Cryptic lineage differentiation among Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the northwest Indian Ocean.

Phylogeography can provide insight into the potential for speciation and identify geographic regions and evolutionary processes associated with species richness and evolutionary endemism. In the marine environment, highly mobile species sometimes show structured patterns of diversity, but the processes isolating populations and promoting differentiation are often unclear. The Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) are a striking case in point and, in particular, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.). Understanding the radiation of species in this genus is likely to provide broader inference about the processes that determine patterns of biogeography and speciation, because both fine-scale structure over a range of kilometers and relative panmixia over an oceanic range are known for Tursiops populations. In our study, novel Tursiops spp. sequences from the northwest Indian Ocean (including mitogenomes and two nuDNA loci) are included in a worldwide Tursiops spp. phylogeographic analysis. We discover a new 'aduncus' type lineage in the Arabian Sea (off India, Pakistan and Oman) that diverged from the Australasian lineage ∼261 Ka. Effective management of coastal dolphins in the region will need to consider this new lineage as an evolutionarily significant unit. We propose that the establishment of this lineage could have been in response to climate change during the Pleistocene and show data supporting hypotheses for multiple divergence events, including vicariance across the Indo-Pacific barrier and in the northwest Indian Ocean. These data provide valuable transferable inference on the potential mechanisms for population and species differentiation across this geographic range.

Molecular ecology meets remote sensing: environmental drivers to population structure of humpback dolphins in the Western Indian Ocean.

Genetic analyses of population structure can be placed in explicit environmental contexts if appropriate environmental data are available. Here, we use high-coverage and high-resolution oceanographic and genetic sequence data to assess population structure patterns and their potential environmental influences for humpback dolphins in the Western Indian Ocean. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA data from 94 dolphins from the coasts of South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Oman, employing frequency-based and maximum-likelihood algorithms to assess population structure and migration patterns. The genetic data were combined with 13 years of remote sensing oceanographic data of variables known to influence cetacean dispersal and population structure. Our analyses show strong and highly significant genetic structure between all putative populations, except for those in South Africa and Mozambique. Interestingly, the oceanographic data display marked environmental heterogeneity between all sampling areas and a degree of overlap between South Africa and Mozambique. Our combined analyses therefore suggest the occurrence of genetically isolated populations of humpback dolphins in areas that are environmentally distinct. This study highlights the utility of molecular tools in combination with high-resolution and high-coverage environmental data to address questions not only pertaining to genetic population structure, but also to relevant ecological processes in marine species.

Pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, and cervical emphysema following mandibular fractures.

Subcutaneous emphysema of the neck and pneumomediastinum following facial trauma in the absence of neck, chest, or abdominal injuries is a rare entity. A case report of bilateral cervical subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax, and pneumomediastinum secondary to mandibular fractures is presented. The anatomic mechanism of injury, diagnosis, and treatment modalities are discussed.

Necrotizing sialometaplasia: review of the literature and report of nonulcerative case.

A review of the literature and a report of a case of necrotizing sialometaplasia of the hard palate is presented. Because necrotizing sialometaplasia may be misdiagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma or mucoepidermoid carcinoma, it is important that the clinician and pathologist take the necessary precautions to prevent any further mutilative surgery for this benign disease entity.

The comparative uptake of Ba2+ and other alkaline earth metals by plant mitochondria.

(1) The transport of Ba2+ by mung bean (Phaseolus aureus L) mitochondria is examined and its uptake properties compared with the accumulation of other alkaline earth metals by plant mitochondria. Uptake is supported by oxidizable substrates but not by ATP under the conditions examined. Ba2+ uptake shows an absolute requirement for Pi, whereas AsO4, acetate and oxalate do not replace Pi. ATP synthesis inhibits Ba2+ uptake 50% and both 2,4-dinitrophenol and valinomycin plus K+ inhibit uptake over 80%. (2) The relative capacity to transport a series of alkaline earth metals showed a preferred order of: Sr2+ > Ca2+ > Ba2+ >> Mg2+. Mitochondria isolated from three plant sources showed net levels of Mg2+ uptake 7% or less than the observed Sr2+ uptake values. The same relative order of alkaline earth metal supported uptake of Pi was observed with bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) mitochondria. It is suggested that salt transport in plant mitochondria involves a carrier complex which binds both divalent cations and Pi.