We experimentally investigated the effects of different pre-treatments of the sediment, and the effect of daily addition of fresh phytoplankton, on the growth and survival of 1-year-old (1+) individuals of the deposit feeder Monoporeia affinis (Amphipoda). We used three different types of sieved sediment: pre-frozen muddy clay, non-pre-frozen muddy clay, and fine sand. The muddy clay contained ...

Experimental ecosystems such as mesocosms have been developed to improve the ecological relevance of ecotoxicity test. However, in mesocosm studies, the number of replicates is limited by practical and financial constraints. In addition, high levels of biological organization are characterized by a high variability of descriptive variables. This variability and the poor number of replicates hav...

Conservation of naturally sympatric endangered species requires unique considerations. While impacts of invasive species garner much attention, interactions between endangered species must also be managed. The endangered Leon Springs pupfish, Cyprinodon bovinus, has suffered a population decline due to decreasing natural habitat. As breeding habitat is lost, C. bovinus is also adversely affecte...

This study compared the genetic variability of Louisiana mosquitofish at 15 sites in a dioxincontaminated watershed and one site outside the watershed. Allozyme frequencies, determined by starch gel electrophoresis, were used to compare genetic variation. The data suggest that fixation of two loci (GPI-2* and PGM-2*) shows the loss of alleles c* and a*, respectively. Those alleles may be sensit...

Estuarine Batagur are among the most critically endangered chelonian species. We assess the taxonomic status of the recently discovered Cambodian relic population of Batagur by phylogenetic analyses of three mitochondrial (2096 bp) and three nuclear DNA fragments (1909 bp) using sequences from all other Batagur species and selected allied geoemydids. Furthermore, we calculated haplotype network...

Ixodes affinis, which is similar morphologically to Ixodes scapularis, is widely distributed in North Carolina. Collections have documented this species in 32 of 41 coastal plain counties, but no piedmont or mountain counties. This coastal plain distribution is similar to its distribution in Georgia and South Carolina, where it is considered an enzootic vector of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stri...