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Seed chemistry of Sophora chrysophylla (mamane) in relation to diet of specialist avian seed predator Loxioides bailleui (palila) in Hawaii.

This study describes the chemical ecology of a tritrophic interaction among species endemic to the island of Hawaii, USA: a tree (Sophora chrysophylla: mamane), an endangered bird (Loxioides bailleui; palila), and moth larvae (Cydia spp.). Palila and Cydia both specialize on the seed embryos of mamane but avoid eating the seed coats. Palila actively seek out and feed mamane embryos and Cydia larvae to their nestlings. Because mamane embryos contain potentially toxic levels of alkaloids, including broadly toxic quinolizidine alkaloids, and because insects often sequester alkaloids from their food plants, we focus on the questions of why palila forage upon mamane embryos and why they supplement their diet with Cydia larvae. Our data show that mamane embryos contain high amounts of potentially toxic alkaloids, but are well balanced nutritionally and contain lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, and minerals at levels that are likely to be sufficient for maintenance and breeding. Mamane seed coats contain lower levels of alkaloids and nutrients, somewhat higher levels of phenolics, and much higher levels of nondigestible fiber. Taken together, these results suggest that palila have evolved tolerance to high levels of alkaloids and that they forage upon embryos primarily because of their availability in the habitat and high nutritional reward. Our data also suggest that Cydia are used by palila because they are readily accessible, nontoxic, and nutritious; the larvae apparently do not sequester alkaloids while feeding upon mamane seeds. Our results are interpreted with respect to the likelihood of current and historical coadaptive responses in this ecologically isolated and simplified island setting.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Earthquakes triggered by silent slip events on Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii.

Slow-slip events, or 'silent earthquakes', have recently been discovered in a number of subduction zones including the Nankai trough in Japan, Cascadia, and Guerrero in Mexico, but the depths of these events have been difficult to determine from surface deformation measurements. Although it is assumed that these silent earthquakes are located along the plate megathrust, this has not been proved. Slow slip in some subduction zones is associated with non-volcanic tremor, but tremor is difficult to locate and may be distributed over a broad depth range. Except for some events on the San Andreas fault, slow-slip events have not yet been associated with high-frequency earthquakes, which are easily located. Here we report on swarms of high-frequency earthquakes that accompany otherwise silent slips on Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii. For the most energetic event, in January 2005, the slow slip began before the increase in seismicity. The temporal evolution of earthquakes is well explained by increased stressing caused by slow slip, implying that the earthquakes are triggered. The earthquakes, located at depths of 7-8 km, constrain the slow slip to be at comparable depths, because they must fall in zones of positive Coulomb stress change. Triggered earthquakes accompanying slow-slip events elsewhere might go undetected if background seismicity rates are low. Detection of such events would help constrain the depth of slow slip, and could lead to a method for quantifying the increased hazard during slow-slip events, because triggered events have the potential to grow into destructive earthquakes.

Journal Article↗

Comparison of serology and isolates for the identification of infecting leptospiral serogroups in Hawaii, 1979-1998.

Laboratory confirmation of leptospirosis is usually accomplished serologically, without isolates, using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). However, optimal performance of the MAT is dependent on the knowledge of enzootic serogroups and serovars so that an appropriate MAT antigen testing battery can be established. Infecting leptospiral serogroups can be identified serologically without isolates, using the MAT, or by serogrouping of isolates, but little information is available regarding the correlation between these methods. The identification of infecting serogroups for 53 culture-confirmed leptospirosis cases, diagnosed in Hawaii between 1979 and 1998, using serology and culture isolates were compared. The overall agreement between the two methods was good (kappa = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.86). However, the agreement varied between serogroups from 0 to 100%. In establishing the prevalence of serogroups, results obtained via MAT serology (in the absence of serogrouped isolates) should be considered presumptive rather than definitive.

Agglutination Tests↗

Sexual selection in Drosophila silvestris of Hawaii.

