The Scaling of Blood Flow Resistance: From a Single Vessel to the Entire Distal Tree

Although the flow resistance of a single vessel segment is easy to compute, the equivalent resistance of a network of vessel segments or the entire vasculature of an organ is difficult to determine in an analytic form. Here, we propose what we believe is a novel resistance scaling law for a vascular tree (i.e., the resistance of a vessel segment scales with the equivalent resistance of the corresponding distal tree). The formulation can be written as (Rs/Rc)∝(Ls/Lc) (where Rs and Ls are the resistance and length of a vessel segment, respectively, and Rc and Lc are the equivalent resistance and total length of the corresponding distal tree, respectively), which was validated for the coronary vascular systems of the heart. The scaling law was also shown to apply to the vascular systems of the lung, mesentery, muscle, eye, and so on. The novel resistance scaling law, coupled with the 3/4-power scaling law for metabolic rates, can predict several structure-function relations of vascular trees, albeit with a different exponent. In particular, the self-similar nature of the scaling law may serve as a diagnostic tool with the help of noninvasive imaging modalities.     

Indian almond (Terminalia catappa), salt-tolerant,useful, tropical tree with “nut” worthy of improvement

Native to the East Indies, commonly grown in India, casually planted for shade and ornament throughout the tropics, the Indian, or tropical, almond (Terminalia catappa) is still not fully appreciated nor utilized as a multipurpose tree. Fast-growing, to 80 ft, the tree flourishes with little or no care, exposed to coastal winds and salt spray. It furnishes timber of excellent quality, bark suitable for tanning, and dyes from both wood and bark. The seed kernel is delicious and wholesome without processing, though the bulk of the abundant crop is wasted through ignorance of an easy mode of extraction and lack of selection and propagation and promotion of strains with large kernels.     

Ectomycorrhizal fungal community of naturally regenerated European larch (Larix decidua) seedlings

An investigation was undertaken to assess the community structure of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi on naturally regenerating European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) seedlings grown under forest conditions. The sites examined were in two managed monoculture larch forests, differentiated by soil chemistry and mature tree density. Morphological and molecular analyses revealed a total of 22 fungal taxa. From detected ECM fungal taxa, 13 were noted at Site I and 13 at Site II. Only four taxa were found in both sites (Russula ochroleuca, Thelephora terrestris, Lactarius tabidus and Paxillus involutus). The most abundant species at Site I (lower mineral concentration, high tree density) was Hydnotrya tulasnei (25.7?%), followed by Pseudotomentella tristis, Tomentella sublilacina and Russula puelaris. At Site II (higher mineral concentration, low tree density) the dominant fungal symbiont of larch seedlings was clearly Wilcoxina mikolae, which accounted for 74?% of mycorrhizal tips. The less abundant species comprised T. terrestris, L. tabidus, Xerocomus pruinatus and R. ochroleuca. The analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination clearly separated the ECM fungal assemblages in the two sites tested. Because our study sites were differentiated by many factors, it is not easy to distinguish one factor in particular to explain the differences observed between the ECM communities at Sites I and II. The results obtained significantly increase our knowledge about the diversity of the ECM fungi hosted by L. decidua. The large number of ECM fungi detected was the first observation showing these fungi as symbiotic partners of European larch.     

Phylogenetic conservation prioritization with uncertainty

We consider a set of species S and are interested in the assessment of the subsets of S from a phylogenetic diversity viewpoint. Several measures can be used for this assessment. Here we have retained phylogenetic diversity (PD) in the sense of Faith, a measure widely used to reflect the evolutionary history accumulated by a group of species. The PD of a group of species X included in S is easy to calculate when the phylogenetic tree associated with S is perfectly known but this situation is rarely verified. We are interested here in cases where uncertainty regarding the length of branches and the topology of the tree is reflected in the fact that several phylogenetic trees are considered to be plausible for the set S. We propose several measures of the phylogenetic diversity to take account of the uncertainty arising from this situation. A natural problem in the field of biological conservation is to select the best subset of species to protect from a group of threatened species. Here, the best subset is the one that optimizes the proposed measures. We show how to solve these optimal selection problems by integer linear programming. The approach is illustrated by several examples.     

