The ichthyoplankton assemblage of the Hopkins River estuary, Victoria, was dominated by estuarine taxa that included demersal (goby, gudgeon) and pelagic (black bream, estuary perch, anchovy) species. The two seasonal peaks in fish larvae abundance were related to ( 1 ) the springlsummer zooplankton increase that occurred after flooding of the estuary and was comprised predominantly of copepod nauplii, thereby providing a good prey field for very young fish larvae, and (2) the autumn zooplankton maxima, which would provide a wide selection of copepod stages and meroplankton and promote dietary partitioning and flexibility among older larval stages. The two peaks in fish larvae abundance occurred well before and well after the attainment of maximum water temperature in the estuary. Goby, gudgeon, estuary perch and anchovy larvae were in the plankton over an extended period coinciding with the more stable conditions of salt-wedge presence and maximum zooplankton densities. The spawning of black bream and anchovies in the estuary was clearly related to physical conditions, such as salinity and water temperature, and habitat-although spawning of both species also occurred at times of high concentrations of potential prey organisms for their larvae. Adults of all the above fish species appear to have evolved spawning strategies that are adapted to the average hydrological and biological conditions in the estuary that would lead to the enhanced survival of their larvae. With the exception of the black bream, it appears that a ubiquitous and prolonged rather than a synchronous and confined spawning strategy is more widely used by estuarine-spawning fishes in the Hopkins River estuary. This type of spawning strategy, combined with the generally high density of food available to fish larvae in estuaries, suggests that the match-mismatch hypothesis of Cushing may be less relevant in the estuarine than in the marine environment.

This study was designed to determine whether orange roughy reproduce throughout their distribution in Australian waters, and if so, whether commencement of spawning and length at maturity vary within the region. We found that females from four widely separated sampling areas reproduced in 1988, but that the onset of spawning and length at maturity were not the same in all the areas. In New South Wales, ovulation was finished by mid-June, and 50% of females were mature at 28 cm standard length (s.L.). On the other hand, females from eastern and western Tasmania and South Australia did not spawn until mid-July, and 50% of females from Tasmania were not mature until 32 cm S.L. Females from all areas had oocytes with yolk granules at least 5 months before ovulation. However, in the few months before spawning, some adult females from all areas had not undergone vitellogenesis or were resorbing all yolky oocytes. The best estimates of the proportion of these non-reproductive females were made in March and April, when the single batch of eggs to be spawned was clearly distinguishable, and before spawning aggregations had formed. In 1990 in eastern Tasmania, at the site of a major spawning aggregation, the best estimate of the proportion of non-reproductive fish was 45%. We suggest that scarcity of food, coupled with the cost of joining a spawning aggregation, may result in intermittent spawning in this long-lived species.

Ornate angel sharks were sampled from commercial catches from the Great Australian Bight trawl fishery during the period from February 1992 to February 1993. Size structure, reproduction and diet were studied. Both sexes exhibited similar length–weight relationships. Morphological data indicate that the most accurate conversion to total length (TL) would be obtained from the distance between the granular ocelli on the trunk near the pectoral fins. Males reached sexual maturity at a TL of 810–910 mm, females at 1150–1250 mm. The male:female ratio was 1:3 for the post partum population and 1:1 for embryos. Both ovaries were functional throughout the year, but the left ovary contained more ovarian follicles than the right. Follicle diameters ranged from 1 to 68 mm; the largest follicle was found during autumn, before ovulation, the smallest during spring, after ovulation. Eighteen near-term embryos from four females were observed during January and February 1993. The number of young per female ranged from 2 to 9. It appears that S. tergocellata has a minimum gestation period of 6–12 months and parturition may occur biennially. The most common stomach contents were squid (Notodarus gouldi) and fish (mainly Monacanthidae).

