at each site. A distribution map is presented for each species. The legend on each map includes family name, scientific and common name of the species, number of collection sites, and total number of specimens collected. The geographical location of the St. Louis Bay drainage is briefly described, as are local physical, geological, and vegetational features. We believe this atlas will be a useful document to assess the environmental impacts of future economic development on aquatic communities in the area

Depressive rumination and heart rate variability: A pilot study on the effect of biofeedback on rumination and its physiological concomitants

ObjectiveRecent studies suggest that lower resting heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with elevated vulnerability to depressive rumination. In this study, we tested whether increases in HRV after HRV-biofeedback training are accompanied by reductions in rumination levels. Materials and methodsSixteen patients suffering from depression completed a 6-week HRV-biofeedback training and fourteen patients completed a control condition in which there was no intervention (waitlist). The training included five sessions per week at home using a smartphone application and an ECG belt. Depressive symptoms and autonomic function at rest and during induced rumination were assessed before and after each of the two conditions. We used a well-established rumination induction task to provoke a state of pervasive rumination while recording various physiological signals simultaneously. Changes in HRV, respiration rate, skin conductance, and pupil diameter were compared between conditions and time points. ResultsA significant correlation was found between resting HRV and rumination levels, both assessed at the first laboratory session (r = -0.43, p < 0.05). Induction of rumination led to an acceleration of heart rate and skin conductance increases. After biofeedback training, resting vagal HRV was increased (p < 0.01) and self-ratings of state anxiety (p < 0.05), rumination (p < 0.05), perceived stress (p < 0.05), and depressive symptoms (QIDS, BDI; both p < 0.05) were decreased. In the control condition, there were no changes in autonomic indices or depressive symptomatology. A significant interaction effect group x time on HRV was observed. ConclusionOur results indicate that a smartphone-based HRV-biofeedback intervention can be applied to improve cardiovagal function and to reduce depressive symptoms including self-rated rumination tendencies

Occasional papers

no.4 (1994

Fish assemblage stability over fifty years in the Lake Pontchartrain Estuary; comparisons among habitats using Canonical Correspondence Analysis

We assessed fish assemblage stability over the last half century in Lake Pontchartrain, an environmentally degraded oligohaline estuary in southeastern Louisiana. Because assemblage instability over time has been consistently associated with severe habitat degradation, we attempted to determine whether fish assemblages in demersal, nearshore, and pelagic habitats exhibited change that was unrelated to natural fluctuations in environmental variables (e.g., assemblage changes between wet and dry periods). Collection data from three gear types (trawl, beach seine, and gill nets) and monthly environmental data (salinity, temperature, and Secchi depth) were compared for four collecting periods: 1954 (dry period), 1978 (wet period), 1996–1998 (wet period), and 1998–2000 (dry period). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that although the three environmental variables were significantly associated with the distribution and abundance patterns of fish assemblages in all habitats (with the exception of Secchi depth for pelagic samples), most fish assemblage change occurred among sampling periods (i.e., along a temporal gradient unrelated to changing environmental variables). Assemblage instability was the most pronounced for fishes collected by trawls from demersal habitats. A marked lack of cyclicity in the trawl data CCA diagram indicated a shift away from a baseline demersal assemblage of 50 yr ago. Centroid positions for the five most collected species indicated that three benthic fishes, Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), and hardhead catfish (Arius felis), were more dominant inWe assessed fish assemblage stability over the last half century in Lake Pontchartrain, an environmentally degraded oligohaline estuary in southeastern Louisiana. Because assemblage instability over time has been consistently associated with severe habitat degradation, we attempted to determine whether fish assemblages in demersal, nearshore, and pelagic habitats exhibited change that was unrelated to natural fluctuations in environmental variables (e.g., assemblage changes between wet and dry periods). Collection data from three gear types (trawl, beach seine, and gill nets) and monthly environmental data (salinity, temperature, and Secchi depth) were compared for four collecting periods: 1954 (dry period), 1978 (wet period), 1996–1998 (wet period), and 1998–2000 (dry period). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that although the three environmental variables were significantly associated with the distribution and abundance patterns of fish assemblages in all habitats (with the exception of Secchi depth for pelagic samples), most fish assemblage change occurred among sampling periods (i.e., along a temporal gradient unrelated to changing environmental variables). Assemblage instability was the most pronounced for fishes collected by trawls from demersal habitats. A marked lack of cyclicity in the trawl data CCA diagram indicated a shift away from a baseline demersal assemblage of 50 yr ago. Centroid positions for the five most collected species indicated that three benthic fishes, Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), and hardhead catfish (Arius felis), were more dominant in past demersal assemblages (1954 and 1978). A different situation was shown for planktivorous species collected by trawls with bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) becoming more dominant in recent assemblages and Gulf enhaden (Brevoortia patronus) remaining equally represented in assemblages over time. Changes in fish assemblages from nearshore (beach seine) and pelagic (gill net) habitats were more closely related to environmental fluctuations, though the CCA for beach seine data also indicated a decrease in the dominance of M. undulatus and an increase in the proportion of A. mitchilli over time. The reduced assemblage role of benthic fishes and the marked assemblage change indicated by trawl data suggest that over the last half century demersal habitats in Lake Pontchartrain have been impacted more by multiple anthropogenic stressors than nearshore or pelagic habitats. past demersal assemblages (1954 and 1978). A different situation was shown for planktivorous species collected by trawls with bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) becoming more dominant in recent assemblages and Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) remaining equally represented in assemblages over time. Changes in fish assemblages from nearshore (beach seine) and pelagic (gill net) habitats were more closely related to environmental fluctuations, though the CCA for beach seine data also indicated a decrease in the dominance of M. undulatus and an increase in the proportion of A. mitchilli over time. The reduced assemblage role of benthic fishes and the marked assemblage change indicated by trawl data suggest that over the last half century demersal habitats in Lake Pontchartrain have been impacted more by multiple anthropogenic stressors than nearshore or pelagic habitats

A review of western north Atlantic species of Bembrops, with descriptions of three new species, and additional comments on two eastern Atlantic species (Pisces: Percophidae)

Volume: 111Start Page: 954End Page: 98

Etheostoma tallapoosae and E. brevirostrum, two new darters, subgenus Ulocentra, from the Alabama river drainage

Volume: 28Start Page: 1End Page: 2

Two new darters, Percina (Cottogaster), from the southeastern United States, with a review of the subgenus

Volume: 4Start Page: 1End Page: 4