Ditylenchus drepanocercus Rediscovered in the Neotropics Causing Angular Leaf Spots on Miconia calvescens

During searches for pathogens to be used as classical biocontrol agents for Miconia calvescens (velvet tree), a devastating plant invader of Hawaii and French Polynesia, damaging angular leaf spots were found repeatedly. The etiological agent of this disease was identified as the nematode Ditylenchus drepanocercus. This nematode has a distinctive falciform appendage at the apex of the tail on both sexes, which allows easy identification. The nematodes were found in the lacunar parenchyma. Infected tissues have abnormally large cells (7 to 13 times the normal size). The lamina at infected areas is chlorotic, slightly thicker, and becomes necrotic with time. The best method of inoculation for this nematode was spraying plants with a suspension containing individuals of various stages on previously wounded leaves. Incubation period was determined to be 20 days.     

Rapid identification of Legionella spp. by MALDI-TOF MS based protein mass fingerprinting

A set of reference strains representing 38 different Legionella species were submitted to Whole Cell Mass Spectrometry (WCMS) with MALDI-TOF.The dendrogram computed from strain mass spectral patterns obtained by WCMS was compared to the phylogenetic tree obtained from macrophage infectivity potentiator (mip) sequences. The trees inferred from these two methods revealed significant homologies.Using 453 Legionella isolates previously characterized by genotyping, it was possible to create species-specific SuperSpectra, using appropriate sets of spectral masses, allowing unambiguous differentiation and identification of the most frequently isolated Legionella species. These SuperSpectra were tested for their suitability to identify Legionella strains isolated from water samples, cooling towers, potting soils and patient specimens deposited at the Swiss National Reference Centre for Legionella and previously identified by molecular methods such as mip gene sequencing.99.1% of the tested strains isolated from the environment could be correctly identified by comparison with the new SuperSpectra. The identification of Legionella spp. by MALDI-TOF MS is rapid, easy to perform and has the advantage of being time- and cost-saving, in comparison to sequence-based identification.     

Classification and Characterization of Species within the Genus Lens Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS)

Lentil (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris) is a nutritious and affordable pulse with an ancient crop domestication history. The genus Lens consists of seven taxa, however, there are many discrepancies in the taxon and gene pool classification of lentil and its wild relatives. Due to the narrow genetic basis of cultivated lentil, there is a need towards better understanding of the relationships amongst wild germplasm to assist introgression of favourable genes into lentil breeding programs. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) is an easy and affordable method that allows multiplexing of up to 384 samples or more per library to generate genome-wide single nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers. In this study, we aimed to characterize our lentil germplasm collection using a two-enzyme GBS approach. We constructed two 96-plex GBS libraries with a total of 60 accessions where some accessions had several samples and each sample was sequenced in two technical replicates. We developed an automated GBS pipeline and detected a total of 266,356 genome-wide SNPs. After filtering low quality and redundant SNPs based on haplotype information, we constructed a maximum-likelihood tree using 5,389 SNPs. The phylogenetic tree grouped the germplasm collection into their respective taxa with strong support. Based on phylogenetic tree and STRUCTURE analysis, we identified four gene pools, namely L. culinaris/L. orientalis/L. tomentosus, L. lamottei/L. odemensis, L. ervoides and L. nigricans which form primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary gene pools, respectively. We discovered sequencing bias problems likely due to DNA quality and observed severe run-to-run variation in the wild lentils. We examined the authenticity of the germplasm collection and identified 17% misclassified samples. Our study demonstrated that GBS is a promising and affordable tool for screening by plant breeders interested in crop wild relatives.     

