The effects of used motor oil, silt, and the water mold Saprolegnia parasitica on the growth and survival of mole salamanders (genus Ambystoma).

Amphibians appear to be declining worldwide. One cause of their decline may be used crankcase oil which leaks from motor vehicles and washes into ponds. Once in ponds, the oil may either be directly toxic to amphibians, or may indirectly affect them by disrupting food chains. The effects of oil may also be compounded by naturally occurring materials in the water column such as silt. Silt may interfere with respiration across gill surfaces. This study examined the effects of oil and silt on the growth and metamorphosis of larval mole salamanders, Ambystoma opacum and A. tigrinum tigrinum. In Experiment One it examined ponds with and without silty water and oil pollution to determine their suitability as habitats for salamander larvae. In Experiment Two it studied the effects of low levels of oil combined with silt on animals raised in the laboratory and fed prey items not raised in oil. In Experiment Three, it explored the effects of oil at an ecosystem level by raising the salamanders in the field in plastic micromesocosms that mimicked small ponds. Finally, in Experiment Four, in the laboratory, it examined the short-term survival of salamanders in high concentrations of oil. This study found that ponds containing oil and silt produce salamanders of reduced size and weight. Furthermore, while salamanders are relatively robust to the short term effects of large concentrations of used motor oil, oil has deleterious effects on the community and therefore exerts an indirect negative effect on salamanders. In the mi- cro-mesocosms containing oil, salamanders were smaller and weighed less than animals not raised in oil. Furthermore, silt results in reduced growth, earlier metamorphosis, and increased susceptibility to the water mold Saprolegnia parasitica.

Issues in psychotherapy with lesbians and gay men. A survey of psychologists.

In 1984, a task force of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns was charged with investigating bias in psychotherapy with lesbians and gay men. The task force surveyed a large and diverse sample of psychologists to elicit information about specific instances of respondent-defined biased and sensitive psychotherapy practice. Open-ended responses were used to separately identify major themes of biased and sensitive practice and to illustrate each with concrete examples. Results suggest that psychologists vary widely in their adherence to a standard of unbiased practice with gay men and lesbians. To bring individual practice into accord with APA policy will require continued and expanded efforts to educate practitioners about sexual orientation.