A recent tag-recapture study used photographic identifications of white sharks at two aggregation sites to estimate abundance in “central California” at 219 mature and sub-adult individuals. They concluded this represented approximately one-half of the total abundance of mature and sub-adult sharks in the entire eastern North Pacific Ocean (ENP). This low estimate generated great concern within the conservation community, prompting petitions for governmental endangered species designations. We critically examine that study and find violations of model assumptions that, when considered in total, lead to population underestimates. We also use a Bayesian

mixture model to demonstrate that the inclusion of transient sharks, characteristic of white shark aggregation sites, would substantially increase abundance estimates for the adults and AG-881 mw sub-adults in the surveyed sub-population. Using a dataset obtained from the same sampling locations and widely accepted demographic methodology, our analysis indicates a minimum all-life stages population size of bigger than 2000 individuals in the California subpopulation is required to account for

the number and size range of individual sharks observed at the two sampled sites. CA4P Even accounting for methodological and conceptual biases, an extrapolation of these data to estimate the white shark population size throughout the ENP is inappropriate. The true ENP white shark population size is likely several-fold greater as both our study and the original published estimate exclude non-aggregating sharks and those that independently aggregate at other important ENP sites. Accurately estimating the CBL0137 central California and ENP white shark population size requires methodologies that account for biases introduced by sampling a limited number of sites and that account for all life history stages across the species’ range of habitats.”
“Background/Aims: Erythrocytes may enter eryptosis, a suicidal

death characterized by cell shrinkage and phosphatidylserine exposure at the erythrocyte outer membrane. Susceptibility to eryptosis is enhanced in aged erythrocytes and stimulated by NFKB-inhibitors Bay 117082 and parthenolide. Here we explored whether expression of NFKB and susceptibility to inhibitor-induced eryptosis is sensitive to erythrocyte age. Methods: Human erythrocytes were separated into five fractions, based on age-associated characteristics cell density and volume. NFKB compared to B-actin protein abundance was estimated by Western blotting and cell volume from forward scatter. Phosphatidylserine exposure was identified using annexin-V binding. Results: NFKB was most abundant in young erythrocytes but virtually absent in aged erythrocytes.