The Biological Bulletin 

About: The Biological Bulletin is an academic journal published by Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL). The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Sperm. It has an ISSN identifier of 0006-3185. Over the lifetime, 8320 publications have been published receiving 254748 citations. The journal is also known as: Biological Bulletin & The Biological bulletin.

The Cytochemical staining and measurement of protein with mercuric bromphenol blue

Abstract: 1. The mercuric bromphenol blue reaction as used for development of protein spots on filter paper has been found to be applicable to the cytological staining of proteins.2. The optimum procedure is identical in detail with that described by Kunkel and Tiselius for filter paper spots, except that a neutral aqueous solution is substituteed for ammonia vapor in the final color development.3. The sharp and intense staining of protein permits good differentiation of structures often difficult to observe, such as cilia, spindle elements, regions of spindle fiber attachment to chromosomes and "lamp brush" chromosomes.4. The procedure is specific for proteins and those peptides which are not removed in the washing procedure.5. The preparations stained by this procedure follow the Beer and Lambert Laws in microspectrophotometric measurements. The absorption maximum is at 610 millimicrons.6. Basic proteins bind the dye under the conditions of the method even when Hg is omitted. Other proteins bind the dye by coupli...

Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto

Abstract: The integrated information theory (IIT) starts from phenomenology and makes use of thought experi- ments to claim that consciousness is integrated information. Specifically: (i) the quantity of consciousness corresponds to the amount of integrated information generated by a complex of elements; (ii) the quality of experience is spec- ified by the set of informational relationships generated within that complex. Integrated information () is defined as the amount of information generated by a complex of elements, above and beyond the information generated by its parts. Qualia space (Q) is a space where each axis represents a possible state of the complex, each point is a probability distribution of its states, and arrows between points represent the informational relationships among its elements generated by causal mechanisms (connections). Together, the set of informational relationships within a complex constitute a shape in Q that completely and univo- cally specifies a particular experience. Several observations concerning the neural substrate of consciousness fall natu- rally into place within the IIT framework. Among them are the association of consciousness with certain neural systems rather than with others; the fact that neural processes un- derlying consciousness can influence or be influenced by neural processes that remain unconscious; the reduction of consciousness during dreamless sleep and generalized sei- zures; and the distinct role of different cortical architectures in affecting the quality of experience. Equating conscious- ness with integrated information carries several implications for our view of nature.

Heat regulation in some arctic and tropical mammals and birds

Abstract: A series of arctic and tropical mammals and birds at Point Barrow, Alaska (lat. 71° N.) and in Panama (lat. 9° N.) was subjected to various air temperatures in a respiration chamber where the heat production was determined by oxygen consumption or carbon dioxide production. The larger arctic mammals and birds showed no increase in metabolism at — 30° C. and from observations on sleeping animals it is probable that their zone of thermoneutrality extends to — 40° C. or — 50° C. The smaller arctic species show a high critical temperature and the tropical species even higher. Metabolic heat production increases rapidly with lowering of the temperature in a tropical mammal or bird, and slowly in an arctic animal. It can be shown theoretically that in a thermoregulated system with a fixed basal energy level and variable insulation the critical gradient is proportional to the maximal insulation and the basal energy level.In a large series of experiments including our tropical and arctic animals, and all animals ...

Appetites and aversions as constituents of instincts.

Abstract: The overt behavior of adult animals occurs largely in rather definite chains and cycles, and it has been held that these are merely chain reflexes. Many years of study of the behavior of animals-studies especially of the blond ring-dove (Turtur risorius) and other pigeons-have convinced me that instinctive behavior does not consist of mere chain reflexes; it involves other factors which it is the purpose of this article to describe. I do not deny that innate chain reflexes constitute a considerable part of the instinctive equipment of doves. Indeed, I think it probable that some of the dove's instincts include an element which is even a tropism as described by Loeb. But with few if any exceptions among the instincts of doves, this reflex action constitufes only a part of each instinct in which it is present. E1ach instinct involves an element of appetite, or aversion, or both. An appetite (or appetence, if this term may be used with purely behavioristic meaning), so far as externally observable, is a state of agitation which continues so long as a certain stimulus, which may be called the appeted stimulus, is absent. When the appeted stimulus is at length received it stimulates a consummatory reaction, after which the appetitive behavior ceases and is succeeced by a state of relative rest. An aversion (example 7, p. Ioo) is a state of agitation which continues so long as a certain stimulus, referred to as the disturbing stimulus, is present; but which ceases, being replaced by a state of relative rest, when that stimulus has ceased to act on the sense-organs. The state of agitation, in either appetite or aversion, is exhibited externally by increased muscular tension; by static and

Pelagic Larval Duration and Dispersal Distance Revisited

Abstract: I present dispersal distances for 44 species with data on propagule duration (PD) for 40 of these. Data were combined with those in Shanks et al. (2003; Ecol. Appl. 13: S159 -S169), providing information on 67 species. PD and dispersal distance are correlated, but with many exceptions. The distribution of dispersal distances was bimodal. Many species with PDs longer than 1 day dispersed less than 1 km, while others dispersed tens to hundreds of kilometers. Or- ganisms with short dispersal distances were pelagic briefly or remained close to the bottom while pelagic. Null models of passively dispersing propagules adequately predict dis- persal distance for organisms with short PDs (1 day), but overestimate dispersal distances for those with longer PDs. These models predict that propagules are transported tens of kilometers offshore; however, many types remain within the coastal boundary layer where currents are slower and more variable, leading to lower than predicted dispersal. At short PDs, dispersal distances estimated from genetic data are similar to observed. At long PDs, genetic data generally overestimate dispersal distance. This discrepancy is proba- bly due to the effect of rare individuals that disperse long distances, thus smoothing genetic differences between pop- ulations. Larval behavior and species' life-history traits can play a critical role in determining dispersal distance.