Previous discovery that Drosophila melanogaster females tend to discriminate in mating against phenotypes of earliest courting males prompted a study of the Hawaiian species D. silvestris. Tibial bristle variation in males from opposite coasts of the island of Hawaii functions in courtship, and the possibility that females can distinguish males differing in the tibial trait is explored. Mating tests, designed to give each female and male an alternative choice between two individuals of opposite sex every 30 min, consisted of intrapopulation tests with a strain derived from an eastern (Kilauea) population and interpopulation tests between that strain and one derived from a western (Kahuku) population. Males were given initial combat tests, with "winners" then used in mating (except one test with "loser" males). Matings (52-55%) were classified into categories according to the readiness of the female to mate and sequence of courtship. Low-threshold females (accepting the first male after less than four courtship bouts) occurred at 30-35%. Among intrapopulational tests, females (with higher threshold) accepted first- and second-courting males about equally (25:36, respectively), but for male success in mating, the winning of initial intermale combats and the uniformity of courtship effort tended to be important criteria. Among interpopulation tests, homogamic matings were nearly equal (25% each), but heterogamic matings contrasted in that Kilauea females were reluctant to mate with Kahuku males (14%), while reciprocal matings occurred most frequently (34%). Females favored males second to court, particularly when a Kilauea male (with extra tibial bristles) was the second male. Thus a morphological feature likely to be influential in mating is demonstrated to be so; and sexual selection is operating via male-male combat plus discrimination in favor of particular opposite-sex individuals in this species.

Journal Article↗

Artificial selection for a secondary sexual character in males of Drosophila silvestris from Hawaii.

Drosophila silvestris is endemic to the rain forests of Hawaii Island. In populations from the northeast side, the male foreleg tibia bears about 100 long cilia; these are used as a brush to stimulate the female during courtship. Cyclical family selection for high and low cilia number was carried out on progeny of lines started from single wild isofemales collected at a single site. Significant response in both directions was obtained; in the third generation the lines differed by a mean of 25 cilia. Despite much effort to save them, both lines died out without further advance; the low cilia number line died after five and the high cilia number line died after nine generations. The data are compatible with the view that the cilia character is polygenic and is maintained in nature by a stabilizing sexual selection that also favors a polygenic heterozygous state. Although selection in these experiments resulted in dysgenesis, such a result is not inevitable. Disorganization and reorganization of such a genetic system following a population bottleneck might be important as a predisposing condition for the emergence of a specifically novel and possibly isolating mode of courtship.

Journal Article↗

Thorn-like prickles and heterophylly in Cyanea: adaptations to extinct avian browsers on Hawaii?

The evolution of thorn-like structures in plants on oceanic islands that lack mammalian and reptilian herbivores is puzzling, as is their tendency toward juvenile-adult leaf dimorphism. We propose that these traits arose in Cyanea (Campanulaceae) on Hawaii as mechanical and visual defenses against herbivory by flightless geese and goose-like ducks that were extirpated by Polynesians within the last 1600 years. A chloroplast DNA phylogeny indicates that thorn-like prickles evolved at least four times and leaf dimorphism at least three times during the last 3.7 million years. The incidence of both traits increases from Oahu eastward toward younger islands, paralleling the distribution of avian species apparently adapted for browsing. The effectiveness of visual defenses against avian browsers (once dominant on many oceanic islands, based on the vagility of their ancestors) may provide a general explanation for insular heterophylly: the other islands on which this previously unexplained phenomenon is marked (New Zealand, New Caledonia, Madagascar, Mascarene Islands) are exactly those on which one or more large flightless avian browsers evolved.

Journal Article↗

Adaptive Optics Imaging of the CLASS Gravitational Lens System B1359+154 with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.

