Habitat degradation by humans has been the main reason for the decline in numbers of P. floridanus, the only mammal indigenous to the state of Florida, in the past century. The mouse inhabits what remains of scrub and sandhill associations, which are characterized by patches of sandy soils within a more mesic landscape. It has long been accepted that small populations are more prone to decline and extinction than are larger ones as a result of environmental fluctuations. I hypothesized that the demography of a population of P. floridanus would be affected by a restriction in numbers through habitat patch size in a deterministic way, even without any environmental effects. I also examined dispersal and looked for evidence of metapopulation dynamics. Mark-recapture data were collected from ten scrub fragments in Lake Wales Ridge State Forest, Polk County, FL, ranging in size from 0.5 to 170 ha. Program MARK was used to model survival, recruitment and population growth rate of P. floridanus as a function of habitat patch size and to evaluate temporary migration patterns. Recruitment was positively associated with patch size, but contrary to expectations survival and population growth were negatively associated with patch size. Results suggested that survival was negatively affected by ear tagging, although this effect was temporary. Evidence of migration was found, but would probably have been greater if trapping had been continued until after peak reproduction, when juveniles tend to disperse in search of resources. The degree of interbreeding among patches can only be determined with the help of genetic analyses. Microsatellites have become useful in analyses at the population level because of their high degree of variability. Future research including genetic analyses is recommended to evaluate the importance of gene flow among subgroups to demography and the viability of the study population.

Biological and life history characteristics for a previously unstudied population of sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus, in the Arabian Gulf were investigated. Notable findings include temporal-spatial migration patterns for a genetically isolated population that is threatened by overexploitation. Conventional tagging resulted in 2053 releases and 114 recaptures (5.55%) inside the Gulf. Linear displacement ranged from 2.5 to 697 km, while days at liberty ranged from 17 to 818 days. Dead recoveries in Iranian gillnets account for 88.6% of recaptures. Modeling analyses produced a best estimate of annual survival probability (S) at 0.375 (slope = -0.101, SE = 0.324). Fifteen pop-up satellite archival tags were deployed on sailfish during 2001 - 2002 to track temporal and spatial movements. Extensive data from four tags showed 83.7% of time-at-depth was spent above 10 m with no significant difference (P &lt 0.05) in diel preference. Depth ranged from 0.0 m to 61.0 m, while temperature ranged from 19.7 ??C to 30.1 ??C. Small-scale movements of eight sailfish were measured using ultrasonic tracking for periods ranging from 3:33 to 53:06 hours. Track distances ranged from 5.5 to 78.5 km, while linear displacement ranged from 4.6 to 37.0 km. Average speed ranged from 0.29 to 0.75 m s-1. Vertical distributions showed 84.3% of time was spent above 10 m depth, even though water temperature showed negligible variation with depth. Mitochondrial DNA comparison of 147 sailfish produced 39 composite haplotypes using eight restriction enzymes. Significant differences occurred in the frequency between population groups inside and outside the Gulf (amova 34.8%, P &lt 0.01; FST = 0.356), along with evidence of restricted migration between them (average number of migrants, Nm = 0.903). Nine year classes (0-8) were determined from aging analysis of fin spines. Females (n = 50) ranged from 0 to 8 years, while males (n = 34) ranged from 0 to 6 years. Von Bertalanffy growth function indicated rapid growth during the first two years, after which males stabilized and females continued growing to a greater maximum mean length and weight. A comparison of allometric growth between sexes indicated no significant difference between length and other morphometric characters (P ranged 0.135 ??? 0.980).

Biological and life history characteristics for a previously unstudied population of sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus, in the Arabian Gulf were investigated. Notable findings include temporal-spatial migration patterns for a genetically isolated population that is threatened by overexploitation. Conventional tagging resulted in 2053 releases and 114 recaptures (5.55%) inside the Gulf. Linear displacement ranged from 2.5 to 697 km, while days at liberty ranged from 17 to 818 days. Dead recoveries in Iranian gillnets account for 88.6% of recaptures. Modeling analyses produced a best estimate of annual survival probability (S) at 0.375 (slope = -0.101, SE = 0.324). Fifteen pop-up satellite archival tags were deployed on sailfish during 2001 - 2002 to track temporal and spatial movements. Extensive data from four tags showed 83.7% of time-at-depth was spent above 10 m with no significant difference (P &lt 0.05) in diel preference. Depth ranged from 0.0 m to 61.0 m, while temperature ranged from 19.7 ??C to 30.1 ??C. Small-scale movements of eight sailfish were measured using ultrasonic tracking for periods ranging from 3:33 to 53:06 hours. Track distances ranged from 5.5 to 78.5 km, while linear displacement ranged from 4.6 to 37.0 km. Average speed ranged from 0.29 to 0.75 m s-1. Vertical distributions showed 84.3% of time was spent above 10 m depth, even though water temperature showed negligible variation with depth. Mitochondrial DNA comparison of 147 sailfish produced 39 composite haplotypes using eight restriction enzymes. Significant differences occurred in the frequency between population groups inside and outside the Gulf (amova 34.8%, P &lt 0.01; FST = 0.356), along with evidence of restricted migration between them (average number of migrants, Nm = 0.903). Nine year classes (0-8) were determined from aging analysis of fin spines. Females (n = 50) ranged from 0 to 8 years, while males (n = 34) ranged from 0 to 6 years. Von Bertalanffy growth function indicated rapid growth during the first two years, after which males stabilized and females continued growing to a greater maximum mean length and weight. A comparison of allometric growth between sexes indicated no significant difference between length and other morphometric characters (P ranged 0.135 ??? 0.980).