Mark-mark scatterplots improve pattern analysis in spatial plant ecology

Point process statistics provides valuable tools for many ecological studies, where ‘points’ are commonly determined to represent the locations of plants or animals and ‘marks’ are additional items such as species or size. In the statistical analysis of marked point patterns, various correlation functions are used such as the mark variogram or the mark correlation function. Often the interpretation of these functions is not easy and the non-spatial ecologist is in need of support. In order to make the analysis of spatial point patterns more accessible to ecologists, we introduced and tested a new graphical method, the mark-mark scatterplot. This plot visualises the marks of point pairs of inter-point distances r smaller than some small distance r_max. We tested the application of the mark-mark scatterplot by reconsidering three quite different tree patterns: a pattern of longleaf pine trees from the southern US which was strongly influenced by fires, a tropical tree pattern of the species Shorea congestiflora from Sri Lanka and a Scots pine pattern from Siberia (Russia). The new method yielded previously undetected cause-effect information on mark behaviour at short inter-point distances and thus improved the analysis with mark correlation functions as well as complemented the information they provided. We discovered important new correlations in clusters of trees at close proximity. The application of the mark-mark scatterplot will facilitate the interpretation of point process summary statistics and will make point process analysis more accessible to ecologists not specialized in point process statistics.     

Priming effects on seed germination in Tecoma stans (Bignoniaceae) and Cordia megalantha (Boraginaceae), two tropical deciduous tree species

Successful revegetation necessarily requires the establishment of a vegetation cover and one of the challenges for this is the scarce knowledge about germination and seedling establishment of wild tree species. Priming treatments (seed hydration during a specific time followed by seed dehydration) could be an alternative germination pre-treatment to improve plant establishment. Natural priming (via seed burial) promotes rapid and synchronous germination as well as the mobilisation of storage reserves; consequently, it increases seedling vigour. These metabolic and physiological responses are similar to those occurring as a result of the laboratory seed priming treatments (osmopriming and matrix priming) applied successfully to agricultural species. In order to know if natural priming had a positive effect on germination of tropical species we tested the effects of natural priming on imbibition kinetics, germination parameters (mean germination time, lag time and germination rate and percentage) and reserve mobilisation in the seeds of two tree species from a tropical deciduous forest in south-eastern México: Tecoma stans (L Juss. Ex Kunth) and Cordia megalantha (S.F Blake). The wood of both trees are useful for furniture and T. stans is a pioneer tree that promotes soil retention in disturbed areas. We also compared the effect of natural priming with that of laboratory matrix priming (both in soil). Matrix priming improved germination of both studied species. Natural priming promoted the mobilisation of proteins and increased the amount of free amino acids and of lipid degradation in T. stans but not in C. megalantha. Our results suggest that the application of priming via the burial of seeds is an easy and inexpensive technique that can improve seed germination and seedling establishment of tropical trees with potential use in reforestation and restoration practices.     

Spatial Distribution Patterns in the Very Rare and Species-Rich Picea chihuahuana Tree Community (Mexico)

