This paper describes differences in canopy arthropod community structure, major cation content, and calculated nutrient consumption between clearcut and undisturbed hardwood forest watersheds at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina, USA, during the first two growing seasons following cutting. Although canopy arthropod biomass was about 0.08% of foliage biomass on both watersheds, aphid mass increased 23—fold and ant mass increased 6—fold per unit foliage mass following cutting. These groups in general had lower nutrient concentrations than did chewing herbivores and predators. Arthropod K concentrations were 33% lower on the clearcut; Na, K, and Mg concentrations were 20%—50% higher in 1978 than in 1977. Arthropod Mg and Ca concentrations, but not Na, and K, were reduced significantly more by the greater effect of drought on the clearcut watershed. Consumption estimates based in part on consumption rates reported by others indicated increased nutrient translocation from foliage via arthropods following cutting. These data indicated that canopy arthropod responses in nutrient availability following disturbance could have increased nutrient cycling rates and contributed to nutrient retention by the recovering ecosystem.

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Peritoneal dialysis is widely accepted for the chronic management of end-stage renal disease but is associated with as high as a 70% complication rate including a significant problem with peritoneal dialysis catheter flow obstruction. The application of laparoscopic surgical techniques has revolutionized the surgical approach to peritoneal dialysis catheter-related dysfunction. However, the specific laparoscopic surgical technique varied among the reported literature. This lack of a standard laparoscopic surgical approach to obstructed peritoneal dialysis catheters prompted us to review and compare our specific technique and experience in 17 patients with 10 recent reported series. We specifically examined for insufflation techniques, access port placements and closures, timing postoperatively for reinstituting peritoneal dialysis, wound complications, and overall long-term success rates for peritoneal dialysis catheter salvage.

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