Effects of ship-breaking activities on the abundance and diversity of macrobenthos in Sitakundu Coast, Bangladesh

Lipi JA, Noman MDA, Hossain MB, Abu Hena MK, Idris MH. 2020. Effects of ship-breaking activities on the abundance and diversity of macrobenthos in Sitakundu Coast, Bangladesh. Biodiversitas 21: 5085-5093. To articulate the ecological processes or anthropogenic impacts, it is necessary to explore various distributional patterns of benthic communities. The study was conducted to investigate the variability of macrobenthos between a ship braking and non-ship-breaking area along the Sitakunda coast, Chittagong, Bangladesh. This is the first comprehensive study that addresses the effects of ship-breaking activities on the variability of benthic communities in the study area. Macrobenthos were sampled from two different regions namely Bhatiary (ship-breaking area) and Banshbaria (non-ship-breaking area/reference area) in two different time periods (April and July) for comparative analyses. During the study period, Polychaeta was the most dominant group comprising 60% of the total macrobenthos all over the study area. Macrobenthos abundance and diversity demonstrated strong spatial variability. The mean abundance varied from 3799.75±3452.28 ind./m2 to 4107.25±2743.6 ind./m2 from the ship-breaking to non-ship-breaking area. Similar to macrobenthos abundance, the diversity index (H′) (varied between 2.45 and 1.85), species richness (D) (varied between 1.99 and 1.04), and the number of taxa (varied between 17.25 and 9.25) were higher in the non-ship-breaking area compared to the ship-breaking area. Multivariate analyses, nMDS, and CCA plot showed a distinct grouping for different location. Besides, the diversity indices of the Polychaeta community, and the presence or absence of several pollution indicator taxa revealed that Bhatiary (the ship-breaking area) was confronting deleterious effects of ship-breaking activities.

Functional Vagotopy in the Cervical Vagus Nerve of the Domestic Pig: Implications for the Study of Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Given current clinical interest in vagus nerve stimulation, there are surprisingly few studies characterizing the anatomy of the vagus nerve in large animal models as it pertains to on-and off-target engagement of local fibers. We sought to address this gap by evaluating vagal anatomy in the domestic pig, whose vagus nerve organization and size approximates the human cervical vagus nerve. We provide data on key features across the cervical vagus nerve including diameter, number and diameter of fascicles, and distance of fascicles from the epineural surface where stimulating electrodes are placed. We also characterized the relative locations of the superior and recurrent laryngeal branches of the vagus nerve that have been implicated in therapy limiting side effects with common electrode placement. We identified key variants across the cohort that may be important for vagus nerve stimulation with respect to changing sympathetic/parasympathetic tone, such as cross-connections to the sympathetic trunk. We discovered that cell bodies of pseudo-unipolar cells aggregate together to form a very distinct grouping within the nodose ganglion. This distinct grouping gives rise to a larger number of smaller fascicles as one moves caudally down the cervical vagus nerve. This often leads to a distinct bimodal organization, or ‘vagotopy’ that may be advantageous to exploit in design of electrodes/stimulation paradigms. Finally, we placed our data in context of historic and recent histology spanning mouse, rat, canine, pig, non-human primate and human models, thus providing a comprehensive resource to understand similarities and differences across species.

Breeding Potential and Multivariate Analyses of Morphological and Yield Traits in Industrial Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) Accessions in a Humid Tropical Agroecology

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is propagated mostly by vegetative method. Although vegetative propagation conserves plant germplasm; it poses challenges in crop breeding. This field study assessed the breeding potential of twelve industrial sugarcane accessions in a humid tropical agroecology of Nigeria. The experiment was laid-out in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Accessions AKWA-005, B70607, C01001, CP65-357, DB37/45 and F141 produced flowers; an indicative trait of their suitability as prospective materials for hybridization. Accession DB37/45 had the highest Brix value of 16.3%, followed by B61208 with 15.7%, accession C01001 had the highest cane yield (58.9 t ha-1) and longest stalks (150 cm); these further highlighted the potentials of C01001, DB37/45, CP65-357, B61208 and AKWA-005 for yield improvement in sugarcane through selection. Whereas principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses (Ward’s method) grouped HAT4, F141 and IMO-002 together, the other accessions formed a separate but distinct grouping. These groupings provided a background information as an aid to selection of similar accessions. Cluster analysis and linear correlation identified significant (P = .05) positive associations between the following traits: stalk girth, stalk length and cane yield. Thus, these traits can be simultaneously selected for and improved in sugarcane. Overall, accession C01001, DB37/45, CP65-357, B61208 and AKWA-005 are recommended for inclusion in the breeding for adaptable lines of sugarcane in the humid tropical agroecology.

