Genetic divergence, population structure and historical demography of rare springsnails (Pyrgulopsis) in the lower Colorado River basin.

Springsnails of the genus Pyrgulopsis are the most diverse group of freshwater gastropods in North America and current estimates show that Pyrgulopsis contains ~120 different species, many of which are at risk of extinction. Some factors contributing to their exceptional diversity include poor dispersal ability and extreme habitat specificity based on water availability, chemistry and depth. Most taxa exhibit high degrees of endemism, with many species occurring only in a single spring or seep, making springsnails ideal for studies of speciation and population structure. Here I present data from a survey of genetic variation at the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I from 37 populations and over 1000 individuals...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Molecular Ecology, Mollusca, Pyrgulopsis, conservation, mtDNA, All tags... phylogeography, population structure, Fewer tags

Stable metal isotopes reveal copper accumulation and loss dynamics in the freshwater bivalve Corbicula.

Characterization of uptake and loss dynamics is critical to understanding risks associated with contaminant exposure in aquatic animals. Dynamics are especially important in addressing questions such as why coexisting species in nature accumulate different levels of a contaminant. Here we manipulated copper (Cu) stable isotopic ratios (as an alternative to radioisotopes) to describe for the first time Cu dynamics in a freshwater invertebrate, the bivalve Corbicula fluminea. In the laboratory, Corbicula uptake and loss rate constants were determined from an environmentally realistic waterborne exposure to 65Cu (5.7 microg L(-1)). That is, we spiked deionized water with Cu that was 99.4% 65Cu. Net tracer uptake was...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Animals, Copper, Copper: pharmacokinetics, Isotopes, Isotopes: pharmacokinetics, All tags... Kinetics, Mollusca, Mollusca: physiology, Water Pollutants, Water Pollutants: pharmacokinetics, Fewer tags

SEFSC CAGES Alabama Fish Length Data with CPUE

The CAGES program (Comparative Assessment of Gulf Estuarine Systems) is designed to examine the differences between estuarine ecosystems and investigate why some are more productive than others. The program focuses on estuarine areas important to commercial fisheries and includes data on commercial finfish and invertebrate species, as well as other species commonly captured in trawl sampling. This Louisiana dataset is a subset of the CAGES Relational Database which is a compilation of fishery-independent data contributed by natural resource agencies of the Gulf States (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida). This data set includes data from trawls collected by the Alabama Department of Conservation...

Categories: Data; Tags: Alabama, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Annelida, Arnica Bay, Bay Minette Creek, All tags... Blakely River, Bon Secour River, CAGES, CPUE, Chickasaw Creek, Coelenterata, Crustacea, Deer River, Dog River, East Fowl River, Echinodermata, Eleven Mile Creek, Eslava Creek, Fish River, GIWW, Grand Bay, Gulf Coast, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, Gulf of Mexico, Halls Mill Creek, Little Lagoon, Magnolia River, Mississippi Sound, Mobile Bay, Mobile River, Mollusca, Perdido Bay, Porifera, Rabbit Creek, Tensaw River, Theodore Industrial Canal, Vertebrata, Water Body, Weeks Bay, West Fowl River, Wolf Bay, Wolf Creek, Xiphosura, abundance, catch per unit effort, coastal bay, comparative assessment of gulf estuarine systems, crustacean, dissolved oxygen, distribution, estuary, finfish, fisheries, fishery independent data, hydrographic, hydrological, invertebrate, nekton, occurrence, salinity, temperature, trawl, vertebrate, Fewer tags

Just add water and the Colorado River still reaches the sea.

A recent article in Environmental Management by All argued that flood flows in North America's Colorado River do not reach the Gulf of California because they are captured and evaporated in Laguna Salada, a below sea-level lakebed near the mouth of the river. We refute this hypothesis by showing that (1) due to its limited area, the Laguna Salada could have evaporated less than 10% of the flood flows that have occurred since 1989; (2) low flow volumes preferentially flow to the Gulf rather than Laguna Salada; (3) All's method for detecting water surface area in the Laguna Salada appears to be flawed because Landsat Thematic Mapper images of the lakebed show it to be dry when All's analyses said it was flooded; (4)...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Environmental Management, Mexico, Penaeidae, United States, animals, All tags... disasters, mollusca, rivers, satellite communications, seawater, water movements, Fewer tags