The very rare Mexican Picea chihuahuana tree community covers an area of no more than 300 ha in the Sierra Madre Occidental. This special tree community has been the subject of several studies aimed at learning more about the genetic structure and ecology of the species and the potential effects of climate change. The spatial distribution of trees is a result of many ecological processes and can affect the degree of competition between neighbouring trees, tree density, variability in size and distribution, regeneration, survival, growth, mortality, crown formation and the biological diversity within forest communities. Numerous scale-dependent measures have been established in order to describe spatial forest structure. The overall aim of most of these studies has been to obtain data to help design preservation and conservation strategies. In this study, we examined the spatial distribution pattern of trees in the P. chihuahuana tree community in 12 localities, in relation to i) tree stand density, ii) diameter distribution (vertical structure), iii) tree species diversity, iv) geographical latitude and v) tree dominance at a fine scale (in 0.25 ha plots), with the aim of obtaining a better understanding of the complex ecosystem processes and biological diversity. Because of the strongly mixed nature of this tree community, which often produces low population densities of each tree species and random tree fall gaps caused by tree death, we expect aggregated patterns in individual Picea chihuahuana trees and in the P. chihuahuana tree community, repulsive Picea patterns to other tree species and repulsive patterns of young to adult trees. Each location was represented by one plot of 50 x 50 m (0.25 ha) established in the centre of the tree community. The findings demonstrate that the hypothesis of aggregated tree pattern is not applicable to the mean pattern measured by Clark-Evans index, Uniform Angle index and Mean Directional index of the uneven-aged P. chihuahuana trees and P. chihuahuana tree community and but to specific spatial scales measured by the univariate L-function. The spatial distribution pattern of P. chihuahuana trees was found to be independent of patches of other tree species measured by the bivariate L-function. The spatial distribution was not significantly related to tree density, diameter distribution or tree species diversity. The index of Clark and Evans decreased significantly from the southern to northern plots containing all tree species. Self-thinning due to intra and inter-specific competition-induced mortality is probably the main cause of the decrease in aggregation intensity during the course of population development in this tree community. We recommend the use of larger sampling plots (> 0.25 ha) in uneven-aged and species-rich forest ecosystems to detect less obvious, but important, relationships between spatial tree pattern and functioning and diversity in these forests.     

Coalescent histories for discordant gene trees and species trees

Given a gene tree and a species tree, a coalescent history is a list of the branches of the species tree on which coalescences in the gene tree take place. Each pair consisting of a gene tree topology and a species tree topology has some number of possible coalescent histories. Here we show that, for each n≥7, there exist a species tree topology S and a gene tree topology G≠S, both with n leaves, for which the number of coalescent histories exceeds the corresponding number of coalescent histories when the species tree topology is S and the gene tree topology is also S. This result has the interpretation that the gene tree topology G discordant with the species tree topology S can be produced by the evolutionary process in more ways than can the gene tree topology that matches the species tree topology, providing further insight into the surprising combinatorial properties of gene trees that arise from their joint consideration with species trees.     

Determinants of tree species preference for foraging by insectivorous birds in a novel Prosopis–Leucaena woodland in Puerto Rico: the role of foliage palatability

The foliage palatability hypothesis predicts that avian insectivores will preferentially forage in tree species with the greatest abundance of their arthropod prey, which in turn are associated with the tree’s foliage nutrition and palatability. We tested this hypothesis in a novel Prosopis–Leucaena woodland in Puerto Rico by determining foraging preferences of five insectivorous bird species for six tree species (five alien, one native) and relating preferences to foliage arthropod biomass and leaf chemistry. The most frequently preferred tree species for foraging were the alien Prosopis juliflora (preferred by five bird species) and Pithecellobium dulce (preferred by four bird species). Both species had high foliage arthropod biomass, high N content, low lignin/N ratios, and low hemicellulose content. Compounds, previously known to affect herbivore responses to Albizia lebbeck and Leucaena leucocephala, may explain low arthropod biomass despite high N content in Albizia and avoidance of Leucaena by four bird species despite its high arthropod biomass. The native Bucida buceras had tough leaves with low N content, low arthropod biomass, and only one bird species showed a weak preference for foraging in it. Biomass of predaceous arthropods showed strong negative correlations with the ratios of lignin/N and hemicellulose/N. Some alien tree species had highly palatable foliage with high arthropod biomass and hence were preferred for foraging by avian insectivores as predicted by the foliage palatability hypothesis. High foliage palatability of some alien tree species may weaken the effect of enemy release in some novel plant communities.     