We present adaptive optics imaging of the CLASS gravitational lens system B1359+154 obtained with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) in the infrared K band. The observations show at least three brightness peaks within the ring of lensed images, which we identify as emission from multiple lensing galaxies. The results confirm the suspected compound nature of the lens, as deduced from preliminary mass modeling. The detection of several additional nearby galaxies suggests that B1359+154 is lensed by the compact core of a small galaxy group. We attempted to produce an updated lens model based on the CFHT observations and new 5 GHz radio data obtained with the MERLIN array, but there are too few constraints to construct a realistic model at this time. The uncertainties inherent with modeling compound lenses make B1359+154 a challenging target for Hubble constant determination through the measurement of differential time delays. However, time delays will offer additional constraints to help pin down the mass model. This lens system therefore presents a unique opportunity to directly measure the mass distribution of a galaxy group at intermediate redshift.

Journal Article↗

Molecular characterization of Hawaii virus and other Norwalk-like viruses: evidence for genetic polymorphism among human caliciviruses.

Hawaii virus (HV), from a 1971 family outbreak of gastroenteritis, is serotypically distinct from Norwalk virus (NV), recently identified as a human calicivirus by molecular analysis. About 2600 consecutive nucleotides of the HV genome (including those encoding the viral capsid protein) and part of the polymerase region of three other viruses (MDV1, MDV6 and SV7) were sequenced. Comparison of the amino acid sequence of the capsid protein of HV with NV and other human caliciviruses (Toronto virus [TV24], Desert Shield virus [DSV395], and Southampton virus [SHV]) demonstrated the existence of two major genetic groups (genogroups) typified by HV and NV. HV had 76% identity with TV24 and 48% identity with NV, DSV395, or SHV. In addition, comparison of part of the polymerase protein of HV with other human caliciviruses also showed that there were these two genogroups. The large genetic diversity between the capsid sequence of HV and NV is consistent with their serotypic distinctiveness.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

From the Hawaii Declaration to the Declaration of Madrid.

The Declaration of Hawaii, adopted by the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) in 1977, was a significant event. But the needs and new ethical dilemmas of the 1990s led WPA to develop new recommendations on the duties of psychiatrists resulting in the Declaration of Madrid, adopted by WPA in 1996. It outlines the framework of ethical conduct of psychiatrists, formulates seven general guidelines with an increased emphasis on research and resource allocation, and gives five specific guidelines on euthanasia, torture, the death penalty, selection of sex, and organ transplantation.

Capital Punishment↗

Geochemical evidence for excess iron in the mantle beneath Hawaii.

Chemical interaction of Earth's mantle with the liquid outer core should influence the mantle's iron content. Osmium isotope ratios in Hawaiian lavas indicate a mass flux of </=1% core to the mantle, which is the immediate source of these lavas. We present precise measurements of the Fe/Mn ratio for Hawaiian lavas, revealing an increase of 1 to 2% in the mole fraction of iron in the mantle beneath Hawaii. This corresponds to a density anomaly of about 0.5%, about the same magnitude observed in seismic tomography models of the Pacific superswell region. These data also rule out a role for Mn-rich sediments as the source of the Hawaiian Os isotope signal.

Journal Article↗

Coral 230Th dating of the imposition of a ritual control hierarchy in precontact Hawaii.

In proto-historic Hawaii (1500-1795 A.D.), as in many other evolving polities, temples functioned as centers for control over production and the extraction of surplus food and goods. Thorium-230 dates (uncertainty +/- approximately 10 years) on branch coral dedicatory offerings from temples in the Kahikinui district (Maui) indicate that its temple system was constructed within 60 years, far more rapidly than indicated by radiocarbon dating. Introduction of the temple system in 1580-1640 A.D. coincided with predatory expansion and consolidation of the Maui polity to form an incipient archaic state.

Journal Article↗

Countermeasures to microbiofouling in simulated ocean thermal energy conversion heat exchangers with surface and deep ocean waters in hawaii.

