Virginia journal of science 

Abstract: PCR and fluorescent in situ hybridization probes were used to assay for the presence of the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida in 170 estuarine water samples collected from New York to nothem Florida. 20% of samples tested positive for the presence of P. piscicida, including sites where fish kills due to Pjiesteria have occurred and sites where there was no historical evidence of such events. The results extend the lmown range of P. piscicida northward to Long Island, New York. The results also suggest that P. piscicida is a common, and normally benign, inhabitant of estuarine waters of the eastern

Abstract: As part of a larger study examining the role of prescribed fire in regenerating upland oaks (Quercus spp.), seasonal prescribed burns (winter, spring, summer, and unburned control) were applied to first-stage shelterwood-harvested stands on Horsepen Wildlife Management Area in the Virginia Piedmont in 1995. Because fire impacts are poorly documented for herpetofaunal communities, we surveyed these stands in 1996 capturing 133 individuals of ten species during over 12,720 pitfall trapnights. We found no significant differences in relative abundance of Eastern Red-backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) (P = 0.26), American Toads (Bufo americanus (P = 0.93), or all amphibians combined (P = 0.25) among unburned shelterwood stands and those treated with winter, spring, or summer burns. Three species of reptiles (Northern Fence Lizard [Sceloporus undulatus], Ground Skink [Scincella lateralis], and Southeastern Five-lined Skink [Eumeces inexpectatus]) combined were captured more frequently in burned versus unburned stands (P = 0.02). Based on a stepwise multiple regression model, Eastern Red-backed Salamander captures were more strongly influenced by landscape variables (P = 0.0320), including distance to permanent water and mesic (i.e., eastern-northern) aspects, than by fire treatments (P = 0.26). Similar landscape models were not significant (P < 0.05) for toads or reptiles. Based on these results, prescribed fire may not be detrimental to herpetofaunal communities in oak dominated forests in the Virginia Piedmont.

Abstract: INTRODUCTION Estuary-Associated Syndrome (EAS) is the name given to a potential illness characterized primarily by changes in an individual's cognitive abilities, including acute onset of memory loss or the sudden inability to solve simple problems. Other possible signs of illness include respiratory symptoms, skin rash, or gastrointestinal distress. This illness appears to arise following exposure to toxin produced by Pjiesteria piscicida, or other toxic dinoflagellates, that resides in estuary waters. In 1988, researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, observed the unusual death offish in laboratory tanks following exposure to water from the Pamlico River Estuary in North Carolina (Smith et al., 1988). A toxic dinoflagellate was identified in association with the fish deaths and researchers at North Carolina State University were able to reproduce the fish toxicity in a laboratory setting (Burkholder et al., 1992). The organism was named Pjiesteria piscicida (Lewitus et al., 1995; and Steidinger et al., 1996). In 1995, this dinoflagellate was found in the Chesapeake Bay (Lewitus et al., 1995) and more recently in creeks and rivers of Maryland and Virginia (Marshall, personal communication 1999; Grattan et al., 1998). It is now generally recognized that there is a complex of Pjiesteria-like dinoflagellates, including P. piscicida and an estimated ten or 11 similar organisms. These have been referred to as Pjiesteria-complex organisms and more recently as Pjiesteria-like organisms (PLOs). PLOs have a complex life cycle and reside in different forms in the sediment or the water column of estuarine waters. They appear to require live finfish or their secreta for transformation to a toxic phase with subsequent release of a powerful exotoxin(s). Because of the many different forms for these organisms, speciation is difficult and the accepted method depends on scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Screening for PLOs in water samples is currently done using a light microscope with SEM performed if high concentrations of PLOs are seen. Different laboratories have developed molecular methods to identify these organisms in water samples and these methods are being tested (Oldach et al., 1998; Rublee et al., 1999). Work is also ongoing to develop a test to analyze released toxins.