A spatial assessment of baseline nutrient and water quality values in the Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Basin, South Carolina, USA.

The Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Basin (South Carolina, USA) National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) encompasses some of the least developed USA coastline. Yet, periodic sampling showed that certain regions have higher nutrient, fecal coliform, and chlorophyll a levels, often with lower dissolved oxygen, than other South Carolina estuaries. To evaluate the spatial extent of these issues, a summer (2008) baseline study was conducted. Physical water quality, total nitrogen and phosphorus, chlorophyll a, dissolved organic carbon, and suspended solids were measured from surface waters of 67 stations (30 tidal creek, 37 open water). Nutrient and chlorophyll a levels were significantly (p<0.01) and negatively correlated with the extent of open water (% land cover), and chlorophyll a and nitrogen levels were, at times, elevated relative to concentrations typical of other estuaries in the state, reinforcing previous findings. This survey also identified several creeks not previously monitored that exhibited elevated nutrients.

A paradox resolved: sulfide acquisition by roots of seep tubeworms sustains net chemoautotrophy.

Vestimentiferan tubeworms, symbiotic with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophic bacteria, dominate many cold-seep sites in the Gulf of Mexico. The most abundant vestimentiferan species at these sites, Lamellibrachia cf. luymesi, grows quite slowly to lengths exceeding 2 meters and lives in excess of 170-250 years. L. cf. luymesi can grow a posterior extension of its tube and tissue, termed a "root," down into sulfidic sediments below its point of original attachment. This extension can be longer than the anterior portion of the animal. Here we show, using methods optimized for detection of hydrogen sulfide down to 0.1 microM in seawater, that hydrogen sulfide was never detected around the plumes of large cold-seep vestimentiferans and rarely detectable only around the bases of mature aggregations. Respiration experiments, which exposed the root portions of L. cf. luymesi to sulfide concentrations between 51-561 microM, demonstrate that L. cf. luymesi use their roots as a respiratory surface to acquire sulfide at an average rate of 4.1 micromol x g(-1) x h(-1). Net dissolved inorganic carbon uptake across the plume of the tubeworms was shown to occur in response to exposure of the posterior (root) portion of the worms to sulfide, demonstrating that sulfide acquisition by roots of the seep vestimentiferan L. cf. luymesi can be sufficient to fuel net autotrophic total dissolved inorganic carbon uptake.

Metazoans in extreme environments: adaptations of hydrothermal vent and hydrocarbon seep fauna.

Some of the most extreme environments where animals survive are associated with active vents and seeps in the deep sea. In addition to the extreme pressure, low temperatures, and lack of light that characterize the deep sea in general, a variety of other factors that are hostile to most animals prevail in these environments. Hydrothermal vent regions show extremes in temperature, areas of very low oxygen, and the presence of toxic hydrogen sulfide and heavy metals. Hydrocarbon seeps, though much cooler than vents, also have regions of very low oxygen and high hydrogen sulfide, as well as other potentially harmful substances such as crude oil and supersaturated brine. Specially adapted animals not only tolerate these conditions, they often thrive under them. In most cases this tolerance is due to a combination of physiological and behavioral adaptations that allow animals to avoid the extremes of their habitats and yet benefit from the chemoautotrophic production characteristic of these environments.

Control of Shigella flexneri in Celebes black macaques (Macaca nigra).

Stool specimens collected systematically from a group of Celebes black macaques (Macaca nigra) with a high incidence of diarrhea were examined microbiologically. Numerous isolates of Shigella flexneri, Campylobacter jejuni and pathogenic Escherichia coli were recovered. Previous parasitology reports had revealed that the majority of the animals had Balantidium coli. Subsequently, the group was treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, erythromycin and tetracycline. After treatment, Shigella flexneri was not detected in the stool of any animal for 1 year, and the clinical condition of the group was improved. Reduced recovery rates were obtained with other enteric pathogens.

Compensated, goitrous hypothyroidism in rhesus macaques.

Bilateral cervical masses were observed in two newborn, male, rhesus macaques. The clinical diagnosis was congenital goiter. Thyroid function screening tests revealed that the affected monkeys had normal triiodothyronine levels, low thyroxine values, and elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. Radioactive iodine uptake and perchlorate discharge tests indicated a postorganification defect. A third, male, rhesus macaque, stillborn after a prolonged gestation, also had bilateral cervical masses. Necropsy and histopathology examinations confirmed the masses were enlarged, hyperplastic thyroid glands. Each affected infant had the same parents.

Sanitary Processing of Egg Products.

The egg products industry has gone through dramatic changes in recent years as influenced by regulations requiring pasteurization of egg products, mandatory USDA inspection, establishment of E-3-A Standards for equipment, and tight customer specifications. Quality control for egg products includes: (a) procurement of good raw materials, (b) use of adequate pasteurization, processing and sanitary procedures, (c) microbiological testing, including Salmonella and (d) safeguards against recontamination. Pasteurization methods have been developed which substantially reduce the hazard of potential pathogens and still retain the heat-sensitive properties of the raw egg. Present egg products have very good functional and microbiological quality.