NSIS Volume 44, Part 1
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Item Open Access President's Report(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007) Grossert, J. StuartItem Open Access Peter John Wangersky; Harry Cleveland Freeman [obituaries](Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007)Item Open Access Rhodotorula Glutinis: Strain Enrichment and Evaluation of Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007) MacDonald, M. Jason; D'Cunha, Godwin B.The enrichment of a Rhodotorula glufinis strain and the determination of its phenylalanine ammonia lyase (E.C.4.3.1.5 - PAL) activity and attempts to measure peroxidase (E.C.1.11.1. 7) activity included conventional mycological procedures along with chemical and microscopic examination. Sabouraud dextrose medium was found to be the most suitable for cell growth, but cells grown on yeast-extract medium exhibited optimal enzyme activity. Growth and PAL activity were measured in yeast cells grown in yeast-extract broth medium for 24-27 h. The appearance of a reddish pink color associated with the yeast cells coincided with the appearance of appreciable PAL activity. The maximum PAL activity and biomass of yeast obtained in the yeast extract medium ranged from 33 to 35 unitslmg dry cells and 7.5 to 8.0 g dry cells/l, respectively. In addition to phenylalanine, Rhodatowla PAL also used phenylalanine methyl-ester as a substrate. No peroxidase activity was found in these R. glutinis cells.Item Open Access Nova Scotian Institute of Science Student Science Awards 2006(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007)Item Open Access Additional Records of a Non-Native Fish, The Snowy Grouper (Epinephelus Niveatus), in Nova Scotian Waters(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007) Sharp, Glyn; Gilhen, John; Veinot, Meghan; Semple, RobertAt Clam Harbour, Nova Scotia in September 2005, two juvenile Snowy Groupers, Epinephelus niveatus (Valenciennes 1828), were captured. Subsequently, in October 2006 during the regular census of six artificial reefs in Sambro Harbour near Halifax, four juvenile Snowy Groupers were observed and one was captured. During the observation period the fish remained close to the reefs and fed voraciously. The arrival of the Snowy Groupers was correlated with the occurrence of a warm Gulf Stream tendril and their disappearance coincided with a drop in water temperature to 7.2°C.Item Open Access Woodville Ice Cave (Hants County, Nova Scotia) and Notes on the 'Ice Caves' of the Maritime Provinces(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007) Moseley, M.Several caves and sinkholes where snow and ice persist well into the summer exist in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In the past they were sometimes used as a source of ice or for cold storage, and are known locally as ‘ice caves’ or ‘ice holes’. Although they are not true ice caves in the speleological sense of the term because they do not contain perennial ice, they are very similar. Woodville Ice Cave in Hants County, Nova Scotia, described here, is a particularly good example. Invertebrates and bats recorded from such sites are briefly discussed and the possibility of finding psychrophilic fauna in them is suggested.Item Open Access Biological and Environmental Requisites for a Successful Trap Fishery of the Northern Shrimp Pandalus Borealis(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007) Koeller, P.; Covey, M.; King, M.A permanent trap fishery for northern pink shrimp (Pandalus borealis) was established in Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia in 1996 after several years of experimental trapping by one fisherman. Despite extensive experimental trapping projects elsewhere in Nova Scotia, only in one other area, Mahone Bay, has a long-term fishery been successfully established. The successful trapping of shrimp from small vessels off the coast of Nova Scotia appears to be dependant on a number of requisite conditions, including the presence of soft mud habitat and low temperatures in large, relatively deep coastal embayments. Catch rates for the established inshore trap fisheries increase in late summer-fall and decrease in spring, suggesting that an inshore migration occurs in the fall from adjacent “feeder” populations. In addition to the seasonal pattern of trap catches, cyclical changes at a finer temporal scale were observed that appear to be related to tidal cycles, with higher catch rates associated with greater tidal ranges. Coupled with known diurnal vertical migratory behaviour, this pattern could arise as more water, and the shrimp within it, pass horizontally over the trap and come into contact with its bait plume during greater tidal ranges. More complex, selective vertical migration coupled with tidal drift may result in net movement into areas such as Chedabucto Bay. Analysis of length at sex transition and maximum size suggests that shrimp trapped in Chedabucto Bay come from the same population as those caught by trawlers inshore and offshore on the eastern Scotian Shelf. Shrimp trapped in Mahone Bay and St. Margaret’s Bay have significantly different growth characteristics and are probably from a different population. Thus the Mahone