Shaped by Their Environment: Variation in Blue Whale Morphology across Three Productive Coastal Ecosystems.

Species ecology and life history patterns are often reflected in animal morphology. Blue whales are globally distributed, with distinct populations that feed in different productive coastal regions worldwide. Thus, they provide an opportunity to investigate how regional ecosystem characteristics may drive morphological differences within a species. Here, we compare physical and biological oceanography of three different blue whale foraging grounds: (1) Monterey Bay, California, USA; (2) the South Taranaki Bight (STB), Aotearoa New Zealand; and (3) the Corcovado Gulf, Chile. Additionally, we compare the morphology of blue whales from these regions using unoccupied aircraft imagery. Monterey Bay and the Corcovado Gulf are seasonally productive and support the migratory life history strategy of the Eastern North Pacific (ENP) and Chilean blue whale populations, respectively. In contrast, the New Zealand blue whale population remains in the less productive STB year-round. All three populations were indistinguishable in total body length. However, New Zealand blue whales were in significantly higher body condition despite lower regional productivity, potentially attributable to their non-migratory strategy that facilitates lower risk of spatiotemporal misalignment with more consistently available foraging opportunities. Alternatively, the migratory strategy of the ENP and Chilean populations may be successful when their presence on the foraging grounds temporally aligns with abundant prey availability. We document differences in skull and fluke morphology between populations, which may relate to different feeding behaviors adapted to region-specific prey and habitat characteristics. These morphological features may represent a trade-off between maneuverability for prey capture and efficient long-distance migration. As oceanographic patterns shift relative to long-term means under climate change, these blue whale populations may show different vulnerabilities due to differences in migratory phenology and feeding behavior between regions. Spanish abstract La ecología y patrones de historia de vida de las especies a menudo se reflejan en la morfología animal. Las ballenas azules están distribuidas globalmente, con poblaciones separadas que se alimentan en diferentes regiones costeras productivas de todo el mundo. Por lo tanto, brindan la oportunidad de investigar cómo las características regionales de los ecosistemas pueden impulsar diferencias morfológicas dentro de una especie. Aquí, comparamos la oceanografía física y biológica de tres zonas de alimentación diferentes de la ballena azul: (1) Bahía de Monterey, California, EE. UU., (2) Bahía del sur de Taranaki (BST), Nueva Zelanda, y (3) Golfo de Corcovado, Chile. Adicionalmente, comparamos la morfología de las ballenas azules de estas regiones utilizando imágenes de aeronaves no tripuladas. La Bahía de Monterey y el Golfo de Corcovado son estacionalmente productivos y apoyan la estrategia migratoria de la historia de vida de las poblaciones de ballena azul chilena y del Pacífico Norte Oriental (PNO), respectivamente. Por el contrario, la población de ballena azul de Nueva Zelanda permanece en la menos productiva BST durante todo el año. Las tres poblaciones eran indistinguibles en cuanto a la longitud corporal total. Sin embargo, las ballenas azules de Nueva Zelanda tenían una condición corporal significativamente mayor a pesar de una menor productividad regional, potencialmente atribuible a su estrategia no migratoria que facilita un menor riesgo de desalineación espaciotemporal con oportunidades de alimentación disponibles de manera más consistente. Alternativamente, la estrategia migratoria de las poblaciones de ballenas PNO y chilena puede tener éxito cuando su presencia en las zonas de alimentación se alinea temporalmente con la abundante disponibilidad de presas. Documentamos diferencias en la morfología del cráneo y la aleta caudal entre poblaciones, que pueden estar relacionadas con diferentes comportamientos de alimentación adaptados a las características de hábitat y presas específicas para cada región. Estas características morfológicas pueden representar una compensación entre la maniobrabilidad para la captura de presas y una migración eficiente a larga distancia. A medida que los patrones oceanográficos cambian en términos de mediano a largo plazo debido al cambio climático, estas poblaciones de ballenas azules pueden mostrar diferentes vulnerabilidades debido a diferencias en la fenología migratoria y el comportamiento de alimentación entre regiones.

Demography of an ice-obligate mysticete in a region of rapid environmental change.

Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis, AMW) are an abundant, ice-dependent species susceptible to rapid climatic changes occurring in parts of the Antarctic. Here, we used remote biopsy samples and estimates of length derived from unoccupied aircraft system (UAS) to characterize for the first time the sex ratio, maturity, and pregnancy rates of AMWs around the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). DNA profiling of 82 biopsy samples (2013-2020) identified 29 individual males and 40 individual females. Blubber progesterone levels indicated 59% of all sampled females were pregnant, irrespective of maturity. When corrected for sexual maturity, the median pregnancy rate was 92.3%, indicating that most mature females become pregnant each year. We measured 68 individuals by UAS (mean = 8.04 m) and estimated that 66.5% of females were mature. This study provides the first data on the demography of AMWs along the WAP and represents the first use of non-lethal approaches to studying this species. Furthermore, these results provide baselines against which future changes in population status can be assessed in this rapidly changing marine ecosystem.