Data Concatenation,Bayesian Concordance and Coalescent-Based Analyses of the Species Tree for the Rapid Radiation of Triturus Newts

The phylogenetic relationships for rapid species radiations are difficult to disentangle. Here we study one such case, namely the genus Triturus, which is composed of the marbled and crested newts. We analyze data for 38 genetic markers, positioned in 3-prime untranslated regions of protein-coding genes, obtained with 454 sequencing. Our dataset includes twenty Triturus newts and represents all nine species. Bayesian analysis of population structure allocates all individuals to their respective species. The branching patterns obtained by data concatenation, Bayesian concordance analysis and coalescent-based estimations of the species tree differ from one another. The data concatenation based species tree shows high branch support but branching order is considerably affected by allele choice in the case of heterozygotes in the concatenation process. Bayesian concordance analysis expresses the conflict between individual gene trees for part of the Triturus species tree as low concordance factors. The coalescent-based species tree is relatively similar to a previously published species tree based upon morphology and full mtDNA and any conflicting internal branches are not highly supported. Our findings reflect high gene tree discordance due to incomplete lineage sorting (possibly aggravated by hybridization) in combination with low information content of the markers employed (as can be expected for relatively recent species radiations). This case study highlights the complexity of resolving rapid radiations and we acknowledge that to convincingly resolve the Triturus species tree even more genes will have to be consulted.     

EPIPHYTE FLORA AND DIVERSITY ON BASAL TRUNKS OF SIX OLD-GROWTH FOREST TREE SPECIES IN SOUTHERN AND MIDDLE BOREAL FINLAND

Epiphytic lichen and bryophyte species composition, richness and diversity were surveyed on basal trunks of six common old-growth forest tree species,Picea abies,Pinus sylvestris,Betula pendula,Alnus incana,Salix capreaandPopulus tremula, in two old-growth forest areas, one in southern and one in middle boreal Finland. The average species numbers per tree ranged from 18 (Picea) to 27 (Salix) in the southern and from 20 (Populus) to 31 (Salix) in the middle boreal area. A few widespread habitat-generalist species, such as the foliose lichensHypogymnia physodesandPlatismatia glauca, were most abundant on all the tree species, exceptPopulus. Most other epiphyte species showed at least a slight preference for one or two tree species.Populusproved to have the most distinct flora characterized by the abundance of certain, rather specialized crustose lichens and bryophytes. The number of species that occurred on only one tree species was highest onPopulus(9) in the southern and onAlnus(18) in the middle boreal area. Differences in bark acidity and structure were the most likely explanations for the differences between tree species in the epiphytic flora and diversity.SalixandPopuluswere the most important of the tree species studied for the conservation of epiphyte diversity in the boreal forests of Finland.     

Conifer Stored Resources and Resistance to a Fungus Associated with the Spruce Bark Beetle Ips typographus

Bark beetles and associated fungi are among the greatest natural threats to conifers worldwide. Conifers have potent defenses, but resistance to beetles and fungal pathogens may be reduced if tree stored resources are consumed by fungi rather than used for tree defense. Here, we assessed the relationship between tree stored resources and resistance to Ceratocystis polonica, a phytopathogenic fungus vectored by the spruce bark beetle Ips typographus. We measured phloem and sapwood nitrogen, non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), and lipids before and after trees were attacked by I. typographus (vectoring C. polonica) or artificially inoculated with C. polonica alone. Tree resistance was assessed by measuring phloem lesions and the proportion of necrotic phloem around the tree''s circumference following attack or inoculation. While initial resource concentrations were unrelated to tree resistance to C. polonica, over time, phloem NSC and sapwood lipids declined in the trees inoculated with C. polonica. Greater resource declines correlated with less resistant trees (trees with larger lesions or more necrotic phloem), suggesting that resource depletion may be caused by fungal consumption rather than tree resistance. Ips typographus may then benefit indirectly from reduced tree defenses caused by fungal resource uptake. Our research on tree stored resources represents a novel way of understanding bark beetle-fungal-conifer interactions.     

