Search

The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population (Eubalaena glacialis) has experienced multiple periods of decreased reproduction within its observable history, which have played a role in the overall decline of the species. In addition to this synchronized variation in reproduction across the population, there exists considerable individual variation in fecundity. To determine the impacts of family history and habitat use behavior on these individual variations in fecundity, photo identification data collected during four decades of visual monitoring were used to create a calving index for sexually mature females that could be used to evaluate matrilineal influence on fecundity. Reproductive life histories were analyzed to assess fecundity variation within matrilines over time. Individual variations in fecundity were also assessed with respect to a recent climate-driven habitat distribution shift by a loyal cohort of right whales that use the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the summer and autumn seasons. Lifetime fecundity in the oldest known living reproductive female, or matriarch, in a matriline was positively associated with the fecundity of her female progeny. Sexually mature females that have used the Gulf of St. Lawrence since 2015 were significantly more likely to give birth over this time period compared to individuals who did not use that habitat. Individuals of both sexes were significantly more likely to use the Gulf of St. Lawrence if their mothers did as well; however, this association declined as offspring aged. These results provide insight on the environmental, behavioral, and genetic factors that contribute to individual variation in fecundity. Low calving rates and increased dangers posed by habitat use shifts in the past decade have played a major role in the species’ decline, and these new insights into the mechanistic drivers of right whale reproduction and habitat use show that lineage guides progeny behavior and reproductive success. As anthropogenic climate change continues to disrupt right whale seasonal distributions through changing ocean circulation patterns, understanding the demographic consequences of novel habitat use patterns will be essential to updating protective policies.

Marine conservation sciences have traditionally been, and remain, non-diverse work environments with many barriers to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). These barriers disproportionately affect entry of early career scientists and practitioners and limit the success of marine conservation professionals from under-represented, marginalized, and overburdened groups. These groups specifically include women, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). However, the issues also arise from the global North/South and East/West divide with under-representation of scientists from the South and East in the global marine conservation and science arena. Persisting inequities in conservation, along with a lack of inclusiveness and diversity, also limit opportunities for innovation, cross-cultural knowledge exchange, and effective implementation of conservation and management policies. As part of its mandate to increase diversity and promote inclusion of underrepresented groups, the Diversity and Inclusion committee of the Society for Conservation Biology-Marine Section (SCB Marine) organized a JEDI focus group at the Sixth International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC6) which was held virtually. The focus group included a portion of the global cohort of IMCC6 attendees who identified issues affecting JEDI in marine conservation and explored pathways to address those issues. Therefore, the barriers and pathways identified here focus on issues pertinent to participants’ global regions and experiences. Several barriers to just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive conservation science and practice were identified. Examples included limited participation of under-represented minorities (URM) in research networks, editorial biases against URM, limited professional development and engagement opportunities for URM and non-English speakers, barriers to inclusion of women, LGBTQ+, and sensory impaired individuals, and financial barriers to inclusion of URM in all aspects of marine conservation and research. In the current policy brief, we explore these barriers, assess how they limit progress in marine conservation research and practice, and seek to identify initiatives for improvements. We expect the initiatives discussed here to advances practices rooted in principles of JEDI, within SCB Marine and, the broader conservation community. The recommendations and perspectives herein broadly apply to conservation science and practice, and are critical to effective and sustainable conservation and management outcomes.

High-resolution imagery is lacking for much of the West Indies, impeding accurate intertidal habitat assessments and conservation planning. The West Indian topsnail, which inhabits rocky shores, is an important, regional fishery. It was overfished to extinction in Bermuda but reintroduced in 1982. In this study, we estimate potential population size through habitat mapping using high-resolution imagery and ground-based survey data. We also test the effects of image resolution and map scale on intertidal habitat assessments. The coastline of Bermuda was mapped as a linear feature (1:500) using high-resolution imagery. Topsnail population size was predicted using length of preferred habitat and population density. With the comprehensive map as ground-truth, effects of scale were assessed in two ways: supervised classification of low-resolution imagery and progressive map scale coarsening (Douglas-Peuker simplification). Bermuda’s coastline is 296 km at this map scale, 50 % of which is rocky shore. Topsnail population could expand significantly if all preferred habitat is occupied. However, image resolution and map scale drastically affect mapping robustness. Unsurprisingly, automated classifiers poorly distinguished narrow intertidal habitats. More disturbingly, coarsening map scale differentially affected habitats. Fine-scale mapping enabled by high-resolution imagery is vital for intertidal conservation planning. Limitations of low-resolution imagery and scale-dependent biases are pertinent beyond intertidal habitats. Numerous predominantly linear habitats may be especially sensitive to sea-level rise and other effects of climate change, so careful consideration of the effects of scale on habitat assessments and the use of high-resolution imagery are strongly recommended.