Integrating remote sensing methods during controlled exposure experiments to quantify group responses of dolphins to navy sonar.

Human noise can be harmful to sound-centric marine mammals. Significant research has focused on characterizing behavioral responses of protected cetacean species to navy mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS). Controlled exposure experiments (CEE) using animal-borne tags have proved valuable, but smaller dolphins are not amenable to tagging and groups of interacting individuals are more relevant behavioral units for these social species. To fill key data gaps on group responses of social delphinids that are exposed to navy MFAS in large numbers, we describe novel approaches for the coordinated collection and integrated analysis of multiple remotely-sensed datasets during CEEs. This involves real-time coordination of a sonar source, shore-based group tracking, aerial photogrammetry to measure fine-scale movements and passive acoustics to quantify vocal activity. Using an example CEE involving long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis bairdii), we demonstrate how resultant quantitative metrics can be used to estimate behavioral changes and noise exposure-response relationships.

Photographic mark-recapture analysis of local dynamics within an open population of dolphins.

Identifying demographic changes is important for understanding population dynamics. However, this requires long-term studies of definable populations of distinct individuals, which can be particularly challenging when studying mobile cetaceans in the marine environment. We collected photo-identification data from 19 years (1992-2010) to assess the dynamics of a population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) restricted to the shallow (<7 m) waters of Little Bahama Bank, northern Bahamas. This population was known to range beyond our study area, so we adopted a Bayesian mixture modeling approach to mark-recapture to identify clusters of individuals that used the area to different extents, and we specifically estimated trends in survival, recruitment, and abundance of a "resident" population with high probabilities of identification. There was a high probability (p= 0.97) of a long-term decrease in the size of this resident population from a maximum of 47 dolphins (95% highest posterior density intervals, HPDI = 29-61) in 1996 to a minimum of just 24 dolphins (95% HPDI = 14-37) in 2009, a decline of 49% (95% HPDI = approximately 5% to approximately 75%). This was driven by low per capita recruitment (average approximately 0.02) that could not compensate for relatively low apparent survival rates (average approximately 0.94). Notably, there was a significant increase in apparent mortality (approximately 5 apparent mortalities vs. approximately 2 on average) in 1999 when two intense hurricanes passed over the study area, with a high probability (p = 0.83) of a drop below the average survival probability (approximately 0.91 in 1999; approximately 0.94, on average). As such, our mark-recapture approach enabled us to make useful inference about local dynamics within an open population of bottlenose dolphins; this should be applicable to other studies challenged by sampling highly mobile individuals with heterogeneous space use.

Antarctic killer whales make rapid, round-trip movements to subtropical waters: evidence for physiological maintenance migrations?

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are important predators in high latitudes, where their ecological impact is mediated through their movements. We used satellite telemetry to provide the first evidence of migration for killer whales, characterized by fast (more than 12 km h(-1), 6.5 knots) and direct movements away from Antarctic waters by six of 12 type B killer whales tagged when foraging near the Antarctic Peninsula, including all tags transmitting for more than three weeks. Tags on five of these whales revealed consistent movements to subtropical waters (30-37° S) off Uruguay and Brazil, in surface water temperatures ranging from -1.9°C to 24.2°C; one 109 day track documented a non-stop round trip of almost 9400 km (5075 nmi) in just 42 days. Although whales travelled slower in the warmest waters, there was no obvious interruption in swim speed or direction to indicate calving or prolonged feeding. Furthermore, these movements were aseasonal, initiating over 80 days between February and April; one whale returned to within 40 km of the tagging site at the onset of the austral winter in June. We suggest that these movements may represent periodic maintenance migrations, with warmer waters allowing skin regeneration without the high cost of heat loss: a physiological constraint that may also affect other whales.

Characterization of citrus HSVd isolates.

Seven citrus isolates of Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) were subjected to retrotranscription and DNA amplification (RT-PCR), cloning and sequencing. Single stranded polymorphism (SSCP) analysis demonstrated the existence of variability among and within cachexia inducing sources of HSVd. The electrophoretic profiles of SSCP appeared to be able to discriminate between non-cachexia and cachexia sources of HSVd. Sequence analysis demonstrated that the variable (V) domain was very conserved among the cachexia variants. Five nucleotide differences, affecting both the upper (3 nucleotides) and the lower (2 nucleotides) strands of the V domain, were identified as a motif discriminating cachexia and non-cachexia sequences. These five nucleotides affect the organization of a short helical region and two flanking loops of the V domain probably modifying the three-dimensional geometry of the molecule. The stability of the minimum free energy rod-like conformation of the cachexia sequences is lower than the non-cachexia. Information regarding the host effect on the evolution and variability of viroid quasispecies is also provided.

