An Estuarine Low Temperature Fish Kill in Mississippi, with Remarks on Restricted Necropsies

In January 1973, large numbers of Mugil cephalus (striped mullet), weighing approximately 250 gm each, died in two freshwater localities in tidewater bayous of Jackson County, Mississippi. Fish identified as Mugil curema, M. cephalus, Megalops atlantica, Dormitator maculatus, and Fundulus grandis were found dead in other low saline estuarine areas. Fish-kills during cold periods are less commonly encountered in Mississippi than in Texas or Florida. This particular incident is attributed to conditions of stress for fishes incompletely acclimated to the encountered low temperatures. The most deleterious stress was the low saline water which probably allowed a breakdown in the fishes' ion-osmoregulatory mechanisms. Striped mullet and other euryhaline fishes in salinities greater than 6 ppt survived, as did freshwater centrarchids and ictalurids in areas with dying mullet. Other stresses thought to contribute to the weakening of striped mullet in Paige Bayou during the period of rapidly decreasing temperatures include starvation and high levels of pesticide residues. In examined fish, the alimentary tracts were devoid of food, the gall bladders were distended and leaking bile, the livers contained excess lipid material and were often stained throughout with bile pigments, and the levels of DDT metabolites and endrin residues in the liver were higher than in control fish. Stress caused by low levels of dissolved oxygen, toxic substances in the water, or disease was discounted as a cause of death.

Exploring Online Sexually Explicit Material: What is the Relationship to Sexual Coercion?

With the popularity of the Internet, it is easy to access sexually explicit material. Past research has demonstrated that exposure to sexually explicit material in traditional formats (i.e. magazines and videos) may have an influence on male attitudes and behaviors towards females, but these effects appear to be minimal and dissipate over the long term. Though the body of literature examining Internet sexually explicit material is smaller, researchers have found little to no effects on attitudes or aggressive behaviors immediately after exposure. However, research regarding exposure to online sexually explicit material has not included forensically relevant variables. Previous research has suggested that undergraduate males who report engaging in sexually coercive or aggressive behaviors differ in terms of personality, attitudinal, and behavioral variables from individuals who do not report this type of behavior. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the same personality and attitudinal variables that have been studied in previous research, but to extend this research by including behavioral variables related to the viewing of online sexually explicit material. Male undergraduate students were provided with a link to take an online survey examining personality (empathy, sensation-seeking, and psychopathy), attitudinal (rape myth belief, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and hostility towards women) and behavioral (online sexual compulsivity and online behaviors with regard to sexual material) variables. The relationship between these variables and sexually coercive behavior was examined. Results indicate there is a significant relationship between some scales related to empathy and viewing sexually explicit or degrading material. Further results indicated that individuals who identified as having engaged in sexually aggressive behavior endorsed more items related to online sexually compulsive behaviors. Exploratory analyses revealed that the amount, as opposed to the type, of sexually explicit material viewed appears to be more related to adverse outcomes.