Geographic patterns of Early Holocene New World dental morphological variation

Dental anthropology played a seminal role in early studies of the peopling of the New World, and was a foundation of the early three wave model proposed by Greenberg, Turner and Zegura. In recent years, however, developments in anthropological genetics, craniometry, and archaeological discoveries have largely omitted dental anthropology from debates regarding Native American origins. Here we consider this situation and reassert dental anthropology’s relevance to the topic by presenting an inter-individual analysis of Paleoindian and Paleoamer-ican dentitions. A small set of dental morphological variables was used to estimate Gower similarity coefficients between individual specimens. The resulting similarity matrix was ordinated using multidimensional scaling; all analyses were per-formed in Clustan v. 7.05. While results should be considered preliminary, patterns of variation suggest morphological similarity along both coasts of North and South America with a somewhat distinct grouping of North American Paleoindians deriving from more inland portions of the continent. This pattern is consistent with recent genetic scenarios, notably the bicoastal model presented by O’Rourke and Raff (2010), which indicates that Paleoindians may have taken multiple migration routes from Beringia, moving along both coasts as well as through the ice free corridor. Future studies may build on this work to reintegrate dental data and analysis into research concerning the peopling of the New World.

A comparison of fish assemblages from seagrass and unvegetated areas of a southern Australian estuary

Assemblages of small fish from eelgrass (mainly Zostera muelleri) and unvegetated patches in a shallow, marine-dominated estuary were compared over one year as a preliminary step towards finding the consequences of eelgrass loss to small fish. There were more species and more individuals at eelgrass sites than at unvegetated sites at every sampling period. Multivariate analysis (MDS ordination) of assemblages showed distinct grouping of eelgrass and unvegetated sites. The statistical significance of groupings was tested by using an analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) randomization routine. The cryptic syngnathid Stigmatopora nigra and juvenile whiting, Sillaginodes punctata, the species of greatest economic importance in the estuary, were predominantly over eelgrass, whereas the flounder Rhombosolea tapirina was usually caught at unvegetated sites. Atherinosoma microstoma, the most abundant species, was more common over eelgrass at two dates but had similar abundances over both habitats at other dates. The limitations of survey work caused by possible associations between the presence of vegetation and environmental factors have been partially offset by interspersion of sites and by measurement of water temperature and salinity. Secondarily to habitat differences, fish assemblages were weakly grouped according to distance of sites from open water.

Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Depression a Discriminant Analysis, using ‘Lifetime’ Psychopathology Ratings

Discriminant and canonical variate analyses were performed using 302 patients, on whom ratings of lifetime psychopathology and course of illness had been made. DSM–III diagnoses were used to form the criterion groups. Bipolar disorder emerged as a distinct grouping, but there are reasons for dissatisfaction with its definition. The remaining patients formed a ‘schizodepressive continuum’, but this also had a tendency to bimodality. It is possible that the distinction between schizophrenia and depression was obscured by inadequacies in the data and the inclusion of excessive numbers of patients with schizoaffective depression in this study.

Strain and Rootstock Effects on Spur Characteristics and Yield of `Delicious' Apple Strains

The characteristics of 1-year-old vegetative spurs growing on 2-year-old branches were measured on 28 `Delicious' apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) strains growing on M.7 rootstocks at Clarksville, Mich., and on 23 strains of `Delicious' on M.7a rootstocks at Kearneysville, W.Va. Spur-type strains typically had densities >20 to 21 spurs/m, and high spur leaf numbers, leaf areas per spur, leaf areas per leaf, and terminal bud diameters, whereas values for standard strains were generally lower. However, for most spur quality characteristics, there was a continuous range of values between the extremes rather than any distinct grouping into either spur or standard type. At both sites, spur density was significantly and positively correlated with yield efficiency. In a related study, the spur characteristics of `Starkspur Supreme' were measured on nine rootstocks: M.7 EMLA, M.9 EMLA, M.26 EMLA, M.27 EMLA, M.9, MAC 9, MAC 24, OAR 1, and Ottawa 3. Spur leaf number and spur leaf area were both high with vigorous rootstocks, whereas spur density was low. The rootstocks MAC 9, M.9, and M.9 EMLA had the highest yield efficiencies.

Reefal sediments of the northern Great Barrier Reef

Skeletal carbonate sediments collected from nine reef flats have been analysed by using multivariate statistical techiques to determine the inter- and intra-reefal variations of sediment texture and composition. Q-mode cluster analysis of granulometric analysis data allows the combined collection of approximately 200 samples to be grouped into four sediment types. The same data were re-analysed by using Q-mode factor analysis techniques which showed that three factors will explain more than 90 % of the variations exhibited by the sediments. The factor scores illustrate the relative influence that individual particle sizes have on each factor. R-mode cluster analysis shows three distinct grouping of sizes which are interpreted as the individual population of sizes that are subjected to differing modes of transportation (traction, saltation and suspension load) which form in response to the prevailing hydrodynamic regime. The distribution of particle size within these three populations is modified by the presence of six skeletal modes within the sand size range. The organic group contributing to each skeletal mode has been identified with the aid of a scanning electron microscope.