Maximum disparity with acuvue bifocal contact lenses with changes in illumination.

PURPOSE: To assess the visual performance of Acuvue bifocal contact lenses at different illumination levels using a stereoscopic parameter, the maximum disparity. We compare the results with those for progressive spectacle lenses. METHODS: We used a modified Wheatstone stereoscope and random-dot stereograms (RDS) as tests. The maximum disparity was measured for each observer at different luminance levels. RESULTS: Maximum disparities did not show statistically significant differences for a wide range of luminance levels with contact lenses. The maximum disparities found when some contact-lens users wore progressive spectacle lenses were similar. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the Acuvue bifocal lenses offer good performance for a near visual task, in this case the maximum disparity, for changes in illumination and are similar to that with progressive spectacle lenses.

Curiosity: reflections on its nature and functions.

This paper attempts to clarify the nature, function and centrality of curiosity in the development of object relations and the consolidation of the self. It demonstrates how the primary relationship between the infant and the care-giver influences the development of curiosity, the ability to use it productively for thinking and for building the internal world. Curiosity, in its schizoparanoid forms, is an attempt at freezing states of primary undifferentiatedness. In its more mature forms, it serves as an integrative agent and signifies both the possibility and the need to know, as well as the boundaries of knowledge. It is an essential element in the individual's psychic fabric and counterbalances splitting and projective identification. Hence, in analysis, it is vital to be constantly attentive to all the diverse expressions of curiosity or, conversely, to its absence. In the transference, the analyst, as well as the analytic setting, often become the aims of that curiosity and its containers. By allowing curiosity and surviving it, curiosity is transformed from an expression of destructiveness and disintegrating intrusiveness to a necessary prerequisite for psychological growth, self-discovery and creativity. Several vignettes illustrate the impact of curiosity during therapy.

Antimicrobial efficiency of hydrogel contact lens soaking solutions marketed in Spain.

The antimicrobial efficiency of 20 commercially available solutions for soaking and rinsing soft contact lenses was studied in relation to 5 bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Serratia marcescens) and 1 fungus (Candida albicans). Each product was separately inoculated with each of six microorganisms, and samples of the inoculated contact lens solutions were taken at predetermined times, placed in a recovery medium, and incubated. Where there was growth, the colonies were counted. There were differences in performance even between solutions labeled as having the same antimicrobial content. One of the solutions marketed in Spain to soak hydrogel contact lenses failed to inactivate all six test strains.

Bacterial contamination of hydrophilic contact lens solutions marketed in spain.

Bacterial contamination of hydrophilic contact lens solutions may play an important role in contact lens-associated ocular infections. This study investigated bacterial contamination in 52 different hydrophilic contact lens solutions marketed in Spain by 12 different companies. We filtered the entire contents of 5 new, factory-sealed bottles from each of the 52 brands and cultured the fitter on a neutralizing broth plate. Bacteria were cultured, isolated, and identified from 29 of the 260 bottles tested (11.15%). Eight of the 52 brands had at least 1 of the 5 bottles contaminated (15.38%). Contaminated solutions originated from four different companies. One manufacturer contributed most of the positive cases due, presumably, to an industrial contamination by Pseudomonas fluorescens. The rest of the culture-positive bottles were contaminated by Bacillus spp. and Oerskovia spp.

A simple imprint-hybridization method for detection of viroids.

An imprint-hybridization method has been designed to simplify the processing of samples during routine viroid indexing. The method requires minimal sample manipulation and has been evaluated for detection of viroids in 11 viroid-host combinations including 4 viroids (CEVd, CSVd, HSVd, ASBVd) and 7 hosts (chrysanthemum, citron, cucumber, Gynura, tomato, peach and avocado). The method is fast and sensitive, and provides additional information on the sites of viroid accumulation.

The cracked container, the containing crack: chronic illness--its effect on the therapist and the therapeutic process.

In this paper, we have tried to examine the complex dynamics of the therapist's physical chronic illness. Little attention has been paid to physical non-functioning, especially during chronic illness, and its psychotherapeutic corollaries. A crucial theme is the extent of damage to the capacity to contain. It is our claim that, when sufficiently worked through, the 'cracked therapeutic container' may serve as a facilitator of better understanding and enhance empathy. The impact of chronic illness on the therapeutic setting, contract, process and language is discussed as well as some salient features of chronicity.