Cadmium-Related Effects on Cellular Immunity Comprises Altered Metabolism in Earthworm Coelomocytes.

The heavy metal cadmium (Cd) is known to modulate the immune system, challenging soil-dwelling organisms where environmental Cd pollution is high. Since earthworms lack adaptive immunity, we determined Cd-related effects on coelomocytes, the cellular part of innate immunity, which is also the site of detoxification processes. A proteomics approach revealed a set of immunity-related proteins as well as gene products involved in energy metabolism changing in earthworms in response to Cd exposure.

Time course of lead induced proteomic changes in gill of the Antarctic limpet Nacella Concinna (Gastropoda: Patellidae).

Unlabelled: The effect of increasing levels of metals from anthropogenic sources on Antarctic invertebrates is poorly understood. Here we exposed limpets (Nacella concinna) to 0, 0.12 and 0.

Proteomic responses to environmentally induced oxidative stress.

Environmental (acute and chronic temperature, osmotic, hypoxic and pH) stress challenges the cellular redox balance and can lead to the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This review provides an overview of the reactions producing and scavenging ROS in the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and peroxisome. It then compares these reactions with the findings of a number of studies investigating the proteomic responses of marine organisms to environmentally induced oxidative stress.

The proteomic response of cheliped myofibril tissue in the eurythermal porcelain crab Petrolisthes cinctipes to heat shock following acclimation to daily temperature fluctuations.

The porcelain crab Petrolisthes cinctipes lives under rocks and in mussel beds in the mid-intertidal zone where it experiences immersion during high tide and saturating humid conditions in air during low tide, which can increase habitat temperature by up to 20°C. To identify the biochemical changes affected by increasing temperature fluctuations and subsequent heat shock, we acclimated P. cinctipes for 30 days to one of three temperature regimes: (1) constant 10°C, (2) daily temperature fluctuations between 10 and 20°C (5 h up-ramp to 20°C, 1 h down-ramp to 10°C) and (3) 10-30°C (up-ramp to 30°C).

Population dynamics and life history of a solitary coral, Balanophyllia elegans, from Central California.

Size-specific mortality rates and growth rates for the solitary coral Balanophyllia elegans are determined from size-frequency distributions of live corals from natural and artificial substrates, and from skeletons of dead corals found in rubble channels. Marked quadrats were monitored to measure actual recruitment and mortality for juveniles and adults. First year rate of mortality for juveniles is high, 56%; and mortality rate for adults is about 10% annually.

Reproductive ecology of the coral Astrangia lajollaensis: Sexual and asexual patterns in a kelp forest habitat.

The temperate water coral, Astrangia lajollaensis broadcasts a large number of small eggs. It propagates asexually by budding and regeneration, and forms two-dimensional colonies on hard rocky substrate. Sexual recruitment was absent and asexual propagation was slow during this study.

Foraging strategies and prey switching in the California sea otter.

Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), in recovering from near extinction, are gradually extending their range to include areas from which they have been absent for more than one hundred years. This study took advantage of the otters' relatively sudden arrival in the area near Santa Cruz, California, to monitor their prey selection in the first two years of residence there. Foraging observations revealed that sea urchins (Strongly-locentrotus franciscanus) were heavily preyed upon initially, but virtually disappeared from the diet after one year of sea otter residence.