Bioindication potential of carbonic anhydrase activity in anemones and corals.

Activity levels of carbonic anhydrase (CA) were assessed in anemones Condylactis gigantea and Stichodactyla helianthus with laboratory exposures to copper, nickel, lead, and vanadium, and also in animals collected from polluted vs pristine field sites. CA activity was found to be decreased with increase in metal concentration and also in animals collected from the polluted field site. Preliminary assessments to adapt the CA assay for use in the widespread coral Montastraea cavernosa show decreased CA activity in specimens from the polluted field site and provide an avenue for future research aimed at more thoroughly describing coral CA activity for potential application in bioindication.

[Coral reefs of Bocas del Toro, Panamá: IV. Distribution, structure and conservation state of continental reefs of Peninsula Valiente]. / Arrecifes coralinos de Bocas del Toro, Panamá: IV. Distribución, estructura y estado de conservación de los arrecifes continentales de península Valiente.

This is the fourth and last contribution describing the individual structure, distribution and conservation status of coral reefs in the Province of Bocas del Toro. Here we describe 14 new reefs along 129 km of coast from Peninsula Valiente to Río Calovébora. Average live coral coverage for this region was 17.1% (+/- 3.6%), mainly in the western region of the peninsula (Bahia Bluefield and Ensenada Tobobe). Coral cover increases with depth (> 5 m) for most species at several reefs and the corals Porites furcata and Acropora palmata dominated shallow waters. Acropora palmata was found abundant in 43% of the studied reefs and toward the regions of the Ensenada Tobobe and Punta Valiente. Coral recruitment rates were similar in distribution to those reefs with greater coral coverage, with average densities of 4 recruit/m2 (maximum 9 recruits/m2) and mainly Agaricia spp., Porites astreoides and Siderastrea siderea. The greater diversity of corals and sponges was recorded toward the western side of the peninsula, with a total of 55 coral species in the study area, including two new records for Bocas del Toro (59 species in total), Dichocoenia stellaris and Madracis luciphila and increasing the diversity of corals of Panama to 65 species. We found 24 species of octocorals and Gorgonia mariae, Muriceopsis sulphurea and Muricea laxaoosens, are informed for the first time to the area, increasing in 10% the diversity for Bocas del Toro (32 in total). We recorded 48 sponges, including five new species for the area and representing an increase of 9% in the total number (58). Large populations of Acropora palmata were found in the Ensenada Tobobe, what justifies once again the need for modifying the existing protected area, so that this new region is incorporated within the conservation plans.

Head, neck, and mandible dynamics generated by 'whiplash'.

That injuries to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) can be imposed by short-acting forces generated during rear-end collisions of motor vehicles was first proposed more than 50 years ago. Since that time, numerous anecdotal and clinical reports relating the onset of TMJ symptoms to low-velocity rear-end collisions have appeared in the literature. Various mechanisms of injury to the TMJ occurring during extension and flexion phases of 'whiplash' have been proposed. However, transient forces developed at the TMJ in impact velocity changes on the order of 8.0 kilometers per hour (km/h) have been shown to be well within typical physiologic ranges. This study applies current head/neck extension-flexion dynamic data to develop linear and angular force-time histories experienced at the TMJ. Fourteen test collisions of motor vehicles utilizing seven live test subjects were conducted in July 1993. Linear and angular accelerometers and high-speed photographic cameras recorded the vehicle and human-subject responses. Head accelerations and forces generated at the TMJ bore a generally linear relationship to the impact velocity changes in the range tested (3.9-10.9 km/h). Mandibular opening responses were measured on three test subjects. Neither neck hyperflexion nor hyperextension occurred for any subject on any trial. At some point in the series, all test subjects experienced neck muscle strain symptoms lasting 1-3 days. No TMJ symptoms were experienced. The head, neck, and mandible motions occurring in the 'whiplash' maneuver are more complex than previously described. The cervical muscle injury threshold appears to be reached in the 8.0 km/h range. Linear and rotational forces generated at the TMJ in rear-end impacts below the 11.0 km/h velocity-change level do not appear to be injurious.

Temporomandibular joint injury potential imposed by the low-velocity extension-flexion maneuver.

PURPOSE: It has been proposed that significant temporomandibular joint injury can occur as a result of rapid extension-flexion motion of the neck (whip-lash). This motion, which is experienced by passengers in vehicles that undergo rear-end collisions, has been described as causing rapid protrusion and opening of the mandible. It has been speculated that this relative motion between the mandible and the cranium produces forces at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) that injure the articular elements. The objective of this study was to measure these forces by an experimental method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Accelerometer sensor and high-speed cinematographic data were obtained from the kinematic responses of live human test subjects positioned as occupants in motor vehicles that underwent staged low-velocity rear-end collisions. Linear and moment forces generated at the TMJs were obtained from the resultant acceleration pulse at the craniomandibular complex, estimation of the mass properties of the mandible and its appended soft tissues, and the application of Newton's Second Law of motion. RESULTS: The maximum linear forces generated at the TMJ in a rear-end collision resulting in a velocity change of the test subject of 8 km/h (5 mph) were in the 7 to 10 N (1.6 to 2.2 lb) range. Moment forces at the joint peaked briefly at 0.55 N.m (4.81 lb-in). CONCLUSIONS: These force magnitudes generated at the TMJ constitute a minor fraction of the forces experienced at the joint during normal physiologic function. It is a conclusion of this study that injuries to the TMJ attributed to low-velocity "whiplash" cannot be accounted for by the joint forces produced by this maneuver.

Sibling Species in Montastraea annularis, Coral Bleaching, and the Coral Climate Record.

Measures of growth and skeletal isotopic ratios in the Caribbean coral Montastraea annularis are fundamental to many studies of paleoceanography, environmental degradation, and global climate change. This taxon is shown to consist of at least three sibling species in shallow waters. The two most commonly studied of these show highly significant differences in growth rate and oxygen isotopic ratios, parameters routinely used to estimate past climatic conditions; unusual coloration in the third may have confused research on coral bleaching. Interpretation or comparison of past and current studies can be jeopardized by ignoring these species boundaries.

Ecological effects of a major oil spill on panamanian coastal marine communities.

In 1986 more than 8 million liters of crude oil spilled into a complex region of mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs just east of the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. This was the largest recorded spill into coastal habitats in the tropical Americas. Many population of plants and animals in both oiled and unoiled sites had been studied previously, thereby providing an unprecedented measure of ecological variation before the spill. Documenation of the spread of oil and its biological begun immediately. Intertidal mangroves, algae, and associated invertebrates were covered by oil and died soon after. More surprisingly, there was also extensive mortality of shallow subtidal reef corals and infauna of seagrass beds. After 1.5 years only some organisms in areas exposed to the open sea have recovered.