Behavior rating scales aid in the identification of problem behaviors, as well as the development of interventions to reduce such behavior. Although scores on many behavior rating scales have been validated in the United States, there have been few such studies in other cultural contexts. In this study, the structural validity of scores on a Spanish translation of the six-factor Child Behavior Scale (CBS) was assessed in a sample of 265 Peruvian preschool children who ranged from 2 to 6 years in age. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a four-factor structure, and reliability estimates for scores on the four factors were adequate. The authors suggest replicating the study and examining the utility of CBS scores in predicting future problem behaviors in this population. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Nicotine, the causative agent of addiction to tobacco, can also be a neuroprotectant. Nicotine-induced neuroprotection against different toxins is imparted through pharmacologically distinct neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) where protection against chronic N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) exposure is through nAChRα7 but protection against the toxic peptide of amyloid precursor protein, Aβ25−35, is through nAChRα4β2. The inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is also neuroprotective, however, in the presence of nicotine, neuroprotection against NMDA is abolished. The specificity of nicotine–TNFα antagonism was further refined using a mouse transgenic dominant negative of nAChRα7 in which nicotine failed to induce neuroprotection against NMDA and antagonism of TNFα was absent. However, nicotine-mediated neuroprotection against Aβ25−35 was unaffected and, therefore, did not require the expression of functional nAChRα7s. The mechanism of TNFα-mediated neuroprotection and antagonism by nicotine was independent of caspase 8 activation or nuclear factor kappa B translocation in neurons but C6-ceramide addition to neuronal cultures subsequently exposed to NMDA mimicked the neuroprotective effect of TNFα and, like TNFα, it was antagonized by cotreatment with nicotine. Therefore, the neuroprotective effects of nicotine against differing toxic assaults requires distinct nAChR subtypes and proceeds through intracellular pathways that overlap with similarly different mechanisms initiated by pro-inflammatory cytokines. These results provide insight into how nicotine imparts neuroprotection and modulates inflammatory responses.

Ionotropic glutamate receptor (GluR) expression and function is regulated through multiple pre- and post-translational mechanisms. We find that limited proteolytic cleavage of GluR3 at two distinct sites generates stable GluR3 short forms that are glycosylated and found in association with other full-length GluRs in the mouse brain and cultured primary neurons. A combination of mutagenesis and transfection into HEK293 cells revealed cleavage by a gamma-secretase-like activity within the membrane-localized re-entry loop at or near the leucine-glycine pair (amino acids 585-586, GluR3sbeta) and a second site within a proline-rich PEST-like sequence in the first cytoplasmic loop (Asp570-Pro571, GluR3salpha). Generation of the prominent GluR3salpha form was effectively abolished in the mutant, GluR3D570A, but inhibitors of lysosomes, the proteasome, caspases, or calpains had no effect. The possible impact of cleavage on receptor function was suggested when the co-expression of the GluR3P571Stop mutant (creating GluR3salpha) co-assembled with other GluR subunits and decreased receptor function in Xenopus oocytes. In transiently transfected HEK293 cells, co-expression of GluR3salpha alters the relative association between GluR1 and GluR3 during assembly, and the presence of the novel C-terminal proline-rich domain of GluR3salpha imparts lateral membrane mobility to GluR complexes. These results suggest that limited proteolysis is another post-translational mechanism through which functional diversity and specialization between closely related GluR subunits is accomplished.

The response by individuals to nicotine is likely to reflect the interaction of this compound with target nAChRs. However, resolving how different genetic backgrounds contribute to unique mouse strain-specific responses to this compound remains an important and unresolved issue. To examine this question in detail, expression of the nicotine acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits α3, α4, α5, α7, β2, and β4 was measured in the dorsal hippocampus using immunohistochemistry in mouse strains or lines BALB/c, C3H/J, C57BL/6, CBA/J, DBA/2, Long Sleep (LS), Short Sleep (SS), and CF1. The nAChRs in all mice colocalized with glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)-positive interneurons that were subclassified into at least four groups based on nAChR subunit heterogeneity. A notable difference between mouse strains was the expression of nAChRs by astrocyte subpopulations in CA1 subregions whose numbers vary inversely with nAChR-immunostained neurons. This novel relationship also correlated with published parameters of strain sensitivity to nicotine. Attempts to identify the origin of this significant difference in nAChR expression among strains included comparison of the entire nAChRα4 gene sequence. Although multiple polymorphisms were identified, including two that changed nAChRα4 amino acid coding, none of these clearly correlate with strain-related differences in cell type-specific nAChR expression. These findings suggest that mouse strain-specific behavioral and physiological responses to nicotine are likely to be a reflection of a complex interplay between genetic factors that shape differences in expression and cellular architecture of this modulatory neurotransmitter system in the mammalian nervous system. J. Comp. Neurol. 468:334–346, 2004. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Autoimmune processes are initiated when tolerance to self-proteins fails to be established or maintained and immune cells are stimulated by self-Ags. Although intracellular autoantigens are common, the origin of extracellular autoantigens is poorly defined and possibly more dangerous. In this study, we considered a mechanism for the origin of an extracellular autoantigen from the neuronal glutamate receptor subunit 3 (GluR3) in Rasmussen’s encephalitis, a severe form of pediatric epilepsy. We demonstrate that specific cleavage of GluR3 by granzyme B (GB), a serine protease released by activated immune cells, can generate the GluR3B autoantigenic peptide, but only if an internal N-linked glycosylation sequon within the GluR3-GB recognition sequence (ISND*S) is not glycosylated. However, this N-glycon sequon while glycosylated normally is inefficiently used and glycosylation can fail. These results suggest that GB/N-glycon sites may escape normal tolerance mechanisms and contribute to autoantibody-mediated immune diseases.