Η παρούσα εργασία αποτελεί μια πρώτη προσπάθεια αξιολόγησης της απήχησης των υπηρεσιών Διατροφογονιδιωματικής στην Ελλάδα, που ακόμα είναι ελάχιστα αναπτυγμένες στην χώρα μας. Στόχος της είναι η κατανόηση των στάσεων και απόψεων του ελληνικού κοινού αναφορικά με τη σχέση γενετικής και διατροφής. Με τη μελέτη αυτή επιδιώκουμε επίσης να εκτιμήσουμε το επίπεδο γνώσεων και το ενδιαφέρον του ευρέος κοινού στους τομείς αυτούς και να σκιαγραφήσουμε τη διάθεσή τους να υποβληθούν σε γενετικές εξετάσεις με στόχο την συσχέτιση του γενετικού τους προφίλ με τη διατροφή τους και την ακόλουθη λήψη διαιτητικών συστάσεων. Για τους σκοπούς της έρευνας συντάχθηκε ένα Ερωτηματολόγιο με 16 ερωτήσεις κλειστού τύπου. Το δείγμα μας αποτέλεσαν 300 τυχαία επιλεγμένα άτομα στην πόλη της Πάτρας, που δέχτηκαν να απαντήσουν στο Ερωτηματολόγιο. Οι απαντήσεις μελετήθηκαν σε σχέση με το Φύλο, την Ηλικιακή Ομάδα και τον Δείκτη Σωματικού Βάρους των ερωτηθέντων, για να ελεγχθεί πιθανή επίδραση των παραγόντων αυτών στις απαντήσεις τους. Τα αποτελέσματά μας καταγράφουν ότι το ευρύ κοινό στην Ελλάδα εμφανίζεται να γνωρίζει τι είναι DNA και γενετικό υλικό καθώς και το ρόλο των γονιδίων στον καθορισμό της υγείας. Επίσης, φαίνεται να υπάρχει μια καλή θεώρηση της σχέσης μεταξύ διατροφής και υγείας. Υψηλό ποσοστό του κοινού εμφανίζονται ενήμεροι σχετικά με τα πιθανά οφέλη των γενετικών αναλύσεων, αν και το ποσοστό αυτό μειώνεται με την ηλικία. Τα δεδομένα μας έδειξαν ότι μόνο στο 9.7% από τους ερωτηθέντες έχει προταθεί να υποβληθούν σε μια γενετική εξέταση για τη σχέση γονιδίων και διατροφής, παρόλο που το 84% των συμμετεχόντων απάντησαν ότι θα ήταν διατεθειμένοι να το κάνουν. Ενδιαφέρον επίσης παρουσιάζει το γεγονός ότι η μεγάλη πλειοψηφία του κοινού προτιμά την παραπομπή ενός γιατρού για μια τέτοια εξέταση και πολύ λιγότερο τη συμβουλή ενός διατροφολόγου/διαιτολόγου. Συμπερασματικά, η μελέτη αυτή αποτελεί την πρώτη κριτική αξιολόγηση των απόψεων του ευρέος κοινού στην Ελλάδα όσον αφορά στις υπηρεσίες γενετικών εξετάσεων με στόχο συμβουλευτική διατροφής. Εφόσον δεν έχει διεξαχθεί άλλη τέτοια έρευνα, θεωρούμε ότι θα μπορούσε να χρησιμεύσει σαν πρότυπο για να μελετηθούν και άλλοι πληθυσμοί, και να στοχευθούν καλύτερα εκείνοι που: α) έχουν πραγματική ανάγκη τέτοιων αναλύσεων (πχ οικογενειακό ιστορικό παχυσαρκίας η καρδιαγγειακών νοσημάτων) και β) είναι επιστημονικά στοιχειωδώς ενήμεροι και φαίνονται διατεθειμένοι να υποβληθούν στις ανάλογες αναλύσεις (άρα έχουν εμπιστοσύνη στην αποτελεσματικότητά τους). / This research constitutes a first attempt to understand the general public’s knowledge concerning basic notions and services in genetics-based nutrition, as well as reveal their attitudes and perceptions on Nutrigenomics. With this research we also aspire to assess the level of knowledge an interest of the general public in this field and evaluate their willingness to undergo such genetic analyses, in order to correlate their genetic profile with their nutrition and receive dietary recommendations. For the purposes of this study, we designed a questionnaire of 16 questions and conducted a general public survey. Our sample consists of 300 participants, randomly chosen from the public, in the city of Patras in Greece. The answers were analyzed by grouping them according to Gender, Age group and the BMI of the participants, in order to check for potential influence of these factors on the answers. Our analysis indicated that the public in Patras appears quite knowledgeable concerning DNA and the role of the genome in determining overall health. Participants also have a good grasp of the relation of nutrition to health conditions. A large proportion of the general public is aware of the existence of gene-based disorders and the potential benefits of genetic testing, although this proportion declines steadily with age. Our data revealed that only 9.7% of respondents from the general public had been advised to take a genetic test in order to explore the relationship between their genes and their nutritional status. However, 84% of them would be willing to undergo nutrigenomic analysis to correlate their genetic profile with their diet. Interestingly, to do so, the vast majority of the general public would prefer referral from a physician than from a dietitian/nutritionist. Our study has provided the first critical evaluation of the views of the general public with regard to genetics and genetic testing services in Greece and, since no other such study has been conducted so far, it should serve as a model for replication in other populations, so that we could target the groups that a) are in need of such analyses due to family history of obesity or cardiovascular disease, and b) are fundamentally scientifically aware and seem willing to undergo such tests.