Male traits, mating tactics and reproductive success in the buff-breasted sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis

Buff-breasted sandpipers use a variety of mating tactics to acquire mates, including remaining at a single lek for most of the breeding season, attending multiple leks during the season, displaying solitarily or displaying both on leks and solitarily. We found that differences in body size, body condition, fluctuating asymmetry scores, wing coloration, territory location and behaviour (attraction, solicitation and agonistic) did not explain the observed variation in mating tactics used by males. Which males abandoned versus returned to leks was also not related to morphology or behaviour, and there was no tendency for males to join leks that were larger or smaller than the lek they abandoned. These results suggest that male desertion of leks was not dependent on a male's characteristics nor on the size of the lek he was presently attending. Males did join leks with larger males than their previous lek, perhaps to mate with females attracted to these larger 'hotshot' males. Males at both leks and solitary sites successfully mated. Lek tenure did not affect mating success, although lekking males appeared to mate more frequently than solitary males. Courtship disruption and to a lesser extent, female mimicry, were effective at preventing females from mating at leks, and may offer a partial explanation for female mating off leks. Our analysis that combined all males together within a year (regardless of mating tactic) indicated that males that attended leks for longer periods of time and that had fewer wing spots were significantly more likely to mate. Given some evidence that wing spotting declines with age, and that females inspect male underwings during courtship, the latter result suggests that female choice may play some role in determining male success. We suggest that male buff-breasted sandpipers may use alternative mating tactics more readily than males in other 'classic' lek-breeding species because: (1) unpredictable breeding conditions in this species' high arctic breeding range leads to low lek stability, which in turn hinders mate selection mechanisms mediated by male dominance and female choice; and (2) males are not constrained by morphological markings that indicate status or sex. Both characteristics may reduce the reproductive benefits associated with males adopting one mating tactic and result in a sort of scramble competition in which males switch between tactics as local conditions change.Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour     

Paradox as paradigm--the health outcomes of Mexican Americans

A 20-year-old male with known testicular carcinoma presented with atrial fibrillation. Investigations, which revealed a pulmonary metastasis with invasion of the left atrium, are presented along with a review of the current literature.     

Epidermal cell proliferation and promoting ability of phorbol esters

Dose-response relationships on the abilities of several phorbol ester tumor promoters to promote skin tumors after 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene initiation and to bring about edema, inflammation, and epidermal hyperplasia were determined in female Charles River CD-1 mice. The promoting ability of the potent synthetic promoter, phorbol-12,13-dioctanoate (PdiC8), was determined over a dose range of 0.1-10 mug/application. Administration of PdiC8 two times weekly at dosages of 4, 6, 8, and 10 mug gave little variation in tumor response. A dose-dependent tumor response occurred at doses of 1-4 mug PdiC8. Only 1 papilloma was observed when PdiC8 was given twice weekly at a dose of 0.1 or 0.5 mug. A similar dose-response relation was observed for the ability of PdiC8 to stimulate epidermal hyperplasia. Investigations of other phorbol esters revealed an excellent correlation between their promoting ability and their ability to induce epidermal hyperplasia; however, that was not the case for compounds outside the phorbol ester series (i.e., acetic acid, cantharidin, and ethylphenylpropiolate).     

Spatial genetic structure and recruitment dynamics of burbot (Lota lota) in Eastern Lake Michigan and Michigan tributaries

Burbot (Lota lota) are the only freshwater member of the Cod like (Lotidae) family that have a circumpolar distribution and occupy the widest geographic distribution of all Laurentian Great Lakes fish species. Information regarding burbot spatial genetic structure and recruitment dynamics is critical for the development of effective management strategies. Although burbot are a species of conservation concern throughout their range, little demographic or behavioral information exists. We estimated levels of genetic diversity within, and the degree of spatial population structure between samples collected from Lake Michigan and tributaries of the Manistee River, MI. Measures of genetic diversity across 10 microsatellite loci were moderately high. Disparities between adult groups sampled in Lake Michigan and the Manistee River were notable for observed heterozygosity (0.662 vs 0.488) and allelic richness (11.7 vs 6.6). Significant levels of inter-population variance in microsatellite allele frequencies (F_ST 0.154 to 0.208) were detected between Lake Michigan and the Manistee River samples. Results indicate reproductive isolation between what plausibly may be riverine and lacustrine spawning life history types. Pedigree analyses for three cohorts sampled in the Manistee River revealed that a sizeable number of adults contributed reproductively to multiple cohorts, indicating spawning philopatry. While data were collected from restricted areas in lacustrine and river habitats, analyses revealing microgeographic genetic structuring, potentially attributed to life history polymorphisms, have significant implications for burbot management in the Great Lakes.     

A quality process for chemical product risk assessment.

One cannot manage a health or environmental risk of unknown dimension. Thus, the rational and cost-effective control of any risk lies first in its reasoned assessment. The assessment of risk is a scientific endeavor which embodies the intellectual use of information to reach a determination or assignment of an ascribed level of danger. It is, however, a decision process and approach whose details are substantially value laden. As such, it is potentially subject to a myriad of subjective interpretations from individuals with special interests and perspectives. Given this nature, it is incumbent upon those responsible for risk assessment in any organization to formulate a broad-based scientific consensus regarding the principals of quality assurance for the risk assessment process in their organization. This paper attempts to outline a rational and prudent consensus-based system for the quality assurance of risk assessment concerned with the danger to human health and the environment posed by the use of chemical products. We present it as a model that we hope could be accepted and implemented.     

The Case for Every‐Other‐Day Dialysis

Until daily dialysis becomes widely available, we believe that hemodialysis patients would benefit enormously from every‐other‐day dialysis (EODD), which may be implemented both by home patients and in centers. Benefits of EODD over the routine, three‐times‐weekly schedule would include decreased mortality after the weekend interval without dialysis; increased weekly dose of dialysis, resulting in better rehabilitation; and improved blood pressure control.