The presence of dormant life history stages was investigated for the zooplankton of an annually flooding salt-wedge estuary. Such stages are seen as a potential mechanism for population persistence following environmental adversity. Laboratory incubation experiments were conducted on estuarine sediments. As a result, dormant eggs in Australian estuarine-endemic copepods are reported for the first time. Nauplii of the dominant estuarine-endemic calanoids Gippslandia estuarina and Sulcanus conflictus commonly hatched from the sediments. Manipulation of the salinity and temperature of experimental media indicated that temperature was the more important hatching trigger for S. conflictus, and that both high salinity and high temperature were important for G. estuarina. Results of the incubation experiments, including those of ‘conversion’ experiments (i.e. from freshwater to saline conditions or low temperature to high temperature), help to elucidate the type of dormancy characteristic of each species; it appears that S. conflictus may have diapause eggs and G. estuarina may have quiescent eggs, although this is yet to be confirmed. Other estuarine fauna developed from the mud during the incubation experiments, most notably the harpacticoids Onychocamptus chathamensis, an ectinosomatid and Schizopera sp., and the medusa Australomedusa baylii. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of dormancy in these estuarine-endemic zooplankton are briefly discussed.

Purpose: The IMpassion130 randomized trial in advanced TNBC has demonstrated improved efficacy with the addition of atezo to 1L nab-pac in patients with PD-L1+ tumors. Eganelisib is a first-in-class, novel oral agent targeting tumor-associated myeloid cells through selective inhibition of PI3K-gamma, with the goal of improving the immune response to the approved doublet combination of atezo and nab-pac. We report first results from a completed TNBC safety run-in cohort of a multicenter phase II study. Methods: Eligible patients had measurable unresectable locally advanced or metastatic TNBC, ECOG performance status 0/1, and no prior systemic therapy for advanced disease. A safety run-in was completed to assess the safety of the triplet of oral eganelisib 30 mg daily in combination with nab-pac 100 mg/m2 given on days 1, 8, & 15, and IV atezo 840 mg given on days 1 & 15. After establishing tolerability in the safety run-in (n=6), the expansion phase of the phase II study was initiated to enroll a total of approximately 60 patients (30 PD-L1+ and 30 PD-L1-). Cycles are repeated every 28 days until loss of clinical benefit, unacceptable toxicity, or consent withdrawal. The primary efficacy endpoint is confirmed Complete Response (CR) rate per RECIST v1.1. Secondary endpoints include the overall response rate (ORR) and safety assessment. Tumors are assessed every 8 weeks by CT/MRI scan. Results: We report preliminary efficacy data (as of 6/27/2020) and safety data (as of 6/09/2020) for the completed safety run-in cohort with 6 patients evaluable for safety and 4 evaluable for response defined as having had at least one post-baseline tumor assessment. 1 CR (1/4) and 3 PRs (3/4) were observed with an ORR of 100% (4/4). Responses were seen irrespective of PD-L1 status. The most common all-grade adverse events were decreased white cell count (66.7%), fatigue (50%), diarrhea (33.3%), hyperglycaemia (33.3%), transaminase elevation (16.7%), pyrexia (16.7%), and rash (16.7%). Most common grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 3 patients (50%) including decreased lymphocytes or neutropenia (33.3%), transaminase elevation (16.7%), fatigue (16.7%), rash (16.7%), and febrile neutropenia (16.7%). Treatment was generally tolerable. Eganelisib 30 mg daily was chosen as the dose for combination with nab-pac and atezo for the expansion phase of the study. Conclusions: The novel triplet regimen of eganelisib, atezo, and nab-pac shows promising antitumor activity (4 responses/4 evaluable patients), irrespective of biomarker status, and has manageable toxicity. The expansion phase of the phase II study is currently enrolling. Updated efficacy, safety and biomarker data will be presented for the safety run-in cohort as well as initial data from the expansion phase of the phase II study. Citation Format: Erika Hamilton, Arielle Lee, Rachel Swart, Gina Newton, Brenda O'Connell, Jennifer Roberts, Halle Zhang, Hatem Soliman. Mario-3 phase II study safety run-in evaluating a novel triplet combination of eganelisib (formerly IPI-549), atezolizumab (atezo), and nab-paclitaxel (nab-pac) as first-line (1L) therapy for locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS11-32.