Phylogeography of Acesta clams from submarine seamounts and escarpments along the western margin of North America

Genetic connectivity and habitat characteristics were examined in two species of Acesta clams (Bivalvia: Limidae) from submarine seamounts and continental slopes along the western North America margin. Two species were identified from dive videos obtained with submarine remotely operated vehicles that surveyed a 2200‐km range between 27° and 46° N latitude. Acesta sphoni was only found at shallower habitats (545–860 m depth) in the southern part of this range, whereas Acesta mori was more abundant and widely distributed in deeper habitats (1029–1996 m). Both species occurred on seamounts and on the walls of submarine canyons and continental slopes. Segregation of these species by depth exposes them to correlated differences in water temperatures and dissolved oxygen concentrations. Ninety‐eight individuals sampled from seven seamounts and one escarpment locality were characterized with DNA‐barcodes based on 643 base pairs of mitochondrial cytochrome‐c ‐oxidase subunit I (COI). Further analysis of these sequences revealed no significant geographical subdivision across the sampled range. This lack of differentiation suggests ongoing genetic exchange between the seamount populations and those possibly distributed along the continental margins. Examination of regional bathymetric profiles suggested that an abundance of suitable habitat might exist along these margins.     

Improving exposure assessment in environmental epidemiology: Application of spatio-temporal visualization tools

A thorough assessment of human exposure to environmental agents should incorporate mobility patterns and temporal changes in human behaviors and concentrations of contaminants; yet the temporal dimension is often under-emphasized in exposure assessment endeavors, due in part to insufficient tools for visualizing and examining temporal datasets. Spatio-temporal visualization tools are valuable for integrating a temporal component, thus allowing for examination of continuous exposure histories in environmental epidemiologic investigations. An application of these tools to a bladder cancer case-control study in Michigan illustrates continuous exposure life-lines and maps that display smooth, continuous changes over time. Preliminary results suggest increased risk of bladder cancer from combined exposure to arsenic in drinking water (>25 g/day) and heavy smoking (>30 cigarettes/day) in the 1970s and 1980s, and a possible cancer cluster around automotive, paint, and organic chemical industries in the early 1970s. These tools have broad application for examining spatially- and temporally-specific relationships between exposures to environmental risk factors and disease.This study was supported by grant R01 CA96002-10, Geographic-Based Research in Cancer Control and Epidemiology, from the National Cancer Institute. Development of the STIS^TM software was funded by grants R43 ES10220 from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences and R01 CA92669 from the National Cancer Institute. Access to cancer case records was provided by Michigan Cancer Surveillance Program within the Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Michigan Department of Community Health. The authors thank Michigan Public Health Institute for conducting the telephone interview and Stacey Fedewa and Lisa Bailey for entering written surveys into a database. The authors thank 3 anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.     

THE SPACES OF COPING: WOMEN AND "POVERTY" IN SINGAPORE

This paper investigates the relationship between space, gender and poverty in the dynamic Pacific Asian economy of Singapore. It argues for the use of coping strategies as an analytical tool for investigating these relationships, highlighting how women construct strategies from confined spaces. Drawing on spatial stories and real life accounts, it examines the ways in which women use the labour market, the family and community services as strategies against poverty. The paper concludes that women struggle to negotiate the constraints of inadequate childcare provision and traditional attitudes, choosing instead to remain in the home or enter “liminal” spaces in the form of Family Service Centres.     

Enteroviruses in mussels and marine sediments and depuration of naturally accumulated viruses by green lipped mussels (Perna canaliculus)

Surveys were carried out over 16 months to assess the distribution of enteroviruses of human origin in sediments and mussels near two sewage outfalls on the North Taranaki Coast, New Zealand. Enteroviruses were present in high numbers in both sediments and shellfish near the New Plymouth sewage outfall with maximum virus levels of 32 000 pfu 100 g^‐1 of wet mussel tissue and 59 pfu 100 g^‐1 of wet sediment material. Viruses were recovered occasionally from sediments and mussels near the Waitara Borough outfall. Coxsackievirus B4 was the predominant virus type isolated but CB5 and Poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3 were also recovered. Attempts to depurate virus‐contaminated New Plymouth mussels, by keeping them in water for 8 days with daily water replacement, did not achieve a significant reduction in virus numbers.