The U.S. Navy recommends submarine escape for depths down to 600 fsw, with deeper escapes entailing the risks of decompression sickness, nitrogen (N2) narcosis and CNS oxygen (O2) toxicity. However, the escape equipment, including the submarine escape and immersion equipment and the escape trunk, could probably function even at 1,000 fsw. Here we report a theoretical analysis of the risks of bo...

The aim of the present study was to elucidate consistent patterns in chronic polycyclic aromatic compound (PAC) toxicity to soil and sediment inhabiting invertebrates. Therefore we examined our experimental dataset, consisting of twenty-one chronic effect concentrations for two soil invertebrates (Folsomia candida and Enchytraeus cripticus) and two sediment invertebrates (Lumbriculus variegatus...

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the gaseous end product of the aerobic metabolism of oxygen. CO2 is highly soluble in body tissues, and readily diffuses from cells to blood, where circulation transports it to the lungs for elimination. Divers often ignore carbon dioxide, as CO2 is a normal part of life. However, CO2 may have definite and detrimental effects if a diver accumulates an excessive amount of...

Cold narcosis is commonly used for immobilizing bees and has been found to have no effect on mortality and fecundity in honeybees. We present the first study examining the effect of cold narcosis on recruitment and foraging in bumblebees. In a controlled laboratory setting, we observed that the number of foraging Bombus occidentalis, a New World bumblebee, increased after the focal forager retu...