Bay and St. Margaret’s Bay population appears to be more locally confined than the widespread shrimp population on the eastern Scotian Shelf, possibly originating from areas within and immediately adjacent to these bays.Item Open Access Deep-Water Corals in Atlantic-Canada: A Review of DFO Research (2001–2003)(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007) Gordon, Donald C. Jr.; Kenchington, Ellen L.R.Deep-water corals occur in Atlantic Canada at water depths in the general range of 200-1500 m. Prior to 2000, most knowledge of deep-water corals was anecdotal and based primarily on fishing bycatch information. During 2001-2003, in collaboration with university colleagues, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography investigated the distribution, abundance, habitat and biology of deep-water corals and their associated fauna under funding provided in part by the Environmental Studies Research Fund. Data were gathered from DFO groundfish surveys, the Fisheries Observer Program, interviews with fishers and dedicated research cruises with specialized imaging and sampling equipment. Nineteen coral taxa were collected or observed alive in their natural habitat; 6 Alcyonacea (soft corals), 7 Gorgonacea (horny corals), 5 Scleractinia (stony corals), and 1 Antipatharia (black corals). The results confirmed earlier observations that the Northeast Channel, the Gully and the Stone Fence are prime coral habitats. The first documented Lophelia reef complex in Atlantic Canada was found near the Stone Fence in the mouth of the Laurentian Channel. The distribution of deep-water corals is patchy and influenced by several environmental factors including substrate, temperature, salinity and currents. The average height of Primnoa and Paragorgia colonies was 30 and 57 cm. At their estimated growth rates of 1.7 and 1 cm /year, respectively, the largest Primnoa colony observed was about 61 years old while the largest Paragorgia colony was about 180 years old. Deep-water corals host a rich associated fauna, and 114 taxa have been identified to date on Paragorgia and Primnoa in Atlantic Canada. Numerous species of fish have also been observed associated with deep-water corals, the most abundant being redfish. Damage from fishing gear was found to be most extensive at the Lophelia reef complex at the Stone Fence. A lower level of fishing damage was observed in the Northeast Channel while few indications of damage were observed in the Gully. The results of this program have been used by DFO to create coral conservation areas at the Northeast Channel (424 km2) and Stone Fence (15 km2) that are closed to bottom-fishing activities. Substantial knowledge gaps still exist, in particular quantitative information of deep-water corals at depths below 500 m, and these are being addressed by continuing collaborative research by DFO and universities.Item Open Access The Life and Work of Donald Olding Hebb, Canada's Greatest Psychologist(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007) Brown, Richard E.Donald Olding Hebb’s lasting influence in psychology and neuroscience stems largely from his influential book, The Organization of Behavior (Hebb 1949a) in which he introduced the concepts of synaptic change and cell assemblies to explain the neural events underlying behaviour. Hebb’s work revolutionized psychology by establishing a biological basis for psychological phenomena and expounding a neuropsychological theory which provided the structure for the development of the fields of cognitive and behavioural neuroscience. His ultimate fame could not have been predicted from his performance at Dalhousie University nor from his early career as a teacher. His career as a psychologist began as a night school student in psychology at McGill University in 1928. After completing his MA in psychology at McGill in 1932, he studied with Karl Lashley at the University of Chicago completing his PhD with Lashley at Harvard in 1936. For the next two years he conducted neuropsychological tests on the patients of Dr. Wilder Penfield at the Montreal Neurological Institute and from 1939 to 1942 was a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He spent the next five years studying emotionality in chimpanzees at the Yerkes Primate Center in Florida where he began to write The Organization of Behavior. Hebb became a professor of Psychology at McGill University in 1947 and head of his department in 1948 where he completed his book and directed an internationally recognized graduate program in physiological psychology. Elected President of the Canadian Psychological Association in 1952 and the American Psychological Association in 1960 he also became a Fellow of the Royal Societies of Canada and England. Late in his career, he was Vice Dean of Biological Sciences (1964-66) and then Chancellor of McGill University (1970-74). Upon retirement from McGill, he moved back to Nova Scotia and became a professor emeritus at Dalhousie University from 1978 until his death in 1985. During this time he wrote his last book, Essay on Mind (Hebb 1980a). He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in October 2003.Item Open Access Front Matter(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2007)