Homomeric alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are a well-established, pharmacologically distinct subtype. The more recently identified alpha9 subunit can also form functional homopentamers as well as alpha9alpha10 heteropentamers. Current fluorescent probes for alpha7 nicotinic ACh receptors are derived from alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BgTx). However, alpha-BgTx also binds to alpha9* and alpha1* receptors which are coexpressed with alpha7 in multiple tissues. We used an analog of alpha-conotoxin ArIB to develop a highly selective fluorescent probe for alpha7 receptors. This fluorescent alpha-conotoxin, Cy3-ArIB[V11L;V16A], blocked ACh-evoked alpha7 currents in Xenopus laevis oocytes with an IC(50) value of 2.0 nM. Observed rates of blockade were minute-scale with recovery from blockade even slower. Unlike FITC-conjugated alpha-BgTx, Cy3-ArIB[V11L;V16A] did not block alpha9alpha10 or alpha1beta1deltaepsilon receptors. In competition binding assays, Cy3-ArIB[V11L;V16A] potently displaced [(125)I]-alpha-BgTx binding to mouse hippocampal membranes with a K(i) value of 21 nM. Application of Cy3-ArIB[V11L;V16A] resulted in specific punctate labeling of KXalpha7R1 cells but not KXalpha3beta2R4, KXalpha3beta4R2, or KXalpha4beta2R2 cells. This labeling could be abolished by pre-treatment with alpha-cobratoxin. Thus, Cy3-ArIB[V11L;V16A] is a novel and selective fluorescent probe for alpha7 receptors.

Striatal dopamine (DA) plays a major role in the regulation of motor coordination and in the processing of salient information. We used voltammetry to monitor DA-release evoked by electrical stimulation in striatal slices, where interneurons continuously release acetylcholine. Use of the alpha6-selective antagonist alpha-conotoxin MII[E11A] and alpha4 knockout mice enabled identification of two populations of DA-ergic fibers. The first population had a low action potential threshold, and action potential-evoked DA-release from these fibers was modulated by alpha6. The second population had a higher action potential threshold, and only alpha4(non-alpha6) modulated action potential-evoked DA-release. Striatal DA-ergic neurons fire in both tonic and phasic patterns. When stimuli were applied in a train to mimic phasic firing, more DA-release was observed in alpha4 knockout versus wild-type mice. Furthermore, block of alpha4(non-alpha6), but not of alpha6, increased DA release evoked by a train. These results indicate that there are different classes of striatal DA-ergic fibers that express different subtypes of nicotinic receptors.

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a brief introduction to the family of glutamate receptors, which provide the principal means of fast-excitatory neurotransmission in the brain, and discusses their likely role in the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases. A hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases is the extraordinary specificity through which they progress through the nervous system. Even in the severest forms of neurodegeneration, it is not uncommon to find that discrete regions of the brain are destroyed, while adjacent regions are spared. Neurotransmission in the brain involves the balanced activity of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor systems acting through ligand-activated ion channel receptors. Glutamate-activated ligand-gated ion channels (GluRs) are the primary receptors responsible for fast excitatory-neurotransmission in the brain and their activation is central to physiological processes associated with learning and memory. The chapter discusses the role of the immune system in neurologic diseases and the ways in which the specificity of the immune system can be utilized to explore the way the GluR family contributes to the etiology and regional specificity of neurodegenerative disease progression.