Countermeasures to biofouling in simulated ocean thermal energy conversion heat exchangers have been studied in single-pass flow systems, using cold deep and warm surface ocean waters off the island of Hawaii. Manual brushing of the loops after free fouling periods removed most of the biofouling material. However, over a 2-year period a tenacious film formed. Daily free passage of sponge rubber balls through the tubing only removed the loose surface biofouling layer and was inadequate as a countermeasure in both titanium and aluminum alloy tubes. Chlorination at 0.05, 0.07, and 0.10 mg liter for 1 h day lowered biofouling rates. Only at 0.10 mg liter was chlorine adequate over a 1-year period to keep film formation and heat transfer resistance from rising above the maximum tolerated values. Lower chlorination regimens led to the buildup of uneven or patchy films which produced increased flow turbulence. The result was lower heat transfer resistance values which did not correlate with the amount of biofouling. Surfaces which were let foul and then treated with intermittent or continuous chlorination at 0.10 mg of chlorine or less per liter were only partially or unevenly cleaned, although heat transfer measurements did not indicate that fact. It took continuous chlorination at 0.25 mg liter to bring the heat transfer resistance to zero and eliminate the fouling layer. Biofouling in deep cold seawater was much slower than in the warm surface waters. Tubing in one stainless-steel loop had a barely detectable fouling layer after 1 year in flow. With aluminum alloys sufficient corrosion and biofouling material accumulated to require that some fouling coutermeasure be used in long-term operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion plant.

Journal Article↗

Characterization of marine temperate phage-host systems isolated from Mamala Bay, Oahu, Hawaii.

To understand the ecological and genetic role of viruses in the marine environment, it is critical to know the infectivity of viruses and the types of interactions that occur between marine viruses and their hosts. We isolated four marine phages from turbid plaques by using four indigenous bacterial hosts obtained from concentrated water samples from Mamala Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Two of the rod-shaped bacterial hosts were identified as Sphingomonas paucimobilis and Flavobacterium sp. All of the phage isolates were tailed phages and contained double-stranded DNA. Two of the phage isolates had morphologies typical of the family Siphoviridae, while the other two belonged to the families Myoviridae and Podoviridae. The head diameters of these viruses ranged from 47 to 70.7 nm, and the tail lengths ranged from 12 to 146 nm. The burst sizes ranged from 7.8 to 240 phage/bacterial cell, and the genome sizes, as determined by restriction digestion, ranged from 36 to 112 kb. The members of the Siphoviridae, T-phi HSIC, and T-phi D0, and the member of the Myoviridae, T-phi D1B, were found to form lysogenic associations with their bacterial hosts, which were isolated from the same water samples. Hybridization of phage T-phi HSIC probe with lysogenic host genomic DNA was observed in dot blot hybridization experiments, indicating that prophage T-phi HSIC was integrated within the host genome. These phage-host systems are available for use in studies of marine lysogeny and transduction.

Bacteria↗

Cell wall of Mycobacterium lepraemurium strain Hawaii.

The chemical properties of the cell wall of Mycobacterium lepraemurium strain Hawaii were investigated. Five subunits of the cell wall, arabinose mycolate, mycolic acids, tetrapeptide (Ala-Gln-diaminopimelic acid-Ala), disaccharide (N-acetylglucosaminyl-beta-1,4-N-glycolylmuramic acid), and arabinogalactan, were obtained, and their chemical structures were identified.

Amino Acids↗

Evaluation of eight rapid screening tests for acute leptospirosis in Hawaii.

Leptospirosis is a major public health problem throughout the world. Clinical recognition of leptospirosis is challenging, and the definitive serologic diagnostic assay, the microscopic agglutination test, is time-consuming and difficult to conduct. Various serologic screening tests have been developed, but their performance among ill persons in the United States has not been established. Eight screening tests were compared using 379 serum samples obtained in 1998 and 1999 from a series of 236 patients (33 with confirmed infection). The median number of days between illness onset and specimen collection was 9. The overall sensitivity, by specimen, for each test was as follows: indirect hemagglutination assay (MRL Diagnostics, Cypress, Calif.), 29%; INDX Leptospira Dip-S-Tick (PanBio InDx, Inc., Baltimore, Md.), 52%; Biognost IgM IFA test (Bios GmbH Labordiagnostik, Gräfelfing, Germany), 40%; Biolisa IgM ELISA (Bios GmbH, Labordiagnostik), 48%; Leptospira IgM ELISA (PanBio Pty Ltd., Brisbane, Australia), 36%; SERION ELISA classic Leptospira (Institut Virion*Serion GmbH, Würzburg, Germany), 48%; LEPTO Dipstick(Organon-Teknika, Ltd., Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 34%; Biosave latex agglutination test (LATEX; Bios GmbH Labordiagnostik), 86%. Test specificity ranged from 85 to 100% among all tests except LATEX, for which the specificity was significantly lower, at 10%. Test sensitivity was particularly low (<25%) for all tests (except LATEX) on specimens collected during the first week of illness. This is the most comprehensive field trial of leptospirosis screening tests reported to date. The data indicate that immunoglobulin M detection tests have limited utility for diagnosing leptospirosis during the initial evaluation of patients seen in Hawaii, a time when important therapeutic decisions are made. Improved leptospirosis screening tests are needed.

