Age, growth, mortality, and radiometric age validation of gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) from Louisiana

The gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) is a temperate and tropical reef fish that is found along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States. The recreational fishery for gray snapper has developed rapidly in south Louisiana with the advent of harvest and seasonal restrictions on the established red snapper (L. campechanus) fishery. We examined the age and growth of gray snapper in Louisiana with the use of cross-sectioned sagittae. A total of 833 specimens, (441 males, 387 females, and 5 of unknown sex) were opportunistically sampled from the recreational fishery from August 1998 to August 2002. Males ranged in size from 222 to 732 mm total length (TL) and from 280 g to 5700 g total weight (TW) and females ranged from 254 to 756 mm TL and from 340 g to 5800 g TW. Both edge analysis and bomb radiocarbon analyses were used to validate otolith-based age estimates. Ages were estimated for 718 individuals; both males and females ranged from 1 to 28 years. The von Bertalanffy growth models derived from TL at age were Lt = 655.4{1–e[–0.23(t)]} for males, Lt = 657.3{1–e[– 0.21(t)]} for females, and L t = 656.4{1–e[– 0.22 (t)]} for all specimens of known sex. Catch curves were used to produce a total mortality (Z) estimate of 0.17. Estimates of M calculated with various methods ranged from 0.15 to 0.50; however we felt that M= 0.15 was the most appropriate estimate based on our estimate of Z. Full recruitment to the gray snapper recreational fishery began at age 4, was completed by age 8, and there was no discernible peak in the catch curve dome

Analysis and Tests of Reinforced Carbon-Epoxy/Foam-Core Sandwich Panels with Cutouts

The results of a study of a low-cost structurally efficient minimum-gage shear-panel design that can be used in light helicopters are presented. The shear-panel design is based on an integrally stiffened syntactic-foam stabilized-skin with an all-bias-ply tape construction for stabilized-skin concept with an all-bias-ply tape construction for the skins. This sandwich concept is an economical way to increase the panel bending stiffness weight penalty. The panels considered in the study were designed to be buckling resistant up to 100 lbs/in. of shear load and to have an ultimate strength of 300 lbs/in. The panel concept uses unidirectional carbon-epoxy tape on a syntactic adhesive as a stiffener that is co-cured with the skin and is an effective concept for improving panel buckling strength. The panel concept also uses pultruded carbon-epoxy rods embedded in a syntactic adhesive and over-wrapped with a bias-ply carbon-epoxy tape to form a reinforcing beam which is an effective method for redistributing load around rectangular cutout. The buckling strength of the reinforced panels is 83 to 90 percent of the predicted buckling strength based on a linear buckling analysis. The maximum experimental deflection exceeds the maximum deflection predicted by a nonlinear analysis by approximately one panel thickness. The failure strength of the reinforced panels was two and a half to seven times of the buckling strength. This efficient shear-panel design concept exceeds the required ultimate strength requirement of 300 lbs/in by more than 100 percent

A comparison of optical and radar measurements of mesospheric winds and tides

Optical measurements of mesospheric winds by Fabry‐Perot spectrometers, FPSs, at Mawson, 67.6°S 62.9°E, and Davis, 68.6°S 78.0°E, Antarctica are compared with similar measurements obtained using a spaced‐antenna MF radar at Davis. The FPSs observed the OH emission. Different analysis procedures, used to determine the mean wind, and amplitude and phase of the semidiurnal tide, have been compared. At these latitudes the diurnal tide is weak and the semi‐diurnal tide, although highly variable in amplitude, is usually the dominant periodicity. When comparing the amplitude and phase of the semidiurnal tide good agreement is obtained between measurements by the two instruments

Lack of Chemical Defense in Two Species of Stalked Crinoids: Support for the Predation Hypothesis for Mesozoic Bathymetric Restriction

Methanol/dichloromethane extracts of (1) the arms and pinnules, and (2) the stalk and cirri of the deep water stalked crinoids Endoxocrinus parrae (Gervais) and Neocrinus decorus (Carpenter) were imbedded at ecologically relevant volumetric concentrations in alginate food pellets containing 2% krill as a feeding stimulant and presented in situ to an assemblage of shallow-water reef fish. Experimental pellets were highly palatable to reef fish; no significant differences in pellet consumption occurred between experimental pellets containing extracts from either species of stalked crinoid or control pellets. Small pieces of cirri, stalks, calyx, arms and pinnules of both species were also tested in in situ feeding assays. While immediate consumption by fish was not apparent, Blue Headed Wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum (Block)) and Dusky Damselfish (Stegastes fuscus (Cuvier)) bit at pieces of each body component. Similar fish biting behaviors were also observed when two living Endoxocrinus parrae were deployed on the shallow reef. Observations indicate that neither species of stalked crinoid is chemically defended from predation by a natural assemblage of reef fish. This supports the predation hypothesis that restriction of stalked crinoids in deep-water habitats may have resulted from the Mesozoic radiation of durophagous fishes in shallow seas, resulting in a reduction of stalked crinoids from shallow water

Palatability and chemical defenses of sponges from the western Antarctic Peninsula

The present study surveyed the palatability of all sponge species that could be collected in sufficient quantities in a shallow-water area along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Of 27 species assayed, 78% had outermost tissues that were significantly unpalatable to the sympatric, omnivorous sea star Odontaster validus. Of those species with unpalatable outer tissues, 62% had inner tissues that were also unpalatable to the sea stars. Sea stars have often been considered as the primary predators of sponges in other regions of Antarctica, and their extra-oral mode of feeding threatens only the outermost sponge tissues. The observation that many of the sponges allocate defenses to inner tissues suggests the possibility that biting predators such as mesograzers, which could access inner sponge layers, may also be important in communities along the Antarctic Peninsula. In feeding bioassays with extracts from 12 of the unpalatable species in artificial foods, either lipophilic or hydrophilic extracts were deterrent in each species. These data indicate an overall level of chemical defenses in these Antarctic sponges that is comparable to, and slightly greater than, that found in a previous survey of tropical species

Submission of structural biology data for review purposes.

The editors discuss the submission of structural biology data