A Rubber Band Around an Atlantic Croaker

A rubber band permanently girdled an Atlantic croaker, Micropogon undulatus, resulting in considerable malformation and pathological alterations of the fish. On 12 July 1973 at Graveline Bayou, Jackson County, Mississippi, Mrs. Buster Blades caught on hook and line a 175 mm standard length (102.1 g) croaker that she immediately separated from the rest of her catch as a suspected parasitized fish. Later upon closer examination, she realized that a rubber band encircled the fish, and so she brought the fish to us. The band had deformed the prepelvic isthmus, restricted movement of the pectoral fins, and permanently encircled the fish through a hole in the dorsum. Much of the elasticity was lost, but the band was entire and free to rotate through the perforation below the first dorsal fin. The tissue above the perforation, including the tissue of the dorsal fin, was complete and not severed, although several scales were regenerated. These observations, in addition to the malformed ventral area, suggest a lengthy association between band and fish.

Examining the use of terms "Conservation" "Restoration" and "Preservation" between Natural Resource Professionals and Literature Reviews

ABSTRACT This thesis will determine if there is a discrepancy between how literature defines conservation, preservation, and restoration, and how natural resource professionals define these terms. Interviews were conducted with six professionals from six different agencies that deal with natural resources. These agencies consisted of both government and non-government groups. In addition to interviewing these professionals regarding how they define the terms, they were asked where their work fits into the context of these terms. The interviewees’ responses were then compared with the literature to determine inconsistencies with the use of these terms in the literature and real world settings. The literature and the interviewees have agreed on the term conservation. There are some different points of view about preservation, some see it as ‘no management’ and some others see it as keeping things the same or ‘static.’ Restoration was the term where both the literature and professionals thought of moving an ecosystem from one point of succession or community, to another point on a continuum. The only thing in which they disagree on is the final goal of a restoration project. The literature would suggest restoring the ecosystem to a past historic condition, where the interviewees said to restore it to the best of their abilities and to a functioning ecosystem.