鄂西南木林子常绿落叶阔叶混交林恢复过程中优势树种生态位动态

运用Shannow-wiener生态位宽度指数和Pianka生态位重叠指数,分析了鄂西南木林子常绿落叶阔叶混交林恢复过程中优势树种生态位动态。结果表明:大穗鹅耳枥(Carpinus fargesii)、四照花(Cornus kousa var.Chinensis)、青冈(Cycloblanopsis glauca)生态位总宽度较大,且在5个不同恢复时期均有分布。恢复期14a、35a、60a、85a和110a生态位宽度最大的树种分别为白马桑(Weigela japonica var.sinica)、大穗鹅耳枥、四照花、光皮桦(Betula luminifera)和尾叶冬青(Ilex wilsonii)。随着群落的恢复,优势落叶树种生态位宽度表现出下降趋势,优势常绿树种则呈上升趋势。当恢复到顶极群落阶段,乔木层常绿和落叶树种生态位接近,灌木层常绿灌木占据较大生态位。随着群落的恢复,优势落叶树种与其它树种的生态位重叠值呈波动性下降趋势,优势常绿树种表现为波动性上升趋势,群落全部树种间生态位重叠程度呈小幅度波动性下降趋势。相同或相似生活型的演替早期种间的高生态位重叠,意味着种间对资源利用的相似性和竞争关系,演替后期种与其它树种间的生态位重叠的增加,意味着不同生活型树种在水平空间重叠而在垂直空间分化,这是不同树种对有限环境资源充分利用的一种机制。     

Improved tree-ring visualization using autofluorescence

The great diversity of wood anatomical features found in trees worldwide results in a broad variety of growth-ring boundary types that are not always easy to recognize, especially in tropical woods. However, the presence of clearly visible limits between tree rings is essential for any tree-ring studies. Here, we propose the use of autofluorescence of wood in order to enhance tree-ring visualization. The multispectral light emitted from the fluorescence stereomicroscope can be filtered in specific wavelengths to improve the visualization of wood anatomical features. To evaluate the effectiveness of this technique, we compared visualization under natural light, GFP (green fluorescent protein) filter, RFP (red fluorescent protein) filter and UV filter. We tested this technique with a set of 38 tree species with different types of growth-ring boundaries. Although results are species-specific, fluorescence has been shown to improve the visualization of growth-ring boundaries by enhancing the contrast among cell types. It may highlight fibrous zones (e.g. Cavanillesia arborea, Aspidosperma polyneuron), different porosity patterns (e.g. Myracrodruon urundeuva), secretory canals (e.g. Copaifera langsdorffii), and parenchyma bands (e.g. Tipuana tipu). Fluorescence allows the visualization of growth-ring boundaries in species that were previously described as having indistinct growth rings under natural light. For species with clear tree-ring boundaries such as Cedrela fissilis and Hymenaea courbaril, this approach aids the identification of false rings. In addition to the visualization of growth-ring boundaries, autofluorescence may be useful for other qualitative and quantitative analyses of wood anatomy, such as wood identification and automated measurements of anatomical features. Scientists struggling with tree-ring counting and cross-dating due to difficult tree-ring visualization may find fluorescence useful. It may also aid to identify new species suitable for tree-ring studies.     

s-Consensus trees and indices

In the field of numerical taxonomy it is often desirable to determine a tree which is the consensus (common part) of severaln-trees, each of which represents a classification of the same set of objects. In this note, ans-consensus tree and corresponding consensus index for a collection ofn-trees are defined. The choice of a value for the parameters will determine the number of nodes in thes-consensus tree and its tendency to resemble the strict or Adams-consensus tree.     

Effects of Nematicides,Lime, and Herbicide on Peach Tree Short Life in Georgia

Peach tree mortality was 75% five years after planting on a site associated with peach tree short life and receiving no nematicide treatment, no lime, and with cultivation for weed control. Mortality was reduced to 29% by preplanting plus postplanting applications of DBCP (1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane) and with herbicidal weed control. Preplanting applications of nematicides alone did not effectively reduce tree mortality or increase yield. Lime applications increased yield but did not affect tree growth or survival. Survival was higher with weed control by a herbicide than with control by disk cultivation. Populations of Macroposthonia xenoplax were correlated positively with tree mortality and negatively with yield. The other nematode consistently present at the site, Tylenchorhynchus claytoni, was not associated with either tree mortality or yield.