Acute Disease↗

The Cytokine Odyssey 2001, a joint meeting of the Society of Leukocyte Biology and the International Cytokine Society. 8-11 November 2001, Maui, Hawaii, USA.

The Cytokine Odyssey 2001 was held at the Outrigger Wailea Resort in Maui, Hawaii, USA. The meeting, jointly sponsored by the International Cytokine Society (ICS, 9th Annual Meeting) and the Society of Leukocyte Biology (SLB, 35th Annual Meeting), was organised by Carl Ware (Chair) from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (La Jolla, USA) and Thomas Hamilton (Co-Chair) from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (Cleveland, USA). This international conference was designed to bring together leading investigators in molecular and cellular biology, physiology and genetics, interested in cytokines and cells of the immune system. This forum was aimed to assess the impact of this expanding science on new approaches to disease intervention [1].

Cytokines↗

Low sequence variation among isolates of infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) originating from Hawaii and the Americas.

A 2.9 kb fragment of the infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) genome, which contains the coding sequence of putative non-structural and capsid proteins, was amplified and sequenced from each of 14 IHHNV isolates collected from cultured penaeid shrimp stocks in Hawaii and various sites in the Americas between 1982 and 1997. The sequence comparison indicates that the IHHNV genome is very stable, with 99.6 to 100% similarity among these 14 isolates. Only nucleotide substitutions were found. The percentage of substitution was higher in the putative capsid proteins region (1.3%) than in the putative non-structural proteins region (0.6%). Out of 25 substitutions found, 14 resulted in amino acid changes. There is no apparent association between clinical outcomes and particular amino acid substitutions. Based on genetic distances, the isolates were clustered into 3 groups that generally correspond with their geographic origins.

Animals↗

Serological responses and immunity to superinfection with avian malaria in experimentally-infected Hawaii amakihi.

Six of seven Hawaii Amakihi (Hemignathus virens) with chronic malarial infections had no increases in peripheral parasitemia, declines in food consumption, or loss of body weight when rechallenged with the homologous isolate of Plasmodium relictum 61 to 62 days after initial infection. Five uninfected control amakihi exposed at the same time to infective mosquito bites developed acute infections with high parasitemias. Reductions in food consumption and loss of body weight occurred in all control birds and three of these individuals eventually died. When surviving birds were rechallenged >2 yr later with either the same parasite isolate or an isolate of P. relictum collected on the island of Kauai, all individuals were immune to superinfection. Chronically infected birds developed antibodies to a common suite of malarial antigens ranging in size from 22 to 170 kDa that were detectable as early as 8 days post infection on immunoblots of SDS-polyacrylamide gels. Antibodies to this suite of malarial antigens persisted as long as 1,248 days after initial infection and were consistently detectable at times when parasites were not easily found by microscopy on Giemsa-stained blood smears. The immunoblotting method that is described here appears to be an effective technique for identifying birds with chronic, low-intensity malarial infections when circulating parasites are not easily detectable by microscopy. Hawaiian honeycreepers that are capable of recovering from acute infections develop concomitant immunity to superinfection, making them functionally immune in areas where malaria transmission has become endemic.

Animals↗