Evidence for spawning aggregations of the endangered Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara in southern Brazil.

In this study, seasonal numerical abundance of the critically endangered Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara was estimated by conducting scuba dive surveys and calculating sightings-per-unit-effort (SPUE) at three sites in southern Brazil. Seasonal differences in size and reproductive condition of captured or confiscated specimens were compared. The SPUE differed significantly with season, increasing in late spring and peaking during the austral summer months. A significant effect was observed in the number of fish relative to the lunar cycle. All females sampled during the summer were spawning capable, while all those sampled during other seasons were either regressing or regenerating. What these data strongly infer is that the E. itajara spawning aggregation sites have been located in the southern state of Paraná and the northern state of Santa Catarina and summer is the most likely spawning season. Size frequency distributions, abundance and reproductive state were estimated and correlated with environmental variables.

Morphological and physiological consequences of parasites encysted in the bulbus arteriosus of an estuarine fish, the sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus.

The contribution of parasites to host population regulation is undefinable without knowledge of parasite effects on individual host performance and survival. Effects are best determined by examining performance of differentially parasitized hosts under the varying environmental conditions that characterize the host's habitat. The sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus, an estuarine fish, is heavily parasitized in the bulbus arteriosus by the heterophyid trematode Ascocotyle pachycystis in semi-enclosed shallow bodies of water in northwestern Florida. Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the morphological and physiological effects of parasitization of these fish. Differentially parasitized fish were compared for differences in ventricle weight and swimming performance. Parasitized fish ventricles were hypertrophied due to mechanical blockage of normal blood flow by metacercariae in the bulbus. Swimming performance generally was reduced by the presence of parasites, which had their most significant negative effect at cold temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels.

Florida Legislature passes medical malpractice law.

The Florida Legislature recently adopted a medical liability tort reform package, a step toward what physicians hope is an eventual solution to the medical malpractice problem. In the August issue, Dr. Coleman chronicled the Florida Medical Association's efforts to pass a statewide constitutional amendment to accomplish similar reforms. Here, FMA's immediate past president tells how the previously unsuccessful efforts led to a promising legislative victory.

A look at Florida's malpractice crisis.

To solve the malpractice problem, the Florida Medical Association has attempted during the last decade to bring about tort reform through the legislative process, but early successes were declared unconstitutional or ignored by the courts. In 1984, the FMA organized a constitutional initiative campaign called REASON '84, and secured a record 630,000 signatures of registered Florida voters to place a constitutional amendment on the 1984 Florida General Election ballot. The Florida Supreme Court in October 1984 removed the Association's constitutional Amendment 9 from the ballot. Dr. Coleman, past president of the Florida Medical Association, wrote the following during his term as president about the malpractice problem and its grave implications.

The coming of Medicare--a turbulent time for pathology: Part 1.

Articles in the February and March issues chronicled the legislative history of Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act). Here, in the first of three parts, the author examines specifically Medicare as it relates to pathology, emphasizing the problems Medicare has created for pathology.

The legislative history of Medicare.

The first of two parts, this article chronicles the legislative history of Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act). The story begins in the middle 1930s with the first attempts to provide health care through a federalized system. Part II of the article, which will be published in the March issue, will begin with the re-election of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.