Genotoxic and ecotoxic assessments of widely used nanoparticles, cerium dioxide (CeO(2)), silicon dioxide (SiO(2)) and titanium dioxide (TiO(2)), were conducted on two aquatic sentinel species, the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna and the larva of the aquatic midge Chironomus riparius. CeO(2) may have genotoxic effects on D. magna and C. riparius, given that the DNA strand breaks increased i...

Defense of a limited resource, such as space or food, has recently been discovered in snakes and has been widely documented in lizards. Garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.) are historically considered generalist predators such that food is not a limiting resource. However, in this study we show that the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) and the aquatic garter snake (Thamnophis atratus) show ...

Aquatic organisms can take up organic pollutants from their environment and subsequently excrete the pollutant or its biotransformation products (metabolites). Phase II (conjugation) biotransformation products are almost always less toxic than the unmetabolized organic pollutant. For many organic pollutants, the extent to which conjugates are formed is extremely important in determining the rat...

Although New York Sea Grant addresses a variety of aquatic nuisance species issues, of greatest concern are the effects of the zebra mussel on the state’s public and private infrastructure. Over the last decade, combating these exotics has cost the state at least $28 million, impacting electric power generation, drinking water facilities and residential water supplies, food processing, automoti...

During the last 40 years it has been shown that well planned family-based breeding programs yield high rates of genetic improvement for aquatic species. The genetic gain has been greater than 12% per generation for growth rate and for disease resistance when challenge tests are applied. The main reasons for the large genetic gains observed for aquatic species are their relatively high fertility...

A quaculture is an important developing international industry. Approved pharmaceutical agents available to veterinarians in the United States are limited in their therapeutic scope and efficacy. Ensuring preharvest food safety and preventing illegal drug residues are extremely important issues in the selection of therapeutic regimens for aquatic species. Currently available therapeutic substan...

This paper studies aquatic ecological±economic systems such as the Chesapeake Bay. The stability of such eco-logical±economic systems depends on the successful functioning of a small number of generalist species in a wide range of ecological and economic conditions. We ®rst characterize the persistence of such systems. We then analyze the dynamic and the stochastic aspects of the resource alloc...

Scale sensilla are small tactile mechanosensory organs located on the head scales of many squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes). In sea snakes and sea kraits (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae), these scale organs are presumptive scale sensilla that purportedly function as both tactile mechanoreceptors and potentially as hydrodynamic receptors capable of sensing the displacement of water. We combined sca...