Nicotine, the causative agent of addiction to tobacco, can also be a neuroprotectant. Nicotine-induced neuroprotection against different toxins is imparted through pharmacologically distinct neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) where protection against chronic N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) exposure is through nAChRalpha7 but protection against the toxic peptide of amyloid precursor protein, Abeta25-35, is through nAChRalpha4beta2. The inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) is also neuroprotective, however, in the presence of nicotine, neuroprotection against NMDA is abolished. The specificity of nicotine-TNFalpha antagonism was further refined using a mouse transgenic dominant negative of nAChRalpha7 in which nicotine failed to induce neuroprotection against NMDA and antagonism of TNFalpha was absent. However, nicotine-mediated neuroprotection against Abeta25-35 was unaffected and, therefore, did not require the expression of functional nAChRalpha7s. The mechanism of TNFalpha-mediated neuroprotection and antagonism by nicotine was independent of caspase 8 activation or nuclear factor kappa B translocation in neurons but C6-ceramide addition to neuronal cultures subsequently exposed to NMDA mimicked the neuroprotective effect of TNFalpha and, like TNFalpha, it was antagonized by cotreatment with nicotine. Therefore, the neuroprotective effects of nicotine against differing toxic assaults requires distinct nAChR subtypes and proceeds through intracellular pathways that overlap with similarly different mechanisms initiated by pro-inflammatory cytokines. These results provide insight into how nicotine imparts neuroprotection and modulates inflammatory responses.

Neuronal excitation is required for normal brain function including processes of learning and memory, yet if this process becomes dysregulated there is reduced neurotransmission and possibly death through excitotoxicity. Nicotine, through interaction with neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, possesses the ability to modulate neurotransmitter systems through numerous mechanisms that define this critical balance. We examined the modulatory role of nicotine in primary mixed cortical neuronal-glial cultures on activity-dependent caspase cleavage of a glutamate receptor, GluR1. We find that GluR1, but not GluR2 or GluR3, is a substrate for agonist (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole-4-propionic acid)-initiated rapid proteolytic cleavage at aspartic acid 865 through the activation of caspase 8-like activity that is independent of membrane fusion and is not coincident with apoptosis. Dose-dependent nicotine preconditioning for 24 h antagonizes agonist-initiated caspase cleavage of GluR1 through a mechanism that is coincident with desensitization of both nAChRalpha4beta2 and nAChRalpha7 receptors and the delayed activation of a caspase 8-like activity. The modulation of GluR1 agonist-initiated caspase-mediated cleavage by nicotine preconditioning offers a novel insight into how this agent can impart its numerous effects on the nervous system.

The pharmacological properties of nicotine, including its addictive properties, are mediated by neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). Long-term administration of nicotine increases the number of nicotinic receptor binding sites in rat and mouse brain (Marks & Collins, 1983, Schwartz & Kellar, 1983), suggesting that nicotine can trigger neuronal changes in nicotinic receptors that might be related to or even underlie addiction and/or tolerance. Support for this idea came from studies of autopsied human brain samples, which showed that the density of nicotinic receptors in smokers is markedly higher than in non-smokers (Benwell et al., 1988; Breese et al., 1997).

We stably transfected human kidney embryonic 293 cells with the rat neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) alpha3 and beta4 subunit genes. This new cell line, KXalpha3 beta4R2, expresses a high level of the alpha3/beta4 receptor subtype, which binds (+/-)- [3H]epibatidine with a Kd value of 304+/-16 pM and a Bmax value of 8942 +/- 115 fmol/mg protein. Comparison of nicotinic drugs in competing for alpha3/beta4 receptor binding sites in this cell line and the binding sites in rat forebrain (predominantly alpha4/beta2 receptors) revealed marked differences in their Ki values, but similar rank orders of potency for agonists were observed, with the exception of anatoxin-A. The affinity of the competitive antagonist dihydro-beta-erythroidine is7000 times higher at alpha4/beta2 receptors in rat forebrain than at the alpha3/beta4 receptors in these cells. The alpha3/beta4 nAChRs expressed in this cell line are functional, and in response to nicotinic agonists, 86Rb+ efflux was increased to levels 8-10 times the basal levels. Acetylcholine, (-)-nicotine, cytisine, carbachol, and (+/-)-epibatidine all stimulated 86Rb+ efflux, which was blocked by mecamylamine. The EC50 values for acetylcholine and (-)-nicotine to stimulate 86Rb+ effluxes were 114 +/- 24 and 28 +/- 4 microM, respectively. The rank order of potency of nicotinic antagonists in blocking the function of this alpha3/beta4 receptor was mecamylamined-tubocurarinedihydro-beta-erythroidinehexamethonium. Mecamylamine, d-tubocurarine, and hexamethonium blocked the function by a noncompetitive mechanism, whereas dihydro-beta-erythroidine blocked the function competitively. The KXalpha3 beta4R2 cell line should prove to be a very useful model for studying this subtype of nAChRs.